AUTO

What could be more fun than flooring it in a shiny new sports car? And there are some beauties to choose from this year, as Paul Dimery discovers…

Fuel your excitement with McLaren’s new roadster, the 570S Spider

From channelling your inner Magnum PI to satiating a midlife crisis, there are numerous reasons why you might want to splurge on a sports car. And there are some jaw-dropping new rides just waiting for you to tear up the tarmac in 2020 (speed limits permitting, of course).

As you’d expect from a company that makes F1 cars, the McLaren 570S Spider (mclaren.com) emits the kind of menacing growl that turns heads on the street. And this muscular marvel’s bite is as good as its bark, with a 3.8-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 lump yanking it from 0-60 in 3.2 seconds, and on to a top speed north of 320km/h (reduced to a mere 313km/h if the roof’s down). Of course, in this day and age, having a sports car and doing your bit for the environment needn’t be mutually exclusive. Due later this year, Tesla’s new all-electric Roadster (tesla.com) has been described as a “proper weapon” (whatever that means). Lithe and low-slung, the all-electric Roadster can apparently muster 0-100 in under two seconds. Quick? That’s practically back in time.

If you’re hoping for something a bit more budget friendly, look to France… At first glance, the French-made Alpine A110S (alpinecars.com) could be mistaken for a Porsche. It delivers a similarly intense driving experience, too, with a top speed of 259km/h, a 0-100 of 4.4 seconds and a chassis that’s been specially tuned for precision handling to leave you feeling on top of the world.