Top 10 best hardcore sports cars 2023

Welcome to true-blue petrolhead territory. This is wherever unthinkable outright grip and pace, vivid operator engagement and thrill, ultimate handling poise and track-day-ready specification and intent each abide. You’ll similar it here.

These are the ultimate, track-honed versions of already accelerated and engaging cars. You tin spell adjacent much utmost with a purpose-built lightweight special, but the thought present is that erstwhile your way time is finished, you tin instrumentality disconnected your helmet and thrust location without getting wet, being sunburnt oregon going deaf.

Excluding the freak shows, determination cars are the money-no-object solution to going impossbly accelerated astir a way portion delivering a visceral, tactile experience.

This database does see a fewer machines that person gone disconnected merchantability but person yet to beryllium replaced, due to the fact that these kinds of cars don’t travel on often, they don’t enactment astir for long and the champion stay applicable agelong aft they’ve disappeared from the income brochures.

To illustration 10 of these cars without counting those that are technically defunct would beryllium to contradict immoderate astonishing driver’s cars the designation they’re undoubtedly due. But which are owed the most?

1. Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS

It has taken a portion for Porsche to propulsion everything it’s got astatine its smallest sports car, the Cayman. In a fewer years, it’s going purely electric, truthful it was a lawsuit of present oregon never. Combining the lighter, mid-engined assemblage with the scintillating motor from the Porsche 911 GT3 sounds similar a look for thing spectacular, and the effect is thing abbreviated of mind-blowing.

With its aerial intake snorting close by your ear, that level six has ne'er sounded truthful vivid, and the PDK’s shifts are arsenic instantaneous arsenic ever. The GT4 RS has new-found grip and precision, courtesy of stiffer suspension, an uprated aerodynamics bundle and a acceptable of Michelin Cup 2 tyres.

It tin beryllium a spot overmuch connected the road, but the GT4 RS makes cleanable consciousness connected track, wherever it hits a spectacular stride. Handling is perfectly balanced; it’s unchangeable connected a trailing throttle successful a mode that Caymans thin not to be, truthful you tin onslaught braking zones hard, way brake to apexes and transportation immense speed. Mid-corner grip and stableness are titanic, with a progressive breakaway from the rear if you attack it gradually.

2. McLaren 765LT

The latest exemplary successful McLaren's series of Longtail specials is not without its flaws, but arsenic an explosive circuit de unit successful the precocious echelons of the trackday supercar world, it takes immoderate beating.

For 1 thing, the effort and disbursal that went into the 765LT deserve recognition. Removing value from thing arsenic airy arsenic the McLaren 720S is nary mean feat, necessitating extreme measures specified arsenic the usage of titanium instrumentality nuts and thinner glazing, which assistance prevention 80kg successful full and springiness the car's powertrain frighteningly small to clasp it back. That powertrain consists of McLaren's twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8, tuned to 755bhp for this exertion and with a shorter last drive for genuinely neck-snapping acceleration.

However, wherever the 765LT truly departs from the dynamic template acceptable down by the 720S concerns its much flighty equilibrium and on-the-limit handling. Simply, the car wants to play, and is astir apt the astir entertaining car that McLaren has ever built. It will take immoderate yaw astatine each stages of the corner, possibly sacrificing immoderate velocity successful the process, but it's this operation of dynamism with McLaren's hallmark steering and consciousness of levity that makes the driving acquisition truthful memorable.

The catch? The 765LT isn't truthful easy mastered, truthful drivers request to amusement their mettle.

3. Lamborghini Huracán STO

You tin number connected Lamborghini to marque thing dramatic, but its machines don’t mostly spell toed to toed with GT Porsches for sharpness, poise and trackability. But successful a akin twist to the 1 we’ve seen with the 718 Cayman GT4 RS, it seems the engineers person been fto disconnected the leash arsenic the Huracán nears the extremity of its life.

Before its hybrid successor arrives, the Huracán has been fixed a track-special that’s exclusively rear-driven, has been lightened with thinner solid and carbonfibre assemblage panels and is pressed into the Tarmac by a substantially upgraded aero package. At 174mph, there’s up to 420kg of downforce disposable with the rear helping successful its astir assertive mounting (you volition request an allen cardinal to marque adjustments), portion aerodynamic ratio is improved by 37% implicit the aged Huracán Performante.

Naturally, it produces a immense magnitude of grip connected way and tin transportation frightening velocity into corners, portion the carbon-ceramic brakes are almighty and seemingly tireless. On the much road-focused tyre choice, it’s remarkably playful too.

What’s astonishing astir the STO is however docile and driveable it is connected the road. Yes, the thrust is firm, but the adaptive dampers circular disconnected each the worst edges.

4. Porsche 911 GT3 RS

When the 992 procreation of the 911 GT3 archetypal showed its swan-neck rear wing, we wondered whether it near immoderate country for an adjacent much hardcore GT3 RS. But you tin permission it to Weissach to instrumentality the situation and spell overboard with it.

The constituent of the RS isn’t the other power (it lone has 15bhp much than the GT3) but downforce. The caller GT3 RS moves Porsche’s helping crippled connected and past some, with an aerofoil that’s borderline obscene successful its menacing tallness and span. It has a hydraulically actuated progressive drag-reduction vane to boot, arsenic good arsenic progressive downforce-generating flaps nether the nose, to nutrient up to 860kg of downforce astatine 177mph. That's much than treble what the past 911 GT3 RS made; much than the McLaren Senna makes astatine a akin speed; and considerably more, even, than a 911 GT3 Cup contention car.

And if the aero isn’t overwhelming enough, the caller GT3 RS besides has the ultra-wide assemblage from the Turbo, arsenic good arsenic multi-adjustable adaptive dampers, an progressive locking differential and traction and stableness power systems.

We’ve yet to acquisition it connected a adust track, but adjacent successful the wet, it felt similar a much superior and overmuch much purposeful way instrumentality than immoderate of its predecessors, but it's cleverer and much adaptable, too.

5. McLaren 600LT

The 600LT is based connected the fantastic McLaren 570S and is the 3rd Longtail model launched by McLaren. Power has been hiked by 30bhp to 592bhp courtesy of a freer-breathing exhaust, the springs are importantly stiffer, its dampers person been retuned and assertive caller bodywork has it generating even much downforce astatine speed. As with immoderate track-honed special, it has been stripped retired too. In its lightest spec (no air-con, nary chemoreceptor lift, nary stereo etc), it weighs 1247kg adust (less than adjacent the McLaren 620R).

The resulting bundle truly is thing peculiar indeed: one that steers with the tactile sweetness and accuracy that McLaren has go renowned for while besides being faster, grippier and much aurally rewarding than ever before.

In 2018, we crowned it Britain's champion driver's car. Top work, McLaren. We can't hold to spot immoderate track-day leader you're going to rotation disconnected the new V6-hybrid Artura.

6. Ferrari 488 Pista

Here are the header stats: 710bhp, 568 lb ft, 1359kg, 0-62mph successful 2.85sec and a terms tag of £252,765 - earlier options. In short, the Ferrari 488 Pista is simply a genuinely superior portion of kit. And an effectual 1 to boot.

At our Britain’s Best Driver’s Car 2018 sprout out, the successor to the phenomenal Ferrari 458 Speciale was the fastest car to thigh the Anglesey Coastal Circuit, with a clip of 1min 11.4sec - 1.7sec quicker than the McLaren 600LT.

This is simply a car that’s seemingly defined by immediacy. Turn the instrumentality and the beforehand extremity responds with the agility of a pursued hare. Pull 1 of the steering column-mounted columns and the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic ‘box volition swap cogs faster than you tin blink. And if you’re brave capable to widen each of the throttle’s travel, you volition find yourself catching up connected the skyline astatine an alarming complaint of pace.

Given the Pista’s immense potency, it would be casual to constitute it disconnected arsenic being a fistful connected track, but the world is that it’s 1 of the astir balanced, adjustable and flattering cars you tin buy.

That it’s not rather arsenic adept astatine making the astir of its abilities connected the roadworthy arsenic the roadworthy arsenic the 600LT has it sliding into sixth spot here. But it’s an incredibly constrictive spread that separates precise otherwise tuned rivals.

7. Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series

Carrying much motorsport exertion than immoderate accumulation instrumentality successful Mercedes-AMG history, the AMG GT R was Affalterbach’s large swipe astatine the aureate lad of its adjacent Stuttgart rival, the Porsche 911 GT3. That it existed astatine each told you overmuch astir AMG’s determination, 1 time soon, to look from the shadows of its world-famous neighbour arsenic a shaper of sports cars of adjacent stature and acclaim.

That emergence comes successful the signifier of the GT Black Series, which appears to beryllium an adjacent hotter mentation of the GT R but is successful information rather a antithetic beast altogether. The sixth Black Series exemplary is 35kg lighter than the GT R, shares plentifulness of genuine aerodynamic knowhow with AMG's GT3 contention cars (in fact, the aforesaid chap who developed the aero bundle for the racers besides did this road-legal car) and is the Nürburgring lap-record holder, having displaced the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ.

AMG has besides revised the twin-turbo V8, switching the rumbling aged cross-plane crank for a peakier flat-plane item and raising powerfulness to 720bhp, making this car its astir almighty series-production model. The suspension and interior are besides suitably racey, arsenic you would expect.

However, what makes the Black Series specified a revelation – adjacent astatine £335,000 – and what allows AMG to encroach connected Porsche GT turf much than ever before is the assurance this car inspries. As Matt Prior gushed, "you tin thrust the cracker disconnected the Black Series, consciousness progressive and bonded into the process and, astatine the extremity of it, it's apt to person lapped astir 5 seconds slower than a full-fat GT3 contention car."

8. Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

Mentioning the connection ‘jota’ successful the institution of a well-read supercar aficionado volition ever nutrient a wobbly-kneed reaction. The archetypal 1 was Lamborghini's trial operator Bob Wallace’s favored task to up the show level of the Miura and to marque the car acceptable for FIA sports car racing. There was lone ever 1 prototype built, and it burnt to a cinder earlier it could sire a precise peculiar limited-edition accumulation run.

The Aventador SVJ is lone the 2nd Lamborghini since Wallace’s Miura to deterioration the ‘jota’ nameplate (which is what the J suffix stands for). It's besides a tribute to the firm’s all-important and wholly inimitable lineage of big, mid-engined, 12-cylinder, harum-scarum supercars, which included the Miura, Countach, Diablo and Murciélago and which is owed to beryllium transformed somewhat by the hybridised new Lamborghini Revuelto.

Big, wide, dense and searingly rapid, the SVJ is simply a car demanding carnal effort, bodily compromise and plentifulness of committedness to thrust to its fullest. A cramped and rather dated compartment volition trial your enthusiasm first; aft that, the unit of the full-bore cogwheel changes, the savagery of the outright gait and the strength of the attraction needed to find the bounds of its grip level are your adjacent challenges to overcome.

Negotiate all, however, and the SVJ gives a driving acquisition of astir unmatched rawness and attitude. Wrestling it to a accelerated thigh is simply a much rewarding acquisition than you volition find astir anywhere, successful an epoch successful which the concern of going accelerated is being made ever easier.

Like your hardcore thrills physically investigating and deliciously old-school successful flavour? This Lambo is successful a league of one.

9. BMW M4 CSL

BMW's M part has waited a agelong clip to bring its CSL badge retired of storage, and fixed however scintillating the E46-generation M3 CSL was (and inactive is, if you're courageous capable to disregard its worth and instrumentality it for a blast), it definite sets immoderate expectations.

This caller M4 CSL is not an wholly earthy successor to that car, weighing arsenic it does 1625kg and being powered by a turbocharged consecutive six. Nevertheless, it's fast, melodramatic and characterful; challenging arsenic good arsenic absorbing to drive; and fiery astatine times, portion besides being amazingly mild-mannered astatine different times.

Most astonishing of all, though, is its on-road dynamic sophistication and usability. Rather than aiming for adjacent much diamond-hard way specialism than the BMW M4 GTS had, BMW intelligibly understood that the CSL sub-brand needs its ain flavouring – and that’s rather analyzable connected the palate. But it’s besides direct, accessible and wide gratifying.

10. Nissan GT-R Nismo

That Nissan tin adjacent propulsion punches successful the aforesaid class arsenic McLaren shows however good it has developed the Nissan GT-R implicit the years and however timeless and absorbing to thrust this car has ever been. By present it's precise old, having been launched successful 2007. It’s inactive successful accumulation but has been disconnected merchantability successful Europe since 2022.

The past iteration of the Nismo, the track-honed mentation of the GT-R, got lighter, fast-spooling turbochargers for the 3.7-litre V6, tremendous ceramic brakes, unmissable aero addenda (including wheel-arch vents) and plentifulness of carbonfibre successful the body. Power remained at 592bhp, but the terms roseate to an unseemly £175,000.

The problem, arsenic ever, is that the GT-R is fundamentally a dense car and 1 with a precocious centre of gravity successful narration to everything other here. It scrapes into this database by virtuousness of its tremendous gait and personality, alternatively than its consciousness of finesse or, indeed, satisfaction.