Top 5 Sports Cars 2015

Here at ALA we’ve been wondering what the UK’s favourite Sports Cars are. The range of available options has grown in recent years, and as manufacturers have grown more and more competitive, it can be difficult to make an informed decision.

To help you with your decision, we’ve brought you a list from our GAP Insurance database to show you the Top Five Sports Cars which are most popular with ALA customers!

1. Porsche Boxster

The Porsche Boxster is without a doubt the most popular sports car currently available. The car was originally introduced in 1996, designed by Grant Larson and inspired by the 356 Cabriolet. It featured a mid-mounted 201-horsepower engine, and represented the start of a commercial turnaround for Porsche. The Boxster was Porsche's biggest volume seller from its introduction in 1996 until the introduction of the Porsche Cayenne in 2003, delivering 16,000 cars in 2006 alone. It has won a huge number of international and regional awards, featuring on Car and Driver’s Ten Best list eleven times, and being named Best Roadster in the World by Autocar Magazine. It is no wonder, then, that the Porsche is so popular and people are so keen to protect their vehicles using ALA’s GAP Insurance. The Boxster is a sports car that represents a combination of affordable fun and quality from one of the most widely regarded luxury car manufacturers in the world.

2. Jaguar F-Type

The Jaguar F-Type , a two-seat sports car, has been in production from 2013 to present. Designed by Matthew Beaven and Ian Callum, it is considered to be the spiritual successor to that world-famous classic, the Jaguar E-Type. The F-Type, being a luxurious sports car, comes with a huge range of modern options that have helped attract customers to the marque – Jaguar has a reputation for old-fashioned cars, and the F-Type is designed to push both design and mechanical boundaries, attracting a new audience. The Jaguar’s features include bi-xenon headlights with integrated LED daytime running lights, and an “active exhaust system” which opens special valves over 3,000 rpm to intensify the sound created by the car. There is even a retractable rear wing spoiler and door handles that are left hidden in the bodywork until needed. All these options, as well as the car’s stunning beauty, have led to nearly 30,000 sales worldwide over the last 3 three years – and the number two spot as the second most popular sports car on our list.

3. Aston Martin Vantage V8

An entirely hand-built sports car, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage was originally introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 2005. The two-seat, two -door coupé had a bonded aluminium structure for strength and lightness, making it the leanest and most agile car in Aston’s line-up at the time. Originally sold for around £79,000 , Aston Martin planned to build up to 3,000 per year – a high number for an exclusive manufacturer – and actually completed model number 10,000 early on in 2008. The Vantage has gone through a number of upgrades and new editions over the last 10 years, mostly comprised of technological updates and minor stylistic changes, keeping the model fresh and desirable to an increasingly large audience. The Vantage V8, a name commonly associated with high performance variants of existing GT models in the Aston stable, remains incredibly popular – the car has been hailed as one of the ‘coolest’ in the world, and continues to top surveys as one of the best-looking and best-performing vehicles available. No wonder then, that the Aston Martin Vantage V8 is the third most popular sports car with ALA customers.

4. Audi R8

The Audi R8, first produced in 2006, has been favourably compared to the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and BMW M6 – an incredible list of incredible cars. The R8's sheer mechanical ability overcomes any weaknesses the somewhat spartan design might suggest, and over 28,000 were built between its 2006 introduction and 2015. The R8 was so popular after its release that customers bought every unit available for 2008 within a week – an achievement not matched by any of the other manufacturers on this list. The R8 is made distinct by its Germanic exterior styling and mechanical precision – the only reason it is so far down this list is perhaps the price with the price for a base model starting at around £93,000. An Audi R8 is a serious investment, and the owners definitely deserve the extra peace of mind that comes with GAP Insurance.

5. Bentley Continental GT

[caption id="attachment_2157" align="aligncenter" width="300"] © M 93 / Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The Bentley Continental GT is the fifth and final vehicle on our list: last but by no means least. The Continental GT was originally unveiled in 2003 at the Geneva Motor Show, followed by appearances at motor shows across the world. It proved so popular that 6 months before delivery, Bentley Motors had already gained over 3200 deposits for the new vehicle. In something of a departure for Bentley , although much of the car is hand assembled, it is generally speaking a mass-produced car made in significantly larger numbers. Unlike previous Continental models, the modern GT is not a coach-built car. As a result, the price at launch was significantly less (approximately half the price) than the Continental R and this, alongside updated mechanical underpinnings and a move towards modern design and interiors, immediately opened the door to a much wider customer base – as a more affordable luxury car. All the cars on this list vary in terms of luxury, price and mechanics, but all are full-blooded sports cars and icons of speed in their own right. Click here to read more: Statistics ALA Connect.