carandbike Awards 2021: Sportscar Of The Year

The sportscar market too was on the boil last year with quite a few new launches. Exotic carmakers like Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche managed to bring in some exciting models in India despite the COVID scare. However, not all of them were able to make it to our track day. In fact, only the Lamborghini Huracan EVO RWD made to our jury round while the Ferraris and Porsche 911 didn't show up. And that gives the Lambo a big edge!

Lamborghini Huracan EVO RWD

2020 Lamborghini Huracan Evo clocks triple digit speeds in just 2.9 seconds.

The Lamborghini Huracan EVO was the only supercar that managed to show up at our jury round. The car first unveiled at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show and within a couple of months the supercar was launched in India. The car is powered by the same 5.2 litre V10 from the regular Huracan but Lamborghini has made few upgrades like titanium valves, revised intake and lighter exhaust. This enables the car to churn out a whopping 630 bhp and 600 Nm of peak torque. The engine comes mated to a seven-speed dual clutch transmission the sends power to the rear wheels and it can do the 0-100 kmph stint in just 2.9 seconds.

The Huracan also gets Lamborghini's Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva, a new active aerodynamic tech allowing the car to switch between maximum downforce and low drag setups by adjusting flaps at the front and rear. This helps the car to create maximum vertical downforce.

Ferrari F8 Tributo

The Ferrari F8 Tributo gets a 3.9-litre, V8 motor.

The track oriented Ferrari F8 Tributo is powered by a 3.9-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 motor that puts out 710 bhp which is 49 bhp more than the Ferrari 488 GTB and 770 Nm of peak torque. The Ferrari F8 Tributo at 1330 kg is 40 kg lighter than the 488 GTB and all of that in conjunction make it 0.1 seconds faster than the 488 GTB to 100 kmph at 2.9 seconds and 0.5 seconds faster from 0 to 200 kmph at 7.8 seconds. Moreover, it can clock a top speed of 340 kmph which is 6 kmph more than the model it replaces.

Ferrari Roma

The Ferrari Roma is the latest addition in Ferrari's line-up.

The Ferrari Roma is the latest addition in Ferrari's range in our market. The 3.9-litre turbo V8 sits between the front and the middle and doles out about 620 bhp at 5,750-7,500 rpm along with churning out a humongous peak torque of 760 Nm at 3,000-5,750 rpm. There is an eight-speed DCT gearbox which was taken from the SF90 Stradale! The Ferrari Roma has a top-speed in excess of 320 kmph and does the 0-100 kmph sprint in 3.4 seconds. The 0-200 kmph sprint takes 9.3 seconds.

Ferrari SF90 Stradale

The Ferrari SF90 Stradale is the fastest Ferrari on sale.

The Ferrari SF90 Stradale is the fastest Ferrari on sale at present and gets a new electronic system adjusts power flows to suit the conditions of use. All the driver has to do is to select one of the power unit modes (eDrive, Hybrid, Performance and Qualify) on the brand-new eManettino for a wonderfully exhilarating experience behind the wheel. The SF90 Stradale, gets an all-wheel drive (AWD) sytem and is powered by a 3.9-litre V8 motor. 0-100 kmph is done in just 2.5 seconds while 0-200 kmph is done in just 7 seconds while top speed is rated at 341 kmph. The mechanical layout adopted by the Maranello engineers has allowed them to further advance the car's dynamic control system. The latter, now referred to as the eSSC, verifies the car's dynamic status in real time. Based on that information, it controls vehicle stability by delivering torque independently via the front electric engines to the inside and outside wheel (Torque Vectoring), significantly improving traction coming out of corners and making it much simpler and more intuitive to drive on the limit with confidence.

Porsche 911

The Porsche 911 gets a 3.0-litre, flat six-cylinder engine.

The Porsche 911 is in its eighth-generation now and had made its first public appearance at the 2018 LA Auto Show. The biggest updates are to the engine and the frame. The new-generation Porsche 911 now gets horizontally opposed 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol engine which has a new fuel-injection system offering better combustion and performance. Still mounted at the rear, the 3.0-litre motors pump out more power and are paired with either a sevem-speed manual or the new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic. The total power output on both variants, the 911 Carrera S and the 911 Carrera 4S is about 444 bhp, which is an increase of about 30 bhp over the previous model. With the new 8-speed automatic gearbox, the Carrera 4S does the 0-100 kmph sprint in 3.7 seconds and the all-wheel drive Carrera 4S takes 3.6 seconds to breach the 100 kmph mark from standstill. Porsche has extensively worked on the platform, using more Aluminium at the rear for better weight distribution and for the first time, both variants of the new 911 get rear-wheel steering for better agility and cornering. Porsche will also offer the optional Sport Chrono package which includes launch control, new software for the gearbox and of course, it reduces the 100 kmph sprint time by about 0.2 seconds. The Carrera S has a top speed of 307 kmph while the 4S has a top speed of 305 kmph.