Jeremy Clarkson’s recent TopGear post, “Clarkson on: the end of it all”, got me thinking a little. While Clarkson does have some interesting points and opinions, I can’t say that I agree with much of what he wrote. As an über car geek myself, I have thought a lot about how the current need for greener technology will affect supercars as we know them today.

Do I think that we’re going to soon see the end of the supercar? No. Do I think that supercars will be very different than they are now? Yes.

While this can be very scary on one hand, on the other, this is quite exciting. Take, for example, the Tesla Roadster. In just a few short years, the idea of a high-performance, zero-emissions sports car has gone from fiction to reality. I myself have been so enamored by the performance and technology of this ground-breaking automobile, I recently put a deposit in on Tesla’s new all-electric sports sedan, the Model S.

I still have to wait a couple of years before taking delivery of this much-anticipated eCar but, for the price of a BMW 5 Series I’m going to get an amazing-looking, high-performance, zero-emissions, luxury automobile. With 0-60 acceleration approaching that of my Porsche 996, I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of this techno marvel and give my butt dyno a real workout. And, I can do this without the worries of rogue Prius drivers slashing my tires. In fact, while I’m giving myself a facelift with the boatloads of torque, I can scold the Prius drivers for being so wasteful for buying such an inefficient vehicle.

But wait, look what’s on the horizon, the Audi R8 e-Tron and the electric version of Mercedes’ new SLS.

Audi’s e-Tron is set to have 4 electric motors, one at each wheel (that’s right….Quattro baby), that combine for an amazing 313 hp and 3,320 lb-ft of torque. No, that’s not a typo…..3,320 lb-ft of torque!!!!! You could pull a planet with that much torque. Um, I think I’d consider that a supercar.

Then there’s the Merc. With 526 hp, 649 lb-ft of torque and a sub-4 second 0-60 dash, who wouldn’t call this a supercar? Oh, and is has all-wheel drive too.

This doesn’t sound like the end of the supercar. This sounds like the end of the beginning!

With the rapid advancement in battery and electric technology there are sure to be many more exciting cars, both super and production, in the pipeline that are both exciting and green.

One last little thought, as all-electric cars become more common, aftermarket parts manufacturers and tuners are sure to start pushing the boundaries even further with these vehicles. They’re going to get more power, torque, speed, better handling and in short order, make our current supercars look primitive.

The only thing I’ll miss is the sound. But, with over 3,000 lb-ft of torque, I don’t think I’ll mind too much.

Ferrari photo courtesy of: createordie’s

Tesla Model S photo courtesy of: Tesla Motors

Audi E-Tron photo courtesy of: bindermichi