U.S. auto sales hit a five-year high last year, and seven automakers posted all-time records. Although the overall sales figures for European sports cars may pale in comparison with mass-market brands, three of the continent's best-known performance marques enjoyed robust worldwide sales as well.

Lamborghini’s worldwide deliveries rose from 1,602 in 2011 to 2,083 in 2012, representing a 30 percent increase from the previous year and the third consecutive year of growth for the Italian supercar brand.

Fellow Italian Ferrari delivered 3,664 cars in the first half of last year -- yearly sales figures were not available -- which was a 7.4 percent increase over the same period in 2011. That's more than Rolls-Royce sold all of last year, but Ferrari is unlikely to top Bentley's 8,510 sales.

Porsche bested both of its southern rivals by selling more vehicles in 2012 than ever before. The German sports-car company sold a record 118,868 cars, an increase of 18.7 percent from the previous year. “We are looking back on the most successful year in our history," Porsche President and CEO Matthias Müller said at the 2013 Detroit auto show this week. Over the past three years, the Stuttgart-based automaker has increased sales by a whopping 83.9 percent.

Porsche said it achieved double-digit growth in all sales regions in 2012. Asia/Pacific ranked first, with 50,376 units and a 23.6 percent increase from the previous year, followed by Europe, with 49,639 new Porsches sold and a 13.5 percent increase.

The U.S. was still the most successful single market for Porsche in 2012, with a total of 35,043 vehicles sold and a 20.7 percent increase in sales. And Porsche is still popular in its home market of Germany, which saw 17,487 cars sold and a 16.9 percent increase.

Lamborghini credits its sales success to the new Aventador LP 700-4, which sold 922 units. But the Gallardo retained its status as the most successful Lamborghini, even after almost 10 years in production: 1,161 were sold in 2012, which put it on par with its 2011 performance.

Lamborghini sales were divided across three regions: Europe at 29 percent; the Americas at 28 percent, of which the U.S. accounts for 25 percent; and Asia/Pacific at 35 percent, of which China is 15 percent. The Middle East and South Africa accounted for 8 percent. Lamborghini said that “despite global market headwinds,” the brand grew in Europe by 34 percent versus 2011, in the Americas by 50 percent and in Asia/Pacific by 9 percent.

The top European sports-car makers have no plans to slow down. In 2013, Lamborghini will launch the Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster open-top supercar. Lamborghini says that initial orders for the model have already been exceeded and that the order bank for both the roadster and hardtop versions stretches out over the next 15 months.

For its part, Porsche will roll out two major products: the plug-in hybrid 918 Spyder and the smaller Macan SUV. Because Porsche’s most in-demand model worldwide is the Cayenne, the company used the occasion of the Detroit auto show to unveil the new Cayenne Turbo S, rated at 550 horsepower.