Lotus Elise

The Lotus Elise is much smaller than most super cars, but that doesnt mean that it isnt fast and packed with power.

The Elise S1 is powered by a Rover 1796cc 4 cylinder in line engine. it has a double overhead camshaft. It's peak power comes at 5500 rpms with 118 BHP. You can also get a 135 BHP engine upgrade from Lotus. The Elise weighs in at a itty bitty 1521 lbs, which is what allows for it's speed with such a small engine. This engine can power the little Elise from 0-60 in 5.8 seconds, with speeds up to 126MPH. The car comes with a manual 5 speed transmission with a hydraulic clutch. The chassis is made of epoxy bonded aluminum.

With all this power you're going to need some good breaks to bring it to a stop relatively quickly. The brakes are 282mm diameter cast ion ventilated disks mounted outboard.

The original target weight fot he Elise was 550kg. The first brochures list it at 690kg with a 39%/61%, front/rear distribution. Early Elises weighed in around 725kg and various modifications have meant that the standard car now weighs 755kg and the 111S weighs in at 770kg. The Elise Sport 190 is 670kg.

Mclaren F1

The Mclaren F1 is probably one of the most exotic of exotic cars, if for nothing else simply because of its million dollar price tag. At the time of the cars production it was the most powerful and the fastest production car in the entire world.

Only 100 of these were ever made over their seven years of production and they have gone out of production, making them rarer, and increasing in the already outrageous price. Currently there are only 7 in the United States, and Ralf Lauren owns two of those.

The F1 is powered by a BMW V-12 engine that pushes with the ferocity of 627 horses. This pushes the car from 0-60 in a mere 3.4 seconds, and has the ability to top out at 240.1 MPH

One of the most unique features of the F1 is that it has a center driving seat with two offset rear passenger seats to the rear. The F1 was the first to use an all carbon composite chassis. This was used because it is both strong and lightweight.

In 1995, Mclaren debuted F1 at the prestigious 24 hour of Le Mans. It took first, third, fourth, fifth and thirteenth place.

Porsche Carrera GT

The Porsche Carrera GT was introduced in 2004. It is a very low lightweight car. Though the car is meant to be topless, it does come with removable roof panels that can be stored in the front trunk to provide protection from the elements should you feel the need to go fast when the weather’s not the best.

The Carrera GT features a 5.7 liter, 605 break horsepower V10 engine. It also has Porsceh-patented engine and transmission mounts made of carbon reinforced plastic. The car has an aerodynamic and race-bred suspension package which provides for safe and stable travel at speeds of up to 205 mph.

orsche developed the engine at their development center in Weissach, Germany. They originally built a 5.5 liter engine but then enlarged the bores to displace 5.7 liters specially for the Carrera GT. The engine has a very low center of gravity with a 68 degree V angle.

The chassis and suspension are based on the “24 Hours of Le Mans” winner of 1998, the Porsche GT1. Like the GT1 the rear track control arms are made of aerodynamically designed steel tubes. They didn’t forget that comfort was a factor when they designed this street road going supercar.

Ferrari Testarossa

The Ferrari testarossa is a sportscar that was designed by Pininfarina for Ferrari. This 12 cylinder car went into production in 1984 to be the successor of the Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer. It was incredibly wide and low at just 77.8 inches wide and 44.7 inches high.

The Cars name literally means “red head.” This comes from the red painted cylinder heads on the flat-12 engine. It was technically a V-12 with a 180° angle in it. The output from this bohemeth was 390 hp.

Ferrari produced close to 10,000 Testarossas making them one of the most common Ferrari, despite its high price of 94,000 dollars, including a 2,700 dollar gas guzzling tax.

In 1991 Ferrari revamped the Testarossa beefing up the engine and released it as the 512TR. The engine was given a new air intake system and a Bosch engine management system. 10.1:1 compression ratio with new pistons, and revised exhaust power.

They also reduced Shifting effort, which had long been a complaint about the Testarossa. They did this with a single-plate clutch, sliding ball bearings, and better angle for the shifter.

Saleen S7 Twin Turbo

Power in the hands of a few, this is the slogan of the twenty year old company called Saleen. They specialize in the design and production of high performance vehicles for the road and track. They were first know known for tricking out mustangs, but then Steve Saleen, the founder, created a car unlike any other on earth. He created America's first, and so far only mid engine exotic super car. The Saleen S7.

As you ease into the throttle, the S7 surges forward with the effortless ease created by 750 horses pushing against just 2968 pounds of car. With 427 cubic inches of V-8 derived from Ford’s NASCAR engines and pressurized by two Garrett turbo-blowers working at a mild 6 psi, the engine generates enough thrust to scare you at just about any rpm. Floor the throttle when you’re rolling along in first gear on a dry, straight road, and the engine fries the rear tires when the boost comes up. On a winding road, it doesn’t much matter whether you run in second, third, or fourth gear because there’s enough power in any of them to summon big-time oversteer if you’re clumsy in a corner.

For the S7, the redesigned front and rear diffusers, along with the new rear spoiler, result in a 40 percent reduction in aero drag and a 60 percent increase in down force. Typically, you would have to trade down force to reduce aero drag. What this increase in down force allows the car to do is stick to the road more effectively. It works so well that at 140 MPH the downforce in Lbs. is equal to the cars weight, meaning if you had a road that went upside down, it would be able to drive on it.

Unless you place the new S7 Twin Turbo next to one of the original 2002 models, you probably won’t notice that the 2005 version has a different rear spoiler package and reshaped front fenders to enhance the S7s already sleek, swoopy and aerodynamic contours.

Lamborghini Murcielago LP640

When people think super high performance vehicles, many times their first though is Lamborghini. The Murcielago is a part of Lamborghini's new line of cars that came out in 2001. It was created to replace the famous Diablo model that had been wowing people since 1990.

The Murcielago roared onto the scene with a 6.2 liter version of Lamborghini's legendary v-12. It also sported a 6-speed Manual or 6 speed sequential automatic transmission. These worked together to produce a mind blowing 580 bhp. The car was able to go from 0-60 in a mere 3.8 seconds and reach speeds of 205 mph.

These stats are all well and good for the standard Murcielago coupe, but what about the brand new LP640 that debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 06, introduced as a facelift for the original. This model features an astonishing 6.5 liter 640 bhp V-12. the front and rear bumpers have been reshaped to channel air more efficiently, also the rear exhaust has been shaped into a diffuser to cut down on aero lift. The LP in its name stands for Longitudinale Posteriore, referring to the longitudinally mounted engine, this allows the LP640 to go from 0-60 .4 seconds faster than the normal Murcielago.