What does 0-60 mph mean?

0-60 mph is simply a stopwatch figure: how many seconds a car needs to go from stationary to 60mph under full acceleration. It's become the standard shorthand for how quick a car feels off the line, quoted in reviews, brochures, and arguments in equal measure.

Real-world figures move around more than the quoted number suggests — road surface, tyre grip, temperature, and driver technique all shift the result, so published times are best read as a like-for-like comparison rather than a guarantee. It's the number that gets attached to any supercar conversation almost immediately, for obvious reasons. If chasing that number is somebody's actual hobby, car gifts for men is where that gets rewarded with something for the wall.

Written by Craig Fearn, Petrol & Ink.