We’ve been using the word fastest to describe the best-performing rides tested by Consumer Guide in the past. The word we really should be using is quickest. Technically, a fast car has an impressive top speed, and without a test track, and situated in the Chicago suburbs, top speed was never a metric CG attempted to measure.
Quick or fast, the most impressive performing rides of 1984 were doing okay. Most of the vehicles that made our list reached 60 mph from a stop in less than ten seconds, and all of them came in under 11 sec.
We’re reporting on 12 cars here because we had a three-way tie for tenth place—and three more different vehicles you will rarely find grouped together. One is a pricey German convertible, one an American personal-luxury coupe, and one a lightweight sport sedan.
As always, these are the fastest (or quickest) cars evaluated by Consumer Guide in 1984, hence the asterisk. There are certainly higher-performing vehicles that slipped through our fingers, and we regret not being able to report on them here. (And we suspect the editors at the time regret not having been able to drive them.)
As always, we invite you to share any experiences you might have had with the cars on this list. The place to leave your thoughts is below the last vehicle.
Chevrolet Corvette: 7.3 Seconds
Body Type Tested: 2-door coupe
Curb Weight: 3117
Engine: 205-horsepower 5.7-liter V8
Transmission: 4-speed automatic
Axle Ratio: 3.07:1
Power-to-Weight Radio: 15.2:1
Chevrolet Camaro Z28: 7.8 Seconds
Body Type Tested: 2-door coupe
Curb Weight: 3195
Engine: 190-horsepower 5.0-liter V8
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Axle Ratio: 3.73:1
Power-to-Weight Radio: 16.8:1
Ford Mustang SVO: 8.2 Seconds
Body Type Tested: 2-door coupe
Curb Weight: 2987
Engine: 175-horsepower turbocharged 2.3-liter four
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Axle Ratio: 3.45:1
Power-to-Weight Radio: 17.1:1
Jaguar XJS: 9.0 Seconds
Body Type Tested: 2-door coupe
Curb Weight: 3980
Engine: 262-horsepower 5.3-liter V12
Transmission: 3-speed automatic
Axle Ratio: 2.88:1
Power-to-Weight Radio: 15.2:1
Nissan 300ZX: 9.0 Seconds
Body Type Tested: 2-door coupe
Curb Weight: 3016
Engine: 160-horsepower 3.0-liter V6
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Axle Ratio: 3.70:1
Power-to-Weight Radio: 18.9:1
Porsche 944: 9.2 Seconds
Body Type Tested: 2-door coupe
Curb Weight: 2778
Engine: 143-horsepower 2.5-liter four
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Axle Ratio: 3.89:1
Power-to-Weight Radio: 19.4:1
Mazda RX-7: 9.4 Seconds
Body Type Tested: 2-door coupe
Curb Weight: 2390
Engine: 100-horsepower 1.1-liter rotary
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Axle Ratio: 3.91:1
Power-to-Weight Radio: 23.9:1
Plymouth Horizon: 9.7 Seconds
Body Type Tested: 4-door hatchback
Curb Weight: 2175
Engine: 96-horsepower 2.2-liter four
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Axle Ratio: 2.20:1
Power-to-Weight Radio: 22.7:1
Chrysler Laser: 9.7 Seconds
Body Type Tested: 2-door coupe
Curb Weight: 2550
Engine: 142-horsepower 2.2-liter four
Transmission: 3-speed automatic
Axle Ratio: 3.02:1
Power-to-Weight Radio: 17.8:1
BMW 318i: 10.2 Seconds
Body Type Tested: 2-door coupe
Curb Weight: 2360
Engine: 101-horsepower 1.8-liter four
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Axle Ratio: 3.64:1
Power-to-Weight Radio: 23.4:1
1984 Ford Thunderbird: 10.2 Seconds
Body Type Tested: 2-door coupe
Curb Weight: 3191
Engine: 140-horsepower 5.0-liter V8
Transmission: 4-speed automatic
Axle Ratio: 3.08:1
Power-to-Weight Radio: 22.8:1
1984 Mercedes-Benz SL380
Body Type Tested: 2-door convertible
Curb Weight: 3640
Engine: 155-horsepower 3.8-liter V8
Transmission: 4-speed automatic
Axle Ratio: 2.47:1
Power-to-Weight Radio: 23.5:1
