The 500-hp club

Petrol heads, continue to rejoice: Car manufacturers have not ignored your cries for high-powered cars and trucks. Despite tightening emissions regulations and rising fuel costs, automakers are building an increasing number of vehicles putting out at least 500 horses.

Based on our research, there are over 80 cars sold in the United States that deliver these burnout-inducing numbers (not including tuners such as Mosler or Callaway). That's up about 10 cars from the list we did last year.

Each automaker takes its own approach to supplying adrenaline junkies with 500-plus hp, whether through massive turbochargers, supercharging, or just sticking to naturally aspirated goodness.

Cars such as the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG shun forced induction but can still churn out 563 hp of V8 power.

Then there are cars such as the Nissan GT-R that rely on turbochargers (two in that case) to produce an output of 545 hp from its 3.8-liter V6. The Bugatti Veyron uses four turbochargers to power its 16.4-liter W16 engine to produce 1,200 hp (for the Super Sport and Grand Sport Vitesse models).

Superchargers power up the likes of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1, which pumps out 638 hp from its 6.2-liter V8.

We're also seeing an increasing use of hybrid technology in high-powered supercars, with the forthcoming Porsche 918 Spyder and the Ferrari LaFerrari (not on sale yet) both producing over 850 hp using a combination of electric and gasoline-powered motivation.

Our list features not only cars, but trucks as well, some of which might do surprisingly well on the track. Manufacturers like BMW produce their X5M and X6M models, which both produce 555 hp from a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8. Land Rover also produces the supercharged Range Rover, which achieves 510 hp.

Then there are the hyperexotics, such as the Koenigsegg Agera and the Pagani Huayra (pronounced “why-ra”). The Agera reaches Bugatti territory, with its twin turbo 5.0-liter V8 producing an outrageous 1,140 hp. The Huayra, produces 700 hp from its AMG-sourced, twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12.

Horsepower does come at a price, though: The cheapest member of the 500 club is the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, stickering at $54,350. For the other cars, you'll have to have even deeper pockets.

Below is our list of the notable production cars that arrive with 500 hp or more. They are organized by horsepower from least to greatest; you'll notice some manufacturers grouped together if they use same engine.

Bask in all of this list's high-powered glory and feel free to sound off below on which ones you want, or already have, in your garage.

500 Club

Audi A8 W12, 500 hp, $134,500

Porsche Cayenne Turbo/Turbo S, 500 hp-550 hp, $110,400/$146,000

Bentley Continental GT, 500 hp-616 hp, $163,401-$217,000

Chevrolet Corvette Z06, 505 hp, $76,945

Chevrolet 2013 Corvette 427, 505 hp, $91,320

Bentley Mulsanne, 505 hp, $296,000

Mercedes-Benz CL600, 510 hp, $160,300

Land Rover Range Rover Sport Supercharged, 510 hp, $63,495

Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged, 510 hp, $83,545

Jaguar XFR, 510 hp, $83,200

Jaguar XJ/XJL SuperSport, 510 hp, $112,600-$155,000

Mercedes-Benz S600, 510 hp, $160,300

Aston Martin DB9, 510 hp, $183,700

Aston Martin V12 Vantage, 510 hp, $180,600

Jaguar XKR (coupe and convertible), 510 hp, $97,500/103,500

Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG, 518 hp, $96,100

Audi S8, 520 hp, $110,000

Porsche Panamera Turbo/Turbo Executive, 520 hp, $141,300

Porsche 911 Turbo/Turbo S, 520 hp-560 hp, $148,300/$181,000

Audi R8 V10, 525 hp, $170,545-$184,045

Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG, 530 hp, $145,800

BMW 760Li Sedan, 535 hp, $140,700

Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG, 536 hp, $134,300

Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG, 536 hp, $140,000

Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG, 536 hp, $153,000

Nissan GT-R, 545 hp, $99,590

Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Wagon/Sedan, 550 hp-585 hp, $95,000

Jaguar XFR-S, 550 hp, $99,000

Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG, 550 hp, $116,925

Jaguar XKR-S (Coupe and Convertible), 550 hp, $132,000/$138,000

Jaguar XKR-S GT, 550 hp, $174,000

Jaguar XJR, 550 hp, $116,000

Lamborghini Gallardo, 553 hp-562 hp, $191,900-$248,000

BMW X6 M, 555 hp, $92,900

BMW X5 M, 555 hp, $88,850

Cadillac CTS-V (sedan/wagon/coupe), 556 hp, $64,515

Ferrari 458 Italia, 558 hp, $233,859-$257,412

BMW M5, 560 hp, $90,200

BMW M6, 560 hp, $109,200

BMW M6 Gran Coupe, 560 hp, $113,000

BMW M6 convertible, 560 hp, $115,500

Audi R8 GT, 560 hp, $196,800-$210,300

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT, 563 hp, $199,500

Rolls-Royce Ghost, 563 hp, $256,650

Aston Martin Vanquish, 565 hp, $279,995

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, 580 hp, $54,350

McLaren MP-4 12C, 592 hp, $239,400

Bentley Flying Spur, 616 hp, $200,500

Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG, 621 hp, $213,200

Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG, 621 hp, $212,240

Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG, 621 hp, $212,000

Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, 638 hp, $114,595

SRT Viper, 640 hp, $97,395-$121,000

Ferrari FF, 651 hp, $295,000

Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 (coupe and convertible), 662 hp, $54,800/$59,800

Lamborghini Aventador, 700 hp, $387,000

Pagani Huayra, 700 hp, $1.5 million

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, 730 hp, $326,000

Koenigsegg Agera, 960 hp-1,140 hp, $1.5 million-$1.7 million

Bugatti Veyron, 1,001 hp, $1.3 million

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport, 1,001 hp, $1,980,000

Bugatti Veyron SuperSport, 1,200 hp, $2,426,904

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, 1,200 hp, $2.6 million

By Max Gilles