2021 has been an exciting year for carmakers and buyers alike; the competition is tougher than ever, and for buyers to choose their perfect new ride or the newest addition to their collection is just as difficult, if not more. Manufacturers are at each others' throats nowadays as performance figures have to micro analyzed and the market perfectly dissected to reign superior over the other car brands. This might sound like a brutal moshpit, but we as buyers have received some incredible new arrivals this year like the Chevrolet Corvette, Ferrari SF90 Stradake, Tesla Model S Plaid, Porsche 911 Turbo S, and the Lada Niva.

Related: 10 New Budget Cars That Make You Look Like A Baller

With a plethora of cool cars being released every single second, it's inevitable that some ultra-cool vehicles don't receive the recognition they deserve. So, let's get right into the new cars of 2021 that might have slipped under your radar completely.

10 Hyundai Elantra N

2022 Hyundai Elantra N
Via-Mecum Auctions

Hyundai has been dabbling in the sports car segment for quite a while now after they made such a long-lasting impression with their amazing i30N, and their other N-line models like the Veloster N, and even the new Kona N. One Korean car we'd never thought would get the N-treatment was the lovey Elantra sedan, but here we are... and we're so happy.

2022 Hyundai Elantra N
Via-Hemmings Motor News

Under the hood, much like the other N-cars, is a punchy 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four that puts out a whopping 286 hp, and that insane power figure gets complemented by the funky futuristic design of the Elantra.

9 Kia K900

Kia K900
Via: The News Wheel

Much like Hyundai, Kia is also stepping into the big leagues with their new cars, as the Stinger GT proved ever so slightly, and now they have a proper luxury car that's stepping on big brands' toes like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, the Kia K900.

Kia K900 Rear View
Via Kia

Costing just around $60,000, the K900 will have all the equipment you'd expect a $100,000 European cruiser to have like Nappa leather seats, a heads-up display, and only the most refined pieces of wood in any interior on the market.

Related: Everything You Need To Know About The 2023 Kia Sportage Hybrid

8 BMW iX

2022 BMW iX
Via BMW Media

BMW is a stupendous brand, but they've been under some heat in the recent few years as their grilles have grown in size, and their designs are all over the place, after all, the BMW iX is a beautiful representation of that - but that doesn't mean it falls short of brilliance.

2021 White BMW iX
Via: Techzle

The iX is BMW's first-ever full-electric compact SUV; it has an unbelievably spacious interior, looks exactly like a concept car, and its top-of-the-range variant will boast over 600 hp and do 300 miles of range on just a single charge. Whether you like it or not, the iX will pave what future BMW EVs will strive to be, and this might even give us a sense of what the new XM will be.

Related: The 2023 BMW i7 Electric Luxury Sedan Looks Promising

7 Kia K5 GT

Front 3/4 view of the K5 on the move
Via Kia

Remember how we previously stated the Stinger GT was one of Kia's best creations, well, think of the Kia K5 GT as a smaller, more affordable Stinger, and it loses not even a droplet of its extravagant personality throughout the translation.

2021 Kia K5 GT: Costs Facts and Figures
Via: Kia Media

The K5 might be front-wheel-drive, but the 2.5-liter turbo-four's 290 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque make that fact feel almost irrelevant, couple that up with some beefy brakes, a unique eight-speed automatic gearbox, firm suspension tune, as well as wider tires, and the GT could run to 60 mph in just 5.2 seconds. Even when considering all its performance capabilities, the ultimate highlight of the Kia K5 GT has to be its gorgeous styling.

6 2022 Toyota Supra 2.0

Toyota Supra 2.0 UK 2021-2
Via Toyota

Yes, the Supra is extremely popular, but see, this isn't any ordinary MK5 with BMW's inline-six, no; the Supra 2.0 is powered by a proudly Toyota-built 2.0-liter four-banger, and some might even consider picking the smaller displacement over the more powerful 3.0-liter's.

2020-Toyota-Supra-2.0-002-2160
source: wsupercars

Despite lacking more than 100 hp, the four-cylinder Toyota Supra makes up for that in every other which way; it still does the quarter-mile in just above 13 seconds and 0-60 in 5 seconds dead since it has Toyota's parts, it can maintain consistent performance figures, unlike the 3.0-liter.

5 2022 Audi S8

Audi S8
Via chasingcars.com

Audi has been bombarding the world with new models the entire year long, from the new A3, all the way up to the ludicrous RS Q8, but one of their most important cars did not receive its deserved spotlight, the Audi S8. The base A8 was meant to be a relaxing cruiser you could be chauffeured in from point A to B, but the crazy German engineers at Audi went and tampered with it just a tad...

Audi S8 rear
Via Audi

Without sacrificing any one of its thousands of luxury features like heated and massing seats, or incredible adaptive suspension, the S8 hides an overpowered 4.0-liter V8 that produces 563 hp, which in return could rocket you from 0-60 in a time of just 3.2 seconds.

4 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz

Hyundai Santa Cruz quarter front
Via Hyundai

Now this, we thought we'd never see. Unrealistic pick-up trucks have been a thing for ages, look at the BMW M3 for example, but for bonkers pick-up trucks to actually make an appearance in the real world is - or well was - as scarce as a safe Mustang diver, until Hyundai came along.

2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Side View
Via: Hyundaiusa.com

They birthed the muscular Santa Cruz; it's essentially something more alternative and stylish to your average everyday Ford or Chevy truck without ditching cargo space or any other sense of purpose when driving a pick-up.

Related: This Is The Best Feature Of The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz

3 2022 Mercedes-AMG GLA 45

2021 Mercedes AMG GLA45 4Matic
Image: Peter Nelson

Whenever anyone is talking about Mercedes' performance division, AMG, the models that usually are mentioned include the GT 63, A 45, E 63, and GT-R, but one little compact-sized SUV never gets recognized, the GLA 45.

See, the GLA 45 is somewhat of a unicorn... there is nothing quite like it.

Mercedes-AMG GLA45
Via Mercedes-Benz

Countless amounts of car manufacturers make compact SUVs, but how many of them make compact SUVs this spicy - 0-60 in 4.3 seconds spicy that is. If you've ever wanted to not just stand out of the crowd, but zoom past them in traffic, the 382 hp GLA is exactly what you need.

2 2022 Volkswagen Arteon

A Red 2022 Volkswagen Arteon In Motion
Via Volkswagen

It's no secret the Volkswagen Group is one of the most diverse automotive groups in the world, as they own Porsche, Audi, and of course VW, just to name a few, so the Volkswagen Arteon might be much more of a sheep in wolf's clothing than you might have initially thought.

Medium-6554-ThenewVolkswagenArteon
Via: Volkswagen

The Arteon is no doubt the most beautiful VW ever made, and it's also no coincidence that its shape resembles that of an Audi A5, but not only that, its 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder under its hood is shared with him too. The only difference between the two is that the Arton makes slightly more power than the Audi, coming in at 300 horsepower. Oh, and before we forget, the Arteon R is basically an Arteon that needs to be tamed in an asylum.

1 Italdesign Zerouno

Italdesign-Zerouno
via artofgears

The famous design house, Italdesign, has finally made their own supercar, and they call it the Zerouno. In a nutshell, the Zerouno is an Italian reskinned Audi R8 as it inhabits the same mid-mounted 610 hp 5.2-liter V10 from the R8 and the Lamborghini Huracán.

via motor1.com

Italdesign also incorporates Audi's all-wheel-drive system into their breathtaking supercar to ensure customers the perfect balance between hardcore racer and graceful billionaire tourer, it has a 0-60 time fo par 3 seconds after all. The Zerouno is not all too well known as only a few are produced each year and sell about 2 and a half million dollars each.