The Honda NSX is a pretty famous supercar – first due to Clarkson trying to do the same lap time at Laguna Seca as he did in Gran Turismo, and second because it is the only ‘real’ supercar that is at an affordable price range.  However, this looks set to change when the new variant arrives, sometime in 2010 (or possibly 2011).

The new Honda has been spotted lapping the Nurburgring (apparently the current trendy test ground for racers of any note) quite happily, especially as development has only just begun.  Nonetheless, already the engineers have been handed two quite challenging targets.

The first target is to get the suspension setup ‘just right’.  Whether that means for the track or the road remains to be seen – but given the previous iteration was also reasonably usable every day then I’d suggest it’s going to be somewhere in between – with perhaps a ‘race tune’ option available.

Honda wants to build the fastest production model around the circuit – a fairly impressive desire.  Whether this is an achievable goal remains to be seen, what with the Nissan GT-R managing a ferocious sub seven minute thirty lap time.  Scary indeed, though unsurprising given that the GT-R is capable of 0-60 in 3.6 seconds and that 13 mile Nurburgring has a wealth of turns, straights and just about everything else you can throw at a driver.

The car to replace the NSX may well not bear the same moniker, so we’re waiting news on that.  However, we do know that it will feature a 550bhp 5.5 litre V10 with clever ‘cylinder deactivation’.  What that means is that the engine will only be running on half the cylinders when just pootling to the shops, and all 10 when you press on to make sure that your ice-cream doesn’t melt.  This will give you better fuel economy and lower emissions.  Torque is set up at a frankly terrifying 570Nm – enough to rip your face off.

The car’s setup will be a 2+2 arrangement (will there be actual room for real human beings in the back though?), with a hybrid aluminium and steel body in order to reduce weight.  For the old school amongst you you’ll be disappointed with the eight-speed auto gearbox with flappy paddles (even if it is one of those shifts-as-fast-as-F1 jobbers).  Naturally, trick four wheel drive will make you the proud owner of the fastest thing to pull away from the lights (or race round Milton Keynes ring roads) this side of the new Porsche 911.

Will it be any good?  Most definitely.  Will it be worth the asking price of £90,000?  Well, that’s a more difficult question to answer.  After all, for that price you could be looking at a variety of cars such as the Nissan GT-R, the Audi R8 or a BMW M5.  Tough competition I’m sure you’ll agree.

Unfortunately, in light of the fact above, I’m starting to doubt too that it’ll garner as much attention as the previous version of the NSX.  It certainly seems as though the GT-R has claimed the title of ‘car for the Playstation generation’ this time around.  I can’t see it being available for £18,000 anytime soon either – but who knows.  Either way, I hope it ages as well as the previous NSX and has the performance it is promising.

You may well be somewhat like me in that you don’t own a sports car (yet) but you do like to know what’s coming out and when, just in case you happen to get a minor lottery win or a cash windfall from your ‘job in the city’ (whatever that is). For those people, I’ve compiled a list below of some interesting cars that are due out in the near future. Let me know if you’d like a dedicated article on any of them or further details.

Abarth Grande Punto – Summer 2008
Thankfully, Fiat’s sporty arm Abarth shouldn’t disappoint with this – no doubt it’ll feature more power and a better body kit. It’s about time the little Italian (wait a minute, it’s not so little any more) fends off the likes of the RenaultSport Clio 197.

Alfa Romeo 159 GTA – End 2008
What could be better than a (potentially reliable) hot saloon Alfa? Not a lot in my books…

Aston Martin DBS Roadster – Summer 2008
Did the best car on the road just get better? I’d think so, just as long as it doesn’t have too much body roll. Sign me up to test one asap please!

Caterham R500 – Summer 2008
I really don’t know why there aren’t more of these about. I know, people need to pay off mortgages and repair their poor DIY that they insist on doing on bank holidays, but these machines are superb. If you have the chance, drive one. You won’t regret it and in fact you may even decide to invest in a crazy little two seater. Oh yeah, it’ll have a 0-60 time of 3.4 seconds too…

Fiat 500 Abarth – October 2008
So, an Abarth makes this list twice eh? Well, what do you expect? The 500 really is the new Mini and it will put a huge, stupid grin on your face in the Abarth guise, I guarantee it.

Hyundai Coupe – 2009
A funny car the coupe – it always seemed to look better than it was. This one I hope is an exception, as it looks absolutely cracking and it would be great to have the performance and control to match.

KTM X-Bow – Late 2008
The guys who normally make bikes finally are going to ship this year, with that crazy orange and black thing we’ve seen for a while. Is it better than an Ariel Atom? Well it doesn’t look as good in my opinion but we’ll have to wait and see. I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun though – oversized go-carts always are – just look at what I said about the Caterham.

Nissan 350Z – 2009
Yes, apparently there’s a new version due of my favourite EVER coupe. Will it be as good as the old one? Well hopefully it’ll be lighter. Will they not jump to the 400Z? Well there’s a little rumour going around, but that deserves a post in and of itself…

Nissan GT-R – March 2009
I couldn’t fail to mention this now could I? What a car. I love it. I simply love it. Roll on March, I can’t wait to be that much loathed ‘test pilot’ that dealers always want to avoid. I’d better wear my best suit though; they don’t let just anyone try a £55k supercar.

Toyota Celica - 2009
An underrated car the Celica – it has both cool looks and very reasonable performance, along with lower insurance costs and better-than-average economy for a sporty car. You’ll really want the 190+BHP version though – otherwise you’re going to feel a tad let down.

Let’s get the facts out of the way first shall we? The Ferrari California is a two door open topped sports car (well aren’t they all) that’s front mid-engined and featuring a lovely direct injection 4.3 litre V8 with an output of 453BHP. There’s no figure on the price yet, or the fuel consumption. Not a surprise on either really, you don’t want to put people off after all…

It’s always an event when a new supercar comes along, especially when it looks as damn good as the car above. It’s the sort of thing that people will stop and stare at, or if they’re lucky enough, have sex with supermodels in. For the rest of us mere mortals, we simply get to see it on the Internet or at a motorshow, where it will stand sterile, taunting us with all that unused power.

It is rumoured that this Ferrari, the California, is to be fitted with a V8 that is going to be in front of the driver, yet still mid-mounted (behind those all important front wheels). It should mean a change in dynamics, but it’s not as if Ferrari doesn’t know what they’re doing. The name, for instance, harks back to various other Ferraris that have been open-topped, with owners driving along with the wind in their hair.

As with a number of other Ferraris, this is a car that will feature a transaxle setup. This is both good for power and weight distribution, giving the car a more dynamic load setup. Naturally, this means your brand new California should be able to guided like a rocket around your chosen city streets – or track for that matter.

For power, Ferrari have said that the big V8 lump should shove the car up to 60 in less than 4 seconds – so a bit more than your average hot hatch and in fact faster than a significant number of exotics. What will really differentiate it then will be that handling and the lovely wail that you should get from the lump up at the front. If it doesn’t sound special, that will surely shoot it in the front, especially as an open topped car.

Will you want one? Well yes, of course you blood dolt. It’s a Ferrari – and it doesn’t have a roof to boot. Okay, so you can afford a luxury car like this – will you buy one in the face of 911 Turbos, Lamborghini Gallardos and even imported Nissan GT-R’s? Well, that remains to be seen. It has the power and the style. It also though comes with an estimated price tag that’ll push it past the value of a standard F430.

With that in mind, I don’t think it will it will float my boat enough. I’m quite hardcore when it comes to these things, and the roar grunt of the F430 – with those quad exhausts and the screaming engine (along with the tried and tested formula) would still make it my choice. However, let’s keep our eyes open and I’ll give you regular updates on this motor. Who knows, I might just change my mind when I sit in one…

Frankly, I’m shocked to discover that no one has yet added any coverage to CarArticles regarding this new Japanese beast, so I couldn’t take it any more.  I just have to say something about this incredible, 473bhp, four-seat 3.8 litre V6 monster.  Granted, I haven’t driven one yet (there are only about 3 in the country to my knowledge, and it isn’t coming to the UK officially until 2009.  However, I have driven a Nissan Skyline and this is the successor.

All they way back in 2001, Nissan released a concept of what their new supercar would look like.  For those of you who don’t know, Nissan has a strong racing heritage and this would be something that they could use to fly the flag with.  Anyone familiar with Gran Turismo will be able to tell you all about the Nissan Skyline GT-R with all of its’ onboard computers to keep traction and stop the car flinging off the track.  This promised to be faster and meaner.

At the Tokyo Motor Show 2005, a car was revealed that is pretty much exactly the production variant that will be available in various territories from June 2008.  This big coupe contains four seats and enough gadgetry to power most things in your house, along with a whole host of technical trickery that I’ll come to in just a moment.  First though, the car itself.

The car is big - all round.  This includes the power department, what with that shouty deep V6.  It has twin-turbochargers to give you oomph all the way through the rev range, with no lag to speak of.  The dual-shift auto gearbox will give you three modes, scary, very scary and insane.  Well, surely you agree with those when you’re sitting in a large two-door motor capable of going from 0-60 in 3.6 seconds?  To put that in perspective, that’s quicker than an Audi R8 or Porsche 911 Turbo.

So what is the exterior like?  Well you can see from the picture.  It looks incredibly hard, aggressive and distinctive.  A Nissan Micra it ain’t.  Those 20-inch wheels are particularly impressive.  The paint is also promising to be particularly special, what with an ‘ultimate silver’ colouring (which looks liquid) being available for free from the factory.  Aeroblade front wings and diffuser round off the car - making it look like one of the best road eaters out there.

The interior doesn’t have the wow factor of say an Audi - but then you’re not buying this car to be swathed in faux aluminium.  You’re buying it in order to be sitting in a vehicle that is as close to mechanical perfection as possible - a car that is all about function, and this function is to provide the ultimate drive.  As such, the interior follows form, with hugging seats, multi-CD changer, HDD storage system and LCD touch screen.

Of particular interest in the GT-R is the Multi-function display in the car console.  This can be set up (along with the driver lap time system accessible from the steering wheel) to monitor your every driving input, from steering to G’s to breaking.  You can then save this information and bore all of your mates with it.  Or impress them if you’re a pro racing driver.

What about performance though?  Well, everyone on TV who has driven it has seemed to be left a little bit breathless.  I wonder why.  Maybe it’s because when you’re driving a car that will do 0-100 in 8.3 seconds you’ll be left a little bit worried.  And no doubt amazed.  I’m satisfied that the ultra-trick diff and superbly set up suspension will make even the worst Sunday driver look like they are Lewis Hamilton.

For all around ability, I’m not surprised that the Nissan GT-R is proving to be a highlight of the week (if not month or possibly even year) for anyone who has been blessed enough to be in one.  The sheer fact of the matter is that with all that know-how at Nissan, they have created something unique - a supercar for the Playstation generation that could swallow most everything on the road or indeed the track.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the Nissan is the cost.  Granted, whilst an estimated price tag of £55,000 is never cheap, compared to its most obvious rival the Porsche, it is quite reasonable.  You see, for a brand new 911 Turbo you’ll be getting billed for almost double that.  Now if that isn’t reason enough to buy one if you are looking for a vehicle like this, I don’t know what is.  Granted, there might be some badge snobs out there, but if you can pull away from the lights that fast, who cares?

As a last note on the Nissan GT-R, the purchase price in Japan will be far lower than in the UK.  A steal in fact, at only about £30,000.  Of course there are some problems, like the fact that Nissan GB is refusing to service a Jap spec model or honour the warranty.  On the other hand, there will be specialist dealers to do that, and I’ve no doubt that a huge fanbase will build up prior to the UK launch.  However, the Japanese models will depreciate more than the UK counterparts.  At the end of the day, you pays your money, you takes your choice…