Fast and Fuel-Frugal Sports Cars

Yes, it seems one can, in fact, have it all when it comes to high-performance sports cars. While some of the quickest cars on the planet, like the low-slung Lamborghini Aventador and its 691-horsepower 12-cylinder engine literally guzzle petroleum - just 12 mpg in combined city/highway driving as it races its way to 60 mph in a brief 3.1 seconds - others are relatively fuel efficient. For example, the Porsche 911 Turbo S manages to not only reach the 60 mph mark in a still-brisk 3.5 seconds, it can travel considerably farther on a gallon of gas with a 20-mpg combined city/highway rating. And at that, those willing to sacrifice a bit more thrust (and save around $100,000 in the process) can choose a base Porsche 911 Carrera that gets to 60 mph in a still swift 4.6 seconds and is rated at 28 mpg, which is equivalent to what a compact crossover SUV attains these days. We combed through the Environmental Protection Agency’s posted fuel economy ratings and compared them against the published acceleration times for all current models to identify 15 sports cars that can leap from 0-60 mph in less than six seconds, yet maintain a combined city/highway rating of 20 mpg or better. They include some heady speedsters including the Porsche Boxster and Cayman, the Nissan 370Z and the venerable Chevrolet Corvette. We’re featuring them in the accompanying box. Auto engineers are combining the latest in engine technology, including turbocharging and direct fuel-injection, with greater use of light-weight materials like aluminum and carbon fiber and advanced aerodynamic designs to maximize their models’ fuel economy to meet increasingly stricter consumption and emissions restrictions without any appreciable penalty in terms of performance. Combined, the results can be truly amazing. For example, the sleek Alfa Romeo 4C weighs just 2,465 pounds - that’s less than a subcompact Honda Fit - which helps enable its reasonably tiny 1.7-liter 237-horseppower four-cylinder turbocharged engine to propel the low-slung two-seater to 60 mph in just 5.3 seconds. And while you might suggest that anyone who could afford any of these potent models could well afford to keep the beasts fed with gasoline at a national average of $2.20/gallon as of this writing, consider the environmental effects of choosing a “greener” sports car. For example, the EPA says the aforementioned Lamborghini LP640 will consume an estimated 27.5 barrels of crude oil annually and spew 727 grams of so-called greenhouse gases into the atmosphere per mile. These emissions include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, which are said to be major contributors to global warming. By comparison, the EPA estimates the Alfa Romeo 4C will go through just 11.8 barrels of oil annually and return 317 grams of CO2 back into the atmosphere for every mile driven. Unfortunately, actually enjoying any of these sports cars in the manner for which they were intended tends to crush their otherwise impressive fuel economy numbers. The EPA cautions that “aggressive driving” can reduce a vehicle’s gas mileage by as much as 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent in the city. Maybe you can’t have it all, after all.