50. Dodge Viper (1992)
In a land that's obsessed with muscle cars, the Viper stands out as the beefiest of all. In GTS-R trim, its 8.0-litre V10 truck engine packs 460bhp, enough torque to tear up entire continents, and is capable of propelling the two-seater coupe to nearly 180mph. If big powerplants and hairy rear-wheel drive handling are important to you, then Chrysler's finest is probably as close to motoring nirvana as you can get.

49. Ferrari Testarossa (1984)
Perhaps the quintessential Eighties supercar, built by Enzo Ferrari to steal a slice of the lucrative action Lamborghini enjoyed in the US market. The outlandish-looking side ducts weren't to everybody's taste, but the Testarossa's user-friendly handling, refinement and stomping 390bhp flat-12 engine captured the imagination of an entire generation. Or maybe it was Don Johnson's crumpled linen suit...

48. Cizeta V16T (1993)
The story of the V16T is one of great idea compromised by lousy timing. On paper, it had the firepower to rival the very best Italian supercars with a V16 engine that was essentially a pair of Ferrari V8s bolted together and mounted transversely. The Cizeta was a superb piece of packaging and although the car was wide, the rest of the design was remarkably compact. Soaring production costs together with a rapidly shrinking market finally killed off this beauty.

47. Bentley continental (1993)
A glorious reminder of Bentley's sporting heritage, the Continental T is the ultimate luxury express. Although 128mm shorter than its Conti R stablemate, the T is still a two-and-a-half ton car, built only as Bentley can. The real star, though, is the 6.75-litre 420bhp V8, which whips the two-seater up to 167mph. A packaging disaster - a supermini is bigger inside - a £223,000 price tag ensures its exclusively.

46. MIG Tako M100 (1993)
Russia's sole attempt at a supercar didn't trouble the scorers. Designed to take on all comers at the Le Mans 24?Hours event in 1993, the MIC was powered by a Lamborghini V12 and seemed, on first sight, to be a tidy?looking racer. Reliability was its big problem, though, and after an engine destroyed itself in pre?qualifying the MIG was never seen again.

45. Lamborghini Espada (1968)
Although the Espada lived in the shadows of the Miura, it was equally capable and had the added attraction of four, rather than two, seats. Not much of a looker, especially when compared with its prettier stablemate, but the Espada did its talking on the road where the 325bhp ? later 350bhp ? V12 engine delivered performance in spades. Aimed at the executive buyer rather than the boy racer, the Espada was one of the most luxurious supercars of its era.