We live through a high period for the super sports car. Never before has there been such a talented list of offerings, each with their own unique talents.

There’s a car for all tastes during this segment, but those below are our picks of the bunch.

1. Aston Martin Vantage

Aston Martin has taken an enormous leap into true blue driver’s car territory with the new Vantage. Never before has Gaydon departed so clearly from its traditional preference for fairly laid-back, long-legged, old-school front-engined GT sports cars than it's here.

So much about the new Vantage – from its first-order performance level to its tight, tenacious body control, to its impressively advanced driveline specification and its on-track composure, handling precision and endurance – tells you loud and clear that it’s able to transform Aston into a firm which will be taken seriously by real petrolheads who’s stuck to their Porsches and upper-level BMW M cars? Better still, it's now available with a manual gearbox.

Never have you ever been ready to drive a series-production Aston as hard as this, or really contemplate using one such as you might a track-ready 911. Partly perhaps as a result of all that newfound grip and purpose, the car doesn’t quite overcome the restrictions of its size and weight and involve just like the greatest driver’s cars when driven on the road – but it certainly enriches everyday use as an excellent a sports car should, and as only an Aston Martin could.

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Aston Martin Vantage

2. McLaren 570S

The 570S occupies a purer and more exciting territory than its sports car rivals, but it’s also more forgiving and easier than them also.

Its performance level is outstanding, without compromise to driveability. Its handling is equally outstanding: a special mixture of track-ready purpose, with on-road compliance, precision, and stability – and enriched by wonderful control feedback.

It is more exotic than the Porsche 911, more delicate than an Audi R8 V10 Plus and more practical than a BMW i8. There’s little doubt that McLaren’s mid-range model is really the car for the corporate to form its reputation.

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McLaren 570S

3. Porsche 911 Turbo S

The most broadly capable model within the 991 line-ups is back for the 992 generations, and once more ranks as arguably the quickest point-to-point car on the earth. Four-wheel drive and new twin-turbocharged engine tuned to 641bhp contrive to deliver a 2.6sec 0-62mph time and a top speed comfortably north of 200mph. And like other 911s within the current range, you'll also expect a first-class cabin and a degree of subtlety absent from a number of the more extrovert cars on this list.

And that's an outsized a part of the appeal with the Turbo S, which can soon be available in regular, non-S Turbo guise. Despite its manic pace, it doesn't shout everywhere it goes, and its ability to swallow big distances makes it an authentic alternative even to GT-leaning rivals like the Aston Martin DB11.

Naturally, it'll thrill like few else on a B-road, too. Intuitive steering and just a touch of that rear-biased weight distribution gives the driving force options, though admittedly the Porsche still isn't quite as playful as some on this list.

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4. Aston Martin DB11 V8

The DB11 V8 isn’t the foremost refined in its class, with tire roar and an unusually loud rustle of air passing over the bottom of A-pillar.

Interior fit isn’t ok, either, albeit the abundance of leather is supremely soft to the touch. The Mercedes-AMG S63 Coupé surpasses the Aston on both counts, though you’ll forfeit driver involvement if you select the large Merc.

If you’re sitting during a DB11 V8, the AMG-sourced engine upfront sets the tone for what this car can dynamically speak, do so well. It’s so deeply intuitive to steer. this is often a hugely desirable product – one that ranks before its V12 sibling.

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Aston Martin DB11 V8

5. Honda NSX

Honda has managed to deploy world-first powertrain technology with an outstanding lightness of touch. it's used unconventional means to perfect, instead of reinventing, the traditional junior supercar.

And it's produced a really rare breed of mid-engined exotic as a result: one that doesn’t shout about its potential or impose itself on your senses, but is instead a really mature and complete driver’s car.

Despite updates introduced in 2019 – which, among the brilliant orange paint-job, included detail chassis tweak and recalibrations for the adaptive damping, steering and four-wheel drive – it could still be better equipped, nicer to travel in, and slightly more luridly exciting sometimes. However, for its fusion talents, it deserves respect. Arguably only the McLaren 570S offers more compelling driving experience, but it does so with a far simpler powertrain.

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6. Audi R8 V10

The Audi R8’s technical reference to the company’s motorsport efforts is obvious. The car may be a visceral, singular tribute to power and performance, noise and revs, grip and traction. It’s hugely exciting to drive, although almost as rounded, communicative, or usable enough because of the absolute best super sports cars.

The latest R8 has lost a number of the old car’s character for a more digital form. So while we are impressed overall with the second generation Audi R8, especially with its looks, performance, and sound, it still falls in need of more rounded rivals just like the BMW i8, Porsche 911 Turbo S and McLaren 570S.

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Audi R8 V10

7. Mercedes-AMG GT

With the structure of a supercar, an engine from a muscle saloon, suspension tuned for a max attack on the track and yet the practicality and class of a chic coupé, or roadster, the GT is a good more bewildering addition to the sports car world than the Mercedes-Benz SLS was.

Of course, there would be times when you’d grow uninterested in its high-adrenalin temperament and lack of civility, sure, but the highs would outweigh those occasions. But the car is so capable – as capable as cars twice its price – it's extremely lovable, albeit almost as delicately beautiful to drive as a 911 Turbo.

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8. Nissan GT-R Nismo

It may are around for quite a decade now, but the Nissan GT-R remains one among the quickest, most capable super sports cars money can purchase. The hardcore Nismo version builds on this.

There’s a more aggressive aero the package that has a sizeable rear wing, a rise in torsional rigidity, also as tweaked springs, dampers, and anti-roll bars for even greater levels of agility. Nissan says these modifications make the GT-R Nismo even more playful on the limit, which may only be an honest thing. Its steering is impressively incisive and accurate, while the very fact that it seems happier to send its power rearwards so as to bring its tail end into play serves to verify Nissan’s modifications have worked as intended.

Of course, it’s still devilishly quick during a line too. Its 3.8-liter V6, whose twin turbos come courtesy of Nissan’s GT-R GT3 racer produces some 592bhp and 481lb ft. Nissan doesn’t quote a politician 0-60mph time, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to mention it'd well dip below the three .0sec mark.

It might be showing its age, but the GT-R Nismo remains as brutally effective as ever.

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Nissan GT-R Nismo

9. Ferrari Portofino

As the replacement for the California T, the handsomely-styled and glamorously titled Ferrari Portofino now represents the entry-level, ‘affordable’ offering in Maranello’s model line-up - if there's such a thing.

Sharper, faster and more focussed than the California T, the Portofino stands out as an exceptionally pointed sports car. Its steering is lightning quick, its gearchanges delivered with the type of forceful, confident conviction you’d expect from the likes of a supercar. Its refreshed twin-turbocharged V8, meanwhile, now develops some 592bhp and 561lb ft, therefore the sprint from 0-60mph is now dispatched in an eye-widening 3.5sec. And with a folding metal roof which will be retracted in 14sec, there’s unlimited scope to enjoys its rich, authentically Ferrari soundtrack.

As a sports car then, there’s much to love about the Portofino. But there’s a hitch; this is often also intended to be a cushty, fast, and incredibly livable grand tourer. And given just how sharp and overtly dynamic Ferrari has now made it, this conflicted personality is hard to overlook.

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Ferrari Portofino

10. Maserati GranTurismo MC

While it lacks the dynamic sparkle or engagement of others, the GranTurismo MC makes up ground with drama because of its high revving V8 and lovely, Italian looks.

The car’s steering feels old-fashioned, with the hydraulic assistance passing on the type of low-intensity feedback that electric systems filter as unwanted noise. Plus, the car’s chassis wants to understeer. Some will simply see sufficient appeal during a Pininfarina-designed four-seater with a Ferrari-built engine to justify the worth.

It is really beginning to feel its age and therefore the segment contains more rational offerings, but emotionally speaking, this Maserati remains a compelling choice.

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