40 ARIEL ATOM
It feels instantly, overwhelmingly, paralysingly rapid, insane supercharger thrust (in the 300) and seemingly zero inertia piling on speed so quickly your brain scrambles to keep up. It has a much more softly sprung and reactive chassis than you might expect – vastly different to a Caterham’s and not so easy to tame. Grab the tiger by the tail and hang on tight, though, and you’ll have a riot.

Layout: Mid-engine, rear-drive Engine: In-line 4-cyl, 1998cc, s/c Power: 300bhp Top speed: 155mph 0-60: 3.3sec Years: 1999-

39 FORD FOCUS RS MK2
For a car with 300bhp coursing through its front wheels, the Focus RS feels supremely well tied down, with tons of grip and vanishingly small amounts of pitch and roll. Anyone who tells you it doesn’t torque-steer is fibbing, but that’s part of the fun. The charismatic-sounding five-pot turbo motor is more than capable of serving up crushing levels of urge, but it’s the way the Focus marries grunt, grip and poise that entertains and gives it such remarkable real-world pace.

Layout: Front-engine, front-drive Engine: In-line 5-cyl, 2522cc, turbo Power: 300bhp Top speed: 163mph 0-60: 5.9sec Years: 2009-

38 PORSCHE 997 CARRERA S
Representing all ‘regular’ Carreras, the 997 is easier to drive than earlier 911s. But it’s no less formidable for that. The steering may have shed some of the extraordinary communicative abilities of previous generations, but it’s only slightly disappointing by its own standards. Few cars offer such an invigorating and involving time behind the wheel, and those that do usually have six-figure price tags.

Layout: Rear-engine, rear-drive Engine: Flat-6, 3800cc Power: 380bhp Top speed: 188mph 0-60: 4.6sec Years: 2004-

37 PORSCHE 964 RS
Arguably the last truly ‘hard’ 911, the 964 RS has a fairly uncompromising work ethic. Take it by the scruff and it attacks roads that would make lesser cars cower. Digs hard and deep into fast bends, nose bobbing sharply but minutely as stiff suspension and sticky rubber conspire to harness the tail-heavy masses. You’ll pile on speed through sheer tenacity. And savour the fact this is an air-cooled 911. The induction roar, fan whine and cam drive scream are all part of the potent mix.

Layout: Rear-engine, rear-drive Engine: Flat-6, 3600cc Power: 260bhp Top speed: 162mph 0-60: 5.3sec Years: 1990-92

36 LOTUS EXIGE
We’d take the mk1 – flawed but rather fabulous. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it drives like a noisier and faster Elise. The power’s there all right but it’s peaky and hard to reach. Keep the engine spinning above 5000rpm and there’s shove aplenty. The chassis is quite something, too; all of the Elise’s precision and agility allied to barely believable levels of grip in the dry. Makes a brilliant trackday car.

Layout: Mid-engine, rear-drive Engine: In-line, 4-cyl, 1796cc Power: 192bhp Top speed: 136mph 0-60: 4.6sec Years: 2000-01

35 MITSUBISHI EVO Evo IX FQ-360
Best of the last-generation Evos is still one of the quickest ways from where you are to where you want to be. The way it fuses supercar pace with advanced all-drive traction is remarkable but to get the best out of it requires a brutally single-minded approach. The harder you drive, the more it likes it.

Layout: Front-engine, 4wd Engine: In-line 4-cyl, 1997cc, turbo Power: 366bhp Top speed: 157mph 0-60: 3.9sec Years: 2005-07

34 LOTUS ESPRIT V8 SPORT 350
Criminally underrated. The V8 is super light and compact so you have the benefit of a mid-engine car without the mass of a big engine. Absolutely brilliant balance adjustable by a tweak of the foot and the merest touch of the steering makes it one of the most involving drivers’ cars ever. Light overall too, which gives it good performance. Shame there isn’t anything like it today.   

Layout: Mid-engine, rear-drive Engine: V8, 3506cc, twin-turbo Power: 350bhp Top speed: 175mph 0-60: 4.3sec Years: 1999-2000

33 LAMBORGHINI MURCIELAGO LP670-4 SV
The SV (representing all Murciélagos) is a savagely, intimidatingly fast car. It hammers so much immediacy and raw excitement into the usual supercar mix, your heart nearly leaps out of your chest. The noise, the bite, the response, the grip and braking power – all require rapid mental recalibration to make much sense of, they’re delivered with such unfiltered honesty and intensity. Awesome.

Layout: Mid-engine, 4wd Engine: V12, 6496cc Power: 661bhp Top speed: 212mph 0-60: 3.2sec Years: 2009-

32 SUBARU IMPREZA P1
There’s an honesty and coherence to the ultimate old-shape Scooby that never fails to stun. You climb in, you drive fast, you grin until your face aches. It’s all as natural as breathing. Imperturbable in its control, the P1 annihilates the sort of road that would scare you in a powerful rear-driver. Scorching ground-covering ability and everyday practicality. and fully deserves its iconic status. One of the great performance bargains of the ‘90s.

Layout: Front-engine, 4wd Engine: Flat-4, 1994cc, turbo Power: 276bhp Top speed: 150mph 0-60: 4.9sec Years: 2000-01

31 LOTUS EVORA
The most important car for Lotus – and for fans of British performance cars – since the Elise. Fortunately for all of us, it’s every bit as good as we dared hope it would be, with all of the Elise’s intimacy and abundant feel translated into a genuinely rapid and refined baby supercar. As we found in our group test (evo 132), drive an Evora after you've driven a Cayman, and it’s as if you've just taken off a 75lb rucksack. The Evora feels that light, that delicate, and the steering’s so full of feel, it’s as if layers of filtering have been stripped away. Simply irresistible.

Layout: Mid-engine, rear-drive Engine: V6, 3456cc Power: 276bhp Top speed: 162mph 0-60: 5.1sec Years: 2009-

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