Iconic 2000s supercars revisited – car pictures of the week
In evo issue 351, we drive a collection of 2000s supercars on our journey through the eras. These are our favourite images from the test
It is every car enthusiast's prerogative to argue over which car is best (theirs, obviously) and which period saw the greatest number of great drivers' cars produced (the period their car was built in, of course). But in issue 351 of evo we’ve gone a step further and suggested the first decade of the new millennium was peak supercar. Yes, there have been faster supercars since, there are even sports cars today producing more power, more torque and quicker lap times than the supercars built between 2000 and 2010. But this decade was special.
It was the beginning of the end of the analogue supercar. Electronic driver aids were present but not a requirement to be able to drive the car and experience its performance. Drive modes were in their infancy. What you saw is what you got. Designs were elegant, aero applied where required rather than dictating designs. Some engines still breathed naturally and featured multiple cylinders. Heady days.
To demonstrate and celebrate this era, in part four of our six-part evo Supercars Eras series, the team has gathered half a dozen icons to illustrate the claim: Aston Martin’s original Vanquish, Ferrari’s 599 GTB and Ford GT plus Lamborghini's wild Murcielago SV, the Mercedes-SLR McLaren and the Porsche 911 GT2.
All six represent a decade of pure, unfiltered driving thrills. Front, mid and rear-engined layouts, all rear-wheel drive. Turbochargers, superchargers or natural aspiration feature across our dozen picks and yes, there’s still a couple of manuals in there too. These truly were the last of their breed.
They represent the end of an era. As they were rolling down their production lines to fanfare, front covers and making their grainy YouTube debuts their creators were already chasing the next big thing. The 200mph ceiling had been smashed, next came more power, faster acceleration, more grip, the first sparks of electrification and a desire to sell more cars to more people chasing more of a supercar thrill.
Evo issue 351 is available now in all leading stores and supermarkets and can be ordered form the evo shop
