Best GT cars 2025

Best for: luxurious fun

Imagine a car with the luxury and comfort of a Rolls-Royce, but the sporty responses of… not quite a Ferrari, but certainly of a bigger, heftier Porsche. Congratulations! You’ve just imagined the Bentley Continental GT, a British-made super-luxury coupe with the performance of a supercar and the refined nature of a discreet Pall Mall club.

Sadly, the silent-as-a-whoosh W12 turbo engine is dead and gone, but in its place, Bentley has slotted an outrageously powerful twin-turbo plug-in hybrid V8 engine, which produces a massive 671hp. Oh wait, that’s the ‘basic’ Continental GT engine. The one with the massive power is the ‘Ultra’ hybrid V8, which has 771hp, and which is only available in the Mulliner and Speed versions.

For all that storming power, there’s also a saintly 50-mile electric range if you fully charge up the hybrid battery, which means you can slip silently and scott-free through any zero emissions zones you might encounter. Bentley even claims up to 69mpg fuel economy for this mighty engine, but you’d have to drive with the frugality of a deprived church mouse to get anywhere near that.

All of that performance comes at a price, and that’s weight — this car weighs 2.4 tonnes — but that doesn’t seem to matter much, as somehow the air suspension, active anti-roll system, four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering, seem to help the hefty Bentley defy physics, and it is actually fun to drive. True, some of that fun is down to seeing how fast a car that’s as big as an aircraft carrier and upholstered like Downton Abbey can be made to go, but that’s the magic of a Bentley.

Speaking of upholstery, you sit on hand-stitched leather thrones (definitely not just seats) and survey an empire of wood, chrome, and occasionally carbon-fibre laid out before you. Slow down and the Continental GT feels as hushed and smooth as a Gulfstream G6 at altitude. There’s just about enough space in the back for it to even count as practical.

Best for: sheer driving fun

Don’t panic! Yes, some Porsche 911 models now come with hybrid power, but please do not be alarmed — the 911 isn’t turning into a Prius or anything. While that hybrid system is there to help trim the 911’s emissions a bit, and improve overall economy, it’s also there to provide low-down power, and the fast reactions of the hybrid’s electric motor means that Porsche has been able to drop one of the turbochargers from the hybrid’s 3.8-litre flat-six petrol engine, while the remaining turbo is now electrically-powered so that it spins up more quickly. This is still a properly thrilling car to drive, hybrid or otherwise.

You can still buy a non-hybrid 911 too, if you’re really that worried about it, and for the ultimate driving thrill, there are the GT3, T, and S/T models that come with the older, but sharper, 4.0-litre motorsport-derived flat-six engine (no turbos here…) and even the option of a manual gearbox. Or you could go the whole hog and get the latest (hybrid-assisted) Turbo S version, which now has a ridiculous 711hp.

There’s also a choice of bodies, from regular coupe to open convertible to the gorgeous Targa model, but whichever 911 you pick, you’ll be getting a car that’s simply awesome to drive, with ultra-sharp steering, near-perfect poise, and a genuine sense of fun. As well as that wonderful Le Mans-style soundtrack when the flat-six engine hits its higher notes.

The 911 is almost, but not quite, practical. There are back seats — for most models — but they’re really only suited to smaller children or adults you don’t like very much. The boot (in the nose, of course – the 911’s engine is in the back) holds just about enough luggage for a weekend away, and the options list could drive you into the poor house if you get too busy with the clicking.

Best for: your dog

Can a family-friendly estate be considered a great GT car? Oh yes it can, if it’s the Audi RS6 which combines insane V8 thump with plenty of space, and enough poise for a spirited drive on a favourite road. Audi has been at the fast estate thing since the early 1990s, but this RS6 is the absolute pinnacle of the breed, matching a 630hp V8 twin-turbo engine with weather-ignoring quattro four-wheel drive, and a 565-litre boot that’s not the biggest around, but which is certainly useful (and more practical than the smaller 500-litre boot of the BMW M5 Touring).

The clever suspension is just about soft enough at low speeds that the RS6 won’t be uncomfortable for daily driving chores, but the best bit is how this car eats up motorway miles, or better yet sprints down a twisty country road. There is almost too much grip and traction from the quattro system, and the steering is more talkative than you might be used to from other high-performance Audis, even if it’s not quite the best in the business.

In spite of the RS6 stealing the front-end styling of the old A7 coupe, the RS6 is still just about subtle enough to pass unnoticed by most people, although the bulging wheel arches and woofling V8 exhaust note will give the game away to any nearby petrolheads.

Best for: power combos

Even the most basic Porsche Panamera, with its mere. 2.9-litre V6 turbo engine and rear-wheel drive, is pretty quick, able to hit 62mph in just 5.3 seconds. Oh, but you can have so much more… The Panamera is available with a whole host of engine and drive options, from that basic V6, through to V6 four-wheel drive, V6 plug-in hybrid, V8 turbo, and V8 turbo plug-in hybrid.

So that basic 353hp Panamera can be stretched all the way to the incredible Turbo S E-Hybrid, which has 782hp, and can do that same 0-62mph sprint in just 2.9 seconds. Oh, and the E-Hybrid models can run for up to 56 miles on electric power alone, if you need to cope with any low emissions zones, or just want to do your Greta Thunberg thing.

While power is certainly a huge part of the Panamera’s appeal, so too is poise. Porsche knows how to make even this big, heavy, four-seat saloon handle, and it has a deft feeling through corners that you’d just never assume possible for something this big and wide. The anti-roll suspension doesn’t just keep the Panamera flat through corners, it even lifts the car up on one side when you’re getting in, so you don’t have to drop down quite so much.

Inside, there’s a very high-tech cockpit, with lots of screens but — thankfully — still some proper physical buttons so that it’s all relatively easy to use. Space in the back isn’t amazing, but it’s enough for four people to get properly comfortable, with a boot that stretches to a useful 494 litres. That makes this high-power, high-performance car actually quite practical, so while it’s a performance powerhouse, you could pretty easily use one as your daily car. Even more so if you’re charging up that plug-in hybrid and making the most of the electric range.

The downside? The Panamera’s not cheap — like, really not — and you can pretty much double the price with optional extras if you really go for it.

Best for: Hollywood glamour

This Mercedes SL is a bit of an unusual SL, because it’s the first time that AMG, Mercedes high-performance arm, has been allowed to work on this hallowed model. Previous SLs, even the hot ones, often traded a touch of performance for more comfort and refinement, and while this SL is certainly comfortable and refined, there’s still an underlying sense of AMG-style firmness to the suspension, even when you have the adaptive dampers set in their softest mode.

However, any such doubts will be swept away as soon as you sweep around a series of corners. The SL might be on the wrong side of two tonnes, but it feels lighter and far more agile on twisty roads, and that’s as true whether you’re driving the entry-level SL 43 model, or the high-powered SL 63.

There are some practicality issues, such as rear seats that are just too small to be of any use to real humans, and a boot that’s not very big. Also, who thought of controlling the convertible soft-top roof via the touchscreen? That makes it more fiddly to use than it ought to be.

Still, the SL manages to stick to the classic SL template — refined and (mostly) comfortable top-down motoring, with some glamorous Hollywood appeal to the styling and the badge. There aren’t many better ways of driving between London and Nice in a day.

Best for: serious shove

The latest BMW M5 has proven highly controversial, mostly because it’s massively heavy. BMW has decided that this M5 will be a plug-in hybrid, which means that you can trundle around town on zero-emissions power for up to 40 miles or so, and BMW can quote some seriously impressive (but illusory) fuel consumption figures.

Of course, the battery and the electric motor of the hybrid can also add extra power to the twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 engine, making this the most powerful M5 of all time, with a faintly ridiculous 727hp, and a 0-62mph time of just 3.5 seconds.

Does it handle? Oh sure, but you’re never not aware of the weight (especially when braking hard) so the M5 has evolved from the scalpel-sharp sports saloon of old, into a continent-crushing GT machine today. Still appealing, just different, and that GT nature is backed up by a gorgeous, high-quality cabin and enough space for four big people to get comfy in the cabin. The Touring estate model adds practicality, but the boot actually isn’t as big as you’d think and your dog won’t be happy with too many 0-62mph sprints.

The M5 is also hardly pretty, taking the somewhat angular current 5 Series and adding extra wheelarch bulges, massive alloys, and a chunky aero body kit, but at least you can have it all painted in a cool metallic green.

Best for: Roger Moore impressions

You’d be hard-pressed to call the current Vantage coupe the little brother of Aston’s other models, such as the DB12 or the Vanquish. True, those cars have yet more power, and the Vanquish is packing a V12, but this latest Vantage has a massive 665hp from its twin-turbo, 4.0-litre V8 engine (borrowed from Mercedes-AMG, by the way).

That gives this junior Aston Martin some very senior performance — 0-62mph in just 3.5 seconds and a top speed on the naughty side of 200mph. No wonder they use one as the Formula One safety car…

It’s also gorgeous, with a new nose that brings the styling into line with its bigger brothers. Inside, the cabin has been significantly improved, and again borrows much from the DB12, although there are still some noticeably cheap bits, which is a let-down. It’s also a strict two-seater — if you want back seats, trade-up to the DB12. The boot is pretty pitiful too, but that’s kind of standard for this class of car.

The Vantage is fun, though. It might be less perfectly sorted in handling terms than a 911 Turbo, but the V8 Aston has terrific balance and some proper feel and feedback through the steering. Flawed it may be, but it’s a flawed gem.

Best for: heavy artillery

The Mercedes-AMG GT coupe is staggeringly fast. Like, properly mind-bending stuff if you get the ultimate 816hp (no, that’s not a typo) hybrid-engined one that adds an electric motor to the turbo V8 engine to give it a 2.5-second 0-62mph time. Again, that’s not a typo.

For anyone who thinks that sounds like a recipe for travel sickness, there are lesser AMG GT models, with a more sensible 585hp. Yes, that’s more sensible, and still quick — 4.6 seconds to 62mph.

This generation of AMG GT is also much more handsome than the previous model, doing away with that car’s long, flat bonnet and adding more curves to the rear haunches in a manner that makes it very clear that Mercedes is aiming this car straight at the Porsche 911.

The AMG GT almost pulls that mission off, too, because it’s almost as good to drive as it is to accelerate, with four-wheel drive to pull you into, through, and out of corners and adjustable suspension which is best kept out of Sport mode on broken British roads.

The cabin is classy, although arguably slightly less so than that of the Porsche, but the rear seats are entirely useless, and for a sporty car, the AMG GT is pretty heavy, and can feel it at times especially thanks to a slightly soft brake pedal.

Best for: Natural beauty

The 8 Series is one of the few remaining BMWs that you can honestly say is properly gorgeous. Low and ground-hugging, it has managed to resist the big nostril grille look that so despoils the likes of the M3 and the iX. In fact, the 8 Series is just plain sexy.

BMW is winding down production as we write these words, but you can still track down a new and unregistered 8 Series, and you definitely should. The mighty 635hp M8 Competition — in coupe, convertible, and four-door Gran Coupe forms — takes all the headlines, but the petrol straight-six and even diesel straight-six models still have their appeal, and they’re a little more easy to live with than the mighty M models.

The cabin owes a lot to the previous generation 5 Series, but that’s not a bad thing, and quality levels are immense. We’re less sure about the chintzy crystal gear lever though, and the 8 Series back seats — unless you’re talking about the longer Gran Coupe — are fairly pointless. There’s decent luggage space, though, so this is a proper, true Grand Tourer, which while it’s certainly heavy, is still really good fun to thread down a twisty road, thanks to traditional-BMW sharp steering and a cultured chassis. Definitely one of those cars you should snap up while you still can, as BMW might not directly replace the 8 for some years yet.

Best for: being a luxury company car

Drop. Dead. Gorgeous. The Maserati GranTurismo Folgore is many things, but what it absolutely, certainly, unquestionably is, is fabulous to look at. It’s not as technical-looking as a Ferrari, and not as rational as a Porsche, so instead it just drips with Italian glamour and sex appeal.

Sorry, we got carried away there, and it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that while the GranTurismo Folgore is gorgeous (so, so pretty… Sorry, we drifted off again) it’s also quite flawed.

That Folgore bit — Italian for lightning — means that this is Maserati’s all-electric coupe, and it’s a brave move for the company, given that few buyers are looking for something this expensive and exclusive with electric power. There’s a big battery, but it only gives you a brief 270-mile range, thanks to three electric motors that deliver a whopping 761hp. That makes the Folgore wonderfully fast, and it’s fun in spite of the massive kerb weight, but that range compromises what’s supposed to be a continent-crossing GT.

Still, the interior is just as lovely as the exterior, and if it’s far from the most practical car in the world, you’ll forgive it most things for those looks. Will you forgive it that massive price tag, though? Probably not, but if you’re looking for a luxurious company car that gets the ultra-low electric car Benefit-in-Kind rate, this might be the best option.