In this guide

The quarter mile is the oldest benchmark in performance cars: 1,320 feet from a standing start, timed to the thousandth. This guide covers what counts as a good time, what every line on your time slip means, and what the numbers say about where your car is gaining or losing time.

Last updated 7 October 2026.

What’s a good quarter-mile time?

The trap speed column is what a car with that ET would typically cross the line at, based on the same power-to-weight maths our quarter mile calculator uses.

Quarter-mile benchmarks
Class1/4 mile ETTypical trap speedAt an NHRA track
RelaxedEconomy cars and base enginesover 16 sunder 85 mphBasic tech inspection
Average street carFamily cars and crossovers14.5 to 16 s85 to 94 mphBasic tech inspection
Brisk street carWarm hatches, sport sedans13 to 14.5 s94 to 105 mphCheck your track’s rules
QuickSports cars, V8 coupes11.5 to 13 s105 to 119 mphCheck your track’s rules
Very fastSupercars, tuned street cars10 to 11.5 s119 to 136 mphRoll bar from 11.49 s
Race car territoryHypercars, drag buildsunder 10 sover 136 mphFull roll cage

For scale, Chevrolet ran the Corvette ZR1X through the quarter in 8.675 seconds at 159 mph on a prepared strip, and Car and Driver’s own test on an ordinary surface recorded 8.9 seconds. A handful of production EVs and hypercars now run in the 8s.

Is a 10, 11 or 12 second quarter mile fast?

Yes, all three are fast for a car you can drive on the street. For comparison, the family cars and hybrids in Car and Driver’s recent tests, from a Toyota Camry hybrid to a Honda Civic, ran the quarter mile in 15 to 17 seconds. Here’s what each bracket means.

12 seconds: quick

Sports-car pace. A Porsche 911 Carrera T, Toyota GR Supra, BMW M340i and Ford Mustang GT all ran 12s in testing. Under NHRA rules a convertible already needs a roll bar from 13.49 seconds.

11 seconds: very fast

Where the quickest electric family cars and all-wheel-drive sport sedans sit: a BMW M3 Competition xDrive ran 11.0 and a Tesla Model Y Performance 11.5. At 11.49 or quicker, NHRA rules call for a roll bar.

10 seconds: supercar territory

The Porsche 911 Turbo S, McLaren Artura and Corvette Z06 run 10s, and so does a three-row Lucid Gravity SUV. In most street-based cars, NHRA rules call for a roll bar here and a full cage from 9.99 seconds or 135 mph.

Under 10: hypercars and race cars

Car and Driver timed a Ferrari 296 GTB at 9.7 seconds at 150 mph. A handful of production cars now run 8s, as the Corvette ZR1X above shows. At the far end of the scale, a Top Fuel dragster no longer runs the full quarter: it races 1,000 feet in about 3.6 seconds, as our Top Fuel dragster guide explains.

Cars that run 10s, 11s and 12s

Fifteen road-tested cars, from Car and Driver’s instrumented tests, sorted by elapsed time. Car and Driver subtracts a one-foot rollout, as US magazines do, so a first run at your local strip will usually be a little slower.

Tested quarter-mile times of 10, 11 and 12 second cars
CarBracketQuarter milehpWeight
Porsche 911 Turbo S (2021)AWD, dual-clutch. Tested by Car and Driver10s10.1 s @ 137 mph6403,646 lb
McLaren Artura (2023)RWD plug-in hybrid, dual-clutch. Tested by Car and Driver10s10.3 s @ 140 mph6713,443 lb
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (2023)RWD, dual-clutch. Tested by Car and Driver10s10.5 s @ 131 mph6703,666 lb
Lucid Air Grand Touring (2022)AWD electric. Tested by Car and Driver10s10.7 s @ 132 mph8195,212 lb
Lucid Gravity Grand Touring SUV (2026)AWD electric. Tested by Car and Driver10s10.9 s @ 131 mph8285,912 lb
BMW M3 Competition xDrive (2023)AWD, automatic. Tested by Car and Driver11s11.0 s @ 124 mph5033,929 lb
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N (2025)AWD electric. Tested by Car and Driver11s11.1 s @ 123 mph6414,849 lb
Kia EV6 GT (2025)AWD electric. Tested by Car and Driver11s11.2 s @ 125 mph6414,906 lb
Porsche Taycan 4S (2025)AWD electric. Tested by Car and Driver11s11.2 s @ 125 mph5905,143 lb
Tesla Model Y Performance (2026)AWD electric. Tested by Car and Driver11s11.5 s @ 122 mph5104,438 lb
Porsche 911 Carrera T (2025)RWD, manual. Tested by Car and Driver12s12.0 s @ 118 mph3883,355 lb
Toyota GR Supra 3.0 (2021)RWD, automatic. Tested by Car and Driver12s12.1 s @ 117 mph3823,347 lb
BMW M340i xDrive (2023)AWD, automatic. Tested by Car and Driver12s12.2 s @ 112 mph3823,988 lb
Ford Mustang GT (2024)RWD, manual. Tested by Car and Driver12s12.5 s @ 114 mph4863,947 lb
Nissan Z Performance (2023)RWD, automatic. Tested by Car and Driver12s12.7 s @ 115 mph4003,592 lb

What the table shows. All-wheel drive dominates: four of the five 11-second cars are electric, because instant torque to all four wheels makes for a hard launch. Trap speed tells the power story. The rear-drive McLaren Artura traps 140 mph, 3 mph more than the 911 Turbo S, yet its ET is 0.2 seconds slower, most likely because a rear-drive car can’t use all its power off the line. That’s the “good trap, slower ET” pattern explained below. And weight isn’t everything: the 5,912 lb Lucid Gravity, with 828 hp, runs 1.6 seconds quicker than the 3,947 lb Mustang GT.

To estimate what your own car will run, enter its horsepower and weight in the quarter mile calculator. To go the other way and estimate horsepower from your trap speed, use the horsepower calculator.

Reading your time slip, line by line

  • R/T, reaction timeFrom the green light (or the last amber, on some trees) to the car leaving the starting beam. It’s not part of your ET. A negative number means you left early: a red light, and the round is lost.
  • 60 ftTime to cover the first 60 feet. The clearest measure of launch quality, and the number most racers work on first.
  • 330 ftAn early split that shows how the car pulls through first gear and the first shift.
  • 1/8 mile ET and MPHTime and speed at 660 feet. Many local tracks finish here.
  • 1,000 ftA late split, used on shorter tracks and for tuning the top end.
  • 1/4 mile ET and MPHElapsed time from the start beam to the finish at 1,320 feet, and trap speed measured through a short speed trap just before the line.
  • Dial-in and win lightIn bracket racing you predict your ET. Run quicker than your dial-in, a breakout, and you lose, even if you crossed first.

ET vs trap speed: what each tells you

ET is the whole run

It includes the launch, every shift and the power. A great launch can take tenths off without adding a single horsepower.

Trap speed is the power

By the finish the launch matters much less, so trap speed follows power-to-weight closely. That’s why estimating horsepower from trap speed is more reliable than from ET.

Good trap, slow ET

Your car has the power but is losing time off the line. Look at the 60-foot: wheelspin, bogging or a late shift.

Good ET, low trap

A great launch is carrying a car that’s short on power, or the engine is running out of breath at the top of a gear.

Turn your slip into horsepower

Enter your weight and trap speed or ET, or estimate a time from horsepower.

Quarter Mile Calculator

What’s a good 60-foot time?

Roughly: a stock street car on street tires runs 60-foot times in the low 2-second range, a well-launched sports car or AWD car in the high 1s, and cars on drag radials or slicks in the mid 1s. Racers often say each tenth saved in the 60-foot is worth about 0.15 to 0.2 seconds at the finish, because a better launch carries more speed all the way down the track.

1/8 mile vs 1/4 mile

An eighth-mile ET is roughly 64% of the quarter-mile ET, and eighth-mile speed about 80% of the trap speed. To estimate a quarter mile from an eighth, multiply the ET by about 1.56 and the speed by about 1.25. The 1/8 to 1/4 mile calculator converts in both directions, with factors for different cars and a full conversion chart.

Safety rules as you get quicker

Drag strips run NHRA or similar safety rules, and the requirements grow with your ET and speed. Under NHRA rules, a roll bar is required in cars running 11.49 seconds or quicker (13.49 in a convertible). A full roll cage is required from 10.99 seconds or above 135 mph, although full-bodied cars with an unaltered firewall and floor may keep the roll bar down to 10.00 seconds. For most street-based cars, that makes the cage mandatory at 9.99. Helmets and other gear are also required as cars get quicker, and rules change, so check with your track’s tech inspectors before you go quick.

How to improve your ET

  1. Tires first. Drag radials or even correct pressures and warm tires cut wheelspin more cheaply than anything else.
  2. Practice the launch. Find the launch rpm that gives slight, controlled wheelspin, or learn your car’s launch control.
  3. Lose weight. Empty the car, run less fuel, and leave passengers behind.
  4. Go when the air is good. Cool, dry, low-altitude air makes more power. Racers track density altitude for this reason.
  5. Shift at the right point. Shift where the next gear gives more wheel torque, which isn’t always at redline.

Key takeaways

  1. Under 14 seconds is quick for a street car; under 12 is fast; under 10 is race-car territory.
  2. In Car and Driver tests, sports cars run 12s, all-wheel-drive sport sedans and performance EVs 11s, and supercars 10s.
  3. Reaction time isn’t part of your ET.
  4. ET shows the whole run; trap speed shows the power.
  5. The 60-foot time is where most gains hide.
  6. NHRA requires a roll bar from 11.49 seconds and a full cage in most street-based cars from 9.99 or 135 mph.

For the 0-60 side of the same question, see what counts as a good 0-60 time.

FAQ

What is a good quarter-mile time for a street car?

Under 14 seconds is quick, under 12 is fast and under 10 is race-car territory. Most family cars and crossovers run 14.5 to 16 seconds.

Is a 12 second quarter mile fast?

Yes. It’s sports-car pace: a Porsche 911 Carrera T, Toyota GR Supra and BMW M340i all ran about 12 seconds in Car and Driver testing, while family cars and hybrids need 15 to 17 seconds.

What cars run a 10-second quarter mile?

In Car and Driver testing, the Porsche 911 Turbo S (10.1 s), McLaren Artura (10.3 s), Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (10.5 s), Lucid Air Grand Touring (10.7 s) and Lucid Gravity SUV (10.9 s).

Does reaction time count in the quarter-mile ET?

No. The ET clock starts when the car leaves the starting beam. Reaction time is measured separately and only decides who wins a side-by-side race.

Why is my trap speed good but my ET slow?

Trap speed mostly reflects power, while ET also depends on the launch. A strong trap with a slow ET usually means wheelspin, a bog or a slow 60-foot time.

When do I need a roll bar at the drag strip?

Under NHRA rules, from 11.49 seconds in most cars and 13.49 in convertibles. A full roll cage is required from 10.99 seconds or 135 mph, or from 9.99 seconds in full-bodied cars with an unaltered firewall and floor. Check with your track, as local requirements vary.

How do I convert an eighth-mile time to a quarter mile?

Multiply the eighth-mile ET by about 1.56 and the eighth-mile speed by about 1.25. It’s a rule of thumb; the quarter mile calculator does it for you.