Page 102 - Sharp September 2023

PEAK PERFORMANCE
LEAVING PRACTICALITY AT THE DOOR, A NEW BATCH OF CONCEPTS AND RACERS HAS ARRIVED
DURING THE LAST DECADE, WHISPERS
of the death of high performance have wafted through the auto industry on more than one occasion. With so much energy being spent on commuter practicality, refined efficiency, and the like, automotive brands big and small have become much more focused on their mass market moves. That said, over the course of the past year, a handful of brands have stepped up to the plate to prove that peak performance is still alive and well.
PORSCHE MISSION X
Though technically still in concept form, the Porsche Mission X makes big promises about the brand’s 918 successor and marks the arrival of the brand’s first ever hypercar. Combining cues from past Mission E and Mission R vehicles with lines, shapes, and proportions from the Carrera GT, the 959, and even the brand’s old Le Mans cars, the Mission X ticks a lot of boxes and has us itching to get behind its F1-style pilot’s wheel. A particularly nice touch? That space-age paintwork — a shade the carmaker calls “Rocket Metallic” — developed specially for the concept.
MASERATI MCXTREMA
Unveiled at The Quail during Monterey Car Week, the mind-bending MCXtrema is the most striking car we’ve seen from Maserati in quite some time. The track-only homologat- ed racer is a stunning piece of kit, built around a carbon fibre monocoque and overflowing with touches of aerodynamic wiz- ardry. It’s powered by the same twin-turbocharged V6 Nettu- no engine that you’ll find in the Italian carmaker’s road-going MC20, but has 730 horsepower — roughly 110 more than its little brother. The only sad news to come out of this latest in- credible launch? Every car in the 62-strong production run was
sold out by the time Maserati revealed it to the public.
By Justin Mastine-Frost
102 SEPTEMBER 2023
SHARPMAGAZINE.COM
AUTO
FERRARI SF90 XX
An “XX” variant of any Ferrari — typically track-only, high-octane masterpieces — is big news. But what’s really exciting here is one specific, shocking detail: the new 1,030 horsepower SF90 XX will be road-legal. That’s right — a V8 with three electric motors and all-wheel drive powering the stickiest rubber money can buy, and you can take it on public roads. Plus, let’s not forget that Ferrari’s website openly claims that the car’s special aerodynamic design (from its giant fixed rear wing and large side apertures to the two “nostrils” on its hood) is designed to ensure maximum grip at 250 km/h. What could possibly go wrong?