1901 - 53 mph (85 km/h)
The Mercedes 35 hp reached 53 mph (85 km/h) in 1901.
1903 - 60 mph (96 km/h)
A couple of years after the Mercedes 35 hp's record, its derivative, the Mercedes 60 HP, reached 60 mph (96 km/h).
1948 - 160 mph (257 km/h)
It took 45 additional years to reliably and consistently double the Mercedes 60 HP figure, and achieve 120 mph (193 km/h). The 1948 Jaguar XK120 achieved precisely that speed in mid 1948.
The first production Ferrari was launched in 1948 as well, using a shared engine from their V12 Grand Prix cars. The 410 Superamerica reached over 257 km/h (160 mph) in late 1948.
1962 - 185 mph (298 km/h)
The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO consistently reached 185 mph (298 km/h), but it could hardly be considered a production model. Very few were built, mainly to allow Ferrari to homologate it for racing. GTO means "Gran Turismo Omologato", a denomination later borrowed by Pontiac.
1966 - 170 mph (274 km/h)
In 1966 the Lamborghini Miura also had an astonishing speed of 170mph (274 km/h), but fell short of taking the fastest production car title.
1971 - 170 mph (274 km/h
In 1971 the Australian Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III took the record for the fastest four door producion car which it held until 1997
1994 - 231 mph (372 km/h)
In 1994, the McLaren F1 reached a speed of 231 mph (372 km/h), using the factory rev limiter limiting the engine to 7500 rpm.
List
Rows in italics indicate modified production cars. With the exception of those set onward from the record set by the Jaguar XJ220, all records are manufacturer's claimed top speed.
Note that various limited-production or one-off cars are rumored to have reached speeds higher than the current record, such as the Lamborghini Diablo VT Twin Turbo (410 km/h at 9 psi turbo pressure)[1] or the Callaway Corvette Sledgehammer (409.91 km/h)[2], however these tests did not meet requirements and so have not qualified for new records.