Five of the fastest hire cars for a really rapid road trip across the USA
Do you feel the need for speed? Then make your next fly-drive holiday fly by when you rent one of the most high-performance hire cars in the USA.
We’ve stuck with the big players in the rental game for this list, but there are plenty of smaller specialists who’ll supply you with a supercar (and charge super prices), while you can also find some pretty amazing machinery on Turo and other platforms where owners put their motors on the market.
Ford Mustang
For 60 years Hertz has been renting the fastest Fords and to celebrate this milestone it’s just added the most powerful Mustang Shelby GT500-H to its fleet. This 900 horsepower muscle car is available in Atlanta, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco and Tampa. Pick a fastback or convertible and burn rubber for $399 a day.
Tesla Model S
If you’ve ever watched the videos on YouTube you’ll know that even a 900-hp Mustang is probably no match for a Tesla in a drag race. So if you want to rent the most rapid machine commonly available in the USA you should probably seek out a Model S. Budget, National, Avis, Sixt, Enterprise and Hertz all have Teslas on their books from $199 per day.
Chevrolet Corvette
It’s no longer little, but you might be in luck and get a red Corvette at Enterprise. It doesn’t look like they stock the latest mid-engine C8, but the C7 is no slouch, with 455 horses under the hood and a 0-60 time of just 3.8 seconds. Prices are around $230 per day.
Dodge Challenger R/T
When it comes to bang per buck then, appropriately, Budget has perhaps the best dollar/hp deal we could find, offering the 375-hp Hemi V-8-powered Dodge Challenger R/T from as little as $108 per day.
Porsche
Even if you’re not on a risky business trip you might feel that there is no substitute for a Porsche when it comes to pure performance. Luckily Hertz has a prime selection of Porkers in its Dream Car collection. Only the all-electric Taycan is off the menu - as long as you’re willing to pay the Porsche premium.