Best new cars coming soon – future performance car stars and potential evo favourites

It’s tempting to cave in to the doom and gloom about the future of the automotive industry, but every year car manufacturers seem to pull the rabbit from the hat and grant us a new selection of spectacular performance cars – and the same is already looking true for 2026.

We’ve already been behind the wheel of several cars we were anticipating in 2024, including the Aston Martin Valhalla, Ferrari F80 and Lamborghini Temerario, while a flurry of unveilings has given us a better idea of a few others, such as the BMW M2 CS, Honda Prelude, and Porsche 911 Turbo S, which you can read more about below ahead of order books officially opening. Others are still a little further away, but there’s already a whole lot to look forward to in 2026.

Aston Martin Valhalla

evo’s had this one on the list since 2024 but while we’ve now had a chance to drive a prototype of the Aston Martin Valhalla, the production car still isn’t quite ready, so it remains one to wait for. That prototype drive did tell us that Aston’s on the right track with its first series-production (to differentiate it from the loopy Valkyrie and the one-off Bulldog) mid-engined car. 

For an 817bhp, 217mph car, it’s amazingly approachable, while the low-slung cabin feels special – there are hints of the Le Mans-ready Valkyrie, but with a great deal more comfort and much more sensible volume levels. While the projected £850k is hardly a snip, it’s a lot less than several other recent hypercars.

Audi RS5

The Audi S5s that we drove on the Col de Vence early in 2025 were compelling in many ways but had a lot of unfulfilled potential. That’s where the 2025 Audi RS5 comes in, which has been seen testing in both saloon and Avant forms. 

Expected to combine a turbocharged V6 engine with a plug-in hybrid element, it should pack over 500bhp and most likely, quite a few extra kilograms to shift around. We’ll be sad to wave off the inimitably stylish outgoing Audi RS5 coupe, though, as the body style has been abandoned this time round.

Audi RS6

Sitting above the new RS5, Audi will also offer a new RS6. In fact, a little like BMW with its upcoming new M3, it will offer two: one expected to retain some form of V8 with a plug-in hybrid setup, the other all-electric. We’re a bit more excited for one of those than the other (see if you can guess which), but like the RS5, there’ll also be a choice of body styles, both saloon and Avant. 

Details are scarce, but a power bump for the V8 is likely (predominantly from the electric element), while the EV will use some derivation of the electric drivetrain currently found in the e-tron GT and Porsche Taycan, if not quite eclipsing those flagships. Whether it ends up being as heavy as the plug-in BMW M5 - the RS6’s closest rival - remains to be seen.

BMW M2 CS

The last BMW M2 CS has an evo Car of the Year win in its back pocket, so the all-new car is pretty tantalising, and we don’t even need to wait until 2026 for it: we saw the production car in action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in summer 2025 and deliveries are just around the corner.

The M2’s 3-litre turbocharged inline six makes 523bhp and 479lb ft of torque, figures that match the current M3 but are sent to the rear wheels alone here. There’s one step in between: a dual-clutch transmission. Given the regular M2 still offers a manual, that’s a bit of a shame, though the DCT’s the only ‘box capable of handling the new torque output, and it should suit the CS’s more intense vibe. 

0-62mph is quoted at 3.8 seconds, top speed at 188mph, and it’s got the suspension (8mm lower), ten-stage traction control, Alcantara-clad interior, and ducktail spoiler to match. Pricing starts at a similarly punchy £86,800.

BMW M3 EV

BMW recently launched the iX3. An electric crossover, yes, and somewhat yawn-worthy as a result, but notable for being the first of the brand’s wave of Neue Klasse production cars, taking it into the future and beyond. The second will be an all-electric 3-series, and from that an electric M3 will be spawned.

Unusually, BMW will offer both combustion and electric M3s alongside each other, with the former being based on the outgoing platform, and the latter all-new – a similar strategy to that used on current combustion and electric MINIs. 

From what we’ve seen in spy shots, the new M3 will be relatively faithful to the Neue Klasse concept, ditching the beaver tooth grille for a wider, sharkier arrangement and featuring the usual M cue of wider arches. Mechanical details are unknown, but BMW is likely to chase repeatable performance on road and track, something several high-performance EVs still struggle with.

BMW M5 facelift

The current BMW 5-series, and M5 especially, don’t feel like they’ve been around for long, but BMW is already embarking upon a Neue Klasse M5 facelift, with disguised prototypes suggesting a look closer to that of the Neue Klasse 3-series and M3 mentioned above. 

At the same time, the new look could launch alongside a CS version of the M5. While the idea of CS-style weight savings on a car that weighs about 2.5 tonnes seems fairly laughable, the badge has a pretty good track record, and there are sure to be improvements in other areas too. We’ll probably have to wait a little while though – an on-sale date sometime in 2027 is likely for the refreshed 5-series.

Ferrari Amalfi

The egg-crate grille is gone. An appealing retro touch for some, an awkward detail for others, but it’s notably absent from the Ferrari Roma’s evolutionary replacement, the Amalfi. There’s a touch more 12Cilindri to the car’s styling now, albeit without that car’s dramatic proportions, necessary to house a V12 engine: like the Roma, the Amalfi retains a twin-turbo V8, making a modest 20bhp more than the Roma at 631bhp.

Ferrari’s also tweaked the behaviour of the car in each Manettino mode and, perhaps most importantly of all, ditched the godawful touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel for proper physical ones. Redesigned grille or not, it’ll be worth it for a proper starter button alone.

Ferrari Elettrica

More than once in its past Ferrari said it would never build an electric car. We know now that won’t be the case, as a fully-electric model is set to be revealed in October 2025, and turn the idea of what makes a true Ferrari on its head. 

The Elettrica name isn’t especially imaginative, but Italy can kind of get away with that (Maserati four-door, anyone?), while the body takes the form of a kind of raised five-door hatch – marginally less SUV-like than the Purosangue. Full specifications are as yet unknown, but we won’t have to wait long given the car’s imminent launch. How will buyers react? Ferrari doesn’t tend to miss, so if anyone can successfully sell a high-end EV, it’s probably those at Maranello.

Honda Prelude

Here’s how you do it, Ford. While the Capri returned as a kind of dumpy, Tesco Value Polestar 2, Honda’s bringing back the Prelude in the same format it left us in 2001: a two-door coupe. One with 2-litre hybrid power rather than as a 2.2-litre VTEC screamer admittedly, but that’s quarter of a century of automotive change for you. 

It doesn’t look much like any Honda Prelude we’re familiar with but Honda’s pitching the car’s behaviour somewhere between that of a sensible Civic Hybrid and the barmy Type R. Expect a £40k price tag – actually a little cheaper than the inflation-adjusted price of one of those old 2.2s.

Hyundai Ioniq 6 N

The Hyundai Ioniq 6 N, set to go on sale in early 2026, now has the weight of expectation behind it. The more crossover-like Ioniq 5 N is easily one of the most likeable electric cars and by far and away the best electric driver’s car, so packing the same tech into a lower-slung body – revealed in full at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in summer 2025 – is an exciting prospect.

The car that renders BMW’s weighty hybrid M5 and Porsche’s Taycan GTS obsolete? Perhaps – the 6 N puts 641bhp under your right foot, a little less than either, but with the 5 N’s hilarious virtual gearshifts it should be up there for entertainment, and a projected £70k starting price makes it vastly cheaper than those premium rivals.

Jaguar Type 00

If you’ve not heard of this one, then perhaps congratulations are in order, as towards the end of last year it was hard to get away from news about Jaguar’s rebrand and rebirth. Now the fuss over the rebranding has mostly died down, what really matters is the car. 

The Type 00 concept won’t hit the road unchanged but, when compared against the camouflaged prototypes that have been running around, it’s clear that the dramatic proportions will remain mostly intact for the four-door model that’ll hit the road in either 2026, or possibly 2027. What else do we know about the new electric Jag? It’s all electric, and prices will be upwards of £90,000 – more than most previous Jags, but less than the average Range Rover or any Bentley.

Lexus Sport Concept/Toyota GR GT3

Toyota and Lexus are keeping us guessing. For months we’ve seen prototypes of the Japanese brand’s new supercar thrashing around the Nürburgring, with dramatic, Viper-style proportions and a distinct V8 soundtrack. The same car appeared at Goodwood giving us a closer look, with rumours it would compete in next year’s WEC and IMSA series. 

Then, at Monterey Car Week in August, Lexus pulled a sheet off the Sport Concept, another front-engined GT with proportions more similar to the old LFA and a vague hint at electric power. We know both road and race versions of the long-bonnet car are planned, but where the Sport Concept fits in is more of a mystery…

Lotus Emeya Hyper Hybrid

It probably hasn’t escaped your attention that Lotus isn’t doing so well. In August 2025 the company confirmed it would be cutting nearly half of the jobs at Hethel. The Emira sports car is the only model getting anywhere close to the brand’s projected targets (ironically, given sports cars are supposedly a dying segment), and the Eletre SUV and Emeya saloon built in China are nowhere close. 

In an effort to shore up demand in a segment where customers still aren’t fully convinced by electric power, Lotus is planning to introduce “hyper hybrid” versions of both in the next few years, with range-extending engines to nearly double today’s range – from 301-379 in the current Emeya, to around 680 miles. Could it save Lotus?

McLaren W1

McLaren’s next Ultimate Series hypercar, the W1, has now been revealed in full. Following directly on from the P1 (and joining the likes of the Elva, Speedtail, and Senna among the brand’s top-rung models), the W1 – not the catchiest of names, perhaps – features a new “Aerocell” tub with fixed seats. 

There’s an all-new V8 engine (915bhp on its own, augmented with 342bhp of electric power) powering the rear wheels alone, and a combination of active aerodynamics and ground effect for drag reduction and downforce. All 399 examples are already spoken for – not bad, with a starting price of over £2 million.

Mercedes-AMG CLE 63

Quite a different flavour of performance car to the semi-silent Hyundai Ns, will be the 2025 Mercedes-AMG CLE 63. Off the back of the disappointment that was the C63 E Performance, the CLE 63 could well be a reluctant backtrack from Mercedes-AMG. Why? Well, it’s been spied a few times, making noises quite unlike the technically impressive but emotionally inanimate four-cylinder of the C63; noises much more appropriate for that 63 badge… A V8 could be returning to Mercedes’ high-performance executive coupe, which makes us very excited indeed. 

Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door

Paint AMG’s recent, record-setting all-electric GT XX concept silver rather than orange, and you’re getting close to what we expect to see from the next generation AMG GT 4-door. The outgoing car took the GT sports car’s name but was largely E-class based, but this time around we’re looking at an all-electric four-door coupe with an aerodynamic profile, distinctive round tail lights, and styling somewhere between the XX concept and recent Mercedes production cars like the new CLA. 

As for power, the sky’s the limit – the GT 4-door will probably take aim at the top Teslas, Lucids, Taycans, and the new breed of Chinese ultra-saloons. The XX makes 1340bhp, and while the GT may not be that high, anything less than 800bhp would be a surprise.

Polestar 5

More exciting than you might imagine is the imminent arrival of the Polestar 5. Why? Well, the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 are oddly appealing, for electric crossovers. The idea of the brand’s design and dynamics-lead approach being applied to a Porsche Taycan rival is tantalising. Making 737bhp in standard form and 871bhp as a Dual Motor, and riding on an 800-volt electrical system, the 2025 Polestar 5 will be the marque’s first totally bespoke car, with its own platform and its own hardware. It’ll be a statement, then, allowing what was once dismissed as a Volvo offshoot, to fully flex its muscles. It’s visually striking too, though how many customers it’ll find at an £89,500 starting price remains to be seen.

Porsche 911 GT2 RS (992.2)

You can’t throw a stone without hearing the “plink” of it bouncing off a bit of carbon on a hot Porsche these days, but that doesn’t mean Porsche is done with extreme 911s: the sight of a notably wide-body 911 doing laps of the ‘Ring suggests the next one we’ll see is a revival of the GT2 RS. 

This, as you’ll remember for the last one, is a bit like a GT3 RS, only with massive turbochargers strapped to it for real rocketship performance. The last one made 691bhp, so something in the region of 800bhp isn’t unlikely for the next car, especially if it features any interpretation of the hybrid assistance found in the new Turbo S (below). 

As per the current GT3 RS, a real downforce-generating aero kit (860kg at 177mph in the naturally-aspirated car) and sophisticated double-wishbone front suspension (the 991-based GT2 RS used struts) are also a given.

Porsche 911 Turbo S (992.2)

Following hot on the heels of the hybrid-assisted 911 GTS, Porsche has revealed details of the new 911 Turbo S, with similar electrical architecture and, as expected from the top big-T turbo model, a mighty power output. 

The headline figure is 701bhp, which admittedly pales beside some recent supercars and super GTs, but is still 60bhp more than the previous Turbo S. An 81bhp electric motor strapped to the new 3.6-litre engine accounts for some of that, with electrical power supplied by a small 1.9kWh battery and a 400-volt electrical system. But two small turbos, rather than the GTS’s one larger one, also play a part, and with four-wheel drive and rear-engined traction, 0-62mph comes up in 2.5 seconds. It’ll do 200mph, too.

Porsche Boxster/Cayman EV

It is with a bit of a sigh that we report on the electric Boxster and Cayman due some point in 2026. Partly because their combustion predecessors have finished production, ending a hell of an era for the open and closed-top sports cars, which started with the original Boxster in 1996. Partly, too, because Porsche itself seems to be struggling a little. 

We expected to see both cars in production form around about now, but as you might expect, doing things right is probably quite tricky. Disguised prototypes look similar to the outgoing cars, with a few Taycan-style details, and expect to see some fairly potent outputs in higher-spec versions - as much as 600bhp.

Toyota GR Corolla

Those with a knowledge of Toyota’s GR lineup will know the GR Corolla isn’t strictly a new car - US, Australian and Japanese buyers have had this cousin to the GR Yaris for roughly as long as we’ve had the smaller homologation special. But it could soon be coming to the UK, based on Toyota’s decision to actually build the Corolla, and the hot variant, in the UK from 2026. 

Previously, the GR Corolla has been built in Japan, and bringing over both Corolla and Yaris might have been overkill, but local production significantly increases the chances of getting it here.

Vauxhall Corsa GSE

Previewed in August 2025 in Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo form - that’s a car designed specifically for the Gran Turismo videogame series – the Vauxhall Corsa GSE is nevertheless far from being a flight of fancy. 

Given the Corsa sits on the Stellantis CMP platform, and given that platform has recently spawned hot models like the Abarth 600e, Alfa Junior Veloce, and soon the Peugeot E-208 GTI, there’s little barrier to Vauxhall doing a sporty version of the electric Corsa either. It won’t have the videogame version’s 789bhp and mad aero, but the 208’s 276bhp and limited-slip diff are a shoo-in.

Volkswagen Golf R Edition 25

Volkswagen has dropped five-cylinder engines into a few Golfs over the years, including a naturally-aspirated inline five in US-spec versions of the Mk5, and before that, the curious 2.3-litre VR5, badged V5, in the Mk4 Golf. It’s never before done a true performance model, but that could change when a run-out special edition of the Golf R arrives in the next year or two, if the rumours it's fitted with the 2.5-litre, 400-plus horsepower turbocharged straight five from the Audi RS3 turn out to be true.

The car has been spotted (and heard) at the Nürburgring, and should be the hottest Golf this side of 2007’s barking-mad Golf GTI W12-650 prototype, which evo actually got to drive. Don’t expect much change from £60k when it arrives (the five-cylinder, not the W12…).