The 25 Greatest Supercars of the 21st Century (So Far) | Revealing Batman's Ultimate Hypercar! part 1

The 25 Greatest Supercars of the 21st Century (So Far) | Revealing Batman's Ultimate Hypercar! part 1.

From the Saleen S7 to the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, these are our top models from the new Millennium at least for now.

There is no denying that the landscape of the automotive industry is seismically shifting. Advances in autonomous driving, ubiquitous ride-sharing platforms and even new app-driven models for ownership, while convenient, do not seem to be inspiring the younger demographic to become motoring enthusiasts. Well, maybe this will help. As we are about to leave another decade in the dust, here’s a look back at what the last 20 years or so have brought us in the way of memorable supercars—apex models sure to rev-up the next generation of collectors.

1. The McLaren F1 supercar.
Ok, so the first one on this list is technically from the last century, the 1990s to be exact, but it’s here as a benchmark and baseline for the models that follow. A top speed of 231 mph. Back in 1992, no other production car had ever gone that fast. It was mind-blowing. But that’s what the McLaren F1 did; blow minds. With its feather-weight carbon-fiber chassis, single-minded focus on shaving weight, and a bespoke 6-liter, 627 hp BMW V-12 for power, it could sear to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds.
Costing nearly $1 million at launch, it was also mind-blowingly expensive. Today, however, in the rare chance that one of the 106 examples comes to market, expect to pay around $20 million. The ultimate supercar? Some would say there’s no question.  Howard Walker


2. The Saleen S7.
An American outlier in a world of European trendsetters, Steve Saleen’s S7 debuted in 2000 at the Monterey Historic Races as a track-focused supercar that was far more extreme than most competitors from the other side of the pond. The heart of the mid-engined predator was an aluminum power plant derived from Ford’s venerable 351 ci V-8, which developed 550 hp and shifted through a six-speed manual gearbox.
The subsequent model S7 Twin-Turbo from 2005 made 750 hp from a 427 ci big-block V-8, and achieved a claimed top speed of 248 mph, staggering performance then and now. Produced through 2009, the Saleen S7 remains a rare collectible, and while no production figures are officially available, its numbers are estimated to be well below triple digits.  Robert Ross

3. A Ferrari Enzo.
Ferrari’s biggest sensation of the 21st century remains the Enzo, a V-12-powered, mid-engined monster named after the founder of the company, a man whose legacy continues to inspire the latest supercars from Maranello. Designed by then head of design at Pininfarina, Ken Okuyama, the car captivated its audience in 2002 at the Paris Motor Show.
All 399 units were presold, with production spanning 2003 through 2004. A 400th production example was built and donated to the Vatican for charity. While the power output of 651 hp and as-new price of $659,330 seem quaintly modest by today’s standards, the Enzo was the benchmark of its era and remains one of the most coveted of this century’s supercars.  R.R.


4. A Porsche Carrera GT.
With its six-speed manual transmission and wooden cue-ball shift knob, it’s understandable why many call the Carrera GT the last of the analog supercars. Absent the sophisticated safety systems of today’s latest-and-greatest, the mid-engined GT is a thrill-ride offering a taste of what might have been had Porsche set the GT’s sights on the racetrack.
A 5.7-liter V-8 develops 603 hp and has a sound like no other Porsche engine ever made. The Carrera GT does not suffer fools, requiring skill when engaging its sensitive clutch and commanding respect when managing the rear-wheel horsepower. Its shape, the handiwork of Porsche’s then head designer Harm Lagaay, seems timeless—and almost understated—today. A total of 1,270 units were made between 2004 and 2007.  R.R.

5. A Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
While never receiving the attention enjoyed by its supercar rivals, the burly SLR was a novel mash-up between Germany’s Mercedes-Benz and Britain’s McLaren, before the latter became a household name. The big GT was co-developed by both companies, and manufactured at the McLaren factory in Woking, England.
Its name references Mercedes’ 300 SLR race car from the 1950s. The 2003 coupe, styled by Gordon Wagener, was followed by a roadster in 2007 and, finally, a limited-edition speedster model. The entire run of 2,157 cars came to an end in 2010 when it was superseded by the less rarefied SLS AMG that year. Power came from a 5.4-liter supercharged V-8, developing a then-respectable 617 hp, which gave the vehicle a top speed of 208 mph.  R.R.

6. Testing a Ford GT.
In 1966, lightning struck three times when Ford’s GT40 finished 1-2-3 at the daunting 24 Hours of Le Mans. The first consumer grade GT40s came out of homologation rules that dictated equivalent road cars were built alongside the racers. Fast forward to 2004, and Ford produced an homage to its famous competition machines, dubbing the supercharged sports car simply the GT.
Though undeniably sexy, the new creation had no ostensible links to racing. Not until 2016, on the 50th anniversary of the Le Mans photo finish triple victory, did Ford venture down the GT road again, this time building a gorgeous twin-turbocharged game changer whose race equivalents won their LMGTE Pro class at Le Mans, completing a half-century circle with stunning symmetry.  Basem Wasef

7. A Maserati MC12.
A kissing cousin of the Ferrari Enzo, Maserati’s MC12 was built for the express purpose of competing in (and winning) the FIA GT Championship. A total of 25 customer cars were made in 2004, with another 25 in 2005, each priced at $670,541, and all were presold. A final dozen were produced for racing only.
Frank Stephenson, then-director of Ferrari-Maserati Concept Design and Development penned the MC12, which was built on the Enzo chassis, but was larger in every dimension. Sharing the Ferrari’s same 6.0-liter V-12 engine, the Maserati was deferential to its prancing horse patriarch, making 621 hp and hitting 205 mph, versus 651 hp and 217 mph. While not street legal, the MC12 shines as one of the most voluptuous supercars of our century.  R.R.

8. A Koenigsegg CCX supercar.
Koenigsegg Automotive is the brainchild of Christian von Koenigsegg, whose Swedish atelier has been building wildly imaginative hypercars for the last quarter century. While early iterations were only street legal in limited markets (and built in extremely limited numbers), 2006’s CCX marked the carmaker’s first attempt to meet global standards for safety and emissions.
Though only 29 examples of the CCX were produced over four years, the 800+ hp cars introduced the boutique brand to America, stoking a worldwide appetite for these wildly innovative, carbon-fiber creations.  B.W.

9. A Lamborghini Reventón.
Debuting at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show and built from 2007 through 2009, the Reventón—named after a fighting bull—was not a series-production car, but a limited run of special Lamborghini supercars whose styling was inspired, according to the factory press release, by “the fastest airplanes.”
The mechanical underpinnings beneath its carbon-fiber skin were derived from the Italian marque’s then-state-of-the-art Murciélago LP640, which featured a mid-rear-mounted 6.5-liter V-12 developing 641 hp and achieving a very respectable top speed of 211 mph. a mere 20 examples were made, with one additional for the factory museum. A roadster version, unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, followed the stealthy coupe.  R.R.

10. The Aston Martin One-77.
Achingly gorgeous. Aston Martin’s super-exclusive ONE-77 hypercar is a true art form. Just 77 of these potent projectiles were built, each costing roughly $1.5 million. At its launch in 2009, this was the fastest, most technically-advanced, most radical Aston ever built. And, arguably, the most beautiful.
With a carbon-fiber chassis and hand-formed aluminum body, it was also light yet extremely rigid. And lightning quick, courtesy of its 750 hp, 7.3-liter V-12. How quick? Think zero to 60mph in 3.5 seconds and a 200 mph top speed. It’s the car Bond should be driving, but never has.  H.W.

11. The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.
Bugatti stormed back to the modern age from the pages of automotive history with the 2005 Veyron, which announced its intentions with quad-turbo twin-V8s that made an astonishing 1,200 hp. Fast forward a half-decade, and the Super Sport version of the Veyron promptly claimed the Guinness Book of Records title in 2010 as world’s fastest production car with a 260 mph run at Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg test track.
The Veyron Super Sport has been eclipsed by the 1,500 hp Bugatti Chiron which, driven by Andy Wallace, recently hit 304 mph in testing. However, nobody is apt to forget the Veyron—the machine that made the modern version of Bugatti what it is today.  Marco della Cava

12. A Ferrari LaFerrari.
2013 was an auspicious year for supercars, with no fewer than three major releases debuting from McLaren, Porsche, and Ferrari and earning the “Holy Trinity” nickname. Though fiercely individual, each of the trio claimed a hybrid power-train layout.
Of the three, only the Ferrari LaFerrari boasted a V-12 engine— and a raucous, naturally aspirated one, at that. The LaFerrari also happened to be the most powerful (and, unofficially at least) the most charismatic of the wild bunch. Eponymously named to suggest it was the quintessence of the Ferrari nameplate, the 950 hp hypercar may go down in history not only as the pinnacle of its era, but also as one of the greatest prancing horses of all time.  B.W.