The 1980s gave us the likes of the Porsche 959 and Ferrari F40. Then came the 1990s, a period defined by the almighty McLaren F1. And during this era, an increasing number of people started getting a taste of what the supercar genre is all about. By the time the 2000s rolled in, the supercar segment was a well-defined integral of the automotive industry.
Our friends at Donut Media assembled a top 10 of the most defining supercars from the Noughties, and for what it’s worth, they’re all special in their respective ways. The ranking starts with the Saleen S7, which at the time it came out, it pushed the envelope of what America could do as far as high-performance automobiles are concerned. The recipe was perfected a few years after the original came out with the S7 Twin Turbo.
Next in the ranking, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren embodied the technical excellence of the three-pointed star and the go-faster knowledge of Britain’s most respected Formula 1 team. In comparison to the AMG-ified SL it is based on, the SLR is a very different animal, both in and out. The RUF CTR3 is next on the list, and for a boutique car from a tuning shop, the CTR3 was and still is a monster of a machine.
Donut Media then mentions the Ford GT, a modern-day tribute to the Le Mans-winning GT40 that was as thrilling to behold as it was uncomfortable to get it. The Lamborghini Murcielago SV, on the other hand, was the last hurrah for the engine that put the Raging Bull on the map back in the ‘60s. With the Aventador, the Giotto Bizzarrini-designed V12 gave way for an all-new powerplant developed for the 21st century.
On number five, Donut Media turned its attention to the Koenigsegg CCXR, which as opposed to the preceding CCX, the R stands is an indicator that the twin-turbo V8 tower-of-power likes to drink E85 and E100 fuel in big gulps. The Gumpert Apollo S was an unloved child of the supercar realm, and that’s part of the reason why the German automaker went the way of the dodo in 2013, only to resurface as Apollo in 2016.
And finally, we get to the remaining three on the list, starting with the Porsche Carrera GT. There are many things one could say about the V10-powered supercar that was developed from the automaker’s GT1 and LMP1 programs, though at the end of the day, it’s the sound of that racecar-derived engine that sends shivers down one’s spine at 8,400 rpm.
The Ferrari Enzo came in on second place, a vehicle so important for the Prancing Horse of Maranello that it bears the name of the founder.
The supercar that made it first in the ranking shouldn’t come as a surprise, for the Bugatti Veyron is for the 2000s what the McLaren F1 was for the 1990s: a technical masterpiece that no one ever came close. And to this effect, Bugatti outdid itself in the 2010s with the Veyron’s successor.
On that note, is there any supercar that Donut Media forgot to mention?
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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