Best American Beasts of all time 2024

 

CHEVORLET CORVETTE C8

The eighth generation of one of America's favourite sports cars is a revolution: the first mid-engined Corvette since the original in 1953. A full-throated V8 is mounted behind the driver and powers the C8 to 60 mph in less than four seconds, on its way to a 184 mph top speed. Chevrolet want their latest Corvette to be easy to live with so there's even enough luggage space for your weekend away.

HENNESSEY VENOM F5

the F5 has an officially quoted top speed of more than 300 mph, with 186 mph coming up, says Texas-based Hennessey, in a mind-bending 8.4 seconds. The screaming mid-mounted 6.6 litre V8 produces 1,817 bhp or almost twice the power the average Bugatti Veyron driver has at their disposal. Carbon fibre is used extensively in construction, eye-catching looks are for maximum aerodynamics and cooling, a convertible is now available for the brave and for those who have more than £1.3-m to spend.

FORD GT:

Introduced in 2018, this third generation of Ford GT has wild looks dictated by class-leading aerodynamics and is powered by a 600 bhp V6 engine, good enough to win its class at Le Mans on Ford's return in 2019.

CHEVORLET E-RAY

The C8 deepened its Ferrari-ness with the Z06 and its naturally aspirated flat-plane-crank V-8, an engine that yawps like it escaped from a Maranello dyno cell. Now comes the next evolution of the C8, the 2024 E-Ray, with a hybrid powertrain, all-wheel drive, and standard all-season tires that bring it ever closer to being a four-season supercar. The E-Ray's genetic makeup comes courtesy of both the base Stingray and the Z06. The Stingray donates its 495-hp pushrod 6.2-liter V-8, performance exhaust, and eight-speed dual-clutch automatic. The Z06 lends its wider body, optional carbon-ceramic brakes, and steamroller-size tires—275/30ZR-20 fronts and 345/25ZR-21 rears. The hybrid system consists of a compact electric motor driving the front wheels that lives in a small space in front of the passenger cell, a 1.1-kWh battery stuffed into the tunnel that runs between the passengers, additional coolers to control battery temperature, and the software to make it all work. 

The hybrid system fattens the power curve by 160 horsepower for a system total of 655 horses—just 15 shy of the Z06's output—and spins up 125 pound-feet of torque on its own. Hybrid propulsion isn't the only first for a Corvette, though. The E-Ray is also the first Vette with all-wheel drive, as well as the first that combines carbon-ceramic brakes with all-season tires.

Thusly set up, it used its adjustable launch-control system to best advantage, ripping off a 2.5-second 60-mph time—the quickest we've ever recorded for a Corvette and 0.1 second better than the fleetest Z06 being tested.

DRAKO MOTORS GTE

 Despite looking like your average late-model European luxury sedan, the GTE hides an electric motor in each wheel that come together to generate a whopping 1,200hp and an even more insane 6,491ft-lbs of instantaneous torque —all of which is transmitted to tarmac via state-of-the-art adaptive torque vectoring algorithms and a special direct-drive gearbox. 

These numbers also allow the 5,300-pound electric vehicle to rocket from 0-60mph in 1.9 seconds and to reach a top speed of 206mph. So, if you’re looking for a more understated and practical ride that still boasts supercar-levels of performance, you’d be hard pressed to find a better option than the GTE — though that’s assuming you can afford/stomach the vehicle’s $1.25M price tag. 

TRION NEMESIS RR

Limited to only 50 units worldwide, the Trion Nemesis RR is the result of internal combustion engine technology being taken to its logical conclusion — before petrol-powered mills are soon ushered out in favor of EV powertrains. Tipping the scales at just a tad over the 3,000-pound mark, the RR-spec Nemesis has a massive 9.0-liter V8 engine that’s been fitted with a pair of turbochargers that allow its advanced all-wheel drive system to put down an even 2,000hp — a monstrous figure that ultimately results in a top speed of over 270mph and a 0-60mph time of just 2.8 seconds.

 On top of carbon ceramic brakes, active handling stability control, and a sequential eight-speed transmission, the supercar also features a carbon fiber monocoque with inconel front and rear frames and push-rod-equipped horizontal mono-tube damper suspension setup. Top-shelf componentry and 2,000-hp engine aside, a massive part of what makes the Nemesis RR so special is its carbon fiber bodywork design, which looks more like a concept rendering or something you’d see in a video game more than it does an actual functioning supercar you’d spot rolling down the street.