Ranking The Last V8 Performance Sedans By Their 0-60 Times

The reports of the death of sedans may be (somewhat) exaggerated, but the death of the V8 sedan is truly imminent. Where the once great, powerful cruisers used to cover every street corner, today the last vestiges of such models are almost exclusively found in the performance space. These are the best of the best, the cream of the crop when it comes to performance vehicles. They’re here to bathe you in luxury and press you firmly into your seat when you hit the accelerator, all the while sounding fantastic while doing it.

We’ve compiled a list of ten of the last V8 performance sedans on the market, ranked by the wicked 0-60 MPH sprints they’re capable of. The only prerequisites are that they have four doors and eight cylinders under the hood, and, given the state of the industry, that means nearly every one of these models sits firmly in the six-figure category. These aren’t luxury cars for the faint of heart but rocketships on wheels. If mashing the throttle doesn’t scare you a little, is it really a performance car?

10 2024 ​Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance: 4.4 seconds

The Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance is as interesting as its name is long. It’s an aberration, an enigma; whoever convinced the executives at Lexus to cram a V8 under the hood of the brand’s compact-luxury performance sedan in 2024 deserves their own parade. It’s a real luxury muscle car with the looks and moves to show for it. The only real downside (besides the price) is the lack of refinement of the eight-speed transmission. A quicker shifting DCT would have been better here, and of course, we always dream of a six-speed manual. If you like what you see, we recommend grabbing one fast because we don’t see this one surviving for much longer.

9 2024 Bentley Flying Spur S: 4.0 seconds

We aren’t sure what percentage of Bentley Flying Spur drivers actually drive the vehicle they own, but we’re sure the percentage of Flying Spur S owners is higher. A vehicle this large shouldn’t be able to move as quickly or adeptly as it does, but thanks to the optional twin-turbo V8 under the hood, you can rocket this 5,500 lbs vehicle to 60 MPH in just 4 seconds flat. It can corner, too, thanks to the Bentley Dynamic Ride suspension that can easily change the attitude of the vehicle on the fly. The only thing that could make this car better is the 771 horsepower hybrid V8 out of the new Continental GT, which we expect to arrive in due course.

8 2024 Audi S8: 3.8 seconds

The Audi S8 doesn’t really get the love it deserves. It’s an attractive, sleek full-size luxury sedan that can very easily fly under the radar thanks to its subdued looks. Still, under the hood, you have the brand’s powerful 4.0-liter V8 setup and 563 horsepower at your disposal. It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, which may be your cup of tea or maybe not, but when you can shoot to 60 MPH in just 3.8 seconds, there’s no arguing with its performance. When CarBuzz drove it, we fell in love with its plush cabin and extremely comfortable ride thanks to its fancy trick suspension, and if you’re looking for something with power to soak up the miles, it’s definitely worth a look.

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7 2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing: 3.4 seconds

The first 2025 model on this list is one of our all-time favorites. The CT5-V Blackwing is the best combination of good-old American V8 power and Luxury ever conceived, and for 2025 the luxury is getting even better thanks to a myriad of updates inside and out. The basic performance formula stays the same, which means you still receive a supercharged V8 that sends 668 horsepower to the rear wheels only. Oh, and a six-speed manual is standard, making it a unicorn in today’s automotive landscape. It’s 0-60 mph time may not be the best, but the sedan is rip-roaring fun and a great deal compared to the vehicles it’s going up against.

6 2025 BMW M5: 3.4 seconds

The upcoming 2025 BMW M5 is a technological marvel, boasting the first Plug-In Hybrid powertrain in the model’s history that sends over 700 horsepower to all four wheels. This makes it the most powerful M5 of all time, but that performance comes with the catch that it’s also the heaviest M5 ever produced, coming in over a thousand pounds heavier than the previous model at 5,390 lbs. This comes with the unfortunate drawback of making the upcoming M5 slower to 60 MPH, doing the deed in an estimated 3.4 seconds compared to the 3.2-second sprint of the previous model. While this isn’t ideal, it’s possible the model will do better once independent outlets get their hands on it.

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5 Audi RS7 Performance: 3.3 seconds

Audi has done a phenomenal job of keeping the RS7 competitive throughout its second generation. First debuting in 2017, the model has been on sale in the US since 2018, making it one of the older sedans on this list. However, you’d be hard-pressed to tell that from its blistering performance, fantastic looks, and exceptional luxury amenities. For 2024, Audi unveiled the Performance version of the model, and its wagon sibling, which bumped power up from 591 hp to 621 hp. Thanks to this extra power and weight deficit over the M5, the model still beats it to 60 MPH, at least on paper. It’s one of the best-performance sedans currently on sale, one we sincerely doubt you’d regret purchasing.

4 2024 Mercedes-AMG S63 S E Performance: 3.2 seconds

If you want ultimate luxury and performance, it’s impossible to overlook the 2024 Mercedes-AMG S63 S E Performance. Also debuting as a new model for 2024, the new vehicle uses the platform of the previous S63 but marries it with a highly advanced plug-in hybrid powertrain derived from technological advancements made by the company’s Formula One team. The system was created to offer consistent performance on the track, and now it makes its way into a 5,500+ lb luxury barge that will spend most of its time chauffeuring the world’s richest individuals. The company says it will hit 60 MPH in just 3.2 seconds, but many believe the model will do it even faster.

3 2024 BMW M8 Competition Grand Coupe: 3.0 seconds

The M8, in all of its iterations, is an attractive vehicle, and it benefits from the brand’s exquisite S63 V8 engine that offers incredible performance no matter the package. It’s a tad harsher than some would expect. It doesn’t necessarily have the sharpness attributed to M’s very best models, but don’t let that fool you into thinking this vehicle isn’t capable of such truly impressive things. While BMW claims it will shoot to 60 MPH in just 3.0 seconds flat, independent outlets have found it capable of much faster sprints, making it a genuine rocket that should please any buyer.

2 2025 Porsche Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid: 3.0 seconds ​

When you want performance, Porsche always delivers. The plug-in hybrid version of the brand’s sedan was unveiled for the 2025 model year just a few months ago, and a version of it has already claimed the combustion sedan record at the Nürburgring. We assume that was the even more powerful Turbo S model yet to be revealed, but even the non-S version is extremely capable, despite “only” producing 670 hp and 685 lb-ft of torque. Compared to other models on this list, this isn’t particularly special. Still, the advanced hybrid setup gives it fantastic performance, and many already believe the estimated numbers released by the company are conservative.

1 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance 4-Door Coupe: 2.9 seconds, 195 mph

If you thought Mercedes wasn’t going to cram this hybrid setup into as many of its top models as possible, you’re crazy. This company believes hybridization is the key to modern-day performance, which is why the same setup that’s in the S63 can be found in the AMG GT 63 S E Performance 4-Door Coupe. Since this is more of a performance-focused model compared to the S class, it has more horsepower but, interestingly, a tad less torque. This doesn’t appear to hurt its performance whatsoever, as it has a claimed 0-60 MPH sprint of just 2.9 seconds, putting it in the same league as some of the greatest performance vehicles on sale today.