Back in 1975, the then all-new Porsche 911 Turbo, with its voluptuous flared fenders and whale-tail rear spoiler, set the benchmark in supercar performance. Powered by a 3.0-liter, air-cooled turbocharged flat-six engine developing 260 hp, it could sprint to 60 mph from standstill in 5.5 seconds.
Lavish, load-hauling SUVs are dominating the current market, doing so with engines developing at least twice that early Porsche’s output while being able to blast from zero to 60 mph in under 3.8 seconds. Put that original 911 Turbo up against, say, the all-electric, 830 hp GMC Hummer SUV, and that Porsche would be left in the dust. Today’s coolest, fastest, most powerful, and utilitarian performance machines are SUVs. And unlike that 911 Turbo, they can even play in the dirt. Here’s our top ten models in the category by ascending order of output.