4 Of The Most Mouthwatering Performance Cars Queued Up For Launch

We deep-dive four of the most mouthwatering performance cars queued up for launch. Forget 2020, the future’s dazzling

If there is one chink of consolation about 2020, you could well be looking at it here. The BMW M3 and M4 twins, the Nissan Z Proto and the Maserati MC20 together represent the new wave of hero performance cars to look forward to as this annus horribilis slides into the rearview. If there is a thread that ties together these very different cars it’s one of uncertainty, of not quite knowing which way the die will fall once cast.

The Nissan Z Proto is unashamedly retro and, in all likelihood, will be the last of a long line of pure-ICE blue-collar coupes. Hedging on nostalgia is a smart move from Nissan, insuring the car against accusations that it might feel old when it does arrive in 2022 or 2023. ‘Of course it’s not cutting edge, that’s how it was designed’ is one heck of a get out of jail free card.

BMW is also probably eyeing this M3/M4 generation as a bookend to the old way of doing things. In offering a rear-drive car to begin with, followed by an all-wheel-drive version and, for the very first time, an M3 wagon, Garching has sought to aggressively infiltrate the heartlands of its rivals and as for that front end styling? Your eye is probably the best barometer there.

Then there’s the Maserati MC20 and its astonishing Nettuno V6 engine. This mid-engined missile has been targeted for a junior supercar ground zero and the Italians have future-proofed their investment by promising a full EV variant. Three different sectors, three very different approaches to vehicle development in an age of uncertainty. One thing’s not up for debate though. We can’t wait to get our hands on them.

01 TO THE METAL

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OFFERING UNPRECEDENTED CHOICE AND RADICAL STYLING, THE NEW BMW M3 AND M4 ARE HERE AND MEAN BUSINESS

BY SCOTT NEWMAN