24 Jul 08
5. Lightning GT
Like the much-hyped Tesla Roadster, the Lightning GT is a high-performance electric super-sportster. What's the shock? It's a stunner.
The GT's top speed is 130mph, and 0-60mph comes up in four seconds - the electric motors placed on all four wheels are said to give the equivalent of 700bhp. Sadly, supercar styling and supercar acceleration don't come cheap; the GT will cost around £150,000.
When you see it in the flesh, you're not quite sure what to make of it because you know it's an electrically-powered vehicle, which usually means dull. But there is no denying that this is an awesome beast. It's monstrously long and uncompromisingly wide - a true fire-breathing (or rather voltage-chomping) sports car.
6. Lotus Evora
The first all-new Lotus in 12 years, the 'Project Eagle' Evora is a mid-engined 2+2 with a 280bhp 3.5 V6. It's not only considerably more comfortable and better-equipped than the Elise, it's quicker: it's gone faster round the Nurburgring, and has also proved 'more stable at speed than the Exige,' says Lotus. It'll do 160mph and 0-60mph in less than five seconds.
Full leather upholstery, soft-touch surfaces and proper trim finish off the air-conditioned cabin, and items such as sat nav, Bluetooth kit, an iPod-compatible stereo, tyre pressure monitoring, touch-screen controls and Isofix child seat mounting points are available as options.
We like it because it's all-British: it's designed and built on these shores and we think that's something to celebrate. It has taken the British Motor Show by storm and the proof in the pudding is in the eating: normally-sceptical journalists were drooling when the covers came off this gorgeous-looking creature.
Video: Lotus Evora
