The 4 Deadliest And Fastest New Cars You Can Buy Right Now

Which vehicles are the deadliest to drive? According to recent calculations by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there are four models you should be aware of if you are buying a new car.

What are the vehicles with the highest driver death rates? Recent calculations by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reveal four sports cars with the highest casualty rates. 

The IIHS says the latest driver death rates are based on fatalities from 2018 to 2021 for vehicles from the 2020 model year and earlier models with the same designs and features. The numbers represent the estimated risks for 2020 models. Still, the data include models from as far back as 2017 if the vehicles have yet to be substantially redesigned over the intervening period.

The rates include only driver deaths because all vehicles on the road have drivers, but not all have passengers or the same number of passengers. The number of deaths is derived from the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Registration data come from IHS Markit.

Four vehicles with the highest driver death rates

The IIHS says six of the 21 vehicles with the highest driver death rates for the model year 2020 are variants of the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, and Ford Mustang, while eight others are small cars or minicars. 

IIHS President David Harkey said, “The muscle cars on this list highlight that a vehicle’s image and how it is marketed can also contribute to crash risk.”

Auto manufacturers often show videos and promotional images of these vehicles going fast down the highway or burning the rubber off the tires with smoke billowing from underneath the car. They are trying to appeal to buyers who like speed. And it works. 

Three Dodge muscle cars (variants of the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger) with excessively high driver death rates also rank among the worst performers regarding other-driver deaths, suggesting these vehicles are driven aggressively.

The IIHS report says seven of the vehicles with the highest other-driver death rates also rank among the worst for driver death rates: the Dodge Challenger two-wheel-drive, Dodge Charger two-wheel-drive, and Dodge Charger HEMI two-wheel-drive.

Are you looking for the safest new vehicles?

Eighteen of the 23 vehicles with the lowest driver death rates are minivans or SUVs, and 12 are luxury vehicles. The Subaru Outback SUV/crossover has the lowest driver-death rate of any midsize wagon or minivan. You can read the Outback safety report here. 

According to recent calculations by the IIHS, variants of the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, and Ford Mustang are the deadliest cars you can buy right now. They are also the fastest. 

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Denis Flierl brings over thirty years of combined auto industry and automotive journalism experience to Torque News readers. He is an accredited Rocky Mountain Automotive Press (RMAP) member. The last twelve years have been spent with Torque News, covering Subaru vehicles and the latest news. Check back daily for his expert Subaru analysis. You'll find the latest stories on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

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Photo credit: Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet