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This page lists superlatives of the automobile industry - that is, the smallest, largest, fastest, lightest, best-selling, and other such topics.
In order to keep the entries relevant, we will limit the list (except for the Firsts section) to more modern automobiles (those built after World War II) since many really odd vehicles emerged in the pre-history of the automobile industry. There is a section for early superlatives, however.
We'll also limit the list to production road cars. More than 20 examples must have been made by the original vehicle manufacturer (no tuner cars), and they must be street-legal in their intended markets.
Engine Capacity
- Straight-3
- Smallest I3 engine (petrol) - 0.55 L (543 cc/33 in³) - 1982 Suzuki Cervo F5A
- Smallest I3 engine (Diesel) - 0.8 L (799 cc/48.8 in³) - 2000 Smart Fortwo cdi
- Largest I3 engine (petrol) - 1.2 L (1198 cc/73 in³) - 2002 Volkswagen Polo/Seat Ibiza 1.2
- Largest I3 engine (Diesel) - 1.8 L (1779 cc/109 in³) - 1984 Alfa Romeo 33 1.8 TD
- Straight-4;
- Smallest I4 engine (petrol) - 0.36 L (358 cc/21.8 in³) - 1961 P360 Carol OHV
- Smallest I4 engine (Diesel) - 1.25 L (1248 cc/65 in³) - 2003 Fiat Panda Multijet
- Largest I4 engine (petrol) - 3.2 L (3188 cc/194.5 in³) - 1961 Pontiac Tempest 195
- Largest I4 engine (Diesel) - 4.3 L (4334 cc/278 in³) - Isuzu NKR 4HF1
- V4
- Smallest V4 engine - 1.2 L (1183 cc/72 in³) - 1962 Ford Taunus
- Largest V4 engine - 2.6 L (2568 cc/157 in³) - 1930 Lancia Lambda
- Straight-5
- Smallest I5 engine (petrol) - 1.9 L (1921 cc/117 in³) - 1981 Audi 100 1.9 E
- Smallest I5 engine (Diesel) - 2.0 L (1986 cc/121 in³) - 1978 Audi 100 2.0 D
- Largest I5 engine (petrol) - 3.5 L (3464 cc/211 in³) - 2004 GM Atlas L52 3500
- Largest I5 engine (Diesel) - 3.5 L (3469 cc/212 in³) - 1990 Land Cruiser 1PZ Diesel
- Straight-6
- Smallest I6 engine (petrol) - 1.5 L (1500 cc/91 in³) - 1927 Alfa Romeo 1500 6C
- Smallest I6 engine (Diesel) - 2.4 L (2383 cc/145 in³) - 1979 Volvo 240 D24
- Largest I6 engine (petrol) - 4.9 L (4917 cc/300 in³) - 1965 Ford 300
- Largest I6 engine (Diesel) - 4.2 L (4198 cc/256 in³) - 2002 Ford F250 MWM 6.07 TCA
- V6
- Smallest V6 engine (petrol) - 1.6 L (1597 cc/97 in³) - 1992 Mitsubishi Lancer 6A10
- Largest V6 engine (petrol) - 4.3 L (4300 cc/262 in³) - 1985 GM Vortec 4300
- Largest V6 engine (Diesel) - 4.3 L (4304 cc/262 in³) - 1982 GM LT6
- V8
- V10
- Smallest V10 engine - 4.9 L (4921 cc/301 in³) - Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI
- Others: 4.0 L - 1992 Yamaha OX99 (never produced)
- Largest V10 engine - 8.3 L (8277 cc/505 in³) - 2003 Dodge Viper
- V12
- V16
- Smallest V16 - (note: Apart from the Cizeta Moroder listed below, no other post-war V-16 engine was produced for street-legal cars)
- Largest V16 - 6.0 L (366 in³) - 1995 Cizeta-Moroder V16T
Dimensions
- Overall
- Shortest (3 wheels) - 1340 mm (52.8 in) - 1962 Peel P50
- Shortest (4 wheels) - 2286 mm (90 in) - 1956 Isetta
- Longest - 6852 mm (269.8 in) - Checker Aerocar
- Wheelbase
- Shortest wheelbase - 1500 mm (59.1 in) - 1956 Isetta
- Others:
- 1800 mm (70.9 in) - 2003 Suzuki Twin
- 1812 mm (81.3 in) - 1998 Smart Fortwo
- Longest wheelbase - 4800 mm (189 in) - Checker Aerocar
- Track
- Weight
- Lightest passenger vehicle (3 wheels) - 59 kg (132 lb) DIN - 1962 Peel P50
- Lightest passenger vehicle (4 wheels) - 350 kg (770 lb) DIN - 1956 Isetta
- Others:
- 370 kg (816 lb) DIN - 1992 LCC Rocket
- Heaviest passenger vehicle - 3900 kg (8600 lb) GVWR - 2003 Hummer H2
- Other
Power
Highest Total Horsepower
Highest Total Torque
- Petrol - 2003 Mercedes CL 65 AMG - 1000 Nm (736 lb/ft) - 6.0 liter (366ci) V12 engine.
- Diesel - 2004 Ford Excursion (Powerstroke), 759 Nm (560 lb/ft)
Highest Specific Horsepower (Horsepower per liter)
- automobile engine, regardless of induction-method, type or fuel - 182.3 hp (134 kW)/liter - Mazda_RX-8 Renesis (237 hp (175 kW) 1.3 L) although rotary and piston engine displacement sizes are not generally considered comparable.
- Petrol/Gasoline (naturally-aspirated piston engine) - 168 hp (125.3 kW)/liter - 2002 Radical Motorsport SR3 (252 hp (184 kW) 1.5L I4)
- Honorable mention: 120 hp (88 kW)/liter - 2000 Honda S2000 F20C (240 hp (177 kW) 2.0 L I4) (Note: the 120hp/l 2.0 liter engine is no longer available in North America, it has been replaced by a (109hp/l 240hp 2.2 liter engine)
- Petrol/Gasoline (forced-induction) piston engine - 174 hp/liter (600 hp 3.5L V12 quad-turbo) - Bugatti EB110 Super Sport
- Highest specific-output (Diesel) - 91 hp (67.5 kW) - 2005 BMW 535d (272 hp/200 kW 3.0 L I6)
Highest Specific Torque (Torque per liter)
Performance
- Highest USA EPA mileage - 61/70 [mpg]] - 2005 Honda Insight 5-speed
- Lowest EU average fuel consumption - 2.99 L/100 km - 2002 VW Lupo 1.2 TDI 5-speed
- Quickest 0-60 mph:
- Sports car - 3.1 sec - 2004 Caterham CSR
- 4-seat car - 3.8 sec - 2000 TVR Cerbera 4.5 L
- Pickup truck - 4.9 sec - 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10
- Quickest 0-100-0 mph:
- 10.73 sec - 2004 Caterham 500 (the new, more powerful CSR is presumably faster, but has yet to be tested)
- Highest top speed:
Sales
- Best-selling models:
- Best-selling car nameplate - Toyota Corolla (more than 27,000,000 sold in nine generations since 1966)
- Best-selling vehicle nameplate - Ford F-Series (more than 29,000,000 sold since 1948)
- Best-selling single model - Volkswagen Beetle (more than 21,000,000 of the same basic design sold worldwide between 1947 and 2003)
- Best-selling sports car - Ford Mustang (more than 7,800,000 of five generations sold between 1964 and 2004)
- Best-selling 2-seat car - Mazda MX-5 Miata (more than 700,000 of two generations sold between 1989 and 2004)
- Best single-year sales - over 912,000 - 2004 Ford F-150 (23 years in a row as the top-selling single vehicle, 28 years as the best-selling truck in the USA)
- Lowest-production models: (excluding limited-production vehicles)
- Pickup truck - avg. 223 per month, Lincoln Blackwood (3,356 sold in 15 months)
- Sports car - avg. 6 per month, 1965 Toyota 2000GT (337 sold in 5 years)
- SUV - avg. 4 per month, Lamborghini LM002 (301 sold in 6 years)
- Others: avg. 200 per month, Suzuki X-90 (7,205 sold in 3 years)
- Marques and manufacturers:
Firsts
Full-production vehicles are listed here. Many were preceded by racing-only cars.
Engine
Body
Transmission
Layout
Body
Suspension
Brakes
Driver-Aids
Passive-Restraint
Other
American types
Pre-War
- Best-selling pre-war vehicle - Ford Model-T (15,000,000 sold between 1908 and 1928)
- Least-expensive full-featured automobile - 1927 Ford Model-T ($300 is about $3200 in inflation-adjusted 2004 dollars)
- Largest vehicle - Bugatti Royale - 21 ft (6.4 m) long, 180 in (4.57 m) or 170 in (4.32 m) wheelbase depending on model
- Largest engine - Bugatti Royale and Type 5, 14.7 L or 12.8 L depending on model
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