The 25 Greatest Supercars of the 21st Century (So Far)

 

From the Bugatti Veyron to the Pagani Utopia, this is our revised list of the very best models from the new millennium...at least for now

There is no denying that the landscape of the automotive industry is seismically shifting. Advances in autonomous driving, ubiquitous ride-sharing platforms and even new app-driven models for ownership, while convenient, do not nurture a love for the automobile or contribute to any semblance of car culture.

Yet it would be a mistake to assume that younger generations are becoming unilaterally apathetic. How could they? We are at a confluence of tech and tradition, analog and artificial intelligence and nowhere is this more evident than with the current ultra-high-performance machines on the market.

To that end, we’ve updated our list of the 25 greatest supercars so far this century, and it’s by all means an exercise in subjectivity. Some models that made it here may not be the fastest production cars out there or the most agile, but they have either fueled our imagination or introduced new levels of innovation. And honestly, in some cases, they’re just the ones our inner child feels compelled to draw . . . all the time. And the fact that these will all become the classics of the future has us confident that when it comes to the life automotive, the kids are going to be just fine.

McLarenF1 

Ok, so the first one on this list is technically from the last century, the 1990s to be exact, but it’s here as a benchmark and baseline for the models that follow. A top speed of 231 mph. Back in 1992, no other production car had ever gone that fast. It was mind-blowing. But that’s what the McLaren F1 did; blow minds. With its feather-weight carbon-fiber chassis, single-minded focus on shaving weight and a bespoke six-liter, 627 hp BMW V-12 for power, it could sear to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds.

Costing nearly $1 million at launch, it was also mind-blowingly expensive. Today, however, in the rare chance that one of the 106 examples comes to market, expect to pay around $20 million. The ultimate supercar? Some would say there’s no question.  Howard Walker

Ferrari LaFerrari

2013 was an auspicious year for supercars, with no fewer than three major releases debuting from McLaren, Porsche, and Ferrari and earning the “Holy Trinity” nickname. Though fiercely individual, each of the trio claimed a hybrid power-train layout.

Of the three, only the Ferrari LaFerrari boasted a V-12 engine— and a raucous, naturally aspirated one, at that. The LaFerrari also happened to be the most powerful (and, unofficially at least) the most charismatic of the wild bunch. Eponymously named to suggest it was the quintessence of the Ferrari nameplate, the 950 hp hypercar may go down in history not only as the pinnacle of its era, but also as one of the greatest prancing horses of all time.  Basem Wasef

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

Bugatti stormed back to the modern age from the pages of automotive history with the 2005 Veyron, which announced its intentions with quad-turbo twin-V8s that made an astonishing 1,200 hp. Fast forward a half-decade, and the Super Sport version of the Veyron promptly claimed the Guinness Book of Records title in 2010 as world’s fastest production car with a 260 mph run at Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg test track.

The Veyron Super Sport has been eclipsed by the 1,500 hp Bugatti Chiron Super Sport which, driven by Andy Wallace, hit 304 mph in testing in 2019. However, nobody is apt to forget the Veyron—the machine that made the modern version of Bugatti what it is today.  Marco della Cava

McLaren P1

Of the three renowned hybrid hypercars that debuted in 2013, two (the Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder) hailed from long-established carmakers, while the other—the McLaren P1—was a relative newbie on the scene. Not that the British manufacturer hadn’t earned itself a spot in the hypercar pantheon with the 1990s-era legendary F1, but the lengthy absence made building this flagship like starting from scratch.

McLaren used advanced carbon-fiber construction based on its lesser, more approachable (relatively) offerings, but the top dog P1 claimed a screaming 903 hp and a remarkably lightweight chassis, which made it a more than worthy contender against the supercar establishment of the time.  B.W

Porsche 918 Spyder

The 918 Spyder was a true game changer, demonstrating the potential of plug-in hybrid technology in the supercar stratosphere. A naturally aspirated, 4.6-liter V-8 with 599 hp got added power from two electric motors, for a total output of 877 hp and 944 ft lbs of near instant-on torque.

Penned by Porsche’s chief designer, Michael Mauer, the 918 was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 2010 as a concept to gauge market interest, going into production in late 2013 with a base MSRP of $845,000. The entire allocation of—surprise—918 units, sold out by the end of 2014, so eager were VIP Porschephiles to acquire the most powerful street-going Porsche ever made. Production ended by mid-2015, and the 918 remains a highly desirable collector car today.  Robert Ross

Koenigsegg Regera

Sweden may be known largely as the home of proletarian transportation king Volvo, but sports car enthusiasts also know it as the land of Koenigsegg. And one of the mightiest models to leave that factory is the Regera, brainchild of company founder Christian von Koenigsegg who was, reportedly, inspired after a few sprints in a Tesla Model S P95.

The Regera, however, runs on hybrid power combining three electric motors with a 5-liter V-8. The power-train configuration, in total, produces a staggering 1,700 hp—all of which completely and wonderfully upends the image of Swedes being models of self-restraint.  M.C.

Lamborghini Huracán Performante

Lamborghini’s Huracán was no slouch, a flying wedge of a car powered by a 10-cylinder engine producing a touch over 600 hp. But four years after the model’s debut in 2014, it was decided that this Italian raging bull needed a track-focused makeover. Carbon-fiber bumpers, skirts and an adjustable wing removed weight and added downforce, while an engine massage bumped horsepower up 5 percent and took the coupe’s zero-to-60 mph time down to just less than 3 seconds.

The interior was just as race oriented, with sports seats and digital speedometer off the Aventador. All that added up to a brief but celebrated 2016 track record at Germany’s haloed Nürburgring, not bad at all for a company whose roots were in tractors.  M.C.