By JIM GORZELANY, ForbesAutos.com
In a niche where excess always rules, manufacturers are outdoing each other in spectacular ways to develop the ultimate sports car. And it's not just more power they're after.
If a few of the models on our latest hot list are any indication, your next sports car could very well plug into a wall outlet or run on recycled cooking oil.
In Pictures: Hottest Sports Cars of 2009
But sports car purists can relax. It will be years before the piercing sound of high-revving engines fades from the streets. In the meantime, some of the biggest buzz belongs to Bugatti.
The French automaker outdid itself by unveiling a new version of the $1.5 million Veyron 16.4, called the Grand Sport, which has a removable roof panel and a $2 million estimated price tag.
But obscure Swedish automaker Koenigsegg upstaged Bugatti with its mind-bending CCXR, whose 1,018-horsepower V8 engine puts out even more power than the Bugatti's ridiculously powerful 16-cylinder engine.
"The horsepower wars may recede for a period of time, but they will never go away," says Leo Parente, an independent New York-based automotive marketing consultant whose clients include General Motors, Lexus, Toyota and Hyundai."We may be discussing horsepower in terms of an electric motor, but bigger will always be seen as being better."
Even mass-market brands like Chevrolet are crossing new thresholds.
The company pushed the performance and price of its long-running Corvette sports car further than ever before with a new ZR1 version that cranks out 638 hp. It essentially is a race car for the streets, with a 3.4-second 0-100 km/h time, a top speed of 330 km/h and a $125,195 starting price.
"Actually, it reinforces the 'performance-to-price' value status that Corvette traditionally holds versus its comparably performing competitors, only in the ZR1's case it stands up against significantly more expensive Ferraris and Lamborghinis," Parente says.
And as Chevrolet moves up-market with the Corvette, Ferrari moves down-market with its all-new California convertible, which is expected to have a starting price below $200,000. "This is the Ferrari for the common man," says George Peterson, president of AutoPacific Group, a Tustin, Calif.-based research firm. "The California provides an 'entry level' Ferrari that is technologically accomplished, but uses a 'parts bin' approach to achieve a more affordable price point."
The Ferrari California borrows technology from sister company Maserati's GranTurismo, but adds something no other Ferrari or Maserati has: a retractable, multi-section metal roof.
It's only one of 17 all-new or significantly updated 2009 model-year sports cars. See the full list of Hottest Sports Cars of 2009 in the accompanying slideshow.
Recession? What Recession?
The sports car market is thriving in the midst of an economic downturn in the US and swelling gas prices thanks in part to wealthy baby boomers.
"There are plenty of people who have long lusted after exotics who now can afford them," Peterson says. "Their bonuses have been paid, or they are affluent baby boomers nearing retirement with healthy nest eggs who feel that they deserve a reward for years of hard work. The boomers will represent a huge proportion of the sports-car market in the coming years."
Boomers — a market segment that includes about 76 million people born between 1946 and 1964, already buy 56.5 percent of all new Porsches, 64.7 of all Ferraris, 73.8 percent of all Aston Martins and 82.3 percent of all Lamborghinis sold in the United States, according to CNW Research in Bandon, Ore.
And while only around 3 percent of Baby Boomers currently own a sports car or a "sporty car," according to AutoPacific survey data, analysts expect that more than 13 percent will consider buying one in the future.
If the latest crop of new sports cars is any indication, they'll have a variety of models to choose from. But they could be fighting over the few available each year.
Only 150 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sports are scheduled for production at a rate of 50 per year. Fewer than 100 of Alfa Romeo's sexy new convertible, the 2009 8C Competizione Spider, are expected to reach us.
Even much less expensive new models like the $81,900 2009 Nissan GT-R, of which 2,500 will be sold in the United States this year, are in such demand that reportedly some opportunists who got their hands on the first batch are marking them up.
"These vehicles are fashion statements in the automotive entertainment industry," AutoPacific's Peterson says. They're often bought by "nouveau riche hedge fund managers wanting a way to display that they have made it in other ways than by owning a mansion."
Besides head-turning looks and utter exclusivity, sports cars are coveted for their performance, even if it never gets tested. Parente calls this the "it could do factor."
"'It could do 0-60 in 3.8 seconds,' or 'It could do 200 mph,'" he says. In this sense, having a sports cars in the garage is like having a $7,000 professional-grade Viking range in your kitchen for boiling pasta, or wearing a $5,000 diver's watch to tell time at the office.
Green Speed
One car on our list stands out from all the others — the Tesla Roadster.
Already, eco-conscious Hollywood types are lining up to take delivery of the $109,000 electric car. It has real sports-car pedigree, with underpinnings from respected British automaker Lotus, but it eschews a traditional engine and transmission for a massive lithium-ion battery pack powering an electric motor. Tesla says will take the low-slung two-seater to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds and go 354 km on one charge.
There are downsides to being an innovator like Tesla. After finally starting production earlier this year after multiple delays, it has been stunted by durability issues with the Roadster's two-speed electro-hydraulic manual transmission. Tesla is in the process of swapping it for a new one-speed gearbox that can better handle the high torque levels produced by the electric powertrain.
"We're now inserting what we're calling 'powertrain 1.5' into the production process, and everything's once again going according to plan," says Tesla spokesperson Darryl Siry.
While only a handful of owners have taken delivery of what is admittedly a low-volume vehicle, Parente says the Tesla Roadster is already a success. "It validates that 'green' and 'performance driving' are not mutually diverse desires of the driving population. The Tesla shows we can change the power source, but not the experience, and let driving remain fun."
All of the sports cars on our list have advancements that prove this point.
Half of them use lightweight carbon-fiber body panels to save weight. The Ferrari California and revamped 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera use new transmissions with seven gears instead of the usual six to improve not only acceleration, but also fuel efficiency. The new base 911 Carrera produces 20 hp more than the outgoing model, but maintains the same estimated fuel economy of 13.1 L/100km in the city and 8.4 L/100km on the highway, which is among the best in the sports car segment.
Even way-over-the-top models like the Koenigsegg CCRX are going green: It can run on E85 Ethanol or E100 biodiesel.
And it only gets better. Toyota is working on a new sports car, the FT-HS, whose 3.5-liter V6 hybrid powertrain will achieve the equivalent of 400 hp. Likewise, Honda plans to debut a small and lightweight CR-Z hybrid sport coupe next year.
"Thirty years ago, every time a new generation of sports car came out, there would be those who lamented it would be the 'last of its kind' because of stricter emissions and fuel economy regulations," says Francois Gravigny, an advisor for R.L. Polk & Co. in Southfield, Mich. "Fast-forward 30 years and we still have no shortage of Porsches and Ferraris on the market, and they're way better than they were back then."
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