The Greatest Sports Cars of the 21st Century

A stroke of brilliance occurred in 2005 when Volkswagen added the R32 V6 to its Golf model lineup. In 2007, it came stateside as a three-door (two doors plus a hatchback) model with a limited production run of 5,000 examples, and was available only through 2008. Sporty but understated—no spoilers or boy-racer nonsense—it’s powered by a 247 hp, 3.2-liter V-6 engine, is shifted through a dual-clutch automatic gearbox, and features all-wheel drive. While not as powerful as some of the contemporary competition, it’s a competent and luxurious little coupe that was popular then and has become a hot collectible today. — Robert Ross

There were tons of startup sports car manufacturers in the years before the Great Recession, all of them fantastically extravagant. It should be little surprise that the KTM X-Bow came out just as the bubble was about to burst, debuting only a few months before Lehman Brothers went bankrupt. With the driver almost totally exposed in the carbon fiber chassis, these trackday specials were hyperminimal and almost completely unconcerned with practicality. About as close to a motorcycle as possible, they came from Austrian bike manufacturer KTM. — Raphael Orlove

The Murciélago has never been subtle. Everything about the Diablo’s successor connoted “industrial strength,” from the hand feel of the shifter to the heft of the clutch pedal. Most examples, however, were equipped with the electronic paddle-shift e-Gear system, antithetical to the persona of Lamborghini’s last, great old-school supercar. The suspension was more supple than one had a right to expect, because really, the LP640 was all about its 6.5-liter, naturally aspirated V12 engine that produced 640 hp and revved gloriously to 8,000 rpm. Just under 4,000 examples of all Murciélago variants were made from 2002 to 2010, with the LP-640 and LP-640 Roadster built from 2006 until the end of the model run. — RR

Alfa Romeo’s 4C Coupé was unveiled in 2013 and built at the Maserati factory in Modena through 2019. A Spyder version was introduced in 2015 and made until  2020, when the 4C took a final bow. With only about 9,100 units made, the 4C has since become a very collectible piece of Alfa Romeo history. Its construction was as exotic as any supercar’s, featuring a monocoque tub, with carbon fiber body panels to keep the car’s weight below 2,500 pounds. The mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout used a 1.75-liter, turbocharged inline-4 engine that made 237 hp and shifted brilliantly through a 6-speed, twin-clutch automatic transmission. A curb weight of just 2,487 lbs made the 4C one of the most brilliant-handling sports cars ever. — RR

When AMG started tuning its tuner cars with the Black Series, it only had already-existing Mercedes models to work with. They were fantastic, but always a little compromised. The Mercedes-AMG GT was the first car designed from the ground up by AMG, and the resulting Black Series was a monster. It’s a front-engine sports car that will break 200 mph. Unhinged. — RO

The original Boxster was a brilliant turn for Porsche, taking the company back to something small and retro. Being fast wasn’t as important as being fun. But Porsche is a company of hot rodders, and couldn’t leave it alone, steadily ramping up performance. Even so, the 2019 718 GT4 was a shock with a 4.0-liter flat six. The junior car had gotten seriously adult. It made sense. The 718 of the 2010s had gotten about as big as a 911 of the 1990s. — RO

The S/T is an interesting sidebar in the history of the 911. First, Porsche made all of its GT3 911s more and more extreme. Then it backed them off with the R and then the Touring. And then it ramped them back up again with the S/T, sharp and loud and raw to drive, just without the look-at-me stripes and wings you don’t really need on a back road. Of the latter 911s, this might be Goldilocks. — RO

The DB9 ushered Aston Martin into the 21^st century. A fresh design by Ian Callum and Henrik Fisker, it was initially powered by a 450 hp, 5.9-liter V-12 engine that grew in output over the model’s 12-year run. It was the Robb Report 2005 Car of the Year winner for good reason, establishing an entirely new design language for the marque that is still evident in the current models. It was also a modern car—not an adaptation of Jaguar’s XK-8, as was its predecessor, the DB7. About 16,500 were made from 2004 through 2016, with the Volante convertible appearing in 2005. Today, these are about the best bargain in the pre-owned exotic arena. — RR

Ford’s GT is perhaps the most significant American GT race car of the 21^st century, winning its class at Le Mans in 2016, 50 years after the Blue Oval’s first overall victory with the Ford GT40. Purpose-built and not long on luxury, its design featured lots of lightweight carbon fiber and a compact 3.5-liter aluminum V-6 that was developed in tandem with Ford’s F-150 Raptor pickup. The first Ford GTs made 647 hp at 6,250 rpm in street trim—upped to 660 hp for 2020—with 550 lbs-ft of torque at 5,900 rpm through a Getrag 7-speed dual-clutch transaxle. The “truck engine that won Le Mans” gave the GT a top speed of 216 mph, with a sub-three-second zero-to-60 time. — RR

When TVR was jamming huge engines into dainty little sports cars in the 1960s, it was standard practice. There were plenty of Shelby Cobras and Sunbeam Tigers to make it seem normal. By the mid-2000s, that kind of context had changed. TVR had become more than a little extreme, and it leaned in with the Sagaris. It was as wild to look at as it was to drive, a celebration of TVR’s straight-six engine developed in-house. It didn’t last long. After building a little over 200 cars, TVR ceased production and hasn’t ever quite gotten going again. — RO

It might look like one of the World Rally Championship Imprezas that Prodrive campaigned with unforgettable success in the 1990s, but the tech in this revival is thoroughly modern. With three highly tuned differentials, cutting-edge software, and a six-speed sequential, it justified the half-million-dollar price Prodrive asked in 2023. Those revisions are not just under the skin – the body has been redone in carbon fiber. — RO

French automakers have a long history of building impeccably-designed hot hatchbacks with jewel-like handling. The Sport Clio V6 of the turn of the Millennium is not one of those cars. Just as it had been with the Renault 5 Turbos of the ‘80s, dropping an engine behind the front seats proved more than even the best engineers could tame. But cars don’t have to be tame to be fun. Dumb in the best way, these were apparently a total handful to drive. — RO

There are faster versions of the mid-engine Corvette, sure, but this is the one with the naturally-aspirated flat-plane crank V8 and RWD. It’s the one that Corvette benchmarked against the great Ferrari 458. It’s the clearest vision of what a Corvette with the engine behind the driver can be. — RO

Few people have driven an XL1, the most fuel-efficient car ever to reach production at 0.9 L/100 km or 260 mpg. VW only made 200 of these carbon-fiber streamliners. I got lucky one afternoon in 2013, and I was shocked at how raw and racy it felt. It makes sense – this car reaches back to the tradition of low-drag efficiency competitions of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Just don’t mistake its fuel efficiency for economy. VW wanted about $150,000 for these things when they went on sale. — RO

Ferrari’s 458 Italia was the Robb Report Car of the Year in 2011. Building on that winning foundation, the 458 Speciale, built from 2013 to 2015, exceeded the limits of any other Ferrari V-8 of the period. It’s powered by what was Ferrari’s most potent, naturally aspirated V-8 engine back then, a mid-rear-mounted 4.5-liter producing 596 hp and winding to a dizzying 9,000 rpm redline. Its incredible 14.0:1 compression ratio remains the highest ever achieved in a naturally aspirated V-8. Extreme and specific in its intent, the 458 Speciale begged the question as to whether most drivers could avail themselves of its capabilities. But as a Prancing Horse for the track, it had no equal in Ferrari’s stable at the time. — RR

The hybrid-electric powered BMW i8 had a shape paying homage to BMW’s iconic M1 supercar of the late 1970s, but with elegant doors designed to fly up and out. Its 50/50 weight distribution and low center of gravity assured great handling, making the i8 a capable and engaging sports car in its own right. Though designed as a 2+2, the cabin was best left to the pleasure of front occupants. Its powertrain was an efficient combination of a rear-mounted twin-turbocharged, 1.5-liter, inline three-cylinder gasoline engine and a front-mounted 131 hp electric motor, delivering a combined output of 362 hp and instant torque. About 20,500 units were made from 2014 to 2020. — RR

For all of its iconic cars, Lamborghini didn’t have an easy time during the ‘80s and ‘90s, getting bought and sold more times than anyone cares to remember. When the current owner, VW Group, stepped in, Lambo got some stability and went on a tear of modern classics. The little jewel that was the Gallardo, was a perfect example. Wider but not much bigger than a VW Beetle, it shoehorned in a wailing V10 and a gated manual transmission. Seek out the Superleggera model, if you can. — RO

You can talk about the brilliance of the NSX’s design and construction, pushing creaky icons like Ferrari and Lamborghini to get their acts together, or discuss its reliability or practicality. But to drive one is to wipe its history from your mind. This is one of the greatest road cars ever produced, with steering that reads the pavement like it’s braille. It hardly changed over its production run. It never had to. — RO

Recently morphed into the MCPura, Maserati’s original MC20, introduced in 2020 and made through 2025, was the first rear-mid-engined Maserati since the rare MC12 built in 2004 and 2005. The latter is essentially a Ferrari Enzo wearing a Trident, a V-12 homologation special that’s a thinly veiled racer. The MC20, by comparison, is a civilized but serious supercar powered by a 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engine called “Nettuno.” Good for 621 hp and a rousing good time, the coupe was the Robb Report editors’ Car of the Year pick for 2023. A retractable-hard-top version called MC20 Cielo (Italian for “sky”), was introduced in 2022, and is essentially the same car for those with a penchant for an open-top experience. — RR

For all of Porsche’s history in endurance racing (and a lone F1 constructor’s win at Rouen ‘62), the 911 has been a titan in the dirt, clobbering rivals all through the ‘70s in the World Rally Championship, and racing with great success through the ‘80s in rally raids. This Dakar version calls back to that history, though it’s probably too expensive for anyone to take off-road. — RO

This was the first of Porsche’s line of mid-engine sports cars to be an RS, with a level of tuning and refinement in line with the best 911s Porsche could build. The highlight is that Porsche routed the intakes up and out the side windows of the car, just behind your ear. The intake noise is all-encompassing. You forget everything else, even how good it drives on the road and track. — RO

Porschephiles may vocally spar as to which is the most interesting modern-era 911, but the 991.2 series GT 3 Touring—built from 2018 through 2019 —often comes out as the one to drive. Smaller by inches than the current 992 series, and with a real analog tachometer to boot, it combines the best attributes of its spoiler-decked GT3 sibling without the “look-at-me” rear wing, suitable for the track but useless for a car pressed into civilian service. The 4.0-liter engine, absent any forced induction, delivers the essence of flat-six excitement, expressed by 500 hp and a scorching 9,000 rpm redline. No Turbo variant, then or now, does that. Available only with a six-speed manual transmission, the GT3 Touring gives an authentic nod to its Porsche patriarch, the 1973 Carrera RS. — RR

The evolution of an evolution of an evolution of an evolution, the “four liter” became a legend the moment it debuted in 2011. The engine and chassis trace their roots back to the mid-1990s, steadily refined year after year until this apotheosis. It is compact and raw in a way that no 911 has ever been since. — RO

By stripping off all the giant wings (and all the bodywork entirely) from your usual trackday specials, Ariel somehow hit on something that was more fun than serious. It worked in ways that its siblings in the Naughties trackday special revival never did. Things like a Radical couldn’t match its vibe. Its lesson is one that automakers are still learning today. — RO

The original Elise was a revolutionary car, made out of bonded aluminum too thin to weld. The second-generation car, by contrast, was an evolution, but a rare sequel that outdid its predecessor. Its electric windows were actually lighter than the old crank ones, and the Yamaha-designed Toyota 1ZZ outdid the old Rover four-cylinder, too. — RO

British marque Caterham Cars Ltd. started building its Caterham 7 in 1973 after acquiring rights for production of the Lotus Seven—that awesome adult go-kart made from 1957 through 1972. As light as 1,200 pounds, the Caterham 7 can be amply powered by any engine short of that from a Briggs & Stratton lawnmower. Dozens of power plants have been used throughout its lifespan, from the same mill found in the Suzuki Hayabusa superbike to small-displacement V-8s, but a classic combination is a Ford Duratec inline-four delivering about 280 hp. Conceived by Lotus-founder Colin Chapman as a race car pure and simple, the Lotus Seven and its spiritual successor the Caterham, proved so successful that the cars have been banned repeatedly for their dominance on the track. All the more reason to want one. — RR

Some enthusiasts cried out that this fifth-generation car wasn’t a real Supra. Under the skin, it shares its platform and engine with the BMW Z4, and it’s built on the same assembly line in Austria. It’s a far cry from its made-in-Japan predecessors. But those complaints wash away when you drive one. They’re weapons when modified for track use, too, and that BMW engine can make big, big power. — RO

The F12 is a funny car. Ferrari already knew that taking the F140 V-12 out of the Enzo and sticking it in a front-engine GT gave it too much power. They figured that out with the 599. What did Ferrari do when it was time to replace that car? They gave it even more power, uprating that F140 engine to 730 hp at over 8,000 RPM. Utterly manic, the F12 is Ferrari at its best. — RO

Unlike the Nissan GT-R R35, built from 2007 to 2025, the first five generations of Skyline GTs were barely exported beyond Japanese shores. The most coveted remains the Skyline GT-R M-Spec Nür (for Nürburgring), the final evolution of the fifth-generation GT-R R34, made from 1995-2002. Nür production reached just 1,003 units, only 285 of which were the ultimate M-Spec version. Setting it apart was the RB26DETT engine, based on Nissan’s N1 racing powerplant. Coupled to a 6-speed manual transmission, the inline 6-cylinder developed about 330 hp, though it was conservatively advertised as having only 276 hp. With its steering wheel on the right side of the dashboard, this rarest of JDM models is the best reason ever to learn how to shift with your left hand. — RR

The Dodge Viper makes any Chevrolet Corvette seem as refined as grandpa’s Cadillac. First-generation Vipers (1991 through 2002) grew marginally more civilized over a decade, but the original cars were essentially rag-top roadsters in the hair-shirt tradition of the Shelby Cobra. The second-generation of the SRT10 ACR (American Club Racer) variant, a coupé built from 2008 to 2010 and powered by a 600 hp V-10 engine, is among the most classic Vipers. By 2013, Dodge’s most potent model was under the SRT (Street and Racing Technology) division. That third and final generation (2013 through 2017) was sophisticated by comparison to its predecessors, although drivers still had to stir their own six-speed gearbox and work a massive clutch pedal. About 32,000 examples of the Dodge Viper in total were made throughout the model’s 26-year run. — RR

Made from 2013 to 2024, the Jaguar F-Type saw many coupe and convertible variants through its long life, with almost 88,000 units made. Ian Callum’s brilliant original design received a facelift in 2021, which, like many facelifts, did no favors for the patient. The pick of the F-Type litter was the F-Type SVR, the fastest Jag since their 212 mph XJ220 supercar of the 1990s. Probing 200 mph territory and playing hardball in the big-cat league, only 1,875 coupés and convertibles were made from 2016 to 2020. The F-Type SVR was a baby supercar, with a 575 hp, 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine and all-wheel drive that tamed the feral handling of the earlier rear-wheel drive F-Types. — RR

Corvette’s head designer has gone on the record saying that the C6-generation Z06 was a problem for his team. When they were developing its supercharged follow-up, the ZR1, they struggled to make it any faster, even with all the added power of a supercharger. The C6 Z06, then, was the car that finally dragged the Corvette into putting the engine behind the driver. That makes it the zenith of the long line of front-engine ‘Vettes. — RO

BMW’s 1 Series M Coupe was one of the most remarkable BMWs ever made. BMW M engineers developed it using plenty of E92 M3 parts, including the 335 hp, 3.0-liter inline 6 engine, 6-speed manual transmission, brakes, and suspension. The broad-shouldered 1M was as wide as the M3 but 10 inches shorter and about 600 pounds lighter. Made for only the 2011 model year, the 1 Series M Coupe was always a rare car, with 6,309 built and just 740 sold in the U.S. It lives in that nether region that separates a collector car from a modern automobile, handily keeping up with the best and brightest of today’s models. As a historic marker for the BMW brand, it’s hard to imagine a car that performs more brilliantly, looks as great, is as reliable, and offers such a pure analog driving experience. — RR

See Also

The Best McLaren V8 Hypercars, Ranked

When it was introduced in 2005, Robb Report called the V8 Vantage “one of those cars that upends the notion that an automaker’s most expensive vehicle is necessarily its most desirable.” Aston’s most accessible model made 380 hp with a 4.3-liter naturally aspirated engine, and after two decades of evolution, today’s Vantage delivers 656 hp from a 4.0-liter twin-turbo, Mercedes-AMG-derived V8. What the Vantage has been from the beginning is the sharpest-handling sports car in Aston’s lineup; a compact two-seater aiming straight for targets like the Porsche 911. And it’s hard to argue that, whatever the vintage, few cars look better than an Aston Martin. — RR

Ferrari started experimenting with hybrid road cars all the way back in 2009, when the Prius was still the butt of jokes. It took a long time for the Ferrari to get its hybrids right, first with the stunning V12 LaFerrari of 2013, and trickling down to this midengine mainstay in 2022. Don’t be fooled by its V6; it sounds incredible, it shares a great deal with the triple Le Mans-winning 499P prototype, and the 296 drives like nothing else. — RO

The original Honda NSX, marketed in America as an Acura, spanned model years 1991 to 2006. All shared a similar appearance, distinguished mostly by pop-up headlamps that replaced fixed units in 2002. The car was years ahead of any competition, with the first all-aluminum unit-body, chassis subframes, and suspension of any production car. Assembled by a team of special technicians at a dedicated facility in Tochigi, Japan, the NSX offered a neurosis-free driving experience on a daily basis. Rear-mid-engined and weighing only 3,153 pounds, the NSX was a relative lightweight. The final cars equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission were powered by a 3.2-liter, 290 hp transversely mounted V6 engine, spooling up effortlessly to an 8,000 rpm redline. — RR

After more than a half-century, the gullwing doors came back with the 2010 SLS AMG, an obvious throwback to the 1955 300SL. The SLS was also the first Mercedes-Benz developed entirely by AMG, which at the time, was the marque’s only sports car with an all-aluminum body, chassis, and engine—a 6.2-liter V-8. Unlike its costly McLaren-built AMG predecessors that over-promised and under-delivered, the SLS was a gimmick-free supercar that could acquit itself as a real-world daily driver. The SLS Roadster was made from 2011 to 2014, and a final Black Series finished the SLS lineup in 2015. Altogether, about 12,000 units of all variants were produced. — RR

A mainstay of drivers looking for a well-mannered powerhouse with stunning but civilized performance, Bentley’s Continental GT has been the perfect stealth supercar ever since its launch in late 2003. The Continental GT Supersports, introduced in 2009 and in limited production through 2011, scratched a more urgent performance itch verging on the indecent. With a 621 hp, W-12 engine and 204 mph top speed, it was the fastest and most powerful production Bentley at the time. All about contrasts, it even jettisoned the rear seats in deference to saving weight. Like a romping rhino, the Supersports skirted the limits of decent behavior with an urge to charge every now and again. — RR

The battery-electric Tesla Roadster sports car, based largely on the mostly unloved Lotus Elise, was launched in 2008 and built through 2012. In retrospect, it’s a brilliant concept and a car aimed at early adopters with a grand vision of a different kind of sports car. That car is good for about 244 miles of EV range on a pack of lithium-ion batteries, and it paved the way for Tesla’s domination of the EV segment ever since. With 248 hp and instant torque, the Roadster scoots to 60 mph in under four seconds with a shiftless (single speed) transmission. It remains a collectible curio today. — RR

We look back on the E46 as the end of an era. Compared to today’s performance cars, it is remarkably analog, but when it debuted, it was a technical marvel. The CSL version of 2003 and 2004 was a high point, with an of-its-time single-clutch paddle shift transmission and advanced engine tech running its straight six engine with individual throttle bodies. Stripped down like a GT3 RS, it was shocking like no M car since. — RO

Since 1969, Nissan’s Skyline GT-R, while never officially available in North America, has been Japan’s most formidable sports car nameplate. In 2007, that car morphed into an all-wheel drive monster and descended Stateside with a vengeance. Simply called the GT-R (no longer Skyline), it earned the nickname Godzilla because of its brutal performance and its appetite for decimating far costlier competitors. The GT-R enjoyed an impressive run through 2025. In 2020, Nissan commemorated 50 years since the first GT-R with the  Nissan GT-R 50^th Anniversary Edition. Under the hood was a 3.8-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 engine assembled by its own master technician, with output bumped to 600 hp in the Track and NISMO Editions. — RR

\When, in 2011, McLaren called its first series-production car the MP4-12C—a fitting name for a robot but not a luxury sports car—some had little hope that the company would survive with such an engineering-driven mentality. Yet that mindset may be a clue as to the marque’s success in the years since. In retrospect, the MP-4 was brilliant, proof of the concept that carbon—not plastics, as proclaimed in The Graduate—was the key to the future. McLaren’s home-brewed 3.8-liter V-8, with twin turbochargers and 592 hp, sired a dynasty of brilliant eight-cylinder mills. The body was by Frank Stephenson, a real designer’s designer. The 12C’s dihedral doors, which swoop up and out as on the McLaren F1, were a pragmatic solution then and a McLaren signature today. — RR

Year after year, Lamborghini churned out faster and more track-focused versions of its “baby” model, the Hurácan, until it looked like it had just peeled off the Mulsanne Straight. In 2024, Lambo took a hard left with this rally raid version, following extensive testing in desert dunes around the globe. There might be faster Hurácans on a race track, but in the real world, the Sterrato is more fun. — RO

The Mazda Miata was a game-changing sports car at its introduction in 1989, when the initial NA series showed the world that a (then) $14,000 roadster could deliver more smiles and entertainment-per-dollar than probably any car ever made. Mazda proceeded to up the ante through four generations, all with the same design brief but made more sophisticated over time. The ND series, launched in 2015, is the modern formula: a lightweight platform + four-cylinder power + few frills = maximum fun. Today, its 181 hp, 2.0-liter engine works wonders in collaboration with a finely tuned chassis, a comfortable cockpit, and an endearing design. A coupe or retractable-hard-top roadster—there is no wrong choice—offers a pure and unpretentious sports-car experience that’s a rarity in today’s complicated automotive world. — RR

America’s first modern supercar was brutally honest, robust, and a little raw, without the delicate build of the era’s Italian supercars. Camilo Pardo, under the direction of J Mays, designed the GT40 to pay homage to Ford’s original GT40 that mopped up Ferrari and swept Le Mans in 1966, followed by consecutive victories from 1967 to 1969. Dwarfing its predecessor and three inches taller, the Ford GT made no pretense of being a racing machine like the car that inspired it. Ford’s GT was a home run for the company, with a total of 4,038 examples built for model years 2005-2006. A first-class collectible 20 years on, the Ford GT is a blast to drive, and a reminder that the more analog a car is, the more fun it can be. — RR

Porsche’s 918 Spyder could still be considered the most advanced Porsche on every level. The rarest, fastest, quickest and surely most costly production car to come from Stuttgart, the 918 was also the most groundbreaking. The hybrid powertrain developed almost 900 hp from two electric motors and a 4.6-liter V8 engine that catapulted the machine—at first in silence—with blistering velocity wholly inappropriate for public roads. Wide, low, and absent any space for luggage, the 918 remains one of the truly iconic supercars ever made. A mere 918 series-production examples were built from 2013 to 2015, and are valued today from $1.5M to $3.9M. — RR

The A110 takes all of Renault’s experience making amazing hot hatchbacks and distills it into a tiny, mid-engine sports car. Alpine fizzled out in the ‘90s, so the A110 is a reboot to France’s great sports car marque, with legendary campaigns in endurance racing and rallying. A couple of hundred pounds lighter than the last car to wear an Alpine badge, the A110 is a retro remake that actually works. People still rally them in Monte Carlo, too. — RO

It only takes a minute behind the wheel to fall in love with the S2000. Every control is perfect, from the six-speed manual transmission to the unadorned steering wheel, and the view is incredible over the low hood and instrument gauges, complete with a rev counter redlining at 9,000 RPM. These cars are sensational, liberating Honda’s engineering excellence from the tyranny of front-wheel drive. — RO

The Lexus LFA has always been an outlier in the supercar hall of fame, a flash-in-the-pan that came and went before its impact even had a chance to sink in. Toyota created a supercar to rival all the usual suspects from Italy, Germany, and the UK. Only 500 units were produced between 2010 and 2012, with 436 “regular” examples and 64 “Nürburgring Package” models. The LFA’s design came straight out of the racecar engineer’s textbook, with lots of aluminum, titanium, and magnesium sharing the parts count with plentiful carbon-fiber reinforced plastic. Powered by a front-mid-mounted, 4.8-liter V10 engine, it could rev to 9,000 rpm and was described by Toyota engineers as having the “roar of an angel.” Regrettably, there has been no Lexus successor to fill the LFA’s shoes. — RR

Subtle in appearance compared to other supercars, the Audi R8, inspired by Lamborghini’s Gallardo, came to America in 2008, followed by a spyder the next year. Initially powered by Audi’s 4.0-liter V8 engine, a 5.2-liter V-10 became available in 2009. The first generation received a facelift for 2012, and the second generation, sharing the Lamborghini Huracán platform, was launched in 2015, powered only by a V-10. With nearly 46,000 examples built between model years 2007 and 2024, there are plenty to go around, from the first V-8s to the final R8 V-10 Performance. If two seats are sufficient, this could be your daily driver. — RR