2013 Ford Mustang GT500 - The Beast

The new 5.8 Liter aluminum block V-8 in the 2013 Mustang GT500 is officially the most powerful naturally aspirated V-8 in the world. It produces a whopping 662 horsepower as well 600 lb-ft of torque. Ford built the most powerful engine they could come up with. The only thing that can slightly compare to this car performance wise is the Camaro ZL1 but at a mere 580 horsepower it is still a ways away from the sheer power of the mustang.

Acura NSX - The Future is Already Here

Acura halted production of its iconic sports car the NSX back in 2005. It was known for its impressive handling and blistering speed. Now, Acura is bringing it back, and it looks better than ever.

The newly redesigned NSX will have a base price around $110,000 which is relatively cheap compared to the 300k+ Ferraris and Lamborghinis it is competing with. It is expected to have a 3.7 Liter V6 which would be accompanied by 3 electric motors. It will produce around 480 horsepower that boosts it to 60 in approximately 3 seconds. The NSX is also going to weigh a mere 3,100 lbs thanks to a high-tech platform made from ultra lightweight materials.

Porsche 918 Spyder - 210 Miles per hour and 72 Miles per gallon

0 – 60 in 2.8 seconds and twice the fuel efficiency of your Honda civic; Porsche has recently confirmed production on its new wicked concept the 918 Spyder.

To achieve these super car numbers with far better than Prius fuel efficiency takes some extremely futuristic technology. For the main engine it uses a 4.6 Liter V-8 that produces over 580 horsepower, but this is also accompanied by three lithium ion powered electric motors that together, can produce 280 horsepower. To save fuel, the Porsche uses only the electric motors when the car is coasting or cruising.

2013 Cadillac ATS

If you watched the 2012 Winter Olympics, you have probably seen adds for the new 2013 Cadillac ATS. This is Cadillac’s answer to the BMW 3-series which has long been the best selling car in its class. With the 3-Series being one of the most successful and popular cars ever made, the brand new Cadillac has a lot of ground to make up before it even thinks about challenging the reigning champion for the past decade.

German Sports Car Comparison - BMW M3, Audi RS 5, Mercedes C63 AMG

If you are in the market for a $60k European sports machine, you without a doubt have come across these three models. They are so similar yet so unique in every way. The Quattro all-wheel drive system of the Audi is so different that the brute force of the rear wheel drive C63 AMG, which is so different than the extreme handling and high revving BMW. Although even with all of these differences, each of these cars has the same simple purpose, to create the ultimate driving experience.

The Legend - 2012 Porsche 911

As you may already know, there are many different versions of the Porsche 911. The Carrera, Carrera S, Turbo, Turbo S, GT3, and many more. You can easily tell each different version because it is displayed on the back of all 911s. So the question is; which one gets you the best bargain? Well it is Porsche so I don’t know if “Bargain” is the word I’d use but there's definitely a deal in here under all the cash.

Carrera

The base 911 (Carrera) starts at $82,100 which is not pocket change unless you are the CEO of a fortune 500 company. This gets you 350 HP, a 0 – 62 of 4.6 seconds, and a top speed of 178 MPH. The 2012 911 has seen many recent updates that have significantly improved the car in many ways, the most noticeable of which is the size increase. The current 2012 Porsche weights 3,042 lbs where the last model weighed 3120 lbs so the size increase has obviously not increased the weight of the vehicle which is why the handling of this model has improved so greatly.

Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 - Alpine and Vapor Edition

Recently, Jeep has come out with two new special editions for its priciest trim of the Grand Cherokee, the SRT8. The SRT8 is well known for its sheer power and use of brute force to achieve blistering acceleration. It uses the newly updated 6.4 Liter SRT8 engine which produces 470 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque and runs from 0 – 60 in 4.8 seconds with a top speed of 160 MPH. This Jeep can also pull off 0.90 g on the skid pad so the handling definitely wasn’t forgotten about either. Keep in mind; this is a 5,256 lb Jeep that is posting numbers close to that of a corvette.

If Money Was No Object - Lamborghini Sesto Elemento

The Lamborghini Sesto Elemento is one of the most extraordinary supercar concepts out right now. With only 20 of these cars being produced, a price tag of 2.2 million is not unexpected, but neither is a 0 – 62 time of 2.5 seconds. The Sesto Elemento includes a 570 HP V10 with an amazing power to weight ratio of 1.75 kilograms per horsepower. It is also possibly the most aerodynamic car ever built.

Reasonably Priced Future Cars - Porsche 550 and Audi R4

There have been many rumors about Porsche developing a reasonably priced entry level sports coupe. We suspect the name would be 550 which is representative of the iconic Porsche 550 first built back in 1953.

This car comes about because of a recent spike in sales for affordable sports cars that was primarily set off by the Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S. We can hope that it would be in the $35k range but it will more likely be a little over $40k. The 550 is suspected to have a 1.6 Liter  turbocharged engine that will generate around 200 HP. There will also be other trims of the car with engines that produce upwards of 400 horsepower like the current 911 turbo.

Porsche isn’t the only one who has caught on to the growing demand of the affordable sports car market. Audi with its brand new 2013 TTRS has already dipped into the middle range sports car market with its petite coupe the Audi TT. The flagship TTRS it costs about $60k but that gets you a 0 – 60 of 3.5 seconds which  sets this car up to compete in the super car market. To put that into perspective, that is faster than the +$100,000 Audi R8. The only drawback to the TT is that some sports car enthusiasts claim this is a woman’s car because of its bubbly look. This has actually hurt the sales of Audi slightly because of the lack of purchases by men. Audi has a solution to this and it fits in perfectly with where the market is headed, the R4.

Car Comparison – Audi S7, Mercedes CLS63 AMG

The new 2013 Audi A7 has been considered by some as the most beautiful car being built today. With sleek lines and a front fascia that is bound to intimidate, it strikes the perfect balance between beauty, and aggression. Throw in a newly developed 4.0 Liter Twin Turbo V8 engine that produces 420 Horsepower and you have yourself an extremely desirable car. For a starting price of $79,695 this is without doubt one of the best deals on the market right now.

Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S

Superb handling, and the ultimate driving experience are phrases that have been common amongst the new 2013 Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ. The ONLY negative comments about either of these cars has been the lack of acceleration. It turns out that the Subaru BRZ has been clocked repeatedly with a zero to sixty of around 7.5 seconds, far too long for any reputable sports car. With a curb weight of around 2800 lbs one might expect the 200 HP BRZ to scoot to zero to sixty faster than 7.5 seconds. To make matters seem even worse for the BRZ, it is similarly priced with the Subaru WRX at a base price of $25,495. The WRX blows it away with an acceleration of zero to sixty in a mere 5 seconds.

There is more than meets the eye here though, because for the BRZ to achieve 60 MPH requires a shift up to third gear in the BRZ which adds a relatively significant amount of time. So the numbers here don't quite give us the full story. Albeit, the complaints keep rolling in.

Mercedes CLA45 AMG

The Mercedes-Benz CLA is expected for 2014. Considered the younger brother of the all powerful CLS, the CLA will be much cheaper and more affordable to the every day working man. The more notable CLS63 AMG packs a whopping 550 HP with the optional AMG package. According to Mercedes it accelerates to 60 miles per hour from a standstill in 4.3 seconds. We believe this is a very safe estimate considering it has been tested at 3.8 and 3.9 zero to sixties repeatedly.

For the CLA, we can certainly assume the AMG version will debut shortly after it arrives in 2014. We speculate it will contain the smaller, naturally aspirated V8 engine that is currently found in the 2013 SLK55 AMG. The 5.5 Liter engine produces 422 HP with 398 lb-ft of torque. With the CLA expected to weight slightly less that the new bulky SLK we think we can expect a zero to sixty time of around 4 seconds.

The new CLA is coming soon to dealers near you...and we expect it to haul some serious tail.