Euro Car Contest 2013

€URO CAR CONTEST 2013 ON THE 18TH MAY, 2013, 50 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES WILL CONVENE IN SWEDEN FOR AN ANNUAL SINGING COMPETITION. BUT HERE AT MONEYSUPERMARKET, WE DON'T THINK THAT SINGING SHOULD BE THE ONLY TEST OF A COUNTRY'S QUALITY. WE HAVE THEREFORE CREATED A SHORTLIST OF WHAT ARE, IN OUR OPINION, 12 OF THE BEST CARS TO EVER COME OUT OF EUROPE. SOME OF THE CARS, SUCH AS THE FRENCH BUGATTI VEYRON, ARE HERE BASED ON PURE PERFORMANCE. SPAIN'S SEAT MII MEANWHILE, WHICH WON THE MONEYSUPERMARKET CAR OF THE YEAR COMPETITION LAST YEAR, HAS MADE IT THANKS TO ITS LOW RUNNING COSTS. SO WHICH CAR DO YOU THINK IS MOST DESERVING OF THE FULL 12 POINTS? FRANCE SWITZERLAND ITALY Developed by the Rinspeed company, the sQuba is the ultimate multipurpose vehicle -with it being driveable both on land and in water. It was a long held ambition of company founder Frank Rinderknecht to create such a vehicle, having been inspired by the 1977 James Bond film 'The Spy Who Loved Me'. Based on the chassis of a Lotus The cost of car Built in honour of the company's legendary Italian founder Enzo insurance and fuel was becoming an increasing area of concern back in 2005, and many were prophesising the end of supercar production. The only car manufacturer that didn't seem to be Ferrari, the car was heavily based on Michael Schumacher's championship winning BUGATTI VEYRON RINSPEED SQUBA FERRARI ENZO 2001 Ferrari Grand Prix car. The Grand aware of this was Bugatti, which produced the fastest road car of all time. Designed by Josef Kaban, its 1,000 brake horsepower (bhp) engine and aerodynamic design means that it is capable of an unbelievable top speed of 253 miles per hour (mph). Prix inspired design resulted in Grand Prix levels of pricing, but also supreme levels of performance. The Ferrari brand is akin to a religion in Italy, and the Enzo represents everything that is Ferrari. There can therefore be no better Elise, the sQuba is also a zero-emission vehicle as it is powered by three electric motorists; one for land and two for water. representative for the Italian nation. UK SWEDEN MOROCCO The E-Type helped to cement Jaguar's position in the sports car market and is still considered to be Sweden is often Morocco isn't often associated thought of as being a relatively tame nation. However, with supercars, but that didn't the same cannot stop Moroccan businessman JAGUAR E-TYPE be said about the KOENIGSEGG CCXR LARAKI FULGARA the greatest car the company ever produced. Not only was it competitively priced and boasted supreme levels of overall performance, the E-Type was also a style icon of the era, being recently named the most beautiful car of all time by The Telegraph. cars produced by the Koenigsegg motor company. Perhaps the best car produced by the company is the CCXR; an 806 bhp beast which is powered by a 4.7 litre supercharged V8 engine. Not only is it powerful; it is also beautiful, with it recently being named by Forbes as the best looking car of all time. Abdeslam Laraki unveiling the Laraki Fulgura at the Geneva Motor Show in 2002. Based on the Lamborghini Diablo, it certainly wasn't a bad effort, producing 600 bhp and having stunning good looks. GERMANY CROATIA SPAIN The 911 is the The Rimac The Seat Mii is the flagship model from the Porsche Automobili Concept One is not yet latest entrant to the economical company and was first unveiled at actually available to purchase, but is scheduled to be released at city car market, and has made a big impression. It won the MoneySupermarket Car of the Year Competition in 2012 and has received praise from many other motoring journalists. This is all thanks to its low initial purchase price and impressively low running costs which have made the car appealing PORSCHE 911 the Frankfurt RIMAC AUTOMOBILI SEAT MII Motor Show 1963. Over the years, there have been six different road-going iterations of the model, with gradual, but noticeable, improvements having been made to each version. In 2013 the Porsche 911 celebrates its 50th anniversary and is still just as popular and relevant today as it was in 1963. some point over the course of 2013. It is an ambitious project, being the first ever electric supercar. It is capable of a rather impressive 190 mph thanks to its electric motor which produces 1,088 bhp. All of this performance does come at a rather hefty price (£644,271), but it is still an impressive technological accomplishment from the Croatian company. at a time of high car insurance and fuel prices. CZECH REPUBLIC + DENMARK NETHERLANDS The Skoda Octavia Spyker has quickly built itself an enviable reputation for producing fast and beautiful road The Zenvo was originally available between Automotive ST1 is remarkably exclusive, with only 15 versions of the model 1959 and 1971, but the name was cars since its inception in 1999 and the Spyker C8 is perhaps the finest car to have rolled off its production line. Powered by a 4.2 litre V8 Audi engine, the C8 has a top speed of 186 mph and is as revived back in SKODA OCTAVIA SPYKER C8 ZENVO ST1 having ever been produced at a selling price of $850,000 (£558,806). Designed by Christian Brandt and Jesper Hermann, it has been created with only performance in mind. Its turbocharged V8 engine produces 1104 bhp and has a top speed of 232.88 mph. 1996 to much success. It might not be anything revolutionary, but it is a very impressive overall package, withthe latest model being named “Design of the Year" at the AutoDesign Awards earlier this year." beautiful as it is fast. Modified versions of the C8 design regularly take part in the Le Mans 24 hours race and FIA GT series races. MoneySupermarket com