How to follow 2015? It was the year of the Ferrari 488 GTB, the Civic Type R, McLaren 675LT, Porsche Cayman GT4, Aventador SV and many more. Quite a year to live up to then.
But as you'll see here, 2016 promises to match the heady heights of 2015. There are new hot hatches to anticipate, supercars, affordable sports cars and, just possibly, the return of the great Alfa sports saloon.
So here we have the top 10 cars for 2016. Are there any more that should be added to the list? Which car - or indeed cars - are you most looking forward to? The forum awaits...
Alfa Romeo Giulia
- Dare we hope? So much of what's been confirmed about the Giulia so far - a 510hp flagship, decent styling, 50:50 weight distribution - promises a great deal. But then so did the first details of
the 4C
, and its potential is yet to be realised. Unlike the 4C though, the Giulia cannot afford to be an exclusive sports car; in its more everyday, non-QV forms, it must be the volume seller to take on the 3 Series, Jaguar XE and Audi A4. Will it be good enough? 2016 will be the year to find out.
Aston Martin DB11
- The DB11's task is two-fold; not only must it replace
the DB9
, a car on which so much of Aston's recent success has been built, but it must also be the first to prove that AMG powertrains can be incorporated successfully
into an Aston Martin
Expect styling inspired by the DB10 Bond car and Vulcan, plus a much needed update of the interior. Geneva is already looking like another fantastic show!
BMW M2
- One of 2016's most hotly anticipated, for sure. Spiritual successor to the fabulous
1 M Coupe
, the M2 could be a very special M car if it can combine everything so revered about that 1 M with the best bits of the new
M3 and M4
Power comes from a new 3.0-litre turbo six with 370hp, the styling is unapologetically macho and there's a manual gearbox as standard. No wonder the PH forum thread has attracted so many comments!
With customer deliveries beginning in April, we'll hope to report back on a first drive a little before then. Can it be as good as it sounds? There's not long to wait.
BMW M4 GTS
- The other very fast and very exciting BMW due in 2016, this one rather more expensive than the M2 though. Yes, it's a near-£130K BMW M4. That being said, they're all sold and the prospect of a BMW M4 with more power and smidge less weight is one to be very excited by. Particularly if, as the
'ring lap suggests
, it has also tamed the standard car's rather wayward tendencies on bumpy roads and improved traction too.
Fiat 124 Spider
- Never has such a small and relatively inexpensive car had so much riding on it. There hasn't been a good, affordable, rear-wheel drive Fiat sports car in decades. In fact you could probably extend that to Italian sports cars generally, given how desperate the situation has been.
So the 124 has to deliver. It's not only the time we've been waiting for something like this from Fiat, but also the fact it's so heavily based on the very good Mazda MX-5 that raises expectations again. With the Japanese doing the mechanicals (Fiat Multiair engines will be used though) and Italian styling, it should be great. It's the Alfa Arna school of collaboration done the right way round!
Having seen the car at Los Angeles, the 124's launch and deliveries shouldn't be too far off. Fingers firmly crossed.
Ford Focus RS
- This is the big one for 2016, right? We know the spec, we know the price, we know how it looks; the final piece of the puzzle is the drive. Anticipation is running at fever pitch for the RS because, well, it's a Focus RS and the previous two generations established quite a reputation for themselves. But more than that it's the promise of an engaging four-wheel drive system, a really powerful turbo engine and the best development Ford's RS division can throw at it. Sounds like quite the combination.
In addition, think of how good recent fast Fords have been. Cars like the Focus and Fiesta ST have been really well received, the Fiesta now the go-to small hot hatch in any comparison. This may be the first global Focus RS, but with experience like that to build off the signs are very good indeed. The first drive is very soon...
Ford GT
- And at the other end of the Ford product range! Yes, 2016 will be the year of the Ford GT, exactly half a century after the GT40 won at Le Mans for the first time. The Le Mans debut
is confirmed
; what we don't know yet is when the road car will be finished. Given how production ready the concept looked, surely it can't be too far away. Can the Ford GT really work with an Ecoboost V6? Should Ferrari and the big supercar players be worried all over again? Answers to those questions to follow as soon as possible!
Honda NSX
- It feels like we've been writing about the NSX in year preview stories for a long time. Or at least hoping to write about it. But now the production NSX is a reality and 2016 is the year that customers will drive it. It enters a fiercely competitive sector of the sports car market, with the
McLaren 570S
recently joining the established players of Audi R8, Porsche 911 Turbo and Aston V12 Vantage. It will compete against those cars with a terrifically complex hybrid powertrain, a nine-speed dual clutch transmission and four-wheel drive. Plus that badge, of course.
Prices are expected to start at around £140,000 for the NSX. Following the successful return of the Civic Type R, can the NSX follow that car's lead? We're desperate to find out!
Lotus 3-Eleven
- There are a lot of big numbers associated with the 3-Eleven. There's 456hp for a start, a top speed of 186mph and up to 215kg of downforce. Really, really serious about your track days? This could be the car for you!
There will be two versions of the 3-Eleven, the Road and Race. The Race brings in a sequential gearbox, said to account for much of the £33K premium over the £82K Road car. Expectations are running really high for the 3-Eleven, such was the praise heaped on the 2-Eleven and recent successes like the Exige Sport 350. Jean-Marc Gales describes the 3-Eleven as a "giant slayer, capable of embarrassing far more expensive rivals"; we'll find out if this is true when production begins next month.
Porsche 718
- Some may of course argue against the four-cylinder Boxster and Cayman models being included in a 'reasons to be cheerful' story. Following
turbocharged 911s
, they may see this as the next nail in the Porsche coffin. But given how well executed the new 911s have been, the idea of a turbocharged flat-four Porsche is one to be really excited by. It will be lighter too, further benefitting dynamics. Let's deal with noise nearer the time...
Details have been fairly light on the Boxster and Cayman facelift for now, but expect plenty more during 2016. There's likely to be plenty more debate on them too!
1 / 11