Top 10 best supercars 2024

Lamborghini finally confronts the age of the electrified supercar with this, the inheritor of the fabled line of the Miura, Countach and Diablo.

But, while rivals shrink and turbocharge their engines to suit their new purposes, somehow Sant’Agata has kept a wonderful, free-revving, atmospheric V12 engine as part of the Revuelto’s mechanical recipe. Because, well… would a big Lambo be a big Lambo without one?

This car uses the most innovative, rigid, lightweight carbon fibre spaceframe-cum-monocoque chassis that Lamborghini has ever designed - and uses it to offset the weight of three electric motors, and fairly small but still significant lithium-ion drive battery, which combine with that engine to give this car no less than 1001bhp at 9250rpm.

It weighs a little under 1800kg dry, and is capable of 62mph from rest in just 2.5sec, and of topping 217mph; but also of asymmetrical torque vectoring across its front axle - by virtue of its pair of front drive motors - that has quite a profound affect on the car’s handling.

This is clearly a heavy supercar, and it moves around underneath you and expresses itself in physical terms as you approach the limit of its grip just as V12 Lambos always have.

But the work that those front motors can do to stabilise the car, both on turn in and at the apex, and then to keep it stuck to its cornering line as you exit - all the while just making this behemoth of a supercar simply go right where you’re pointing it, as it screams away at real pace and stratospheric revs - is a deeply impressive feat of engineering.

You only need to turn the car’s electronic stability aids off for proof of that, and then bait the beast as much as you dare.

McLaren has endured some tough times over the last few years, failing to fully capitalise on the ready flow of wheel-heeled buyers that have helped arch-rivals such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche posting healthy profits during a period when much of the rest of the world is in financial turmoil.

So there's a lot resting on the success of the Artura, which is arguably the brand's first clean-sheet design for more than a decade.

There's certainly no faulting the ambition of the newcomer, which shares almost nothing with its myriad predecessors, all of which were related in one way or another.

A clean-sheet approach has been taken for the carbonfibre structure and the electrical architecture, plus the twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 engine, which is mated to a 95bhp electric motor to make the Artura a plug-in hybrid.

The latter set-up has been designed to be as light as possible, with motor and battery coming in at just 130kg, meaning the car dips under 1500kg all in. It also claims 19 miles of pure-EV running, should you ask.

More importantly for many, the powertrain serves up a combined total of 671bhp, the extra torque-fill from that electric motor making the Artura feel even quicker than this already impressive figure would suggest.

It sounds good, too, while predictably for a McLaren, the chassis delivers plenty in the way of driver engagement and dynamic excellence. The brand has persisted with its hydraulic steering set-up, which means few rivals are able to offer such crisp communication to your fingertips, while it corners flat and fast with superb body control.

Sounds good, doesn't it? So why isn't it at the top of this list? Well, the car has had a difficult gestation, and despite numerous delays to allow for fine-tuning, the Artura is still essentially an unfinished project.

Experience of early cars has revealed numerous software glitches, quality control issues and the odd breakdown. There's a great car ready in here somewhere; it just needs some more development before it's really ready to be unleashed on buyers.

The Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato is the last and perhaps most entertaining variant of the company’s staple supercar - and that's no mean feat.

It's based on a regular 4WD Huracán coupé but has been raised by 44mm and given 25% softer springs and an additional 35% (front) and 25% (rear) suspension travel. The track is 30mm (front) and 34mm (rear) wider and the wheelbase is 9mm longer. 

It's clad in rugged plastic exterior trim, which you'll need when you take this stunning supercar off-road. It's certainly not the most subtle car in the world, and that naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 – Lamborghini’s last – is as sweet as ever.

On its off-road tyres, the Sterrato has a relaxed, easy and absorbent gait to its ride that’s slightly at odds with the sharpness of the 602bhp engine and quick seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. 

If it wasn't so loud, there's no question that the Sterrato is the Huracan of choice if you were to choose one as a daily driver. Its ride is immaculate, and it's well isolated, going against the image sent forward by its uncarpeted floors and unupholstered door cars. 

Now - let's talk about the Sterrato's offroad ability. On loose surfaces, it feels incredibly natural. Driving this supercar on dirt and gravel is as easy as driving it on road, and frankly, intoxicating. It's no wonder we voted it 2024's Best Drivers Car.

McLaren hit spectacular form when it launched the 720S in 2017. It showed that an unrelenting focus on stunning performance made usable could yield class-leading results. And, be in no doubt - this was the best and most accomplished supercar on the planet for some considerable time. Not the most exciting, perhaps; not the most outrageous, either. Just the best.

This car spent years in a league of one for its neat cornering balance and taut body control twinned with a fluent, road-appropriate ride; for its superlative ergonomics and visibility; and for its outstanding tactile control feedback and linear responses, rather than class-typical hyped-up steering.

But if the 720S was the supercar of the 2010s perfected, and sweated for every detail, the 750S is… well, it’s broadly the same thing. Wonderful in all the same ways; but existing in the era of the 800-horsepower, electrified plug-in hybrid supercar, something of a particular prospect with a whiff of antiquatedness about it.

When Woking revised this car last year, it tweaked the exterior styling. Engineering-wise, it quickened the car’s steering rack a little here, stiffened some engine mountings there, fitted new dampers and wheels, and a new braking system. But it updated details, rather than making wholesale changes where they weren’t needed.

And the 750S is still sensational to drive - though perhaps not as technically alluring as it once was.

There was a point not that long ago when many were thinking that Maserati was ready to be read the last rites. The Italian brand had become a shadow of its former self, with the lacklustre Ghibli and Quattroporte saloons propped up by the characterful but aging GT models. Even the arrival of the (admittedly only average) Levante SUV failed to create the sort of stir in the showrooms that suggested the brand could have a long and profitable future.

Then, out of nowhere, it launched the sensational MC20, a supercar straight out of the top drawer. Rumoured to have started its development as an Alfa Romeo before Maserati took the reins, the Italian machine ticks all the mid-engined exotic boxes. For starters, there's a carbonfibre tub, double-wishbone suspension all round and an all-new twin turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 engine that musters 621bhp. It's good for 0-62mph in 2.9sec and will top out at 202mph, even if it can't match the aural theatrics of a Lamborghini V10 or a Ferrari V8.

Yet while the performance is on point in this company, it's the way the MC20 deals with the bits between the straights that marks it out as something a bit special. It weighs the right side of 1500kg for starters, which in combination with the quick steering delivers the sort of agility usually reserved for fleeing gazelles. It's perhaps not as communicative as a McLaren or quite as quick-witted as the Ferrari 296 GTB, but it's not far off, and it combines this cornering dynamism with ride quality that makes it genuinely easy to live with.

We've had many false dawns (if you want to make the most of any sunrises, there’s now a Cielo drop top version) from Maserati over the years, but this car could finally represent the true and long lasting shoots of recovery.

This successor of sorts to the LaFerrari hypercar is the most powerful road car in Ferrari's history; or, at least, it was until the even more powerful XX version came along in 2023, which has now set the quickest lap time for a production car around the firm's Fiorano test track. Oh, and it's a plug-in hybrid that can travel for up to 15 miles on electricity alone.

The SF90 Stradale is a very different kind of Ferrari, then. It makes use of a heavily reworked version of the 488 Pista's twin-turbocharged 3.9-litre V8 engine, which is complemented by a trio of electric motors that raise the Ferrari's total power output to a staggering 986bhp, allowing for a 0-62mph time of 2.5sec.

It's a technological tour de force, for sure. Yet despite the additional weight that powertrain brings, it's still just as grippy and devastatingly quick as you would expect a mid-engined Ferrari to be. However, be warned that you will need to have your Weetabix before turning off the stability control systems, because the knife-edge SF90 demands respect and concentration when exploring the area between grip and slip.

The SF90 XX Stradale became Ferrari's first road-legal XX car in 2023, and eked power out to 1016bhp; but it was the gains it made on aerodynamics that proved even more transformative. We've yet to drive one on the road, but around Ferrari's Fiorano test track it proved stultifyingly fast - if a little wild and savage-handling.

We thought the regular Porsche 911 GT3 was excellent, and then came the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS. 

With 518bhp and 343lb ft, the GT3 RS is a stunning technical achievement with a blistering pace that will see it sprint from 0-62mph in 3.2sec. 

That huge swan-neck wing, which measures 6ft wide, provides three times more downforce than the regular GT3. It's the key to the GT3 RS's blistering performance, along with new damper and differential controls. 

To support its sheer pace, the GT3 RS also features exceptional brakes, meaning it can come to a standstill from 70mph in just 38.8m. It almost matches lighter, more aero-focused cars like the Dallara Stradale and the McLaren Senna. 

Make no mistake: this is a five-star car for track-day fans, and almost perfect for everyone else. 

It was enough of a shock to the system when Chevrolet announced it was undoing decades of dogma and turning its good ol’ Corvette from an all-American front engined muscle machine into European-aping mid-engined sports car. Now it’s gone one step further and delivered the uprated Z06, a car that has the talent to ruffle quite a few feathers in the rarefied atmosphere of the supercar class.

As you’d expect there’s more power, the Z06 getting a new flat-plane crank 5.5-litre V8 that develops a healthy 670bhp, revs to a heady 8500rpm and will zap from 0-60mph in 2.9 seconds. More importantly it sounds the business, bellowing and crackling with the aural excitement of true blue-blood Italian. 

With a 30% stiffer suspension set-up than the standard C8, the Z06 dives into corners with zeal, gripping hard and resisting run-wide understeer. On the road its limits are spectacularly high, while the quick steering engenders the car with the agility of a fleeing gazelle. Yet the adaptive dampers combine supreme control with enough compliance to make the Corvette everyday usable. If you want a more hardcore experience, then the Z07 upgrade pack adds even stiffer springs, carbon ceramic brakes and de-rigueur track attack rubber in the form of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s.

Yet the real kicker is likely to be the price. While the Z06 is unlikely to cost the UK equivalent of £98,000 (its price in the US) when it arrives in right-hand drive form it's likely to be a fraction of the price of some Italian exotics, significantly undercutting the European old guard. Expect quite a few automotive aristocratic noses to be put out of joint.