Today's Oversized SUVs Are Now As Quick As Most '80s Supercars

The 1986 V12 Ferrari 412 was able to make the run in 6.4 seconds, which slotted the car among other performance models from the likes of Maserati, BMW M and Porsche. But how does this time stack up to modern cars? Not too quick if you ask Motor Trend The outlet has taken the average of SUVs from different automakers to find the quickest brand ,and the results they got can blow classic and modern sports cars out of the water.

As rankings go, each SUV was pitted against the rest of the SUV family in a particular automaker’s lineup. A separate engine option constituted another entry into the average pile, and the leaderboard goes a bit like this. Lexus came in last with an average of 7.55 seconds, followed by Ford with 7.35 seconds. Dodge, Jeep, and Infiniti were also over seven seconds, with Lincoln the first to crack the barrier. GMC, Volvo, Mercedes, Acura, Cadillac, and Range Rover all fit into the sub-7.0 second mark but it took Audi to break it with a blistering 5.45 second average. BMW and Porsche were the most impressive of the bunch, with BMW having its rocket SUVs hit 60 mph from standstill in an average of 5.0 seconds and Porsche coming in at 4.55 seconds.

This is indicative of how far automotive performance has come. In 2008 the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder was able to make a 0-100 km/h run in the same amount of time as Porsche’s current SUV average. These wickedly fast SUVs are not only a testament to how far engine technology and SUVs have come, but also to humanity's insatiable need for speed. They are also a symbols of the industry's progress. SUVs were once the paragons of excess and waste. On-road performance was poor, and automakers were more worried about how to get these cars to stay upright in corners rather than how to improve quarter-mile times. My how things change.