Nowadays, almost every carmaker produces some type of sports car, so obviously the market—especially the used market—is filled with them, and it's just inevitable that some might slip under the radar and not receive the love they truly deserve. Other sports cars, however, receive almost too much attention and could be considered overrated...not referring to any specific JDM sports car called the Supra, of course.
It breaks our heart to see what ingenious automotive creations never got their chance to shine in the spotlight. How does the saying go? You only realize how much you love something when it's gone.
10 2012 Tesla Roadster
Before EVs were all the craze, and even before Tesla manufactured the Model S, Elon Musk and his team created their first-ever vehicle, and it was an awfully quirky electric sports car called the Roadster. Today it’s almost completely forgotten. So, why was the Tesla Roadster such a failure, after all, it made use of a Lotus Elise chassis, had a 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds, and could provide endless amounts of fun without costing a dime in fuel? It all comes down to the Top Gear controversy in the early 2010s when Jeremy Clarkson undeserving slaughtered the Roadster’s reputation.
Top Gear received two Tesla Roadsters, and Jeremy claimed that both Teslas' brakes failed, their batteries had run out after only 55 miles and needed a 16-hour charge before they could be used again. Elon however, ridiculed their representation of the Roadster claiming the vehicles’ batteries never reached below 20%, only needed 3 hours to charge, and the brakes were caused by a faulty fuse. Needless to say, sales were hindered, and the Roadster had to be discontinued in 2012. But this dreary tunnel had a bright light at its end... soon a new resurrected Roadster will be on sale, and it will be mindbogglingly quick.
9 2020 Volkswagen Golf 7 GTD
That's right, not many people even know a diesel-variant Golf GTI exists, and it was more than just a fuel-efficient alternative to the GTI. First of all, it's not better than a GTI in any which way; it’s slower, less powerful, and doesn’t sound as good as the petrol-injected GTI, but the GTD still manages to pump out more than 180 hp and reach 60 mph from a standstill in 7.5 seconds and produces 7 more lb-ft of torque than its gasoline sibling.
The only area in which the GTD outshines the GTI is when it comes to overall fuel economy since it can achieve a claimed 67.3 MPG. Other than that, the diesel Golf 7 is still a rather capable sports hatch and manages to compete with other hot hatches like the MINI Cooper SD and Ford Focus ST TDCi.
8 2013 Volvo C30 Polestar
In the year 2022, Polestar and Volvo are almost seen as two entirely different companies, but back in the day, both teams partnered up to create some performance-focussed Swedish racers to life, and the C30 Polestar was one of their hoorahs.
Only 250 C30 Polestars were ever made, and every single model was finished in a striking Rebel Blue color with complementary 17-inch matte black wheels and a completely retuned suspension setup. This Volvo hot hatch made use of a unique 2.5-liter inline-five which spat out a lump sum of 250 hp to the front wheels, and while that was respectable at the time, we are left with watering eyes since the initial Polestar Prototype was a proper all-wheel-drive super hatch with 450 hp at its disposal.
7 2014 Jaguar XKR-S
Jaguar has always been a brand associated with refined luxury and purebred sophistication, but when they released the XKR-S, the world stood still. This callant cat was not just a standard XKR with some sporty aerodynamic components, no, it emitted 550 hp and 502 lb-ft of torque which was drawn from its supercharged 5.0-liter V8.
This meant it could reach an electronically-limited top speed of 186 mph and roared an even raspier tone than all the other V8 muscle cars it competed with. Only 200 Jaguar XKR-S examples were ever made, and with a whopping price tag of over $100,000, not many were seen driving on the road; this was one of Jaguar’s most maniacal sports cars ever.
6 2014 MINI John Cooper Works GP
Your eyes aren't deceiving you, it’s a MINI Cooper with one monstrous rear wing attached to it - and it actually serves a purpose, unlike some other questionable hatches. Only 2000 units were ever produced, and all were offered in exactly the same spec; a dark gray body complimented with a steel silver roof, red accents everywhere, no rear seats, semi-slick Kuhmo tires, and of course that glorious carbon-fiber rear-wing.
The John Cooper Works racing team's work resulted in the GP weighing just 2,600 lbs, and since it's powered by a turbocharged four-banger that pumps out 211 hp to the front wheels only, it could reach nearly 1 g of lateral grip, and complete a full Nurburgring lap in 8 minutes and 19 seconds.
5 2022 Kia Stinger GT
The Stinger GT has time a time again proved that it’s worthy of its $45,000 MSRP and also a worthy adversary to the likes of modern performance sedans like the BMW M340i, but what puts most buyers off is that somewhat shameful Kia badge. Powering the Stinger GT is a 3.3-liter twin-turbocharged V6 that produces 368 hp which is sent to both the front and rear wheels.
In the real world, the combination of its all-wheel-drive system and potent six-cylinder engine allows the Kia to spring from a standstill to 60 mph in an unbelievable 4.6 seconds. The only way to appreciate the Stinger GT to its full extent is to ignore all your preconceived thoughts and notions, but even this, is too difficult for most motorists.
4 2012 Porsche Cayman R
Car manufacturers love adding random letters to their model names, the letter R is by far the most overused, only this time Porsche didn’t add it to their Cayman just to make seem different from other 987 Caymans - it actually was distinct. What Porsche did is they took a Cayman S (which was already an exquisite lightweight sports car) and put it on a diet, injected it with some performance-enhancing drugs, made it look more radical, removed the A/C and stereo, and added an arsenal of mechanical goodies.
It might have just been a 10 hp upgrade and a 120 lbs weight reduction, but the limited slip-diff, carbon-fiber bucket seats, and 20mm lower ride height made a huge difference to the overall feel of the Cayman R. Then, of course, there was the menacing 330 hp 3.4-liter flat-six tucked in the rear too, and when you get to drive the Cayman R, it heavily resembles the modern Cayman GT4.
3 2015 Abarth 695 Biposto
Much like the aforementioned MINI GP, the Biposto is also a bonkers hatchback, and it's created by the Abarth tuning company. They basically took a cute little innocent Fiat 500 hatch and morphed it into a devious sub-2,200 lb race-orientated monstrosity to celebrate their original 695’s 50th anniversary. No rear seats, air-conditioning, nor radio render the Biposto a useless daily driver, but that’s not remotely what it was meant to be.
Underneath its short snout was a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine that was enhanced by a humongous intercooler and a Garrett turbocharger to put out 190 hp. This might well be the ultimate hot hatch, but the Biposto drastically failed in sales since only 133 were ever produced (one for each racing record Abarth held) and would have cost you more than $55,000 back in 2015.
2 2020 BMW i8
When BMW first released the i8 fans weren’t sure if they should be celebrating or dreading the new electric vehicle’s existence… Yes, it looked like an aerodynamic spaceship fit for the road, but one thing that really turned off hardcore BMW fanboys was the fact that their so-called "supercar" was powered by a combination of a boosted 1.5-liter 3-cylinder MINI Cooper engine that generated 228 hp, and an electrical motor for a net total of 362 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque.
This plug-in Bavarian sports car could complete a 0-60 run in just over 4 seconds; this definitely isn’t slow, but it was subpar of what most were expecting, especially for a car with such a flamboyant design.
1 Ultima Evolution
If you think the Ariel Atom or the BAC MONO was the most radical racecars legalized for road use, you definitely haven’t heard of the Ultima Evolution before. The entirety of the Ultima was sculpted out of glass-reinforced plastic, it made use of a 1020 hp 6.8-liter supercharged V8 and only weighed 2,100 lbs; it really doesn’t get any more absurd than this.
Thanks to its lightweight, but sturdy frame, monstrous power output, and 920 lb-ft of torque, 0-60 happened in a blink of an eye; 2.8 seconds, and it completed the quarter-mile in precisely 9.2 seconds. There is only one plausible explanation that this British go-kart flew under everyone’s radar; it was just outright too powerful for any human being to harness.