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Jul 02, 2023

10 Best European Sports Cars That Define Automotive Excellence

Nothing short of automotive art, these incredible Euro sports are easily some of

Nothing short of automotive art, these incredible Euro sports are easily some of the best the segment ever produced.

Sports cars represent some of the best machines the automotive market has to offer, balancing speed, performance, and comfort into a racing machine for the roads. Most sports cars are usually a notch above their road-focused counterparts, having beefier engines, premium suspension, and exquisite build quality.

Europe is considered the greatest powerhouse in producing exceptional sports cars, having legendary brands such as Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Lamborghini. The continent has produced some of the most iconic cars the world has ever seen, setting new standards and raising expectations across the board.

While many sports cars have ripped the roads of Europe and beyond with their impeccable styling and performance, the ones on this list represent the best of the best, embodying art on wheels with their power and beauty. So sit back and see the 10 best European sports cars that define automotive excellence.

RELATED: 10 Best European Sports Cars For Thrill Seekers

Few are as iconic as the Jaguar E-type, perfectly encapsulating the 1960s styling of British automakers. When it first came out, Enzo Ferrari was rumored to have called it "the most beautiful car ever made", and that's coming from the man who literally makes Ferraris. The grand tourer certainly had an imposing presence on the road, with its iconic long wheelbase and sleek body.

Jaguar made the Series I and II carry an inline-six engine, capable enough to push the car to speeds of over 150 mph, while the Series III showed off a 5.3-liter V12 that radically changed the driveability of the car. The car was also light enough to sharply take fast corners, aided by its unitary construction that fused bodywork and chassis into a single monocoque to reduce flexing.

At the time, the Jaguar E-Type Series I was the fastest production car, rubbing elbows with the likes of Aston Martin's DB4 and DB5, and while it didn't enjoy the limelight that the DB5 got with James Bond behind its wheels, the Jaguar E-Type achieved cult classic status and got its own serious spy movie appearance with the Kingsman franchise.

Not many manufacturers can claim that their sports cars can perform and handle well in both asphalt and off-road conditions. Audi didn't just tell that fact, they proved it with the WRC legend Audi Quattro and its many iterations. Such is the effort that Audi put into the Quattro that the car still stands as one of the most powerful rally cars ever built.

Hailed as the king of Group B rally racing, the Audi Sport Quattro S1 gained its advantage by using an AWD system on a road car and coupling it with an inline-five engine that produced 300 hp. In the hands of legendary drivers such as Michèle Mouton and Hannu Mikkola, the Audi Sport Quattro S1 took the rallying world by storm.

Near the end of the Group B era, Audi entered the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and set the record time with Michèle Mouton and won another one with Walter Röhrl.

RELATED: A Detailed Look Back At The Audi Sport Quattro S1

While Audi dominated Group B racing, another German manufacturer dominated Group A racing. With over 1,400 victories across the German, British, European, and Australian touring car championships and more in the 24 Hours Nürburgring and Spa 24 Hours, the BMW E30 M3 showed the world how the Bavarian outfit can make lean and mean machines for the road and the track.

The BMW E30 M3 was light, weighing only 2,500 lbs. Paired with the stiff chassis and the 200 hp from its naturally-aspirated 2.3-liter inline-four engine made the car reach speeds of 146 mph, hardly fast for today but fast enough to be a fun sports car.

Its body and design are still unmistakable to this day, with the boxy angles and sharp lines showing off its wide-body styling. What the BMW E30 offered that its contemporaries didn't was everyday practicality and simple luxuries that other sports cars lacked, turning the car into a comfortable beast on the track.

The McLaren F1 was the brainchild of revered Formula 1 designer Gordon Murray, turning the car into the best of the best, from its materials to the engineering techniques used on the car. McLaren approached the BMW M division for an engine, eventually agreeing with a 6.1-liter naturally-aspirated V12 that can push the F1 with 618 hp.

The weight savings on the car's body needed the use of exotic materials such as titanium and magnesium, with carbon fiber being the staple all around the body. The McLaren F1 became the first sports car ever to be made almost entirely out of carbon fiber reinforced polymer and remains the fastest NA car with a top speed of over 240 mph.

The early 2000s saw sports cars become more and more digital. Porsche decided to take a different approach with their Carrera GT, giving the car a more analog feel to it alongside a near-perfect six-speed manual transmission. The engine came from Formula 1, making the 5.7-liter V10 engine crank up 612 horses onto the asphalt.

The 2004 Porsche Carrera GT was built almost like a Formula 1 car, being the first to ever use a carbon fiber monocoque and subframe that later became standard in Porsche. While the car was fast, it needed better braking for corners, so Porsche decided to make the Carrera GT the first car to have ventilated carbon-ceramic discs.

Tracing its roots back from the timeless 300 SL, the 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG was a stunner when it first came into the sports car scene. The car featured its ancestor's signature gullwing doors alongside an all-aluminum body that made for a nimble sports car.

Aside from its 6.2-liter V8 engine that produces 583 horsepower mated with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, what makes the SLS AMG special is the tech Mercedes crammed into the car. The tech found inside and outside the car can rival modern systems, speaking volumes about the car's technological capabilities.

With the build quality, performance, and styling, the Mercedes SLS AMG still stands as one of the best AMG cars the group has produced.

The age of hybrids finally arrived, and while it was mostly used in sedans as fuel economy boosters, it was only in 2013 that companies took a serious look into the power applications of hybrid technology. Ferrari, McLaren, and Porsche raced to be the first ones to use hybrid technology in their premium offerings, and while McLaren took the crown, Porsche threw it to new heights with the 2013 918 Spyder.

RELATED: Why The Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid Hypercar Deserves A Lot More CreditThe Porsche 918 Spyder employed not just one, but two electric motors for each axle, sending extra horses to the wheels. The front motor made 127 hp, while the rear wheels received 154 hp. The car possesses a 4.6-liter V8 engine that produces 608 hp on its own and can also run fully electric, just not for long.

Porsche perfectly engineered the car's aerodynamics and made radical changes such as placing the exhausts at the top of the car to help reduce the back pressure.

A Bond car through and through, the Aston Martin DB series has been the company's license to thrill with cars such as the DB9 and DB11. Saying goodbye to their V12 era, Aston Martin made the DBS 770 Ultimate and fit it with their trademark 5.2-liter V12 that helps make the car 770 horses, hence the name.

The 12 cylinders work to push the car to a top speed of 211 mph, all while providing unprecedented comfort with its interior filled with Alcantara, leather, and carbon fiber along with a three-spoke steering wheel with thick grips and carbon fiber paddles.

As a proper farewell to a legendary era, Aston Martin fitted ceramic brakes and exceptional suspension to allow owners to fully enjoy the car and push its limits.

The 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS is the most performance-focused 911 Porsche ever built, on and off the track. Its 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six mounted in the rear helps the car achieve a whopping 213 mph.

The car allows drivers to exercise full control over the vehicle, fitting it with electronic adjusters for ride height, camber, wheel track, and stabilizers. The GT2 RS previously held the fastest time for any production car around the Nürburgring, and its stiff suspension certainly helps it perform better on the track than on city roads.

What makes the 911 GT2 RS exceptionally well in handling corners is its rear-axle steering, allowing the car to navigate even the tightest turns with ease.

Built to commemorate Ferrari's 90 years in Formula 1, the Maranello engineers set out to make an industry-shaking car in the form of the SF90 Stradale. The company made sure to incorporate as many developments from Formula 1 into the car to produce the ultimate European sports car.

The Ferrari SF90 Stradale uses F1 materials and construction, such as the composites that allow the body to be extremely lightweight while retaining its strength. While the Porsche 918 Spyder used two electric motors, the SF90 used three: one for the rear wheels, and one for each of the front wheels, all from the power of an F1 energy recovery system (ERS).

Like F1 cars, the SF90 also uses a drag reduction system (DRS) that opens up its rear wing during hard acceleration, automatically closing during braking or cornering. The Ferrari SF90 Stradale represents the pinnacle of motorsports translated into a road-legal sports car, and a testament to Europe's engineering capabilities when it comes to performance.

A part-time writer and a full-time automotive enthusiast. If it has wheels and looks pretty, he's all over it.While he loves European cars more than other cars, nothing can match his love for motorcycles, especially the classic ones. You can find him parked in a café or shredding chicken strips around the twisties.