If you’re reading this in the library, you might want to pick another article… because this time, we’re going full throttle with some of the loudest factory cars on Earth! Add an exhaust tip to any of these rides and you’re looking at a Metallica concert meets my girlfriend when she’s angry… sorry…
But that’s barely even a joke! One of the cars on our list is literally as loud as a live rock show, and that’s off the factory floor! Get your earplugs ready, because we’re going to go through the loudest factory cars of all time!
2011 Ferrari 458 Italia – 95 decibels
The 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia is the quietest ride on our list, but don’t get it twisted, this Italian Stallion revs up ear-shattering levels of sound. I’m talking a whole 95 decibels when you go pedal to the metal, and send power surging through its direct-injection 4.5-liter V8. This exotic sport coupe is track-ready, revving 570 horsepower at 9,000 RPMs.
If you want to get an idea of how loud this 458 Italia really is, go stick your ear next to a belt sander and you’ll get the picture. Or, you know what, probably don’t do that…
2006 Saleen S7 Twin Turbo – 96 decibels
What makes the 2006 Saleen S7 Twin Turbo so loud? Well, you guessed it, those twin turbochargers, along with a ridiculous amount of displacement in that 7-liter V8. These are straight-up street-legal race cars, and they sure sound like they belong on the race track, blasting out 96 decibels when they go full throttle and rev up all 750 horses.
For comparison, the highest standard range of a CD is 96 decibels. So, go hop in your Prius, put a CD on full blast, and pretend you’re sitting in a 2006 Saleen S7 Twin Turbo…
2016 McLaren 570S – 97 decibels
The 2016 750S is what some might call an entry-level supercar, originally sold at the affordable price of almost $190,000. This car is perfect for the semi-rich and semi-famous who want some F1 technology in their stable.
But while this car is more affordable than some other McLarens, it’s actually the second loudest car that the British automaker ever built. Hitting 97 decibels when it’s pushed to its limits, the 2016 570S sings fined-tuned music out of its dual exhaust, giving any listeners a sense of the 562 horsepower going on under the hood.
2016 Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV – 97 decibels
Now, let’s just make it clear that the Aventador, in whatever trim or model year you get one, turns it up to 11. But the loudest of all these boomboxes is the 2016 Aventador LP750 SV, which drops 97 decibels when you max out the gas.
This beast pushes 740 horsepower out of a massive 6.4-liter V12 and is capable of hitting top speeds of 220 miles per hour, which makes sense, since the SV stands for “Super Veloce”. But we’d like to think it stands for “Screaming Voice”, because that’s exactly what this car does.
2015 Porsche 918 Spyder – 97 decibels
While a lot of German brands emphasize a quiet and comfortable ride, Porsche has been putting out absolute screamers for years, which is why they’re the only German marque to make it onto this list.
The 2015 918 Spyder can crank up to 97 decibels. This model year of the 918 Spyder was capable of generating a staggering 887 horsepower out of its big V8, which was hooked up to two electric motors! Who said electric cars were quiet? This is not your Prius hybrid that won’t wake up granny.
2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 – 97 decibels
Coming in a dead tie with the later Aventador LP750 SV, the Gallardo LP560-4 also sings at 97 decibels. This might have something to do with that mean 5.4-liter V10, outfitted with a direct injection system that Lamborghini got some help from Bosch to develop.
The noise coming out of those four tailpipes is as loud as an entire nightclub so you can drown out the DJ when you pull up in all that Italian style. The suffix LP560-4 refers to its power output, 560 PS, and the four-wheel drive system. This whip is ready to race.
2015 Ferrari LaFerrari – 98 decibels
Rumbling in at 98 decibels is the 2015 LaFerrari, Ferrari’s rear-wheel drive supercar with an MSRP of over $1.4 million. This is truly the top quality sound that money can buy. Hidden under the hood is a 6.3-liter V12 capable of generating 788 horsepower at 9,000 RPMs, and 98 decibels of music to my ears.
If you want to hear that sweet exhaust note every morning on your way to work, and you have the $1.4 million to shell out, you might still be out of luck. There are only 499 LaFerraris on the planet, with no plans from Ferrari to make any more. However, you might want to hit up Lewis Hamilton, he isn’t driving his anymore…
2019 McLaren 720S Spider – 99 decibels
The 2019 720S Spider took the hard-top 720S and made it even louder. And just so you could hear that twin-turbo’d V8 purring at full volume, they chopped the roof off.
The Spider is 108 pounds heavier than the coupe version, but performs just as well on the test track, hitting top speeds of 202 miles per hour with the top down. Imagine flying at those kinds of speeds, feeling the wind whipping on your face, and hearing all 99 decibels of that 710-horsepower engine. Now that is truly a sensory experience.
2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 – 99 decibels
The 2019 Corvette ZR1 will put the fear of God in you when you rev it’s engine. This mean machine is packing a 6.2-liter LT5 hooked up with a supercharger and an Eaton blower, and is capable of generating an asphalt-shattering 715 pound-feet of torque that will terrify and excite you at the same time.
Stomp on the pedal of a 2019 ZR1 and listen to a symphony of power blast out of the four exhaust tips at 99 decibels, and that car will blast off to 60 miles per hour in just 3 seconds. This isn’t your 200-horsepower C3 Corvette. The ZR1 is a force to be reckoned with.
2018 Lamborghini Huracán Performante – 100 decibels
This is the first car on our list to crack the 100 decibel mark. And to give you a little bit of perspective, the sound of a fully-revved 2018 Huracán Performante is as loud as a Bell J-2A helicopter, a jackhammer, or a jet taking off from 1,000 feet away. I don’t even know how you can think about driving one of these without earplugs.
As if the Huracán wasn’t perfect enough already, Lamborghini decided to make the Performante with even more power, better aerodynamics, and better performance tires than the base Huracán. The 2018 Performante is just about the polar opposite of a commuter car.
2017 Ford GT – 100 decibels
From a first glance at the 2017 Ford GT, you’d probably assume that there’s no way in hell it’s a street-legal vehicle. In fact, this car was developed around the same time and with the same design in mind as the Ford GT that won its class in the 2016 Le Mans. But unlike the racing-spec GT, you can pull this car out of the factory and terrify your neighborhood with 100 decibels of deafening sound. Or you know, be respectful and go to a car meet…
The 2017 GT hides an angry twin-turbo’d 3.5-liter V6 under the hood, and unlike a most other forced-induction engines, this one is seriously loud.
2019 McLaren Senna – 102 decibels
The 2019 McLaren Senna, a car worth over $1 million dollars, is the absolute finest in British engineering. Named after legendary F1 driver Ayrton Senna, this speed machine was built with race-ready aerodynamic features that let it get all the way up to 208 miles per hour. Well, that and the 789-horsepower twin-turbo V8, which sounds like a jungle cat growling into a bullhorn.
The 2019 Senna clocks in at 102 decibels when you give it all it’s got, that’s exactly as loud as the New Orleans Superdome during the 2010 NFC Championship. Probably not the best car to have a casual conversation in…
2009 Ferrari 430 Scuderia – 104 decibels
Any attempt at deadening the sound of the 430 Scuderia’s 4.3-liter V8 was clearly tossed out the window when Ferrari built the 2009 model. This car tips the scales at 104 decibels when you go full throttle. That’s louder than a freaking jet airplane flying directly over your head. Sorry, Bose, but those noise cancelling headphones don’t stand a chance.
Scuderia translates from Italian to English as “stable”, because that’s exactly what this car’s got under the hood: a whole 503 horses beating down on the pavement. It seems like Ferrari really did try to make this car as loud as possible, so if you’re looking for a quiet ride, the 2009 430 Scuderia ain’t for you.
2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS – 108 decibels
Now, any 911 certainly makes some nice noise when you get it rocking, but that’s a mere whisper compared to the 2016 911 GT3 RS. Remember how I mentioned the Metallica concert at the very beginning of this article? Well, at 108 decibels, the GT3 RS is literally as loud as your average live rock show. This car’s got a 4-liter flat six that, when you smash that pedal to the floor, creates a sound similar to the Earth splitting in two.
And the GT3 RS isn’t just loud, it’s a serious piece of engineering. It’s lightweight and built to carve edges and shave lap times. Hey, you might go deaf while driving it, but you’ll sure be going fast!
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