Sexy Supercars You've Never Heard Of

For owners who find that a Bugatti Veyron just isn't getting enough attention, there's the a.d. Tramontana. That "a.d." stands for "advanced design," which is an understatement, considering that it's equipped with a carbon-fiber body, a 720-horsepower Mercedes AMG twin-turbo V12 engine, magnesium alloy wheels and a glass canopy covering the cockpit as on a jet fighter. Buyers can choose a single-seat version or a 2-seater that puts the passenger directly behind the driver. The jet-fighter canopy is optional. Only 12 or so are made per year at the fledgling company's facilities in Catalonia, Spain. The starting price is around $500,000.

Bing Images: a.d. Tramontana

The Gumpert Apollo is as German as a Ferrari is Italian. It's made in Altenburg in central Germany. The Apollo's austere form is very Bauhaus, with a heavily modified Audi V8 engine that puts 650 horsepower to the rear wheels. It's a true race car at heart, with a steel structure that complies with racing regulations. This car is so personalized that the seats are molded right into a carbon-fiber tub that underpins the whole interior, so you can't simply slide or tilt the seat for a good fit. The driving position is tailored to each buyer by adjusting the pedals, steering wheel and seat padding. The price starts at $400,000 and can climb to $750,000 — and beyond.

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Think of Iconic Motors' AC Roadster as a Shelby Cobra for the 21st century. This 800-horsepower, $350,000 2-seater might look like the 1960s classic, but everything about it is new and designed from scratch — including the push-rod V8 engine, the chrome-alloy and carbon-fiber chassis, the horizontally opposed shock absorbers and the center-locking wheel nuts machined from a single piece of titanium billet. Company founder Claudio Ballard even used his 35 years in the computer industry to reinvent the automotive electrical system, replacing yards of analog wires with space- and energy-efficient, single-cable digital modules.

Bing: Shelby Cobra

Swedish automaker Koenigsegg has been around for more than a decade, but its outrageous cars might as well be Martians to the average motorist. To car enthusiasts, however, it has become a David to slay Goliaths. The company's latest creation is the Agera, and the 850-horsepower beast's stats are staggering: a zero-to-62-mph time of 3.1 seconds and an estimated top speed of 245 mph. But a number of its subtler features are just as impressive, like "ghost lighting," which uses "invisible nanotubes" to emit light through billet aluminum buttons. Pricing not available.

Bing: Koenigsegg Agera

Back in 1993, a car called the McLaren F1 upturned the supercar world with its mind-bending performance and million-dollar price tag. Well, it is poised to do it again. After years of focusing mostly on Formula One racing and a few performance-oriented consumer offerings, McLaren is coming out with a tamer sports car. Unlike its F1 forebear, which is essentially a street-legal race car, the MP4-12C is designed to outperform established British and Italian sports-car makers while offering enough comfort and convenience for everyday driving. Cost of a ticket to ride starts at $250,000.

Read:  McLaren MP4-12C: The Future of Supercar

Video: McLaren MP4-12C

British automaker Morgan Motor Co. has long made roadsters the old-fashioned way, with wooden frames (yes, wooden) and classic styling — and it still does. In 2000, Morgan introduced a convertible called the Aero 8, which polarized enthusiasts with its classic yet updated styling. A limited-edition AeroMax coupe followed in 2008. Now comes the Aero SuperSports, which is a blend of its predecessors, with the longer tail of the AeroMax and a removable roof panel for driving al fresco. Like the Aeros before it, the SuperSports, which runs about $200,000, is powered by a BMW V8 engine that offers scintillating performance with robust reliability.

Bing Images: Morgan Aero SuperSports

Noble is a small, obscure British company founded by entrepreneur and engineer Lee Noble. Until recently, it offered little more than so-called kit cars, whose steel chassis, fiberglass bodies and Ford-sourced engines had to be purchased piecemeal and assembled, because the cars themselves did not comply with U.S. safety and emissions regulations. They were, nonetheless, capable of humiliating Ferraris and Lambos off the line and in the twisties. Noble's new M600 is a true supercar with an exotic carbon-fiber body and 650-horsepower twin-turbo V8 engine. It does not comply with federal safety regulations, however, so it won't be coming to the U.S.

Bing: Noble M600

Argentinian Horacio Pagani started carving wooden models of supercars when he was 12. Now he builds real ones that cost more than $1 million. After managing Lamborghini's composite division and later branching out on his own as a design and engineering consultant, he started Pagani Automobili in 1992 to create his very own Lamborghini fighter, the Zonda. Its jet-plane design motif is evident in the cockpitlike cabin and unique quad exhaust pipes. A hand-built V12 engine from Mercedes' AMG division propels the lightweight 2-seater with turbine levels of thrust.

Video: Zonda vs. Lambo

Before Spyker Cars bought Saab from General Motors in early 2010, relatively few people knew this tiny Dutch automaker even existed. But it has been building sexy supercars powered by Audi engines since 2000. The company's latest car, the C8 Aileron, is an evolution of its predecessors, the C8 Roadster and Laviolette. Like them, its styling pays homage to Spyker's aeronautical heritage, with chrome dials, turned aluminum trim and quilted leather seats that look like they came straight from an old airplane. Its performance, however, is anything but antiquated, with a 400-horsepower V8 that propels it to 62 mph in 4.5 seconds. Prices start at $250,000.

Read:  Saab Sold to Spyker Cars

Shelby Supercars (SSC) of West Richland, Wash., seemingly came out of nowhere in 2007 to slap Bugatti in the face. Its Ultimate Aero supercar beat the blueblood brand's million-dollar-plus Veyron to become the fastest production car in the world — a title that Bugatti has since reclaimed with its Veyron Super Sport. Still, the Ultimate Aero sits at the very top of the supercar heap, with a supercharged V8 engine that puts out an astounding 1,287 horsepower that can launch the car from zero to 60 mph in 2.78 seconds, with a top speed of 257.4 mph. Sticker price starts at $650,000.

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Matthew de Paula wanted to be an automotive journalist ever since reading his first car magazine in grade school. After a brief stint writing about finance, he helped launch ForbesAutos.com and became the site's editor in 2006. Matthew now freelances for various outlets.

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