Tesla has jumped right in with its Lotus Elise-based electric sports car. And for a fledgling company this first effort is mighty impressive, even if the way it drives takes a little getting used to.

The Tesla roadster has no engine noise… But then there’s the 3.9-second 0-62mph sprint and it hits its 125mph limiter in seemingly no time at all, if this is the future of motoring keen drivers have nothing to fear. 

Performance is unbelievable. Every press of the throttle generates immense ‘thrust’ – no other word for the force you feel. Of the two pedals, you’re simply pressing the one on the right and being transported forwards, with immense speed, that’s free from breaks, pauses, vibration, buzzes or other interference. Only Elise-style wind and chassis noise remind you of reality.

 

To think, this is the world’s first electric sports car – they’re going to get faster and more powerful even than this!

The Nissan GT-R has had such an impact over the last 12 months it would be impossible to ignore and the scale of Nissan’s achievement deserves to be recognised.

Even the most hardened roadtesters have struggled to get to grips with just how fast the GT-R actually is. Put simply the mighty Nissan offers 911 Turbo pace for M3 money and deploys an incredible array of technology in its single-minded pursuit of redefining what a modern performance car is all about. 

It’s one of the most talked about cars of recent times and it’s easy to see why there is such a fuss about Nissan’s new GT-R. It’s certainly one of the most dramatic looking cars of recent years. And while carrying various classic GT-R styling cues it’s resolutely futuristic, the origami-style creases and detail distinctively Japanese in flavour. The super aggressive styling certainly shouts loud about the car’s potential. 

At every step of its development the GT-R has been benchmarked against the 911 Turbo. But while the 911 is devoted to the past, the GT-R looks only to the future, ripping up the supercar rule book.

The Nissan has already lapped the Nurburgring in 7min 29sec, three seconds faster than the 911 GT2. And while the Porsche retails at £131,000 Nissan is asking just £55,900 for the GT-R.

Watch the video below of the GT-R reaching a top speed of 190 MPH

After nine generations the Mitsubishi Evo had gone about as far down the extreme rally replica route as it was possible to go. So for this all-new car Mitsubishi had to find a way of distilling this formidable heritage into a more usable package, without diluting what made it special in the first place. Mitsubishi’s cult car has an all-new chassis platform and an all-new engine, even Mitsubishi’s all-wheel-drive hardware has received a high-tech makeover.

The basics are as before – lunatic pace, a high-tech four-wheel drive chassis, aggressive looks and a wonderfully driver-focused feel. But it comes in a package far more resolved than ever before, both visually and functionally.

It takes just one glance at this car’s sleek exterior to realize that it’s no longer business as usual in the Mitsubishi’s design studio. Though it’s disguised by projector-beam headlights and fast-acting LED taillights, this is a new sort of Mitsubishi, far more European in character than ever before.

There’s plenty of aluminum in the bodywork, including the hood and roof, twin exhausts are an Evo first, and help improve the look. A tall rear wing has quickly become an Evo trademark, so it’s no surprise that it continues here (although it’s no longer made of carbon fiber). The same goes for the aerodynamic diffuser that peeks out from underneath the rear bumper. The wheels on the car are 18-inch rims, which certainly wont be cheap when it comes to buying tyres after all those four wheel drives slides!

Watch the Mitsubishi Evo X promotional video below

There is no doubt there has been some huge upheavals in the car industry over the last year of 2008. And there is also no doubt there is likely plenty more to come too, but for now we should put that aside and look at and celebrate some of the best cars of 2008.

Obvious highlights include a brave new start from Jaguar and Nissan’s GT-R – by any stretch one of the most exciting cars of recent years. It wasn’t all about fancy sports cars and supercars though, more everyday family hatches and superminis from the likes of Vauxhall and Ford have also shown that class isn’t confined to the upper names in the car market.

Ford Fiesta

As household budgets shrink this causes many drivers to reconsider their options, it’s nice to know the Fiesta – for many the benchmark of accessible, everyday transport – proves budget motoring needn’t feel cheap. Excitingly styled and brilliant to drive, the all-new Fiesta deserves every one of its glowing reviews. Ford are masters of building cheap to run, efficient, good-looking and fun to drive mass-market cars like the Fiesta. 

Audi Q5

It appears that Audi can do no wrong when it comes to designing cars. The firm continues to dominate the premium sector with hit after hit. And though both its key rivals have faltered in the mid-sized SUV field Audi has inevitablycome up trumps with the sleek Q5. The Q5 is a more sensible, usable size and its A4-derived running gear means it’s decent to drive too. Though hardly cheap as the Q5 means real class and quality in return for your investment. 

BMW X6

The polar opposite of the discreetly luxurious Q5, the X6 takes in your face SUV style and ramps it up to a whole new level. The result is a segment-busting luxury four-seat ‘coupé’, with looks best described as unapologetic and running gear derived from the superb X5, suitably upgraded to suit the X6′s sporty aspirations. The X6 is available in both the hard-hitting 286 BHP Diesel and 408 BHP Turbocharged Petrol V8. 

Jaguar XF

2008 has been a tough year for Jaguar and, 2009 doesn’t look like it’s going to get any easier. The reinvention of the product range, symbolised by the XF could be a positive for the company in 2009 though. Jaguar desperately needed to get with the times and this sleek, sporty saloon commands the best of the firm’s traditional strengths with a new, forward-looking attitude. 

Volkswagen Scirocco

Some people have claimed the Scirocco, is just a Golf in fancy, far less useful clothes. The Scirocco has proved how performance and practicality don’t have to be mutually exclusive and debuting a discreetly sporty, aggressive new look carried over into the new Golf, also unveiled this year. The Scirocco is available in Turbocharged petrol and diesel and has smooth shifting gearboxes and adjustable damping systems.

Toyota is to delay its rear-wheel drive coupe collaboration with Subaru until 2012, it has been reported. The collaboration was first announced in February this year and it was originally pencilled in to arrive some time this year – 2009.  

Sadly dwindling sales and the global economic crisis have claimed another victim and the compact rear-drive two-door has been delayed for at least three years. The coupe was expected to be branded the next-generation Scion tC in the US and if it is to be delayed the company will be forced to make substantial updates before its release to keep it fresh, which will mean more work in the factory, including even more tp be spent on the model than was first planned. 

No word yet on a delay for the Subaru version of the car but considering the carmaker has just been forced to pull out of WRC rest assured that it won’t be arriving any time soon, these current times are seeing so many amazing plans for new cars being scrapped, which is such a shame for both us as potential buyers and the industry itself as we are slowly starting to see the development of new and improved cars grinding to a halt.

Another day of economic crisis, another supercar emerges. This time it is from perhaps Russia’s first supercar manufacturer, Marussia.

Is there such thing as a sensible supercar? Yes, there is, the Marussia is a hybrid with the engine stated to be a 240bhp, 3.5-litre six-cylinder engine, most likely from Renault/Nissan.

It is too early to tell where the electrical components will come from but the company says it will use established companies, with around 35% of parts sourced from Russia. The Marussia is the branchild of Nikolay Fomenko, who also happens to be a popular singer, television news anchor, actor, and FIA N-GT champion.

It will be packed with gadgets, including a 10 Mbps internet connection that works at speeds of up to 120kph. 0-60mph is pencilled in to take around five seconds and the car will have a price tag of around $100,000.

Regardless of the fact the drivetrain hasn’t yet been finalised the company is predicting deliveries next Autumn and wants race versions to take part in the 2010 edition of FIA GT championship.