TOP 10 CARS OF 2012 SO FAR

WE EXPECT NOTHING BUT PURE INGENUITY AND PURE BEAUTY IN CARS FOR 2012. BELOW IS A LIST OF 10 CAREFULLY SELECTED CARS FOR 2012. AGREE, DISAGREE OR JUST INDIFFERENT... LEMME KNOW WITH YOUR COMMENTS

No.10 Donkervoort GTO 

A new track day superstar? Well… we won’t be able to confirm this until we actually get a spin in Donkervoort’s insane new GTO. But we’re hedging our bets it’ll be epic nonetheless, as it's poised to be one of the best things come from Holland since specialty coffee shops, red lights and, err, clogs -- but only on leggy Dutch blondes of course.

Donkervoort GTO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boasting massive aggressive looks and Koenigsegg-style up-swing doors, the GTO will back it up by housing Audi’s bulletproof 2.5-liter TSFI powerplant, 400 bhp and weigh just 700 kilos. A fine recipe then for top tire-shredding track action.

Donkervoort’s biggest, baddest bruiser yet will hit the asphalt this summer with a sticker price ranging from £85,000 to £125,000.

No.9 Renault Twizy

Renault is making huge changes in 2012. Shedding traditional models left right and center, the French firm is committed to truly going electric. By far the most exciting of their emission-free releases this year will be the oddball Twizy.

                            
The seriously futuristic, all-electric, semi-alfresco two-seater that blurs the lines between cars and scooters leaps from improbable concept to reality in March, costing as little at £6,950.

Unfortunately, you’ll have to hire the battery at £40 a month and half-scissor doors represent a £500 option. But with a range of 60 miles, quick charging and a 50 mph top speed, nipping out for a pint of milk will never be the same again.

No.8 Lotus Evora GTE

Originally a China-only limited edition of just 25 examples, Lotus’ Evora GTE generated a frenzy that has now seen the sportiest of all Evoras get the global release it deserved for 2012.

                        
Lighter, wider and wilder than a regular Evora, the GTE takes inspiration from the Evora GT race car and gains an aggressive body kit with an industrial-strength permanent carbon-fiber wing bolted on the back. More good news is that it’s not all for show, too. The Evora’s 3.5-liter supercharged V6 has also been pimped for perkier performance with a delicious-sounding 438 bhp now on tap.

Just don’t expect change from £100,000 when it makes the showrooms later this year.

No.7 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

2012 sees Ford grab Chevrolet by the stones and squeeze -- hard.Rising to the challenge of Chevy’s crazy Camaro ZL1, Ford unleashed its most unruly beast yet. The GT500 is the most powerful ‘Stang ever. Looking more unholy than any of Hollywood’s interpretations of high-security prison inmates, Mustang muscle has simply never been this shredded -- or this desirable.

                                         
The hooves don’t lie either -- a staggering 650 bhp versus the Camaro ZL1’s 580 bhp. And that’s despite the Ford V8’s slightly smaller, 5.8-liter powerplant.

But the best news is it’s yours for just £38K -- shocking in just about every way.

No.6 Jaguar C-X16

Since dangling this particularly attractive carrot before us back in 2011, Jaguar has always referred to the C-X16 as a "concept," but the reality is that in late 2012, when the £50K "production" C-X16 lands, it will be just as sexy and just as fast as the concept promised.

                                        
Essentially, we’re looking at a 3.0-liter supercharged V6 unit -- with an F1-derived KERS booster button mounted on the steering wheel, no less -- that’ll propel this damnably desirable two-seater from 0-62 mph in 4.4 seconds and on to glorious 186 mph top end.
Jag’s stylish new compact superstar threatens to make Porsche’s 911 Carrera (also due in 2012) look like an also-ran.

No.5 Pagani Huayra

Hasn’t this already been released? You may well think so. And if it was German, it would have been. But it’s Italian, and it hasn’t been. Persistent tweakery at Pagani -- doubtless in the pursuit of applaudable perfection -- has delayed the Zonda’s replacement a lengthy and frustrating two years.
                                         
But 2012 is where the fettling and fellating stop. The Huayra, the “God Of Wind” (to give it it’s translation), will finally be released. The dream will become a reality for some very few, very loaded extroverts with a taste for the truly exotic.

As an aide memoire, here are the God’s stats: 0-62 mph in sub-3 seconds, 730 bhp, around 230 mph, a bi-turbo V12, and only 1, 350 kg. So, if the über-Versace nightmare/wet dream of an interior doesn’t make you pass out, the sheer pace of the thing will.

No.4 Bugatti Galibier

Again, like the Pagani Huayra, you’d be forgiven in thinking the four-door Veyron, dubbed the Galibier, had broken free of it’s conceptual shackles ages ago. But, again, you’d be wrong.

                                                       
2012 is the year the 16-cylindered, 1,000+ bhp, fastest four-door work of automotive art will finally find permanent homes in millionaires' sterile garages/galleries.
Proof the world’s economy isn’t quite as decimated as we’re led to believe? Who knows -- but its arrival is no doubt proof that there are still plenty of deep pockets out there.

No.3 Aston Martin's V12 Zagato

Arguably more beautiful than the £1.3 million One-77, Aston Martin’s £330K "bargain" will certainly make the summer of 2012 one to remember.

                               
The glorious result of Aston Martin’s latest collaboration with Italian design collective Zagato is based on the Aston’s iconic V12 Vantage, packing the same British-built, 6.0-liter, 12-cylindered unit under the much vented hood and hence proven to be capable of a stirring 510 bhp, 570 Nm and trouser-tightening pleasure.

No.2 Alfa Romeo 4C

By late 2012 Alfa Romeo will be rolling out its most tangibly tantalizing two-seater ever to rapturous and widespread demand. The stunning Alfa Romeo 4C promises to reignite the passion behind the sexy Italian brand and bring back a genuine sports-car feel at a price that’s surprisingly well within reach.

                 
Expected to start from just £35K, this rear-wheel-driven, lightweight coupe will take the Giulietta Cloverleaf’s 230 bhp turbocharged heart, twin-clutch semi-auto box and carbon tub adapted from the mental KTM X-Bow and promise a 0-62 mph sprint in no more than five seconds, while romping on to a useful top end of 155 mph.

We suggest getting your order in early -- a sell-out is guaranteed

No.1 McLaren "F1 Heir Apparent"

Just before end-of-play in 2012, we’ll get our first glimpse of McLaren’s natural successor to the legendary F1 hypercar. And yet it’s just this merest of promises that makes this our No. 1 the most anticipated car of the year without doubt.

The Formula 1 team’s road car division, McLaren Automotive, got deadly serious in 2011 with its Ferrari 458 rival, the incredible MP4-12C. But next up for the obsessively driven English firm is something much bigger, badder and faster -- and, as yet, still nameless, although we fully expect it to eventually get its own Star Wars droid-inspired nomenclature as the last Macca did.
                            
Tipped to potentially rival the likes of the Bugatti Veyron, this McLaren's estimated price points have ranged from £400K to £1 million -- but it’s looking increasingly likely to be the latter.

We expect 800+ bhp, 0-62 mp in the low 2s, a new era in weight-saving genius, and unbridled perfectionism throughout -- the kind that only McLaren can deliver.

......... coined from askmen.com