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Top 10 Cars That Want to Seriously Harm You

Vukasin Herbez June 23, 2023

Regardless of the horsepower ratings, age or equipment, all cars can be death traps. Even the slowest cars can be as dangerous as the fast ones. However, in the car world, there are some cars that are far more dangerous than others. Whether it is their speed, poor road holding or lack of protection, there are some cars that can kill you. So, if you want to drive them, you have to be extra careful and alert. Keep reading to learn about the top 10 cars that want to seriously harm you.

Porsche 930 Turbo

The Porsche company introduced a new generation they named “930,” featuring the same basic layout. It had a new design and bigger engines, but the real news was the 1975 930 Turbo. Faced with government-imposed restrictions, Porsche needed something to boost power and performance but still retain the normal displacement. Turbocharging proved to be the perfect solution (via Hemmings).

The 930 Turbo provided 260 HP from its 3.0-liter flat-six along with signature air cooling, big rear wing, and wider rear track. It was notorious for its ill-handling capabilities, but it delivered an exhilarating performance at a time when performance cars were non-existent. Also, it started a legendary breed of lighting-fast Porsches.

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Reliant Robin

Mostly unknown to the automotive public outside the United Kingdom, Reliant has been producing cars since the 1930s and three-wheel vehicles since the early ’50s. In 1973, Reliant introduced the Robin, just in time for the oil crisis, which greatly helped their sales. With its 850 cc engine delivering around 50 HP, the Reliant Robin weighed just under 1,102 pounds (via Reliant Motor Club).

That combination made it surprisingly agile and fuel-efficient. However, the three-wheel configuration was tricky in tight turns. In fact, Robins was famous for flipping if the driver entered a curve too fast. Although slow, Robins wasn’t safe at all.

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Bond Bug

As a groovy Kei Car with three wheels from the early ’70s, the Bond Bug is a unique vehicle. Not only does it have a strange wheel configuration, but the top of the body lifts allow access inside. In front, just above the front wheel, there is a small 700 cc four-cylinder engine made of a light alloy capable of producing 29 HP (via Auto Express).

Car - Covini C6W — Photo Credit: Pinterest

You may think that 29 HP is not that much, but because the Bond Bug weighs less than 882 pounds, its performance is vivid. Unfortunately, the stability and crash protection was minimal, making the Bond Bug a dangerous car. It stayed in production for four years, from 1970 to 1974, and they made exactly 2,270 of them.

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Ford Pinto

When Ford introduced it in the early ’70s, the Pinto was popular due to its low price, fairly nice design, and a long list of options. They equipped it with economical four and six-cylinder engines, and the overall quality of the car was decent. However, while engineering the car, Ford left out any protection for its rear-mounted fuel tank. The fuel tank was below the trunk and just behind the rear bumper (via Time Magazine).

On most cars, there is a strong cross-member that protects the fuel tank in case of a crash. However, the Pinto lacked this feature, which became apparent when people started getting killed in fiery crashes caused by leaking fuel tanks. The families of people killed or hurt in such incidents sued Ford, and eventually, the company spent millions settling the court cases.

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Shelby Cobra 427

With a 0-60 mph acceleration time of just 4.3 seconds, the Shelby Cobra 427 was the fastest production car in America in the ’60s. The biggest Ford V8 engine in the lightest roadster body was equally extreme then as it is today. The Shelby Cobra 427 has a 7.0-liter V8 producing around 400 HP in a tiny roadster body that weighs around 2,000 pounds. With around 400 HP in a body so light meant, the Cobra 427 spelled trouble from the moment Ford introduced it (via Car and Driver).

There are numerous reports of fatal accidents and owners crashing their cars as soon as they got them. Unfortunately, this car didn’t have any stability control or electronic aids. It’s just 400 horses and four tires, which makes it one of the deadliest cars they ever produced.

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Ford Explorer

As one of the first popular SUVs, the Explorer from the early ’90s was the typical example of the concept. Big, powerful, luxurious, and capable, it could carry its passengers with ease over any terrain. Or at least it looked like it could. Despite the popularity, the alarming reports of instability and the tendency to roll over plagued the market and car public. The Explorer wasn’t stable at sharp turns and high speeds, causing numerous crashes, deaths, and injuries (via Tire Failures).

Slowly, the story unfolded, and Ford admitted to their concerns regarding stability and road holding. But, Firestone, the tire manufacturer, ensured the Ford engineers that the problems could be solved by defeating the tires below the recommended limit. Ford did that, but the situation got even worse, evolving into a major scandal with Ford and Firestone as the main culprits.

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Yenko Nova 427

In the late ’60s, Yenko became famous for a lineup of high-performance Camaros, Chevelles, and Novas. They featured the 427 V8 engine, which was not available from the factory. Also, all Yenko cars came with a special stripe on the hood and on the sides and the lettering “sYc” for “Yenko Super Cars.”

Chevrolet Chevy II / Nova - Yenko Camaro — Photo Credit: Auto WP

Among those fire-breathing machines, the Yenko Nova was the rarest and produced in just a handful of examples. It debuted in 1970, and Don Yenko put the most powerful Chevrolet engine into the lightest body he could find. However, after initial testing, he decided to stop production since he realized the Yenko Nova 427 was practically lethal (via Motor Trend).

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Ferrari 599 GTO

When Ferrari unveiled the 599 GTB Fiorano, the car community praised its power, handling, and precision driving. It was one of the best front-engine V12 cars Ferrari had ever produced. However, Ferrari knew the 599 GTB had more potential and eventually introduced two crazy versions, the 599 FXX and the 599 GTO. The GTO was a road-going version of the track-oriented FXX featuring a highly tuned V12 engine with 670 HP (via Ferrari).

The car was capable of getting from 0 to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds, topping 208 mph. The secret of its brutal performance was its lightweight body. Ferrari removed all but the bare essentials from the interior and revised the suspension to achieve even better handling. However, the 599 GTO was tail-happy, so drivers would lose control and go sideways in a smoky drift. Also, because of the high-performance nature of the 599 GTO, driving on wet surfaces was an adventure, even at low speeds.

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Toyota Camry

The Toyota company is famous as a manufacturer that pays attention to the quality of its products. So, in 2012, when they made a deal with the U.S. government to pay $1.2 billion to avoid criminal prosecution, the car community realized that even Toyota was covering something up. The thing that Toyota desperately wanted to hide was unintended acceleration on various Toyota and Lexus models due to a faulty part (via Toyota).

In fact, for several years, the company was hiding documents showing that they knew about the problem but decided to do nothing about it. However, when they brought the case to light, Toyota paid all the expenses and settled it out of court. In fact, they recalled 9.3 million cars in one of the biggest recall cases in history.

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Dodge Viper RT/10

When Dodge presented this legendary sports muscle car in 1992, it immediately became an American icon. It had a monster of a V10 engine in the front and a sleek and aggressive body style. With its rear-wheel drive, there was not much to protect you from being killed by the sheer power and wild nature of this car (via Dodge).

The Dodge Viper RT/10 didn’t have an ABS or any kind of traction control, which made it a handful to drive and almost impossible to tame on wet surfaces. That is why so many of them were crushed or damaged due to enthusiastic driving.

These are the top 10 cars that want to seriously harm you. They just show how important it is to do your research before you buy. So, make sure you check the safety features of any car you want to purchase.

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Top 10 Cars That Want to Seriously Harm You

Porsche 930 Turbo

Reliant Robin

Bond Bug

Ford Pinto

Shelby Cobra 427

Ford Explorer

Yenko Nova 427

Ferrari 599 GTO

Toyota Camry

Dodge Viper RT/10

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