Best coupes 2025 – from grand tourers to hardened sports cars
Two-door fixed-roof performance cars come in a variety of different flavours – these are evo’s favourites
While there are question marks over what the performance car landscape will look like in the coming years, here and now, the market for fast, desirable coupes is as diverse as ever. GTs, purpose-built sports cars and usable everyday two-doors are in plentiful supply, each offering unique driving and ownership experiences. The variety is such that it’s impossible to compare them all, so we've chosen our favourite coupes not only on their speed and ability to thrill, but on how well they execute their chosen brief.
Our cross section of the market represents a spread of different types of coupe. You’ll find cars with four-, six- and eight-cylinder engines, turbocharged and naturally aspirated, front-mounted, mid-mounted and rear-mounted, plus a myriad of different characters.
Above all, these choices are great to drive, but in wonderfully different ways. From tyre-shredding hooligans like the BMW M4 CS to the lithe, agile Alpine A110, we really are spoilt for choice when it comes to 2025’s crop of coupes.
Top ten best coupes 2025
- Chevrolet Corvette C8
- Alpine A110
- McLaren Artura
- Aston Martin Vantage
- Mercedes-AMG GT63
- BMW M4 CS
- Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0
- Porsche 911 Carrera GTS
- Bentley Continental GT Speed
Chevrolet Corvette C8
Few – if any – saw this coming. The Corvette has always been big on numbers, theatre and noise but a little short on finesse, and then the C8 arrived to shatter our preconceptions. Now mid-engined and built in right-hand drive for the first time, the latest Corvette is well built, supremely capable and fantastically engaging – not to mention stunningly fast.
The 6.2-litre pushrod V8 might be familiar on paper, but it's all new for the C8 with a dry sump, a 6700rpm redline and 495bhp. Thanks to the extra traction provided by the more rearward weight balance, 0-62mph comes up in just 3.2sec with a snorting V8 backing track. If that's not quite enough, the Z06 version offers extra poise and performance to meet the Porsche 911 GT3 head on.
> Chevrolet Corvette C8 review
Alpine A110
The Alpine A110 caused a storm of excitement in the lead up to its launch. The basics sounded too good to be true – a bespoke lightweight aluminium chassis, c1100kg kerb weight, zesty turbocharged engine and styling that’s nostalgic without being a retro pastiche. Could Alpine really produce a Porsche Cayman rival out of nowhere, or were we in for another Alfa Romeo 4C-style disappointment?
In reality, things are even better than they appeared on paper. The A110 is an absolute peach to drive, involving and highly distinctive. What really sets it apart from so many of its contemporaries is its ability to float down a road with unmatched levels of compliance and sophistication. This, combined with the intensity of its powertrain, the precision of its steering and progressive handling make it one of the best sports coupes you can buy in 2024.
McLaren Artura
Where McLaren’s 750S is decidedly old-school (and brilliant for it), the Artura feels like a next-gen product. It packs the firm’s hybrid powertrain technology in a Maserati MC20-rivalling package, and in its newly updated form, a near-unbeatable combination of performance, tactility and polish.
A 2024 facelift introduced a Spider version and a host of upgrades to the range as a whole, including a more powerful V6 hybrid powertrain (now up to 690bhp) and revised chassis tuning. The result is a bewitching driving experience that blends explosive performance with fluidity and communication in typical McLaren fashion. At evo Car of the Year 2022 we couldn’t split the original Artura and Ferrari’s 296 GTB. For 2024, in this revised, finely-honed Spider form, it enjoyed a joint second place eCoty finish, coming painfully close to taking the win. It is that good now.
Aston Martin Vantage
The latest Vantage takes the model's brutish sophistication to a new level. With a tweaked version of Mercedes-AMG’s 4-litre twin-turbo V8 that kicks out a colossal 656bhp (and a fabulous noise to boot), it's ballistic, absorbing and just a bit lairy. Aston Martin has engineered it to be more dynamic this time around with the Porsche 911 Turbo S firmly in its sights, and there's certainly a newfound sense of purpose to the driving experience. It looks tougher than before, too, with wide-track One-77-inspired bodywork. Yet it still clings on to enough grand touring ability to make you think twice about its somewhat less multi-talented sibling, the DB12.
The result is one of the best Aston Martins of recent memory, with fantastic balance, clear responses and boundless performance from that V8. It impressed on eCoty 2024 with Editor Stuart Gallagher making it his outright winner while two other judges had it in a podium position. Yes, the ride is a little tough and it doesn’t have a GT3’s sense of purpose, but by-and-large, the Vantage fulfils its brief as an entertaining, aggressive yet sumptuous sports coupe very well. Its excellent new interior is the icing on the cake.
Mercedes-AMG GT63
The new AMG GT is more practical, more complex and less bespoke than the car it replaces (now being based on the SL’s platform). Some might argue that it’s lost some of its predecessors thuggish character, but there’s no denying that it’s crushingly effective, and more than ever, a true Porsche 911 rival.
As before, a 4-litre twin-turbo V8 lies under the GT’s long bonnet, this time generating 577bhp and 590lb ft of torque and powering all four wheels. It doesn’t have the authentic rumble of previous applications, but performance is mighty, and the GT covers ground with remarkable composure to make use of the available power. You can thank the Active Ride Control dampers, rear-wheel steering and its sophisticated four-wheel drive system for that. The best bit for owners is that the GT can now fit a pair of (small) passengers in the back. The range is growing at pace too, if you want a slightly different flavour of AMG GT, with GT55, GT63 Pro and GT63 E-Performance models – the latter with some 805bhp to complement its 2380kg mass.
BMW M4 CS
Look beyond its bold, slightly aftermarket appearance and the BMW M4 CS is one of the best performance coupes money can buy. Compared to the M4 Competition its straight-six has been boosted to 542bhp, it’s 15kg lighter thanks to carbonfibre parts and its chassis has been extensively overhauled. The dampers have been retuned, spring rates are up and there are uniball-joined anti-roll bar links, among other changes. It all culminates in a deeply rewarding and exceptionally capable sports car.
On Michelin Cup 2 R tyres and fitted with optional carbon ceramic brakes, the M4 gives you confidence to attack on track straight away. The xDrive system offers traction and stability without detracting from the M4’s adjustability, and the motor’s enormous punch and flexibility makes it easy to settle into a fast, flowing pace. As a usable Porsche 911 rival to take to the odd track day, it’s hard to beat.
Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0
It’s tricky not to sound cynical when talking about the 718 Cayman GTS 4.0, as ostensibly, it appears to be the Cayman that everyone asked for since the 718’s controversial introduction. The package is certainly uncomplicated, Porsche fitting the 4-litre flat-six as found in the GT4, but with a subtle detune pegging power back to 394bhp. The same could be said of the chassis, with a standard Sports PASM damper package lowering the ride by 20mm, active engine mounts and a torque-vectoring limited-slip differential representing the beginning and end of the dynamic enhancements.
So how does it drive, you ask? In short, superbly. Its succinct ability to flow with challenging road surfaces yet support its body under lateral load is exceptional. The powertrain’s response, flexibility and character are magnificent, the brakes strong and reassuring. It’s all underpinned by a balance that’s so cleanly communicated and trustworthy that you wonder whether modern, usable sports cars can possibly get any better. Porsche itself will argue that they can with the next entry on this list…
> Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 review
Porsche 911 Carrera GTS
There has always been a 'goldilocks' Porsche 911. The model that ramps up response and engagement just enough while remaining more usable – and significantly more affordable – than a GT3. For a long time the GTS has occupied this sweet spot, and while the latest 992.2 version marks one of the most significant developments in the 911’s history – the introduction of a hybrid system – that remains the case today.
The GTS is a lesson in how to use electrification to amplify and enhance the character of a sports car with next to no trade-offs. It uses a brand new 3.6-litre flat-six and an electric motor integrated into its eight-speed PDK transmission to deliver a 534bhp hit, plus a significant improvement in throttle response. It revs sweetly with a rich sound, and though it weighs 50kg more than the outgoing GTS, it has all the precision, response and polish a 911 should. The only snag is that the hybrid hardware means there's no three-pedal option.
> Porsche 911 Carrera GTS review
Bentley Continental GT Speed
Bentley’s W12 engine is dead, but fear not, the new, plug-in hybrid V8 Continental GT Speed retains the crushing grand tourer qualities that made the previous-generation car so endearing. But now with the added benefit of an electrified 771bhp thump to make it the most powerful road-going Bentley of all.
Granted, the hybrid GT Speed weighs a colossal 2459kg, but the Continental has always been a heavy car. Some of the weight is masked by the irresistible pull from the hybrid V8, but also by active anti-roll bars, active torque vectoring and new two-valve adaptive dampers and dual-chamber air suspension. It still drives like a big, substantial coupe, but the GT Speed is keener and more agile than you’d expect. Combine this with a sumptuous, world-class cabin and superb comfort and refinement, and you have the makings of a deeply desirable grand tourer.
> Bentley Continental GT Speed
