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Koenigsegg CCR clocked 241mph

In fact, for today's supercar to grab the headlines nearly is not enough. It needs to pass the 200mph marker – preferably with plenty to spare.

Stuart Milne looks back at ten cars capable of the double ton.

Bugatti Veyron - 253.2mph

The Veyron is an incredible tour de force of modern engineering – and it has to be because it was designed to be the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive car in history.

Bugatti's masterblaster has a huge 8-litre W16 engine – like two V8 engines welded together – fed by four turbochargers. All this adds up to 1,001bhp, although there is some variation in the actual figure – Bugatti say it could be anywhere up to 1040bhp.

The Veyron was championed by former VW boss Ferdinand Piëch, who wanted a €1 million (£830,000) supercar – despite costing around £5 million per car to build.

Crazy idea, crazy car.

A Veyron clocking 0-210mph in a blink of an eye

Koenigsegg CCR – 241mph

The CCR from bonkers Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg might have only been the world's fastest for three months, but it put them well and truly on the map.

It clocked 241mph at the Nardo Prototipo circuit in Italy – the same track which saw the Veyron and McLaren F1 set their own records.

Based on the CC9S, the CCR produces 806bhp thanks to a revised supercharger and exhaust system. It has a pair of doors which open upwards too; and although they don't help the car go faster, they look fantastic.

Koenigsegg CCR on its world record-breaking run

McLaren F1 – 240mph

Hailed by many as the greatest supercar of all time, the BMW-engined three-seater held the record for the world's fastest production car for an incredible eight years.

The record was contested by attempts after the Callaway Sledgehammer Corvette, Dauer-Porsche 962 and German Porsche tuner 9ff all went faster – but officials maintained the Woking-built missile was the only proper production car.

Designer Gordon Murray – who designed several world championship-winning F1 cars – said his creation wasn't meant to be the fastest; rather than ultimate drivers' car.

Andy Wallace smashing the world record in an F1

Jaguar XJ220 – 217mph

It might have been powered by an engine from a Metro (granted – it was the Group B 6R4 rally car), but the big Jag smashed its way into the record books in 1992 at Nardo.

Incredibly the car only came into existence after a team of engineers created a group called the Saturday Club to work on fun – and fast – projects. Jaguar bosses got wind of the car and commissioned a prototype.

The production model was built by Tom Walkinshaw Racing, who ran Jag's race car team, and was built at a factory near Oxford.

Crank up the sound and check out the glow from this XJ220's turbo

RUF CTR Yellowbird – 214mph

It might look like a late 1980s Porsche 911 on the surface, but RUF modify the sportscars from Stuttgart so much they're actually different models in their own right.

The Yellowbird was RUF's finest moment for many years – the £114,000 supercar was a 469bhp handful. With all that power blasting through the rear wheels, and a tail-happy chassis thanks to an engine slung behind the rear axle, it takes a brave driver to pilot one quickly.

RUF could either build a Yellowbird to order or by taking a customer's 911 and bringing it up to spec, but either way, it was a fully-fledged Ferrari beater.

Opposite lock heaven - a Yellowbird on a sensational eight minute lap of the Nurburgring

Bugatti EB110 – 209mph

Before the Veyron rewrote the rulebook on how to be stupidly quick, the Bugatti EB110 was the car for the well healed to tear up the streets in.

Unveiled exactly 110 years after Ettore Bugatti's birth (hence the name), the EB110's status as one of the most exotic Italian supercars of all time was assured.

As outrageous as the styling is, the performance is even more so. Apart from the 209mph top speed, it can sledgehammer its way to 62mph in just 4.5 seconds. For those seeking ultimates, there's a SuperSport version, which can crack 219mph and reach 62mph in a breath over three seconds.

Superstar car with a rock star soundtrack

Ferrari 599 Fiorano – 205mph+

GT cars used to mean a slightly slower and more comfortable version of their more hardcore siblings. But not any more.

The 599 is a masterclass of technological might. The beautiful styling gives little away to its potential – to the untrained eye it looks like the 199mph 612 Scaglietti, but its far more than that.

Under the bonnet is the same basic engine as Ferrari fitted to the Enzo, and at 620bhp, it’s the most powerful series production Ferrari ever made. Ferrari claim a 0-62mph time of 3.7 seconds – not bad for a 1.6 tonne car.

Michael Schumacher hooning in a 599

Ford GT – 205mph

It's difficult to recreate a legend; but Ford managed it with the GT. Subtly updating the look of the 1960s GT40, Ford perfectly tapped into the retro car scene when it pulled the covers off the GT in 2002.

The GT is powered by a 5.4-litre supercharged V8, so it came as no surprise when Ford said it would pass the 200mph marker.

Ford had the GT placed even higher in the minds of performance car fans after Jeremy Clarkson sweated and metaphored over it when it appeared on Top Gear. Shortly afterwards he bought one and dubbed it "the most unreliable car ever made" after a string of fairly minor problems.

A Ford GT doing what its supposed to do

Kleemann E 55 K – 205mph

Danish Mercedes tuning gurus Kleeman smashed the world record for a four-door saloon car in 2002 at the hands of touring car racer Jason Watt.

Kleeman snatched the title from Brabus with an average speed of 205mph; although the E-Class's speedo needle managed to bend to a top speed of 210mph for a short time.

Incredibly, the 607bhp E 55 K weighs almost two tonnes – half a world away from the carbon fibre lightweight supercars it rivals in the performance stakes.

The fastest E-Class you'll ever see on a drag strip

Ferrari F40 – 201mph

The Ferrari F40 is one of the most desirable Ferraris of the modern era. It might have done without any creature comforts – the windows don't wind down and there are no carpets – but performance is scintillating. And it makes an incredible noise.

It was the first production car to crack 200mph which quickly made people forget it still shared plenty of components with the 1984 288 GTO.

In the 1980s – which was a boom time for supercar buyers – F40s were changing hands for £1 million, despite costing around £250,000 new.

Ferrari F40 on a rolling road – one of the world's finest sounds

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