Get Excited For Paris 2016: Top 5 Performance Cars

8 years, 2 months ago - 26 September 2016, Carbuzz
Savage Rivale Roadyacht GTS
Savage Rivale Roadyacht GTS
The Paris Motor Show is held every other year, and this year's gathering is going to be chuck full of new models.

The show will have everything from tiny hatchbacks to large SUVs and futuristic concepts. Among the array of average run-of-the-mill economy cars will be a splattering of performance motors. Here are five of the best we are looking forward to seeing at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. These are the exciting models that enthusiasts will gawk at and journalists will swoon over.

The 2016 Paris Motor Show will be our first opportunity to get a good look at the LaFerrari Aperta. The roofless version of Ferrari's hybrid hypercar was actually spotted recently driving around Paris, but this will be our first chance to get up close and personal with this expensive masterpiece. All examples of the LaFerrari Aperta are sold out, so it being at the show is a bit of a tease for those of us who aren't in Ferrari's inner circle. Once these cars are delivered to owners, they will probably reside in garages where their owners will simply sit on them as an investment. The Ferrari stand at the auto show may be your only chance to see one unless one of the wealthy owners comes to a Cars and Coffee near you.

Mercedes recently unveiled a convertible version of its AMG GT sports car. The coupe version of the AMG GT was already a looker, but the new GT C is even more handsome in our opinion. The car packs the same 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 from the AMG GT R with 557 horsepower and 502 lb-ft of torque. The GT C can hit 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds and puts the nail in the coffin for the old Mercedes SL. Mercedes is working on improving the current SL, but the new GT C is so good, we don't know why it would even bother. There's also a Roadster variant to keep an eye out for.

The 2017 Porsche Panamera has already been unveiled in full, but Paris will be our fist opportunity to get a good look at it in person. It is already clear that the redesigned Panamera is far better looking than its predecessor, and seeing it in the metal at the Goodwood Revival earlier this month confirmed this assumption. The new Panamera Turbo has 550 horsepower from a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 and has already set a blisteringly fast lap of the Nurburgring at 7 minutes 38 seconds. The Panamera was getting a little long-in-the-tooth, and this new version should be a major player in the luxury performance market.

Bentley will also be introducing a new model in the luxury performance sedan segment. The new Flying Spur W12 S is the first Bentley four-door that can break 200 mph. Power comes from a 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged W12 that produces 626 hp and 605 lb-ft of torque. Not only will this engine be incredibly smooth, it will launch the car to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds. This luxury car will top out at 202 mph in perfect comfort. Bentley hasn't announced pricing yet, but perhaps it will let us know how badly we can't afford this car at the Paris Motor Show.

The Savage Rivale Roadyacht GTS is by far the biggest wildcard at this year's show. Other than a few appearances in some recent racing games, we didn't have high hopes that this four-door, four-seater convertible from the Netherlands could actually be built. The original design used a 6.2-liter V8, but the example at the Paris Motor Show will now have an electric drivetrain. It will also ditch the Savage Rivale Roadyacht GTS name in favor of the much shorter, GLM G4 moniker. We don't usually put much stock into small manufacturers like this, but we are intrigued to see what the Dutch company can do.