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.
Danny says
June 11, 2008 at 10:10 amI’m really looking forward to seeing the new Fiat 500 Abarth.
I know they are only Ford KAs really, but the 500 is a smashing little car. We have had the pleasure to work on a couple, and they just look fantastic when done up in custom racing stripes.
Mr Butterscotch says
June 11, 2008 at 10:52 amHi Danny,
I totally agree. The Fiat 500 is a funky little car that’s economical, fun and best of all has character. There’s too much crap on the roads these days that miss out on that all important last point. It’s the little car with a big heart. I just hope they are reliable to go with it.
barry says
June 11, 2008 at 8:04 pmI am dialing in from the US, but going to Europe for my KTM x-bow. So far the homologization process has happened only in UK and three European countries, not France. If I need an address of convenience in the UK for plates and insurance, could someone tell me what the costs might look like? How it’s done?
my thanks, naturally.
Barry
Mr Butterscotch says
June 12, 2008 at 10:39 amHi Barry,
For UK plates I’d speak directly to KTM to ensure that your car is going to be road legal (I’m assuming that’s the reason you want plates rather than foregoing them just for a track day special?).
You can contact them on:
+44 (0) 1280709511
For insurance, you may want to try Adrian Flux as they specialise in sports car insurance (this won’t cover you for track days though):
http://www.adrianflux.co.uk/
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Mr B
Wheels911 says
June 17, 2008 at 11:33 amWould love to see pics of these cars. I’ve moving to US next month and will have to get a new car. I have not yet decided which one to buy.
barry says
June 17, 2008 at 11:54 amThank you for the information. The car is to be my McGuffin ( Alfred Hitchcock’s term for something external to move the plot) to see if I can retire to Europe. KTM expects to be homologated to all of the EU by the end of 2008, but my build date is approaching sooner than that. As of March they were road legal in the UK, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, so I am just trying to make sure that I shall be ready when they are.
barry
Mr Butterscotch says
June 17, 2008 at 6:44 pmBarry,
Good luck with both the move and the KTM – it’s an incredible machine though I’m sure you know that already. When you first drive it, please come and visit again and let us know what you think.
barry says
June 19, 2008 at 1:00 pmI shall do that. KTM is expecting me to do a track day with their test drivers this Summer, so I won’t be embarrassing them when I get the car. The process of getting the cars road legal is proceeding more rapidly in some countries of the EU than in others. The UK being one of the quick studies I am wondering whether once I have title from KTM I can just stop at a hotel for a few days and get my registration there?
barry
Mr Butterscotch says
June 20, 2008 at 5:56 pmHi Barry,
This shouldn’t be a problem for KTM to arrange. You may just want to check with the DVLA in Swansea that they can issue all of your documents in the allotted time that you have.
http://www.dvla.gov.uk/
They should also be able to answer any queries about the registration of your vehicle that you may have.
Kind regards,
Mr B