The hottest sports cars for 2008

By Jim Gorzelany

updated 3:54 p.m. ET Dec. 13, 2007

Sales of sports cars in 2007 show that the rich are getting richer, and as the average age of sports-car buyers steadily creeps up, more models with added luxury and amenities are rolling into showrooms.

The healthiest segment of the small but highly profitable sports-car market is at the extreme upper end. Sales of "ultra-luxury" makes like Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Lamborghini, whose vehicles tend to have longer product cycles, are down by the smallest margin so far this year, 6.9 percent, according Bandon, Ore.-based, CNW Marketing Research.

David Wurster, president of research firm Vincentric in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., sees the high end of the sports-car market holding strong in the coming year. "So-called 'supercars' costing $200,000 and up are in a different sort of marketplace," he says. "It's a good example of the widening gap between the rich and poor in this country — we're apparently going to see more wealthy people at the top who can afford to own the very best."

Overall, sports car sales are in a slump, but that's not stopping manufacturers from releasing hot new models for 2008.

Sales of "premium" sports cars (which include the Audi TT, BMW Z4, and Chevrolet Corvette) are down 10.2 percent during the first 10 months of 2007 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to CNW data. "Upper premium" models (Dodge Viper SRT10, Mercedes-Benz SL, Porsche 911, etc.) are off by 13.5 percent.

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In these categories, where models tend to get refreshed every four or five years, significant models for 2008 include redesigned versions of the Audi TT and the Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe and Roadster; the latter gets a major boost in power, with its massive V10 engine now pumping out 600 horsepower.

Arguably the most anticipated new sports car in recent years debuts next spring as an early 2009 model: The Nissan GT-R will be powered by a twin-turbo V6 engine and be able to reach 60 miles per hour in less than four seconds.

This sleek all-wheel-drive coupe has long been a performance icon in Japan (where it has been called the "Skyline GT-R") but is just now coming to America. "It will be a true 'halo' vehicle for Nissan," says Francois Gravigny, an analyst with the market research company R.L. Polk and Company in Southfield, Mich. "The Japanese had gotten away from selling high-performance vehicles in the U.S., like the Acura NSX and the Toyota Supra, and Nissan is timing the return to that segment of the market perfectly."

Among new models for 2008 in the exotic segment are the Maserati GranTurismo, an elegant and civilized near-exotic coupe, and the stunning Audi R8, which is that company's first foray into the realm of uber-sports cars. The R8's traffic-stopping looks — we mean that literally; people jumped out of their cars in the middle of traffic to take pictures of it on our test drive — and boasts a 420-hp V8 engine. Its price extends into six figures and Audi has made it clear that the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S is one of its chief rivals. "The R8 is the perfect model that illustrates the Audi's new performance-based philosophy," Gravigny says. "It's the first time any German manufacturer is really going up against the Porsche 911."

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