So imagine this. You are the very successful and young heir to a top 50-in-the-world net worth individual, and you get your choice of one halo car to buy. The problem is, you have so many options and that pesky problem of an unlimited budget. You search far and wide for the absolute best cars from that company from every era, and come up with a list.
Your list might include different halo cars because car guys are so diverse and we all have different factors that come into what makes a "Halo Car". Here in this article I will share my top 8 Halo Cars, and then the all-important decision at the end, which you can choose to yell at me about on Instagram when I post the results, or nod and agree on the car/spec. This list will ONLY include in-production or entering-production within half a year cars and all of the cars before them. I will spec the cars to my taste and you can either comment your dissent or hoot your approval, but at the end of the day, it is quite hard to make any of these cars ugly in my humble opinion.
All right, now with the background out of the way, let's look at the picks I made by region first.
For Team Italia:
Ferrari F50 GT
Lamborghini Sian
Pagani Zonda Cinque
For Team Scandinavia:
Koenigsegg CCXR
For Team Bavaria:
Porsche Carrera GT
Mercedes AMG CLK-GTR
For Team Europe:
Bugatti Divo
From Team Britain:
McLaren F1
OK, now that we have our selections, let's dive into the cars and their specialness and significance to me and their specs I would choose if I had more money at my disposal than Switzerland's Treasury.
1. First up, the F50 GT. It has one of the most limited runs known of any Ferrari, and is such a crazy car to start with minus the GT treatment. Here is a photo of one that almost fully captures its amazing presence.
Photo Cred: Supercars.net
While I may be a person who really enjoys classy but different looking cars, this vehicle demands minimal changes at best because it will be very very hard to find someone who thinks it is OK to repaint a one of three Ferrari Holy Grail. But after I convince the painter the mob won't be after them for this blasphemy, I will paint it this shade of red, called Rosso Rubino, and the same gold wheel color as this LaFerrari too.
The F50 GT produces 750 HP at wait for it... 10,500 RPM's!! The sound that this car makes while going for it on a straightaway is quite like hearing four F22 Raptor fighter jets take off while the late, great Mr. Van Halen shreds in the background, intense beyond measure and emotional to the core. However, what holds this car down to whatever surface it is gracing by just being there is just as impressive , a different adjustable wing that is GT specific, as is the weight, which comes in at a go-kart like 1800 pounds dry weight. It sports race-designed Speedline wheels and super sticky tires for ultimate track destruction, as well as better brakes, suspension, aero, and ride height. Overall, the F50 GT is a unicorn version of a unicorn car, making it the ultimate Ferrari road car and brand achievement. This I think signifies a true Halo Car and one that is on my personal bucket list to own.
2. Next up, the Lamborghini Sian. This car is so dramatic and revolutionary, and it represents Lambo in all of its facets. Let's jump straight to my spec and skip all of the color sampling.
The theme here is a beautiful green color with gold and black accents throughout. The Sian is Lamborghini's supposed Adventador replacement, and boy does the future look stunning. The car uses both a 750+ hp V12 and a hybrid (yes I just said hybrid) system to create a total 819 supercar-creaming horsepower. The new body and aero are really beneficial to the car's performance as well, with a better power to weight ratio than the recently dethroned king of the 'ring, the Adventador SVJ. This car has the highest output V12 in the company's history, and has the stats to back it up. 60 Miles per hour comes up in a chest-pushing 2.8 seconds with a quite speedy 220+ mph top speed if you want to hear that V12 really put in some work. This car embodies Lambo's greats from the past and shows us into the future with its amazing hybrid assist that lets the V12 do its thing while being super helpful, and dynamic looks to round it all out as Lambo's holy pinnacle of engineering.
3. Next up, the super rare and gorgeous work of art also called the Pagani Zonda Cinque.
Photo Cred: Pinterest
This car is difficult to say what I would change simply because there were only five of these cars made, and all of them are really cool. But, I would want to change this one a little. I would have the Pagani factory put black with diamond face Hyayra BC wheels on it and redoing the interior with a classic chevron black and yellow theme.
The wheels fit the car's aesthetic perfectly to me, and are really nice.
Photo Cred: Pagani.com
The interior change is due to the fact that the car is so vibrant on the outside and needs a reminder of that on the inside.
Photo Cred: PaganiofGreenwich.com
Overall, the Cinque is an insane exercise in "make it light, but beautiful" because it has some of the best looks of the Zonda lineup while being an absolute rocket ship and just a true rolling art piece. The car has a naturally aspirated V12 producing 678 hp straight from AMG, with the legendary Pagani titanium exhaust installed to create that beautifully thrilling sound and tremor that comes from only a Cinque Roadster. This car has so many track-inspired features rolled into a road car, that it is a venerable competitor even today with its beyond-its-time tech and aero.
If there was ever a do-it-all legendary tour-de-force of Horacio Pagani's love of his cars and passion for the automobile, this car is it.
4. Up next hailing from Scandinavia is the crazy competitive, crazy cool Koenigsegg CCXR
Photo Cred: Koinegsegg.com
This car I would spec in Monterey Blue from Lamborghini with the same wheels as the pictured car and with all the carbon accents with black instead of chrome trim and an orange "R" instead of the blue one on the pictured car.
Photo Cred: drivingemotions.com
Monterey Blue on a Murcielago
This car was the first to ever run on e85 ethanol fuel, and made over 1000 hp when doing so! The engine was a twin-turbo V8 power plant from Koinegsegg that made over 800 whp when on pump gas and was an extremely fast car for its time, with an estimated 250 mph+ top speed! The sound the rumbling twin turbo motor makes when under load is giggle-inducing at worst and laugh-out-loud absurd at its best. This car was a real contender for the best looking, fastest, most efficient, and most exclusive car of its time and won at virtually all of these categories. This is the car that started the tradition of crazy fast Swedish coupes and their numbers to back up the beauty.
5. Now we come to the craziest car Porsche has created for many reasons, the Carrera GT. This car is so beautiful, both functionally and structurally.
Photo Cred: Elferspot.com
I would paint this car in a special paint code Orange Pearl Metallic with black wheels and trim.
Photo Cred: teamspeed.com
This car is a true masterpiece and Porsche will never create another car like this one. From the arresting exterior to the sonorous V10 nestled under the rear hatch, this car is beautiful but uncompromising. You have to let the car be equal with you to drive this car hard and it does not take hiccups while driving lightly. Careful restraint is rewarded by insane sounding V10 wails and whoops, and this car handles like it's on rails. This car was Porsche's first hypercar and it was such a change of scenery for enthusiasts. This was a true Halo Car and still is highly revered as one today.
6. This car is quite famous and legendary, and it has the sound and looks to prove it. Enter the Mercedes AMG CLK-GTR Super Sport, a one of a generation GT1 car that absolutely flies on the track and stuns on the road. You may have heard of the normal CLK-GTR, which is absolutely mental in its own right, but add the SS to the end and you get a Bugatti-shaming, flame-spitting monster that has only 2 worldwide examples and they are both quite incredible.
I would take the car with the red interior and paint the badging/trim black as well, and leave it be.
This car came from an original run of 25 cars, of which Mercedes put a PAGANI ZONDA engine into (sorry but that was too exciting not to caps), which makes 655 hp and has a rumored 230 mph+ top speed! From crazy to mental, this Mercedes legend turned bad boy is the definition of a Halo Car and is a truly wild ride!
7. From the racetrack to the showroom, everyone watches this car. Enter the Bugatti Divo. This car is the grand representation of "look at what we can do here in Molsheim". From first glance the Divo is undeniably a master class in function mixed with style in a very unique package.
Photo Cred: Bugatti.com
I would spec mine with a gold/champagne base layer instead of the matte grey, with all of the same carbon/black accents and silver instead of blue accenting the body lines. I would also add small "Divo" script logos in black in a few places on the car. This car is so special in a few distinct ways. It is one of Bugatti's one-off line and only has 50 examples to be sold, as well as having the most corner focused mentality of Bugatti's whole lineup. The car gets all of that cornering help from highly advanced aero in the front and rear, with really striking looking ducts and cooling fins that also help it create downforce and speed where they matter. The car is powered by, you guessed it, W16 engine that pushes out ~1480 wheel horsepower which is quite insane, because we all saw the "corners" part of the Divo's description and I don't remember them saying "will beat a Lamborghini Centenario in a straight line" too, but here we are. The looks are amazing and the W16 sounds so darn cool when you are spooling up its four turbos, which make a sound not unlike a hive of bees getting sucked into a space vacuum and the being dumped out as multiple air-to-ground missiles. This car has it all. The looks, the rarity, the all out innovation, and the speed to say it is truly Bugatti's Halo Car.
8. Last but most certainly not least, the king of n/a engines, the race car that somehow is legal on the road, and the center-seat cockpit, the McLaren F1. You have probably seen a lot of pictures, videos and articles about this car, so It is almost imperative that I stay focused and don't tell you what you already know. First off, this is the fastest all-motor production car in the world, and it has held that record for an astounding 22 years. There have been faster cars, sure but doing 240 miles an hour with no assists at all to the engine is quite insane when you take into account that the Sian can't do that and it has a hybrid assist and is much more advanced aerodynamically. And mind you, the car is not even just a straight line beast, it is a huge racer. This car's GTR and LM variants were prolific race cars and were feared and respected throughout motorsports for their entire runs as race cars. I personally would take a road car as I would want to drive it legally on public roads because it is so iconic and cool to see even if you are well-acquainted with supercars in the first place.
Photo Cred: topspeed.com
I would get mine with semigloss black and red flake in it, and a red interior with black wheels. Now before you say "He did what?!?!" this looks amazing and also, its not a one of 5 or 2. Around 106 were made, and if you can cough up for the multimillion dollar price on a decent example, you have enough money to have McLaren recommission the car to your spec, no questions asked. The car is so legendary that it will go for 10-15 Million dollars and climb if the example is in perfect condition. The car was so revolutionary its still has some things to teach the world, and that is a true definition of a Halo Car.
All right, that will wrap up the contenders, now onto the decisions. I will post my decision on instagram soon after the article is released, so head over to the page :
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supercars.on.deck/
See you in the next one,
The Supercar Ambassador
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