Hottest Sportscars Coming Soon: Spy Shots

It's a great time to be an automotive enthusiast. Today's cars are better than ever before – safer, quieter, more powerful, and faster than any other time in history. And progress doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon.

As you'll soon see, automakers from all over the world are planning hot new vehicles aimed squarely at enthusiasts who love to drive. And they've been captured testing by our eagle-eyed spy shooters.

Click on the image above to get started.

Chevy set the bar pretty high with the current Corvette Z06. Okay, tremendously high. The 650-hp monster is the most powerful factory Corvette yet. When it came out, we were blown away, but there was one question: If the Z06, formerly the middle child of the lineup, is this nuts, what comes next? The answer is an even nuttier ZR1. Here is a roundup of everything we know about the 2018 ZR1 so far.

But the upcoming ZR1 isn't the only new Corvette to get excited about.

It's real! After years of speculation, the mid-engine 2019 Chevy Corvette has been caught during covert testing in Michigan.

Codenamed the Emperor, this Corvette will reposition Chevy's iconic sportscar to compete with European exotics and the Ford GT. The newspaper reports a front-engine Vette will still be sold concurrently for a few years after the launch of its more exotic sibling.

Here's everything we know about the mid-engine Chevy Corvette.

Ford may have brought back the GT350 moniker, but as these spy photos reveal, the automaker may not have killed off all plans for an even higher-end GT500. Through the camouflage, we can see the car looks even more aggressive than the Ford Shelby GT350 and GT350R, pointing towards a muscle car that's faster and even more powerful.

Speculation runs rampant that the GT500 will get a twin-turbo V8 engine with at least 750 horsepower. Click here for more.

If the traditional battleground where the Chevy Camaro waged war against the Ford Mustang was at the drag strip, the modern siege happens at the race track. More specifically, as you can see from this Camaro Z/28 spy shot, that battleground is the Nürburgring. And the arsenal of speed includes aero packages usually reserved for GT3 racers.

Assuming Chevy sticks to the same two-headed path to performance, a naturally aspirated V8 engine that makes its power high in the rev range seems the most likely powerplant for this Z/28.

Click here for more on the Camaro Z/28.

Spotted testing at no less punishing a location than the Nürburgring is the upcoming new 2016 Audi R8 E-Tron. It's painted in that same shade of electric blue, which we think suits the car rather well. It even has that orange strip of lighting around the side intakes, which drives the point of its electrification home in a rather stylish way, too.

Soon, the notion of 456 horsepower and 679 pound-feet of torque, good for a 0-60 time in the three-second range and capable of tackling the Nordschleife, will finally become a reality.

Click here for more on the Audi R8 E-Tron.

BMW continues development work on the Z5, which will succeed the Z4 in its lineup for the 2019 model year. The roadster will switch to a cloth top instead of the retractable hardtop the Z4 uses.

Click here for more on the BMW Z5.

The much-anticipated Z5 will be based on a rear-wheel-drive platform that's jointly developed with Toyota. Which brings us nicely to our next slide...

Toyota is working with BMW to develop the new sports car, which will spawn a Z5 for the German carmaker. You can see BMW stalks in the cabin in these photos. The project was first announced in 2012. The Supra name was used from 1978 to 2002, and rumors have swirled for years that Toyota will bring it back for its next sports car. Trademark filings and comments from engineers have only added to the clamor. As excited as enthusiasts are, Toyota has not confirmed the Supra name. Yet.

So what exactly will the next Supra be? Based on a rear-wheel-drive chassis, the car will be Toyota's signature sports car. Expect it to arrive for the 2019 model year, which is inline with the Z5's arrival. The powertrain lineup will likely include four- and six-cylinder engines, and perhaps employ some electrification (likely from Toyota's side of the development). Lexus is rumored to be supplying a twin-turbo V6 for the car.

Click here for more on the Toyota Supra.