With nearly a week left for the year to end, we at CarPrices are finally unleashing our retrospective articles compiling the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the impressive and the disappointments, so on and so forth.
This year has particularly been huge for electric cars as well as their hyper-car iterations. Apart from the giants that have been grabbing the headlines for years, we were able to see some of the new players in the market putting up an interesting fight. While we expect more from the motoring world in the coming year, here are some of the monikers (ranked) that made us clench our pearls in 2018.
5) Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
Aston Martin redefined the word 'light' this year with the DBS Superleggera. The Super GT as Aston calls it, sports an extensive use of carbon fibre in its body panels. This accounts for a dry weight of nothing more than 1693 kg.
Powering the car is Aston Martin's 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 engine. The British engineers have placed the engine low and as far as possible in the chassis to optimise the centre-of-gravity and weight distribution. The maximum power output of the Superleggera is clocked at 715bhp of power at 6500rpm and 900Nm of torque from 1800-5000rpm.
Powering the car is Aston Martin's 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 engine. The British engineers have placed the engine low and as far as possible in the chassis to optimise the centre-of-gravity and weight distribution. The maximum power output of the Superleggera is clocked at 715bhp of power at 6500rpm and 900Nm of torque from 1800-5000rpm.
4) Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
The Corvette ZR1 is USA's gift to the world. At its heart, the Corvette ZR1 wields a new hand-assembled 6.2L LT5 supercharged small block V8 engine that puts out a 755bhp of power and 969Nm of torque, making it capable of a top track speed of 314kph. The car does a lunge to the ton in a mere 2.85 seconds.
Mechanically, the new engine features a new 95 mm bore throttle that complements the larger supercharger and dual fuel injection system to flow plenty of air into the LT5 engine.
The car is based on chassis that features Chevrolet's electronic trickery. The Magnetic Selective Ride Control technology reads the road every millisecond and can adjust in under 15 milliseconds. It was customized to give this supercar a “spot on” driving feel and works in tandem with standard Performance Traction Management and Electronic Limited-Slip Differential to give you the control and confidence to push ZR1 to its full potential.
3) Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Sold at a starting price of $517,770, the Aventador SVJ is a limited edition moniker with just 900 models that will exit its production ramp. The first deliveries will commence next year and will be slated for a worldwide sale.
The powerhouse of the SVJ consists of the 6.5-litre V-12 engine that spits our 759bhp of power and 719bhp of torque. While this might not be a huge bump over the 739bh Aventador SV, the similarities are just on paper, thanks to a host of other mods in aerodynamics.
The car warps to triple digits speeds in 2.8-seconds with a 200kph mark in around 8.6 seconds. The icing on the cake is, however, the 346kph top-speed on the model.
The powerhouse of the SVJ consists of the 6.5-litre V-12 engine that spits our 759bhp of power and 719bhp of torque. While this might not be a huge bump over the 739bh Aventador SV, the similarities are just on paper, thanks to a host of other mods in aerodynamics.
The car warps to triple digits speeds in 2.8-seconds with a 200kph mark in around 8.6 seconds. The icing on the cake is, however, the 346kph top-speed on the model.
2) McLaren Speedtail
Built to commemorate the legendary central-seated F1, McLaren managed to pull the right strings to do justice to the iconic model. 106 of these hyper-cars with hybrid powertrain is enough to get its aficionados on their toes.
The car's engine packs 1035bhp on tap. While we are still blurry about the powertrain, it is expected to combine 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V-8 with an electric motor or two.
McLaren proudly wears the badge of 'lightweight' with the Speedtail, considering that the model is based on a carbon fibre monocoque structure with plenty of carbon fibre in the body too. The weight of the car has been further shed with the help of aluminium suspensions and more.
The car's engine packs 1035bhp on tap. While we are still blurry about the powertrain, it is expected to combine 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V-8 with an electric motor or two.
McLaren proudly wears the badge of 'lightweight' with the Speedtail, considering that the model is based on a carbon fibre monocoque structure with plenty of carbon fibre in the body too. The weight of the car has been further shed with the help of aluminium suspensions and more.
1) Bugatti Divo
Divo's tagline which reads “Happiness is not around the corner. It is the corner” might be justified to its very genes. At its heart, the Divo is a hypercar with the Chiron's 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged W-16 that puts out a staggering 1480bhp. But that's not new for a Bugatti right? However, the fact that the monster lapped Italy's Nardò handling circuit a full 8.0 seconds faster than the Chiron, tells a lot.
This is spoken by the new and improved aerodynamics. The front cover is equipped with air intakes which reduce the effective cross-sectional area of the vehicle, as well as air curtains to help channel air to the sides of the vehicle. The newly-designed, wide front spoiler also provides higher downforce and guides more air to the front air inlets. Exactly 40 examples of the Divo, will be built with a staggering $5.8 million price tag.
This is spoken by the new and improved aerodynamics. The front cover is equipped with air intakes which reduce the effective cross-sectional area of the vehicle, as well as air curtains to help channel air to the sides of the vehicle. The newly-designed, wide front spoiler also provides higher downforce and guides more air to the front air inlets. Exactly 40 examples of the Divo, will be built with a staggering $5.8 million price tag.
