What's the Difference Between a Megacar and a Hypercar?

Megacars vs. hypercars: what even are they?
Written by Andrew Kidd
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Automakers and enthusiasts like to throw around some pretty lofty terms to describe their favorite vehicles—whether they drive them themselves, watch their favorite YouTube influencers drive them, or just have a poster hanging on their garage wall.
But few of these terms evoke a sense of ridiculous performance, G-inducing acceleration, and eye-watering speed like "
hypercar
" and "megacar."
What do those terms mean and what exactly falls into those categories?

What is a hypercar?

A hypercar is a vehicle that is essentially a high-performance supercar. Supercars date back to the 1960s with the release of high-performance vehicles like the Lamborghini Miura and Shelby AC Cobra 427.
Current hypercars are a more recent (and more powerful) invention, with the Bugatti Veyron being considered the first true hypercar when it was unveiled in 2005.
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What is a megacar?

According to
Business Insider
, a megacar is essentially a vehicle that's more powerful than a hypercar, which itself is a more powerful model than a supercar.
The idea of a "megacar" was introduced in 2015 when Swedish automaker Koenigsegg unveiled the 1,500-horsepower Regera, which retailed at a laughably reasonable $1.9 million.
The Regera, being the original megacar, means its performance outstrips all previous hypercars on the market. 
Per the
automaker
, the Regera combines its 1100-horsepower 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine with a 700-horsepower/525 kW electric motor to produce a total output of 1,500 horsepower.

Is there a strict definition?

Not really, no. But
CarThrottle.com
makes a much better attempt at defining the terms. 
It notes that it's easiest to define megacars and hypercars by their output; hypercars typically have at least 800 horsepower, a 0-to-60 time of under 3 seconds and a top speed between 215 and 270 mph. They can be hybrids as well.
Megacars, on the other hand, are cars that can produce more than 1 megawatt of power (or 1,340 horsepower).

What are some current hypercars?

You'll probably see some familiar names here. More recent hypercars include the Pagani Huayra, the McLaren P1, the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Lamborghini Veneno.

What are some current megacars?

The list of megacars is a bit smaller than for hypercars and supercars, but it includes vehicles like the aforementioned Koenigsegg Regera, the Koenigsegg One:1, and the Bugatti Chiron. They can also be electric, as Croatian automaker Rimac has demonstrated.
Rimac is probably best known for its $2.4 million Nevera electric megacar, which can go from 0-to-60 mph in 1.85 seconds and produces 1,914 horsepower and 1,740 lb.-ft. of torque from its four electric motors. 
The Nevera can reach a top speed of 256 mph, per the automaker's website, and the automaker predicts a maximum range of just over 340 miles from its 120 kw/h battery.

I want one!

Cool, now you just need to save up for one. As mentioned above, the all-electric Nevera megacar from Rimac costs $2.4 million. The Pagani Huayra hypercar had a base price of around $3.5 million, while the Bugatti Chiron megacar is a more modest $3 million.

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