Coolest New Cars for 2014

2014 Ferrari Enzo

It's unlikely this supercar will be called Enzo, but this is the Ferrari built to succeed that now decade-old legend. As with the Enzo, its structure will be carbon fiber, with the mid-mounted V12 engine a stressed member. But that V12 should displace about 7.3 liters, rev to nearly 10,000 rpm and make something like 800 horsepower.

But beyond that 800 hp, the new Enzo will feature a Formula 1-style Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) that adds a battery pack and electric motor to the drivetrain. So when that 800 hp just isn't enough, the KERS components will kick in to provide an additional burst of 120 hp. You know, for when you really need 920 hp.

If you want one when it goes on sale early in 2013, don't expect much change from your $1 million bill. So bring two with you.

 2014 Alfa Romeo 4C
If Alfa is going to come back into the American market, it needs to do it with a car that's spectacular. That's two Cs in "spectacular" and this Alfa has four of them.

Think of the midengine, rear-drive 4C as the four-cylinder Ferrari that Ferrari doesn't build and you've got a solid bead on what Alfa is trying to accomplish. Shown in concept form at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show, the 4C is built around a carbon-fiber center tub with front and rear aluminum crash structures bolted to it. And it's small — think Fiat 500 minus 8 inches of height — so it should weigh in at under 2,000 pounds when it enters production.

Power for the 4C comes from a 1.8-liter turbocharged-4 making around 230 hp. It will be backed by a dual-clutch automated manual transmission. The light curb weight means performance should be more scintillating than the engine's modest output suggests. Our guess is a 0-60 time under 5 seconds.

2014 Jaguar F-Type
Jaguar makes a play to save its own soul with the introduction of the all-new 2014 F-Type roadster. It's a pure two-seat sports roadster powered by a new supercharged V6 (if history matters we're guessing a 3.8-liter displacement) that should make around 380 hp. With its compact size, eight-speed ZF transmission and open cockpit, it's philosophically closer to a Porsche 911 than to a high-end exotic. So expect it to be priced like the 911, with prices starting in the $80K range.