It can all get quite confusing out there when looking at the state of the luxury car market with the industry at a crossroads at the moment - new technologies are mixing it with hardened tradition as manufacturers explore the very notion of luxury in a digitalised world. Electric vehicle tech is trickling down, as these things do, from the top towards the bottom, meaning the grandest of vehicles get to pioneer the latest innovations, and right now in 2024 there’s quite a pick of cars that defy convention. A few old dogs continue to thrive though, and ultimately the consumer has never been more spoiled for choice. Just going by our picks of the most highly anticipated cars of 2024, there are some truly diverse and breathtaking options out there.
1. Zenvo Aurora
Danish hypercar brand Zenvo has just unveiled the new Aurora in the UAE, a $2.8 million hybrid missile with nothing but superlatives on its spec sheet - this is a car that can do 450 km/h thanks to its combination of 12-cylinders with an electric motor to boost the total to 1,850 horsepower, or the equivalent of a quartet of very fast BMWs for example.
2. Aston Martin Vantage
This is it, the most important car in the 111-year history of the Aston Martin marque. The just-launched new Vantage goes head to toe with the best-selling rival in the segment, Porsche’s venerable 911, and it does so on merit. It’s now been thoroughly reengineered with a totally new interior and truly supercar performance to fight the best of Germany. The new Aston Martin Vantage packs an upgraded 4.0-litre V8 allowing it to hit 325km/h in base spec.
3. McLaren Artura Spider
Top down motoring in an open McLaren is an experience that’s hard to beat, and the British company has added the new Artura Spider to its high-performance range with a hybrid powertrain comprising a brand new 3.0-litre V6 engine and an electric motor teaming up to produce 690. The most important statistic is the retractable one-piece hard-top which is operated electrically and opens up on the move (up to 50km/h) in just 11 seconds.
4. Cadillac Lyriq
For Detroit, 2024 is a huge year, and Cadillac is on the verge of a rebirth of sorts with its design language and technology advancing towards next-gen products - the big one for Cadillac is the Lyriq SUV, which not only introduces new styling but also a completely new electric vehicle platform called Ultium. The sleek, lower and wider new Lyriq is available with up to 500 horsepower and a roughly 500km range.
5. Maserati GranCabrio
Last month legendary Italian car maker Maserati finally rolled out the all-new GranCabrio, a gorgeous open-top grand tourer that joins the GranTurismo coupe in the line-up. With an expected starting price of about $200,000, the new GranCabrio heads into a packed segment of luxury drop-tops, including models from Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Ferrari, but few cars on the market look as good as this gorgeous Maserati.
6. Rolls-Royce Spectre
It was way back in 2011 when Rolls-Royce first showed off an electrified experimental vehicle, and 13 years later the company has developed one of the most elegant and opulent cars of all time, the new Rolls-Royce Spectre. It’s 2.8 tonnes of sheer luxury, thanks to a silent powertrain and the marque’s legendary magic carpet ride quality. Sure, it’s all loaded up with batteries and electric motors, but you won’t miss the old V12 oil-burning engine when you’re this comfortable.
7. Lotus Emeya
Fresh after releasing its fist ever electric SUV, the new Eletre, British sports car company Lotus is now revealing this Emeya four-door sedan, which goes up against competition from Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and the hot-selling Porsche Taycan (more than 40,000 sold last year). So it’s a big deal for little ol’ Lotus, more used to selling dinky two-seaters powered by borrowed Toyota Camry engines. Prices for the Emeya start from about $120,000 and there is serious performance on offer, up to 950 horsepower and simply staggering acceleration - zero to 100km/h is claimed in just 2.7 seconds.
8. Dodge Charger
For nostalgic fans of the 1970s and the muscle car era of fuel-guzzling V8s, Dodge offers the brand new 2024 Charger, with a bit of a twist. Instead of a V8, you get a curious choice. You can have the iconic retro looks with either a six-cylinder petrol engine, or an entirely electric drivetrain with a 400-volt architecture and a range of 500km.
