2006 Maserati MC12 Corsa

Maserati has taken the wraps of its $1.7 million supercar, a new track-only version of the World Championship-winning Maserati MC12 called the Corsa and which will only be sold to valued Maserati customers who will be restricted to using their new supercar on private track days.

 This is a unique opportunity to own a car that is the reigning GT World Champion,” says Edward Butler, General Manager for Maserati in Australia and New Zealand. “The world-beating racing car was developed from the Maserati MC12 road car and the Corsa is derived directly from the GT1 racing car exclusively for track use. It will not be homologated for road use.”

2012 Lotus Elise Club Racer

        The Lotus Elise has never been a car accused of being overweight, but that still hasn’t stopped Lotus from putting the sportscar on another diet to lose a few pounds. The result of that weight loss is the new Club Racer model which is 53 lbs lighter than the standard production model. In order to obtain reduction in weight for the lighter model, Lotus has opted for a stripped-to-the-bare-bone approach, meaning lighter seats, a lightweight battery, and the deletion of noise insulation.Wolf Zimmermann Chief Technical Officer Lotus Cars said: "The traditional Lotus approach of reduction and purity has lead to one of the most zeitgeist and contemporary sports cars around. For over 15 years the Lotus Elise has become an icon in the sports car market, carving out a niche market with a dedicated following of lightweight fans.

2012 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale

       Our supercar of the year list could not be complete without including this special edition rockstar. The Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale is described as the "the most extreme Gallardo ever" and with good reason. It was inspired by the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo and is placed on the top of the Gallardo line-up in all of its exclusive "Rosso Mars" paint glory. The color itself symbolizes Italy’s traditional racing red and draws from the car’s connection with ultimate race track performance, but its power also comes into play for its title to be fully appreciated.

2009 Dacia Duster

Duster – Dacia’s first concept crossover – is proud to be different. Seen from the driver’s side, it is visibly a sporting coupé, yet passengers entering from the other side will see it as an MPV (Multi Purpose Vehicle) with a traditionally opening front door and rear-hinged rear door which suggest plush travelling refinement. Duster’s height of 1.49 metres, short front and rear overhangs (65cm and 80cm respectively), generous wheelbase (2.80m) and compact volumes (4.25m long, 1.64m wide) exude an overriding sense of robustness and sports appeal.The front end features a broad bumper with two horizontal air-intake slits that suggest power. The grille features evident Dacia styling cues and is flanked by headlamps which wrap over the front wings to form a tapering line of light that stretches rearward towards the doors.Viewed from the side, the clear-cut lines of the wheel arches and tall doors reinforce the impression that Duster sits squarely on the road. The Anthracite Grey bodywork and extensive one-piece glazed sweep – made possible by the absence of a central pillar – highlights the styling of the sides which are unmistakably reminiscent of Duster’s graphic identity. 

   At the rear, the engraved Dacia logo further emphasizes the concept car’s robust, dependable credentials. Like Logan, Duster is just 4.25 metres long, and its inherent agility ensures that it is perfectly at home in the urban jungle. Meanwhile, its 21-inch, five-spoke aluminium alloy wheels, exterior mirrors positioned on the window surround and trapezoidal aluminium exhaust tailpipes are telltale signs of its sporting pedigree. Special care has gone into Duster’s aerodynamic efficiency (Cd: 0.30) and the fluid lines of the body sides enable air to flow freely along the vehicle’s flanks before being jettisoned through the rear lights. The aerodynamic, wing-like forms of the roof-mounted direction indicators also channel airflow towards the rear.

2011 Citroen Tubik

     If you thought the Volkswagen NILS was a crazy concept, check out Citroën’s latest vehicle. This car looks like the guys over at Citroën dropped acid and designed an out-of-this-world van to capture the most fun out of a long journey.

The Tubik pays homage to its old predecessors, the 1939 Tub van and the 1948 Type H that was in production until the late 70s. The Tubik features a major leap in technology and design, probably none of which will ever see production. But boy do we love dreamers....

The images provided by Citroën are intended to capture the public with "a concept car designed to make travel meaningful again." That being said (by Citroën), we couldn’t think of a groovier way to travel than in this modern, MPV-type, snout-nosed people carrier.

2008 Chrysler Firepower Preview

     The Firepower is a granturismo which, according to Chrysler, is said to demonstrate the brand standards of elegance, refinement and affordability. The Chrysler-branded concept pushes beyond the sports car realm by blending expressive detail and engineering. 

In January 2004 Chrysler got us all ecstatic when the ME Four-Twelve concept debuted in NAIAS. The American company was finally going to get a supercar with class. Of course, the Dodge’s Viper is technically a Chrysler vehicle, but it’s a little "rough around the edges". The ME Four-Twelve proved that Chrysler can combine extreme performance and luxury. Everything was set for production until the suits at Daimler-Chrysler started to question economical viability.

     The car would have been unquestionably very desirable, but few could have satisfied that desire at an estimated price of $ 200,000.

Also making a business case for the supercar, which would likely have topped $200,000 and sold maybe a few hundred copies a year, was difficult, hence the decision to scrap the project. But in 2005’s NAIAS Chrysler brought to our attention a replacement for the ME Four-Twelve, The Firepower concept which shares the Dodge Viper race-bred chassis and the 6.1 liter V8 HEMI recently launched on the Chrysler 300C SRT-8. The concept was announced to go from zero-to-sixty in just 4.5 seconds and reach thrilling 175 mph top speed, all of that via an automatic 5-speed transmission (with AutoStick feature – the alternative of manually selecting gears) also common with the 300C SRT-8.