0-60 calculator
Enter a car’s weight and horsepower, which wheels drive it and its tires, and the calculator runs it from a standstill to 60 mph and on through the quarter mile. Or enter a quarter-mile time to convert it to 0-60.
Estimate a 0-60 time
0-60 mph
3.30 s
Tesla Model Y Performance, simulated on a dry street.
- 0-100 mph7.57 s
- 60 ft1.91 s
- Quarter mile11.49 s @ 121.9 mph
- Average to 60 mph0.83 g
- Car and Driver tested (street)3.3 s
Classic formulas, from weight and power only
- Lucius (243 road tests)4.59 s to 60 mph
Estimates for a good launch and clean shifts on a mild day. Real runs vary with the driver, the weather and the track.
0-60 mph: 3.30 s
The spec-sheet curb weight plus about 165 lb for you. Power is the rated figure at the engine (not at the wheels), or the motors’ combined rating for an EV.
How the calculator works
In our simulations most of the fast cars here are held back by grip below about 60 mph, not by power: the tires can only push as hard as the weight on them allows. That’s why an all-wheel-drive EV can beat a more powerful rear-drive car to 60, and why the calculator simulates the run instead of using power and weight alone.
The simulation runs the car down the strip a thousandth of a second at a time: its torque through the gears, how hard its tires can push with the weight that shifts onto them, the launch, each shift, rolling resistance and air drag. Pick a car from the list and it uses that car’s full spec, fitted to its road test. Enter your own and it builds a typical car of that kind around your weight and power. Times start once the car has rolled its first foot, as on a drag strip and in magazine tests, and the trap speed is the average over the last 66 feet.
For comparison it shows the formula Jeff Lucius fitted to 243 Road & Track tests, with weight as curb weight plus 200 lb:
0-60 time = 0.3218 × (weight ÷ hp) + 1.6876
And from a quarter-mile time, his fit to the same tests:
0-60 time = 0.0876 × ET² − 1.4508 × ET + 8.6149
How close is it?
We gave the calculator only what it asks for (weight, power, drive, engine, gearbox and tires) for 11 cars with published instrumented tests. Its simulated 0-60 times were off by 6.1% on average. The weight-per-horsepower formula was off by 40.1%: fitted to road tests up to 2008, it runs well behind the modern fast cars here. Pick one of these cars in the calculator and it uses that car’s full spec, fitted to its test to within 3%.
| Car | Weight, power | Tested | Simulated | Formula |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMW M4 Competition | 4,070 lb, 503 hp | 2.8 | 2.97 | 4.29 |
| BMW M3 Competition | 4,090 lb, 503 hp | 2.8 | 2.98 | 4.30 |
| BMW M2 (auto) | 3,980 lb, 473 hp | 3.5 | 3.67 | 4.40 |
| BMW M2 (manual) | 3,920 lb, 473 hp | 3.9 | 3.89 | 4.35 |
| Model Y Performance | 4,600 lb, 510 hp | 3.3 | 2.98 | 4.59 |
| Model Y Long Range | 4,590 lb, 397 hp | 3.9 | 3.89 | 5.41 |
| Cybertruck AWD | 6,800 lb, 600 hp | 3.9 | 3.78 | 5.33 |
| Cyberbeast | 7,070 lb, 834 hp | 2.6 | 2.86 | 4.42 |
| Model S Plaid | 4,990 lb, 1,020 hp | 2.1 | 1.98 | 3.26 |
| Rimac Nevera | 5,240 lb, 1,914 hp | 1.74 | 1.94 | 2.57 |
| Honda Civic Sport | 3,070 lb, 158 hp | 8.8 | 8.01 | 7.94 |
More calculators
Tested times and mods, car by car
Questions
Why do electric cars get to 60 so quickly?
Their motors give full torque from a standstill and there are no gears to shift, so they push at the limit of their tires from the first moment. Traction control holds the tires right at that limit.
Does the 0-60 time include rollout?
It leaves it out, like Car and Driver’s road tests: the clock starts once the car has rolled about its first foot, as on a drag strip. Car and Driver’s own footnotes put that at 0.2 to 0.4 second off a time from a dead stop.
How much do tires matter?
A lot, on cars with more power than grip. In our simulations, most of the fast cars here are held back by their tires below about 60 mph, not by their engines. Switch the tires in the calculator to see the difference on your car.
What is 0-100 km/h?
100 km/h is 62.1 mph, so a 0-100 km/h time is a little longer than a 0-60 mph time. Switch the calculator to metric units to see it.
What is the quickest 0-60 time here?
The Rimac Nevera’s 1.74 seconds, from Rimac’s record session, timed by Dewesoft. Car and Driver timed a Tesla Model S Plaid at 2.1 seconds and a Cybertruck Cyberbeast at 2.6.