Three luxury sports cars turn the corner to see who crosses the line first.
How Does ACOTY Define This Class?
Sports cars that qualify for this category need to be priced at or above the 90th price percentile. Pretty simple.
Meet The Contenders
Three luxury sports cars were reviewed this year, all yellow in colour, all from Germany.
Clockwise from the top left, we have the Mercedes-AMG SL 55 4MATIC+ from Affalterbach, the Audi R8 Performance RWD from Ingolstadt, and the Porsche 911 Carrera from Stuttgart.
The most expensive of the trio, sitting in the 99th price percentile and costing over a million dollars with COE, is the Mercedes-Benz SL 55. This puts it just one rung below the most expensive vehicle in the ACOTY line-up, the BMW XM.
If you want luxury, you got it! We like how the SL 55 can cruise AND bruise depending upon one’s mood. We appreciate being able to drop the top in nice weather and look stylish without being over the top. The interior is well-appointed and with the top down, one just wants to keep prodding the throttle to hear that V8 burble again and again.
The next contender gives us some sadness, as it represents the end of an era of naturally aspirated howling V10 engines. This Audi R8 eschews the famed Quattro all-wheel drive system for a purer rear-wheel drive setup. Its 5.2-litre V10 may be detuned to 562hp, but wring it out to its redline and it WILL give you a fizz in your happy place.
The interior is minimalist and driver-focused, and the way it goes around corners and bangs through its gears makes this R8 a fitting swansong indeed.
In the Porsche 911 Carrera article, I wrote “Base is not JUST base.” One would be mistaken to scoff at this ‘entry-level’ 911 for it can put in a shocking turn of speed from a dig and rip through corners with alacrity. Porsche has been tweaking the 911 formula over decades, and it shows.
While the interior may come across as plain to some, there’s little here that one would be left wanting for. Given how easy ingress and egress are, it is no wonder then that the 911 remains the quintessential everyday sports car benchmark to this day.
Although there was only one winner, this trio of luxury sports cars truly represent how far we have come in the motoring world.
AutoApp Car Of The Year Best Luxury Sports Car
Porsche 911 Carrera
| Vehicle | Points Tally | Price Percentile |
| Porsche 911 Carrera | 406 | 95 |
| Audi R8 Performance RWD | 337 | 98 |
| Mercedes-AMG SL 55 4MATIC+ | 326 | 99 |
The winner with a resounding 406 points is the Porsche 911 Carrera. It represents great value for money for what it is and can do. When the scores were tallied, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the four of us in the judging panel voted unanimously for the 911, even though voting was conducted remotely and discreetly.
More on the scoring categories used to derive points here.
Congratulations to the Porsche 911 Carrera for winning the AutoApp Car of the Year 2024 Best Luxury Sports Car!
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