Greatest Italian Sports Cars and Supercars

May 1, 2022

Italian sports cars are the cream of the crop for most car lovers. Skilled manufacturers seamlessly blend unique designs with powerful engines for the ultimate automotive thrill. Some models flaunt timeless beauty and elegance while others resemble something that came out of the sky. While most are reserved for the rich and famous, few are sold at an affordable price, making them a fantasy come true for anyone who can no longer fight the mid-life crisis splurge.

20. Lamborghini Egoista

The Lamborghini Egoista was first unveiled to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Italian auto manufacturer. It features a 317 cubic inch 5.2-liter V10 engine with 600 horsepower. The car itself is intriguing to look at, as its cockpit is similar to a fighter jet because it can only hold one person at a time. It also has an entirely removable canopy door, and one must remove the steering wheel before entering and exiting the car.

19. Ferrari F430 Scuderia

The Ferrari F430 Scuderia was first unveiled at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show by Michael Schumacher. Later, a lighter and more powerful version of the standard F430 was manufactured to compete against other high-performance cars like the Porsche RS-models and the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera. Upgrades include a revised exhaust intake, and ion-sensing knock detection system, as well as a new traction control system that matches the Ferrari Enzo around the test track with a 3.6 second zero to sixty-two miles per hour acceleration time.

18. Maserati Quattroporte Sport GTS

The Maserati Quattroporte Sport GTS was first introduced in 2009. The term Quattroporte” means “four doors” in Italian and comes with two twin-turbo engine options, including a 3.0 V6 liter engine with 404 horsepower or a 3.8 liter V8 with 523 horsepower. All options come with rear-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission. A leather-lined cabin and an 8.4-inch touch screen system are found on the inside, along with optional features such as Apple CarPlay, adaptive cruise control, and automated emergency braking.

17. Alfa Romeo 4C

The Alfa Romeo 4C was introduced in 2013 and is still in production today. The surprisingly affordable Italian sports car goes for around fifty-eight thousand dollars and features a 1.8-liter turbo I4 engine with 237 horsepower and a six-speed automatic transmission. It is available as a coupe or with a targa top and weighs less than twenty-five hundred pounds. Reviewers stated the interior is tight on space and difficult to exit as it sits low to the ground, but is the best mid-life crisis vehicle for its price.

16. Lamborghini Gallardo

This super sports car was named after a famous breed of fighting bull. The Lamborghini Gallardo has been retired since it was first introduced in 2004, but it will forever go down in history as the best-selling Lamborghini of all time. First generation cars came with a 4,961 cubic centimeter 5-liter V10 engine and two choices of transmissions: the standard six-speed manual and an optional six-speed semi-automatic robotized manual that was electro-hydraulically controlled, otherwise known as “E-gear,” to help the driver shift faster.

15. Lamborghini Aventador

The Lamborghini Aventador is about as expensive as it is speedy. It was first introduced in 2011 and is powered by a 6.5-liter V12 engine with 730 horsepower, a seven-speed automated manual transmission, and has all-wheel drive capabilities. It is available as a coupe with an upgraded option that provides 740 horsepower and can reach speeds of two hundred and seventeen miles per hour. Expect this speedster to go from zero to sixty miles per hour in just 2.7 seconds.

14. Ferrari SP12 EC

Eleven-time Grammy Award winner Eric Clapton doesn't only have good taste in music, his taste in cars is pretty damn good too. Clapton’s Ferrari SP12 EC was created in 2012 as a tribute to older models of the Berlinetta Boxer, such as the 365 and the 512. It does not have a V12 because it is based on the 458 Italia, but it has the same style of the older models and cost 4.7 million dollars to create.

13. Ferrari 458 Italia

The Ferrari 458 Italia replaced the Ferrari F430 and was the first Ferrari mid-engine setup to feature direct fuel injection. It was first unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show and is powered by a 4,499 cubic centimeter V8 engine with 578 horsepower. The only transmission available was a dual-clutch seven-speed Getrag gearbox, making it the first mainstream model not offered with a manual transmission. It was replaced by the Ferrari 488 in 2015.

12. Lamborghini Reventon

When the Lamborghini Reventon was first introduced in 2007, it sparked a new style trend for Lamborghini’s of the future. Until the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento launched, it was the most expensive Lamborghini on the road at two million dollars. According to the press, only twenty vehicles would be sold to the public, and one car would be produced for the Lamborghini Museum. Along with style inspired by the speed of airplanes, the Reventon featured a 6.5 liter V12 with 640 horsepower.

11. Alfa Romeo Disco Volante

Based on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante was first introduced as a two-seater coupe in 2013. The name came from the Disco Volante of the 1950’s, which is Italian for “flying saucer.” It featured a 4.7-liter front-central V8 engine with 444 horsepower and a six-speed transmission with a limited-slip differential. The car tops out at one hundred and eighty miles per hour and goes from zero to sixty-two in 4.2 seconds.

10. Alfa Romeo 8C

The Alfa Romeo 8C was first introduced as a concept car in 2003 at the Frankfurt Motor Show and was later released for sale in 2007. It featured a 4.7-liter V8 engine with 444 horsepower. Although approximately fourteen hundred orders were placed, only five hundred units were made. The 2007 models were similar to the concept car with the biggest difference being a rear-hinged hood. Other changes included front lights with Xenon lamps, a mesh side vent, a standard wiper system, and rims that looked like the clover leaf logo.

9. Ferrari LaFerrari

In 2013, the Ferrari LaFerrari debuted as the company’s first hybrid, which was initially hard to comprehend but totally changed the way people thought of the typical boring hybrid. It features a 6.2-liter V12 engine with 789 horsepower. Only four hundred and ninety-nine cars were made, with each one costing around one million dollars. An additional car was manufactured and auctioned off for seven million dollars, making it the most valuable car of the twenty-first century to ever be sold at an auction.

8. Ferrari F12

First introduced in 2012, the Ferrari F12 is so powerful that even the man himself, Jeremy Clarkson, thought it might be too much car. It features a 6.3 liter V12 with 730 horsepower and a seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission with rear-wheel drive. These features won it the title of Top Gear Supercar of the Year in 2012. Other reviewers claim that the Ferrari F12 is still a comfortable car to drive despite all that power thanks to its aerodynamic upgrades that improve its downforce.

7. Maserati GranTurismo

Introduced in 2007, the Maserati GranTurismo is one of the most elegant cars of its time. It is available in coupe or convertible models, is powered by a 4.7-liter V8 engine with 454 horsepower, and can go from zero to sixty miles per hour time in less than five seconds. It is manufactured with parts of the Ferrari 599 GTB and Scaglietti, and the platform of the Maserati Quattroporte V. Newer models go for about one hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars.

6. Pagani Zonda R

In 2007, the Pagani Zonda debuted at the Geneva Motor Show with a 6.0-liter V12 engine with 524 pounds per feet of torque power, sourced from the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR. The track-based car featured a top speed of two hundred and eighteen miles per hour with a zero to sixty time of 2.7 seconds. It has a lightweight, high-performance intake system with a Formula One style exhaust and is paired with a six-speed manual transmission.

5. Maserati MC12

Only fifty total Maserati MC12s were produced in 2004 and 2005, and each one sold for around six hundred seventy thousand dollars. It was built on the chassis of the Enzo Ferrari - which was introduced a few years earlier in 2002 - but the final version had a lower drag coefficient and was much larger. It also had a sharper nose, smoother curves, and a wider frame. It is also equipped with a 6.0-liter V12 engine with top speeds reaching 217.5 miles per hour.

4. Lamborghini Sesto Elemento

The Lamborghini Sesto Elemento translates to the “sixth element” in English. The car is made of nothing but carbon fiber; including its seats, body and chassis. It is powered by a V10 engine with 570 horsepower, and the car itself weighs about as much as a subcompact car at twenty-two hundred pounds.. The two-seater limited edition vehicle first debuted at the 2010 Paris Motor Show and featured a six-speed semi-automatic transmission with all-wheel drive.

3. ItalDesign Giugiaro Parcour

The Lamborghini-based ItalDesign Giugiaro Parcour was first unveiled in 2013 at the Geneva Auto Show with a 5.2 liter V10 engine, all-wheel drive, and 543 horsepower. It has a zero to sixty time of 3.7 seconds and tops out at one hundred and ninety-nine miles per hour. The interior is spacious for a two-seater and includes twenty-two-inch wheels with a ride height of around 8.3 and thirteen inches long. The weight is nearly identical to the Lamborghini Gallardo Valentino Balboni at just over thirty-four hundred pounds.

2. Pagani Huayra

With an estimated cost of 2.5 million dollars, the Pagani Huayra replaced the company’s Zonda and featured a 6.0-liter AMG V12 engine with 720 horsepower. The vehicle was named after a Quechua wind God know as Huayra-Tata. Production of the Pagani Huayra was limited to only one hundred vehicles. It was appointed as the Hypercar of the year in 2012 by Top Gear after being tested by Richard Hammond and held the record of fastest road car to go around the show’s test track until 2016 when the McLaren 675LT beat it.

1. Lamborghini Veneno

The four million dollar Lamborghini Veneno first debuted in 2013 with a 6.5-liter V12 engine and 740 horsepower but was recalled in 2017 due to a possible fire risk. Only twelve Veneno’s were ever sold to the public, making it one of the rarest cars in the world. Built to celebrate Lamborghini’s fiftieth anniversary, the Veneno has a top speed of two hundred and twenty miles per hour and can reach speeds of zero to sixty in 2.8 seconds.

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