Iconic Cars - Then and now...

 The Aughties was a great decade for people in a hurry: nearly every car got quicker. The five performance icons below quantify the progress. Although we can't condone the average weight gain of seven percent, the 44-percent mean increase in horsepower at least makes us feel better. In our testing, it also makes these cars an average of 1.0 second faster in the 0-to-60-mph sprint and 1.2 seconds faster through the standing quarter-mile. Those are changes any enthusiast can embrace.

BMW M3———————————————————————————————————————————

1999 BMW M3 coupe (above) 0–60 mph: 6.0 sec Standing ¼-mile: 14.6 sec @ 95 mph Curb weight: 3230 lb 2009 BMW M3 coupe (DCT) (above right) 0–60 mph: 4.1 sec Standing ¼-mile: 12.6 sec @ 113 mph Curb weight: 3700 lb

CHEVROLET CORVETTE—————————————————————————————————————

2001 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (above) 0–60 mph: 4.3 sec Standing ¼-mile: 12.7 sec @ 113 mph Curb weight: 3126 lb 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (above right) 0–60 mph: 3.6 sec Standing ¼-mile: 11.7 sec @ 127 mph Curb weight: 3340 lb

FERRARI 360 MODENA AND 430 SCUDERIA————————————————————————————

2000 Ferrari 360 Modena F1 (above) 0–60 mph: 4.6 sec Standing ¼-mile: 13.1 sec @ 110 mph Curb weight: 3291 lb 2009 Ferrari 430 Scuderia (above right) 0–60 mph: 3.5 sec Standing ¼-mile: 11.6 sec @ 127 mph Curb weight: 3069 lb

FORD MUSTANG GT———————————————————————————————————————

1999 Ford Mustang GT coupe (above) 0–60 mph: 5.5 sec Standing ¼-mile: 14.2 sec @ 98 mph Curb weight: 3308 lb 2010 Ford Mustang GT coupe (Track Pack) (above right) 0–60 mph: 5.1 sec Standing ¼-mile: 13.7 sec @ 104 mph Curb weight: 3580 lb

PORSCHE 911 CARRERA————————————————————————————————————

1999 Porsche 911 Carrera (above) 0–60 mph: 4.6 sec Standing ¼-mile: 13.2 sec @ 107 mph Curb weight: 2900 lb 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S (6 M/T) (above right) 0–60 mph: 3.9 sec Standing ¼-mile: 12.4 sec @ 114 mph Curb weight: 3279 lb