Despite the increasing popularity of boring, mundane commuter cars, the sports cars of yesterday, today, and tomorrow are in ample supply.
There have been many great sports cars since the car was conceived. Here are nine sports cars that you have to drive before you kick the bucket.
The Aston-Martin DBS is arguably the best Aston of recent years. Featuring a 6.0 liter V12, the DBS produces a respectable 510 horsepower, which propels it to 60 miles per hour in just 3.7 seconds, and onto a top speed of 188 mph. Mr. Bond's car of choice in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, the DBS doesn't lack performance or credibility.
Onto the Nissan GTR. The GTR is arguably the best car Nissan ever built since the S15 Silvia and R34 GTR. Its sophisticated all-wheel-drive system and launch control allows the GTR to reach sixty miles per hour in under three seconds, and onto a top speed of 190 mph. Its 3.8 liter, twin-turbo V6 proved to be very popular among the tuner crowd, with people squeezing thousands of horsepower out of this epic engine.
The first-generation Audi R8 showed the world that Audi meant business. It was originally only available with a 4.2 liter V8, and the infamous 5.2 V10 was released later on. Many critics argue that the 4.2 variant with the gated manual transmission is the best of the lot. With 420 horsepower and all-wheel drive, the R8 V8 could reach 60 miles per hour in just 4.3 seconds and would continue onto a top speed of 185 mph.
The BMW M1 was the first supercar that could truly work as a daily driver. It had a 3.5-liter inline-six producing 273 horsepower. While these figures seem minuscule even by 1980s standards, the M1 is an all-time great that proved popular.
The C6 Corvette Z06 was arguably the best Corvette of recent times. Powered by a massive 7.0 liter V8, the Z06 produced 505 horsepower. This was enough to propel the Z06 to 60 in just 3.6 seconds.
The Mercedes-McLaren SLR is one of the greatest hypercars ever. The child of a partnership between Mercedes and McLaren, the SLR was (loosely) based on the Mercedes SL. It featured a supercharged variant of the SL's 5.5 liter V8, producing a whopping 616 horsepower.
The Jaguar E-Type is arguably the most beautiful car ever made. It was initially powered by your option of a 3.8 liter or 4.2-liter inline-six. The E-Type looks the part, sounds the part, and drives sublimely. What more could you want from a car?
The Lamborghini Countach was on the bedroom wall of practically every car enthusiast in the 1980s and 1990s. It was fast, but it was said to drive like an absolute pig. That being said, it is one of the most striking cars to look at, with a cheese-wedge body shape and scissor doors.
The Ferrari 250 GTO is one of the most legendary (and expensive) cars ever built. They were all wrought by hand, and resultingly no two 250 GTOs are the same. It is one of the most beautiful cars Ferrari ever made, and was very successful on the track. If you want one in your drive, it will cost you a pretty penny, about $30 million or so. A shame, but it is the price to pay for such a machine.
