Top Marques Turns 15 With Amazing Lineup Of Supercars In Monaco

Monaco was built to host a supercar show, and it didn't dissapoint.

Monaco has always been synonymous with luxury, extravagance and all that is exotic. Being home to the world’s most expensive cars, yachts and jewelry, it’s only natural for it to host an annual supercar show. And that’s something the principality has been doing for quite a few years now. Taking place in mid-April every year, Top Marques Monaco presents only the best of what a local Monegasque would be looking to buy: From gold-enriched alcoholic beverages and carbon fiber bodied yachts, to the main attraction: supercars.

With everything presented in one venue, accompanied by typically perfect South of France weather, CarBuzz couldn’t resist the kind invitation to attend this year’s exotic car extravaganza. While cars are on static display like any other show, in Monaco certain exhibitors give passenger rides around town, to show them what their expensive new toy can do. But it’s not any old route. The test course follows the famous Grand Prix circuit around Monaco, making the passenger (who the carmaker will be hoping is a prospective buyer) feel that much more special.

To mark the 15th edition of the Top Marques Monaco show the organizers went all out to attract more cars, more exhibitors, and to give attendees more things to see and experience. Here’s a selection of some our favorite cars at the show. We’ll start with Apollo, who displayed the new Intensa Emozione at Monaco’s main attraction point, Casino Square. The hypercar sports a naturally-aspirated 6.3-liter V12 and full carbon fiber chassis and sub-frames. Throughout the show, the car went on a few drives around town. Alas, as it’s still under development, no passenger rides were granted. But we still got to see its beautiful design features, inside and out.

Introduced at Geneva earlier this year, the Corbellati Missile, with its 1,800-hp, 9.0-liter twin-turbo V8, theoretically taking it to 310 mph (500 km/h), was another star attraction. As it’s not yet a functional model, the Missile remained rooted to the supercar show floor. But we’ll be waiting to hear from Corbellati about future developments in the coming months. Among the small number of supercar manufacturers displaying their wares at the show were Zenvo, with its TS-1 and more hardcore TSR-S, and Eadon Green, whose Corvette-based Zelcat, was objectively a looker.

Tushek also came to Monaco to launch its new TS900 H, a hybrid hypercar weighing in at just 1,400 kg. Combined with a total output figure of 1340 hp, it promises to deliver a Koenigsegg-rivaling experience. Other manufacturers of note included Arash, who presented its AF10; and Radical, who had a RXC for test drives. As always, Top Marques attracted a bunch of aftermarket companies too. Renntech took us for a ride in an insane 740-hp Mercedes-AMG C63 that we’re sure some well-heeled admirer ended up driving home at the end of the show. TopCar Design presented a pair of Porsche 911 Turbos and a Mercedes GLE, the Russian outfit showcasing its breadth of customizing capabilities with an unusual attention to detail.

Pogea Racing displayed two of its most amazing creations. It’s beautiful interpretation of a Ferrari 488, with Pista-rivaling 820 hp called the FPlus Corsa, was one of the stars of the show. While the Nemesis, a bonkers Alfa Romeo 4C we called the Quadrifoglio that Alfa should have made, featured a major weight-saving carbon-fiber redesign and a serious engine upgrade, doubling its original output to 477 hp. While Geneva is known as the supercar show, Top Marques Monaco gives the newest players in this notoriously challenging niche the chance to shine. And being set in Monaco, when the show ends, a whole new performance begins when the locals go out for a spin.

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Turns Out Premium Gas Isn't Worth It Even If Your Car Recommends It

Blame smarter engines and the rising costs of premium gas.

We’ve iterated it multiple times: if your car doesn’t specifically mention that its engine needs premium gasoline, it’s nothing but a waste of cash and octane to put it in your gas tank. It won’t make your car run any better, it’s not an improvement on premium fuel, and it does absolutely nothing to extend the life of your engine. That being said, there are some cars that do need gasoline with higher octane, specifically those that are turbocharged, supercharged, or have a compression ratio high enough that preignition becomes a concern.

Thanks to the magic of sophisticated engine control units, we’re also seeing a new class of cars that slots somewhere in the middle—vehicles that recommend premium fuel for maximum fuel economy and performance but can run just as well with regular gasoline. AAA decided to conduct a study to see how much of a difference each fuel makes on this type of car.

Engineering Explained breaks down the results for us, and the findings are interesting to say the least. The study concluded that most vehicles that recommend premium fuel do actually get better fuel economy when using it (except for the Audi A3 for some reason), but that doesn’t automatically mean drivers should revert to using it. That’s because the price gap between regular and premium fuel has grown over the years, somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-25% per gallon over the past few years. With fuel savings using premium gas being almost negligible, the cash saved doesn’t make up for the extra money spent on better fuel. Of course if you own something like a twin-turbo McLaren, go for the premium. Not like price is an issue for you.

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Turns Out The Baby Honda NSX Is A Virtual Concept Car For A Video Game

Sorry if we've just dashed your dreams.

A couple of years ago, a series of patented images filed by Honda were uncovered showing a mysterious mid-engined sports car that looked a lot like a smaller version of the NSX dubbed the “Baby NSX.” A production model has yet to materialize, but we now know that the patented images were actually for a concept car appearing in the upcoming Gran Turismo Sport PS4 racing game as part of the Vision Gran Turismo Program. Like other Vision Gran Turismo cars, the concept was made specifically for the video game.

A user on the VWVortex forum snapped some screenshots of the car from the recently released Gran Turismo Sport demo, and the similarities to the Baby NSX patent are plain to see. Compared to the original patent images, the Honda Sports Vision Gran Turismo’s profile looks nearly identical, though the car looks a lot sharper in-game with more distinctive fenders. The large grille from the original patent image has been retained, while new wheels and a striking rear give the concept a more aggressive look compared to the original patent. We don’t get to see the interior, but images that surfaced a few months ago give us a good idea of what it will look like.

In contrast to the aggressive exterior, the cabin is clean and minimalist, featuring a Formula One-style steering wheel. Performance specs for the concept haven’t been revealed, however, so we'll probably have to wait until the game's release next week. Previous rumors suggested that the Baby NSX would be powered by either a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine from a Civic Type R, or a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine paired with an electric motor to produce 300 horsepower. This still doesn’t rule out the possibility of the Baby NSX going into production, but for now the only way you’ll be able to experience Honda’s sports car concept is in Gran Turismo Sport when it launches on PlayStation 4 October 17.

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