Porsche Carrera GT

Just as no super sports car list is ever final without the inclusion of a Ferrari, neither it is legitimate or complete without a Porsche, in this case the ultimate Porsche. The German automaker has just come out with a brand-new contestant in the high-stakes, and high-dollar, luxury auto competition.

The Porsche Carrera GT is a direct descendant of the Porsche GT1 that won its class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998. It looks the part and acts it, too. Boasting a 5.7-liter, 605-horsepower V-10, Porsche officials say the 3,043-pound Carrera GT can rocket from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, and can top out at around 210 mph. Where this car stands out, though, is in its race-car stability, thanks to such features as a rear wing that pops up at 75 mph and a suspension that sucks the car lower to the ground at higher speeds. The car is also state-of-the-art in its construction, with an unprecedented full carbon fiber chassis and seats, ceramic brakes and clutch and a perforated rear deck lid to help the engine's heat escape as efficiently as possible.

At very first glance it's hard to tell that the beautifully detailed mid-engine roadster derives its roots from competitive motor sports. But when all has been said and done all of Porsche's technologies has a history in one form of competition or another and that is precisely as it should be for it is what everyone has come to expect and deserve from one of the most brilliant car manufacturers in the world. Top speeds aerodynamics also play a crucial role in the sheer force of this exceptional vehicle. Porsche's engineers shaped the sheet metal of its new super car to maximize down force while trapped air underneath is minimized by funneling it through carbon fiber flow channels and out a rear diffuser.

The wake-up roar of the all-aluminum, 604-horsepower, 5.7-liter, V10 engine through the twin-chamber exhaust is supreme and just below Germany's legal decibel limits. It's not a deep and graveled American muscle-car sound, nor is it Italian high and raspy, but strikes a happy medium between the two - an added dimension for all great car enthusiasts. The Porsche Carrera GT lifts its nose, squats down and leaps forward like a world-class sprinter out of the blocks. With traction control activated, wheel spin isn't an issue in first or second gear, which smoothly clocks in at 48 mph.

The Carrera GT is Porsche's fastest and most expensive super car, challenging the Ferrari Enzo Ferrari and the upcoming Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren for the title of ultimate super car of the early twenty-first century. Like the others, the Carrera has a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, with a matching drive train cradle. Made in Italy, each monocoque consists of more than 1000 individual elements that are glued, laminated and baked together rather attentively.

On smooth pavement, the Porsche Carrera GT performs exactly like a prima ballerina at her very best— powerful, graceful, and masterful. With the engine shouting itself hoarse and the wide tires enhancing the perfectly fused symphony of unbridled movement, the Porshe Carrera GT etches itself into your memory as one of the truly exceptional driving experiences. You forget the tricky clutch, the large exterior and small interior, its hatred of bumps, and the silly price. It's not as overtly aggressive or as intimately involving or as ruthlessly black and white as the Enzo, but it is a better all-around car and more usable every day. Those who can spend and choose to be purposely selective should not waste any time; out of the 1500 cars Porsche will build over the next few years, 1250 are already spoken for, but what else could anyone expect from a company so dedicated to masterful symmetry?