Need Raw Performance? These 9 Cars Have The Most Horsepower You Can Buy In 2026
We've talked before about how much horsepower you really need, but this list isn't that. We're not here to talk about the "right" amount of power or the "best" driving experience in 2026. This list is about the most horsepower, full stop. Just the gratuitous raw power output with no consideration made for literally anything else — not driving feel, not exhaust note, not handling, not even fun. We're talking pure bragging rights on the dyno, or more realistically, a factory spec sheet that will never be tested outside of an internet forum.
But we did draw exactly one line in the sand. Because this is a list aiming to share the nine highest horsepower cars you can buy, we wanted to make sure that even if "you" doesn't apply to everybody, it would at least apply to more than approximately a dozen billionaires. For that reason, we've considered only cars with an MSRP below $150,000. Sure, you could option most of these out deep into $200,000, but this is a raw horsepower list — not a "horsepower with extended leather" list. The point here is that a person could buy one of these in 2026 for less than $150,000 — and that you don't have to read about 10 cars over $1 million that will never be seen on the road.
Oh, and one other thing. If a car only hits its big number with some sort of launch control mode or overboost or some other peak power shenanigan, that's fair game. Power is power, especially in this context.
Taycan 4S Black Edition: 590 horsepower
If you're already wincing at the realization that a list like this might be nothing but EVs, spoiler alert: it's not. But at the same time, Porsche power is not known for coming cheap, and while you can get to the big numbers elsewhere in the brand lineup without electrification, you aren't getting there for less than $150,000. An entry-level Taycan will bring you just over 400 horsepower, while a Turbo GT model (at over $240,000) surpasses 1,000. But sitting right there in between "so what" power and "way too much money" is the 590 horsepower Taycan 4S Black Edition for $141,000.
It's not going to crack the 2-second barrier like the Turbo GT, but it does get you the upgraded Performance Battery Pack, and that's enough to earn a spot on this list without having to compromise on comfort or refinement. There are more dynamic Porsche driving experiences available for under our price threshold, but you're not going to find one with this much power under the hood ... err, engine bay. Battery pack. Ugh, you know what we mean.
Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray: 655 horsepower
The Corvette E-Ray is Chevrolet's more American alternative to Porsche's 911 Turbo S, which you're not going to find on this list. That's because, despite boasting slightly more horsepower than the E-Ray, you're going to pay an eye-popping $270,300 starting price for the privilege. Alternatively, the E-Ray continues the Corvette tradition of democratizing power and performance, taking supercar styling and design to the masses with 655 horsepower for $108,600.
The fact that this thing even exists feels like a display of confidence from Chevy. On top of bringing its core demographic along for the ride with a wildly successful shift from the iconic front-engine design into a mid-engine layout with the C8, the brand went even further by introducing electrification with the all-wheel drive E-Ray. Interestingly, while the E-Ray has been well-received, few fans seem blown away by the electric side of it, as it doesn't do much to improve gas mileage and has minimal range with the combustion power train switched off. Still, it'll help you get all that horsepower out of the driveway before waking up the neighborhood with an early morning cold start, so there's that.
Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing: 668 horsepower
Welcome to the first entry on this list that brings you the beefy horsepower you crave the old-fashioned way. Cadillac's Blackwing cars are arguably the last combustion-powered sedans that matter, and you can get your hands on one high-powered example for less than a hundred grand. With 668 horsepower for $98,900, the CT5-V Blackwing is the kind of package that we'd honestly like to see more of on this list. It's a luxury sports sedan in the truest sense.
As impressive as all that is, there's another aspect that makes it even more interesting: It's a manual. It's the only manual you're going to find in a modern V8 sedan, and this just might be the last year you can buy it that way – so go ahead and vote with your dollars if you're in a position to do so. We may or may not get a continued reprieve from the end of the era as manufacturers navigate a loosened regulatory environment. Still, all signs point to the CT5-V Blackwing being your last chance for a manual-powered beast like that, whether 2026 is the last year for this configuration or not.
Audi S e-tron GT: 670 horsepower
Despite the "S" and "GT" sprinkled into the vehicle's name, the Audi S e-tron GT is the entry level to the lineup. This means that your $127,700 MSRP nets you 670 horsepower, enough to get you from zero to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. It's exceptionally quick, and yet it has all of the comfy amenities you'd expect from an electric Audi.
At its core, though, it's pretty much a slightly cheaper and more comfortable Taycan. If you're cross-shopping against the Taycan Black Edition that opened this list, you'll get 80 more horsepower in the bargain. While the more expensive performance variants of the car can boast being the fastest, most powerful production Audis of all time, this one is certainly no slouch. And as the only all-electric Audi that isn't an SUV, it's the only one from the manufacturer that you're going to find on this list.
Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack: 670 horsepower
With 670 horsepower and a base price of $73,985, the Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack gets you into the high horsepower game for significantly less money than anything else on our list. On one hand, it's an EV that makes for a convincing muscle car cosplay. On the other hand, when you mash the gas pedal (sorry, "accelerator pedal"), it's going to leave some internal combustion romanticism behind in light of the 3.3 second zero-to-60 time and a quarter-mile time of under 12 seconds.
However you feel about it, Dodge has indeed declared the Scat Pack "the world's quickest muscle car." Even though that's based on its own definition of what "muscle car" even means anymore, we have to concede that if anyone gets to decide the issue, it's probably the guys who are still out there making Hellcats. Though we'll also point out that if engine sounds are a big part of an experience like this for you personally, the Daytona Scat Pack leans pretty hard into the theater of synthetic noise that's audible both inside the car and out. For better or for worse, folks will definitely know you're coming.
Chevrolet Corvette Z06: 670 horsepower
The E-Ray wasn't the only Corvette to slip under this list's price cap. For an MSRP of $120,300, you can get not just a gas-powered Corvette, but a Z06 making 670 horsepower. E-Ray aside, you could certainly also get pretty far down in the weeds weighing the difference between the Stingray and the Z06, but ultimately, the comparison ends when you get to how the Stingray doesn't even crack 500 horsepower from the factory.
On top of being a horsepower bargain, perhaps more than anything else on this list, the Z06 is also a performance bargain. Road & Track used words like "astonishing" and "more special than cars that cost three times as much." Car and Driver called it "a value world-beater" that effectively took pages from higher-end competitors like Porsche and Ferrari. Honestly, it's so good at so many things above and beyond our "raw horsepower" premise that it almost makes us question whether it should be on this list at all.
BMW M5: 717 horsepower
Plenty would argue that the BMW M5 invented the sports sedan segment. Today, though, people continue to debate whether recent modern versions have lost their way. Since the M5's weight has been criticized for generations, you could certainly make the case that BMW has engineered some of the sport out of its sport sedan. But you don't have to take a side on that debate to acknowledge that we're still talking about something that delivers an incredible 717 horsepower out of the box for $123,300.
The model is also all-wheel drive with an eight-speed automatic, and it weighs more than 5,000 pounds – all facts that you will find amusingly difficult to locate on BMW's product page for the M5. (It's a plug-in hybrid, too, which the brand acknowledges with less coaxing.) You can call it progress or you can call it sacrilege, but you can't call it underpowered. If you insist on internal combustion, this is also the point of the list where you can go no further. It's all electric from here.
Lucid Air Grand Touring: 819 horsepower
We've made our way to the obscenely powerful electric car portion of our list. And, just to get this out of the way, the Lucid Air Grand Touring might be the greatest EV ever sold. It's fantastic at many things, and when it comes to raw power, it stretches close to topping this list with 819 horsepower and an MSRP of $114,900. At this trim, second only to the Lucid Air Sapphire (that'll run you more than $100,000 more), you'll get from zero to 60 in three seconds flat. Assuming you're not doing that over and over, you can also get up to 480 miles of range.
You don't need to step up to the preposterous power of the Sapphire to see the Air as the ultimate example of what electrification means for cars: tons of power with no compromise needed. With the Air, you can set the cruise control and make your way silently down the highway as calmly as comfortably as any everyday GT. It's only when you unleash all that power that you'll suddenly find yourself accelerating faster than a McLaren F1 – with no regard for the fact that you're also in a well-appointed luxury car. Even if you're a gas-powered purist, it might just be time to get used to this sort of thing.
Tesla Model S Plaid: 1,020 horsepower
Tesla was really the first company to unabashedly lean into hypercar horsepower numbers from an otherwise reasonable sedan. Even the Plaid nomenclature is itself a bit of deliberately over-the-top whimsy, a reference to "going plaid" at super speeds in the movie "Spaceballs." Cute packaging aside, the Model S Plaid lands firmly atop our mountain of value-priced power with 1,020 horsepower for $109,490.
In addition to giving you the higher-output tri-motor, the Plaid package will also get you some exterior styling, improved aerodynamics, and sports seats. You might notice that there are a couple of extras missing from what you might expect for a higher-priced vehicle trim you've upgraded into four-figure horsepower territory — namely, brakes and tires. For that, it turns out that Tesla wants another $15,000 for its Model S Plaid Performance Package, though this will indeed get you upgraded carbon-ceramic rotors with forged-aluminum wheels and performance Goodyears. We're not saying that you necessarily need all that for the occasional straight-line party trick, but it might not be the worst idea. Regardless, we promised a list full of raw horsepower at under $150,000 and made no promises about stopping or turning, so Tesla takes the crown here.
