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Sexiest coupés of all time
Top torque
Text: Cheryl Tay
Image: Photos courtesy of respective car manufacturers
Yes, two doors are better than four
Coupes are de rigueur if you're looking to cruise in style. Whether you're revved up for a midnight race or a long, leisurely cruise to nowhere, you can't go wrong with a two-door ride and we've rounded up the most stunning of them all.
The Ferrari F430 was celebrated for its styling cues and a manic 4.3-litre V8 engine that churned out 491 break horsepower (bhp), propelling the 1.4-tonne car to 100km/h in just four seconds. Wildly celebrated with a myriad of versions, the mad men from Maranello were not going to let an icon just 'run its course'.
The Ferrari 458 Italia comes to us as a replacement for the F430 — and one that fits the shoes of the F430 just as well, if not better. The styling, conceptualised by car design firm Pininfarina, is every bit the stunner. Powering the 1.3-tonne lightweight aluminium chassis-equipped car is a 4.5-litre V8 engine with improved internal engine friction to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. More importantly, it produces 562bhp and can accelerate to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds.
Among these wonderful upgrades, all of which were lessons gleaned from their participation in the Formula One, is a unique racing-inspired steering wheel and a dashboard which slopes down to remove any distractions from the driver. Lighter, faster, and infinitely more sexy - the Ferrari 458 Italia ticks all the right boxes for us.
Let's go back 23 years to 1992, in a small town in the UK called Woking, Surrey. This was the time of legends, and of all the legends enshrined in posters, the McLaren F1 was the crowd favourite - and why not? It was the fastest road production car in the world and it held that title for a remarkably long time until a certain Bugatti Veyron stripped that honour away with enough power to start a dead star.
While McLaren focused their efforts on the Formula One races, they decided it was time to bring forth a new contender to the sports car segment with the McLaren MP4-12C. That was soon old news as they brought forth another monster, the McLaren P1, a God-like car on track that put McLaren's name back on the map. Now, they have the McLaren 650S — a hybrid of the MP4-12C and P1.
Taking its styling cues from the entry level MP4-12C and the range topper P1, the front adopts the P1's front bumper while keeping the rear from the MP4-12C. This mid-range McLaren takes its name from the 3.8-litre, twin-turbocharged engine that produces 650bhp, with development help coming from Jenson Button himself.
Based on the Lotus Elise/Exige, the Hennessey Venom GT has been strapped with a mighty 6.2-litre supercharged LS9 V8 engine, good for ramping up to 725bhp. It tips the scales at slightly over one tonne, giving it a century sprint of just 2.4 seconds before it hits a record-setting 440km/h, almost 40km/h more than the Bugatti Veyron's top speed. Brembo six-piston calipers in the front and four-pistons in the rear provide more than enough stopping power as they bite hard on 15-inch ceramic rotors.
Other performance goodies include a Ricardo six-speed gearbox, a programmable traction control system and an adjustable suspension system. Planning to put your name down for this exclusive ride? You'll need to undergo a one-day driver orientation programme conducted by a Hennessey test driver before delivery.
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