To the surprise of many, exotic luxury sports cars – often called supercars – have seen their market share grow around the world and here in North America. Our continent in fact figures among the principal markets for this automotive segment.
So what exactly is an exotic luxury sports car? It begins with an impressive design based on aerodynamics borrowed from automotive racing and even from aeronautics. Add to the recipe engine power that nowadays sits somewhere between 500 hp and 1,000 hp, which translates into top speeds in the neighbuorhood of 340 km/h. For the most part the engines producing these performances are V10s or V12s, many have multiple turbos and use exotic materials like carbon fibre that help reduce weight (always a top priority with these types of cars). A common element across the board is the exceptional engineering involved.
Reviews that inspire dreams…
Over the past few months, our Auto123.com contributors had the opportunity to review some of these dream cars. Check out what they had to say (besides “wow”)!
2017 Audi R8 V10 Plus
2016 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster
2016 Aston Martin DB9 GT Volante
2016 Bentley Continental GT Speed Cabriolet
2016 Lamborghini Huracán LP 580-2
2017 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S
2015 Porsche 918 Spyder
2017 Porsche 911 GTS
2016 Mercedes-AMG GT S
2016 McLaren 570S
2015 McLaren 650S
2017 Nissan GT-RT
Towards a hybrid and electric market…
No manufacturer of exotic sports cars is indifferent to the hybrid and electric-car markets. Recent auto shows have seen a number of brands announce strategies that should produce concrete results by the end of the current decade.
Bentley unveiled its EXP 12 Speed 6e concept, while Porsche produced a video of the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid meeting up with the 919 Hybrid in the streets of London. As for Ferrari, the celebrated Italian carmaker chose the occasion of the 2016 Paris Motor Show to introduce its new LaFerrari Aperta, a convertible equipped with a 950-hp hybrid V12.
What’s coming in the supercar segment, in videos
A day at the wheel of the McLaren 570GT makes for a must-see video.
Same for the launch of the Lamborghini Aventador S at the track in Valencia, Spain, this past January.
Don’t miss the official unveiling of the Pagani Huayra Pearl.
Discover Swedish manufacturer Koenigsegg’s vision of the exotic sports car.
Oh, and let's not forget the otherworldly Bugatti Chiron, shown here during a test drive with soccer megastar Christiano Ronaldo.