Every gearhead dreams of getting the race car driver experience at least once in their life. Few things can rival the feeling of pushing a high-performance race car to its limits on a track in search of glory. Unfortunately, there aren't enough racing competitions in the world to accommodate all of us, and only a lucky few gets to experience this wonderful feeling.Thankfully, many manufacturers have noticed this need for gearheads to know what race cars feel like and are building track-focused but road-legal sports cars to meet the demand. These special cars come with the power, driving feel, and technology you'd find in the best race cars but with few adjustments to make them street legal — in many cases, barely. Let's explore ten such cars.
10 Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR
The FIA GT Championship was heating up in the '90s, with the top European manufacturers competing for glory. Mercedes-Benz wanted to dominate the championship, so it developed the CLK-GTR. To meet FIA homologation requirements, Mercedes-Benz built 25 street-legal examples of the CLK-GTR.
The CLK-GTR had almost every feature found in the race car, including a massive V12 pushing out 604 horses and 572 lb-ft of torque. A 0-60 of 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 214 mph make the CLK-GTR one of the fastest cars of the '90s.
9 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion
Like the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR above, the Porsche 911 GT1 was a race car developed to compete in the FIA GT Championship. Porsche made 25 street versions — or Strassenversion — of the 911 GT1 to meet homologation requirements, but just like the Benz, they were race cars with small modifications to make them street legal.
The 911 GT1 Strassenversion was powered by a twin-turbo flat-six engine generating 537 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque, making it superfast.
8 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
NASCAR was getting incredibly competitive during the late '60s, so Dodge decided to turn the charger into the ultimate race car — the result was the Charger Daytona. Dodge engineers added an 18-inch cone-shaped nose to get rid of the Charger's boxy front end, then added a massive rear wing to boost downforce on the track. ​​​​​​​
They then equipped the Charger Daytona with a 7.0-liter HEMI V8, allowing it to reach an unbeatable top speed of 200 mph. Dodge produced just 503 Charger Daytonas to meet homologation requirements. ​​​​​​​
7 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1
The Chevy Camaro was introduced in 1967 to compete against the Ford Mustang and by 1969, it had already become a big hit with almost 500,000 units sold. The official highest-performance Camaro available in 1969 was the Z28, but there was a far more menacing Camaro one could get via the Central Office Production Orders (COPO) program — the ZL-1. ​​​​​​​
The ZL-1 was powered by an all-aluminum 7.0-liter V8 specifically designed for professional drag racing. With more than 500 hp on tap, the ZL-1 was one of the most feared drag-racing cars of its day. ​​​​​​​
6 McLaren Senna
The Senna is a limited-production supercar that McLaren introduced in 2018. The car was named after legendary Formula One driver Ayrton Senna, who won several F1 championships for McLaren in the early '90s. To honor him, McLaren wanted to build a car that could achieve the fastest lap times. The result was the Senna. ​​​​​​​
The Senna is based on the 720S but comes with an upgraded 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 sending 789 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels. To boost performance on the track, the Senna has an adjustable rear wing, a double-element diffuser, a Formula-One-inspired roof scoop, and new-generation Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes. ​​​​​​​
5 Ferrari 488 Pista
The Ferrari 488 Pista is a superb supercar unveiled at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. Pista means track in Italian, which is where this car is meant to be enjoyed. The Pista is based on the 488 GTB, but has many exterior and mechanical modifications to make it more capable. ​​​​​​​
For starters, it's powered by a 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 generating 710 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque, making it one of the most powerful Ferraris ever. Other modifications include an upgraded seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, a Side-slip Angle Control system, and magnetorheological suspension. ​​​​​​​
4 Nissan GT-R Nismo
Since its introduction in the 2000s, the Nissan GT-R has been one of the best Japanese sports cars. This car can destroy many of the top European supercars, despite costing half their price. However, Nissan's motorsports division (Nismo) thought that the GT-R was underpowered, so they built the GT-R Nismo in 2013. ​​​​​​​
Powered by a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 cranking out 600 hp and 481 lb-ft of torque, the GT-R Nismo can accelerate to 60 mph in just 2.5 seconds. Other track-focused features in this car include RAYS 20-inch forged alloy wheels, specially-developed Dunlop tires, lightweight carbon-ceramic brakes, and a re-tuned suspension. ​​​​​​​
3 Porsche 911 GT3 RS
The Porsche 911 is an outstanding all-around sports car. However, for those who want the thrill of the standard 911 in a more powerful and hardcore car, the GT3 RS is the best choice. The GT3 RS was developed to smash lap records and leave a smile on every driver's face while at it. ​​​​​​​
It's powered by a 4.0-liter naturally-aspirated flat-six producing up to 520 hp at 9,000rpm, enough to destroy most opponents on the track and road. Gearheads who want to make the 911 GT3 RS even better can opt for the Weissach package, which reduces the car's weight by almost 40 lbs. ​​​​​​​
2 Lamborghini Huracán Performante
Since its introduction in 2014, the Huracan has been one of the most popular Lamborghinis. The standard Huracán is an awesome supercar, but the special Performante version takes it to a whole new level. As you can probably tell from the name, the Performante is built to perform. ​​​​​​​
It comes with a 5.2-liter V10 tuned to produce 631 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque, giving it a 0-60 of under 3 seconds. This is paired with an all-wheel-drive system to improve launch times and traction and other race-oriented upgrades like a smart aerodynamics system and a lightened exhaust system. ​​​​​​​
1 Ariel Atom
No list of track-focused road cars would be complete without the venerable Ariel Atom. For one, it looks like it's built to race — the tube-frame body and open cockpit make it look like a bigger version of a go-kart. ​​​​​​​
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The Atom is also quite powerful, thanks to its 2.0-liter turbocharged Honda K20C1 i-VTEC engine, developing 320 hp. This may sound low, but for a car that weighs 1,300 lbs, it's more than enough. A 0-60 of 2.8 seconds in a car with more grip than most Porsches is the perfect recipe for the ultimate track day car.