The beauty of today’s sports car marketplace is there is something for nearly every budget. With the two new introductions from Scion and Subaru, the MX-5 finally has some real competition in terms of price. Meanwhile, on the upper end of the spectrum there are a broad variety of cars, clearly illustrating we are living in a golden age as far as sports cars are concerned.
Trying to narrow down a list of the hottest sports cars for 2012 was a considerable challenge. In a lot of ways, hot—like cool is in the eye of the beholder. And, with so many fabulous cars available, you’ll need some really big eyes.
We finally settled on choosing the one model in each lineup we’d most like to own. Which generally meant the best all around example of each car. In other words, we’re looking for the one that offers a generous level of performance mixed with everyday usability and a retina-pleasing aesthetic.
In other words, for a car to be considered truly hot, it should make you look back over your shoulder for an appreciative glance at least once—ideally a couple of times—, while walking away from it after you park. It should also be fun to drive, and achingly beautiful to look at, in order to qualify for our list of the hottest sports cars for 2012.