Absolute Power
The personality of performance automobiles has never been more split—or strange. Hybrid and electric cars are staking an assertive claim to the future, with brands from Porsche to McLaren racing to outdo each other. On the other, grease-stained side, purely internal combustion cars are flaunting more sheer, astonishing power than at any time in history. No matter your budget, favored brand or body style, a power grab is now within reach.
Lamborghini Huracán Performante: Runs like the Wind
A stubborn holdout against electrification or even turbocharging, the Huracán Performante combines a bellicose 631-horsepower V-10 with ingenious aerodynamics to become one of the world’s fastest track cars. The brazenly lovely Lambo shares technology with its Audi R8 cousin, including its aluminum and carbon-fiber space frame, AWD and high-def driver displays. But its new “ALA” aerodynamics system integrates a hollow wing formed from unique “forged composite” carbon fiber. That soaring tail feather automatically ducts air to prep for straightaways, corners or face-peeling braking, switching between aero modes in less than 500 milliseconds. Go ahead, flirt with that 202-mph top speed: The Huracán, which aptly translates to “Hurricane,” makes it a literal breeze. (Base price: $274,390) 866.681.6276, lamborghini.com
BMW Alpina B7: Enhanced Performance
Since 1965, car manufacturer Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen has crafted rare and distinctive BMWs, including models now built alongside standard Bimmers before being finished at Alpina’s factory near Munich. The B7 is a stealthy beauty—a 600-horsepower flagship sedan that can cruise to a startling 205 mph on the autobahn or 193 mph for the U.S. version. Power comes from a twin-turbo V-8, while the “plush” takes the form of a beautiful interior with all the toys: massaging seats, sparkling Bowers & Wilkins audio, perfumed ambient air and “Gesture Control” that lets drivers manage functions with midair hand signals. (Base price: $137,995) 800.831.1117, bmwusa.com
Dodge Challenger SRT Demon: Hell on Wheels
Keep the wheels pointed straight and the Demon will send any rival, from a Tesla Model S to million-dollar hypercars, straight to hell. This Dodge smokes a quarter mile in 9.65 seconds at 140 mph, making it the fastest quarter-mile time as certified by the National Hot Rod Association. (It also holds records for the highest V-8 horsepower and most G-force acceleration of any production car.) The supercharged, 840-horsepower Demon looks sprung from a muscle-car time capsule, yet it’s stuffed with technology to maximize speed, from an automated launch control to a novel TransBrake that holds the car steady for bravura burnouts of its street-legal drag tires. (Base price: $86,090) 800.423.6343, dodge.com/demon.html
Bugatti Chiron: One of a Kind
If this Volkswagen Group moon shot is the last hurrah for purely gasoline-powered hypercars, the Chiron goes out with a $3 million bang: 1,500 horsepower, 16 cylinders, four turbochargers and a production-record 261-mph top speed. Maintaining that insane velocity would drain the Chiron’s 26.4-gallon fuel tank in nine minutes. At full throttle, the engine sucks up 1,000 liters of air per second. Bugatti is making only 500 Chirons, of which more than 250 are already sold—about $750 million worth. But cold numbers aside, the Chiron is a work of automotive art. That includes an interior hand built by Bugatti in Molsheim, France, that will dazzle car fans a half century from now—when internal-combustion monsters like the Chiron will be long extinct. (Base price: $2.998 million) bugatti.com/chiron
Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid: Building the Perfect Beast
If this Porsche is the future of plug-in cars, the future is fast: With a shocking 680 hybrid horsepower, the Panamera—perhaps the world’s most technically advanced car—can zap 60 mph in three seconds, reach 192 mph and handle with astonishing grace for a 5,200-pound luxury sedan. The Panamera can travel 31 miles on electricity alone before its twin-turbocharged V-8 springs to life. One of the secrets to its success is the adaptive InnoDrive cruise control, which analyzes 3D topographical data to tackle even hilly and curvy terrain, adjusting speed and gear changes with full autonomy: All the driver has to do is steer and hang on tight. (Base price: $184,400) 800.767.7243, porsche.com/usa/models/panamera
Lamborghini Huracán Performante: Runs like the Wind
A stubborn holdout against electrification or even turbocharging, the Huracán Performante combines a bellicose 631-horsepower V-10 with ingenious aerodynamics to become one of the world’s fastest track cars. The brazenly lovely Lambo shares technology with its Audi R8 cousin, including its aluminum and carbon-fiber space frame, AWD and high-def driver displays. But its new “ALA” aerodynamics system integrates a hollow wing formed from unique “forged composite” carbon fiber. That soaring tail feather automatically ducts air to prep for straightaways, corners or face-peeling braking, switching between aero modes in less than 500 milliseconds. Go ahead, flirt with that 202-mph top speed: The Huracán, which aptly translates to “Hurricane,” makes it a literal breeze. (Base price: $274,390) 866.681.6276, lamborghini.com
BMW Alpina B7: Enhanced Performance
Since 1965, car manufacturer Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen has crafted rare and distinctive BMWs, including models now built alongside standard Bimmers before being finished at Alpina’s factory near Munich. The B7 is a stealthy beauty—a 600-horsepower flagship sedan that can cruise to a startling 205 mph on the autobahn or 193 mph for the U.S. version. Power comes from a twin-turbo V-8, while the “plush” takes the form of a beautiful interior with all the toys: massaging seats, sparkling Bowers & Wilkins audio, perfumed ambient air and “Gesture Control” that lets drivers manage functions with midair hand signals. (Base price: $137,995) 800.831.1117, bmwusa.com
Dodge Challenger SRT Demon: Hell on Wheels
Keep the wheels pointed straight and the Demon will send any rival, from a Tesla Model S to million-dollar hypercars, straight to hell. This Dodge smokes a quarter mile in 9.65 seconds at 140 mph, making it the fastest quarter-mile time as certified by the National Hot Rod Association. (It also holds records for the highest V-8 horsepower and most G-force acceleration of any production car.) The supercharged, 840-horsepower Demon looks sprung from a muscle-car time capsule, yet it’s stuffed with technology to maximize speed, from an automated launch control to a novel TransBrake that holds the car steady for bravura burnouts of its street-legal drag tires. (Base price: $86,090) 800.423.6343, dodge.com/demon.html
Bugatti Chiron: One of a Kind
If this Volkswagen Group moon shot is the last hurrah for purely gasoline-powered hypercars, the Chiron goes out with a $3 million bang: 1,500 horsepower, 16 cylinders, four turbochargers and a production-record 261-mph top speed. Maintaining that insane velocity would drain the Chiron’s 26.4-gallon fuel tank in nine minutes. At full throttle, the engine sucks up 1,000 liters of air per second. Bugatti is making only 500 Chirons, of which more than 250 are already sold—about $750 million worth. But cold numbers aside, the Chiron is a work of automotive art. That includes an interior hand built by Bugatti in Molsheim, France, that will dazzle car fans a half century from now—when internal-combustion monsters like the Chiron will be long extinct. (Base price: $2.998 million) bugatti.com/chiron
Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid: Building the Perfect Beast
If this Porsche is the future of plug-in cars, the future is fast: With a shocking 680 hybrid horsepower, the Panamera—perhaps the world’s most technically advanced car—can zap 60 mph in three seconds, reach 192 mph and handle with astonishing grace for a 5,200-pound luxury sedan. The Panamera can travel 31 miles on electricity alone before its twin-turbocharged V-8 springs to life. One of the secrets to its success is the adaptive InnoDrive cruise control, which analyzes 3D topographical data to tackle even hilly and curvy terrain, adjusting speed and gear changes with full autonomy: All the driver has to do is steer and hang on tight. (Base price: $184,400) 800.767.7243, porsche.com/usa/models/panamera
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