The car world’s annual Geneva war dance has come and gone, but shots have been fired and the power struggle has become faster, harder and more amazing than ever. The race to squeeze as much power, as much prestige and as much desirability into the supercar elite has stepped up a gear.
Ferrari, fresh from its turbocharged adventures with the California T, has got serious with the 488 GTB. Lamborghini has done what it does best and made the already bonkers Aventador even more powerful, and as usual Koeniggsegg has simply stuck two fingers up to everyone – this time with a barely-believable 1,500-horsepower monster.
Aston Martin has sprung a surprise, Porsche has done exactly what we expected it to and Ford has given its sparkly new GT a début appearance in Europe. There’s lots to see and enjoy, so let’s kick off.
Porsche 911 GT3 RS
If age should come before beauty, the 911 has the heritage to make it the most beautiful car in history. Its downforce-biased aerodynamics and road legal semi-slick tyres make it gloriously impractical for shopping, but owners will most likely seek out race tracks pretty often.
Audi R8 V10
The Porsche is slightly outgunned, though, by the new R8 V10 from sister company Audi. Hitting 124mph a second faster than the 911, the all-new R8 has modestly evolved styling and the same compact, purposeful stance we know and love.
Ferrari 488 GTB
Okay, so the R8 simply isn’t fast enough for you. Try the 488 GTB, which thanks to turbocharging sprints to 124mph in a frankly frightening 8.3 seconds – that’s 2.6 seconds faster than the 911 GT3 RS. It’s also stunningly beautiful, so while they might end up a common sight on the Mediterranean coast, we won’t mind much.
Ford GT
Let’s say you don’t like Ferraris and prefer American muscle. Cheekily dubbed the ‘LaFord’ in mockery of the LaFerrari, it showcases the best of what Ford can produce in a performance car. And it costs as much as a Lamborghini Aventador.
Lamborghini Aventador SV
Speaking of the Aventador, there’s now a ‘Superveloce’ version – that’s Italian for ‘even faster than it already was’. It funnels 750 rampaging Italian horses to all four wheels and comes only in completely mad colours (probably).
McLaren P1 GTR
Obviously, we all know what it’s like to own a 903bhp British-made missile on four wheels and think it’s simply not fast or thrilling enough on a race track. So McLaren built this track-only special edition for existing P1 owners. Don’t attempt to touch it. It costs nearly £2 million and you’ll be escorted off the stand.
McLaren 675LT
Or, perhaps, sir would like his McLaren track-ready but perhaps not so cash-intensive? In that case step this way. With active aerodynamics for a mighty 660kg of downforce at 150mph, the 675 ‘Long Tail’ is a harder, faster and even more exciting step up from the 650S.
Honda NSX
At long last the new NSX is alive and kicking, although no one outside the factory has driven it yet. Epic performance from mind-scramblingly clever hybrid technology aims to put the wind up a certain red-favouring Italian supercar maker, just as the original NSX did decades ago, and for a fraction of the price. We like.
Aston Martin Vulcan
Say what you like about the entirely horrible DBX concept – the Aston Martin Vulcan is sheer, undiluted brilliance (by which we mean madness). Built for the track only, it has a seven-litre (seven!) V12 engine good for ‘more than 800bhp’ and a power-to-weight ratio greater than those of official endurance racing GT cars.
Koenigsegg Regera
V8 engine? Check. Turbochargers? Check. Electric motors? Three. Gearbox? Actually, no. Doesn’t need one. Its lunatic designers are claiming a total of 1,800bhp (although you can ‘only’ use about 1,500bhp of it at any one time), while 0-250mph takes less than 20 seconds. It’s terrifying – which is exactly what we want from Koenigsegg.