Car Awards 2026

With another bumper year of cars to contend with, Gentleman’s Journal got behind the wheel to sort the great from the good. Here’s every car you need to know about in 2026

While 2025 might have been light on supercar launches, it’s been rich in other ways. Aside from the tsunami of new Chinese car brands and models making their way onto the streets, we’ve seen marques increasingly relying on design to differentiate themselves, while hybrid technology is prolonging the life of the beloved combustion engine.

Tasked with getting behind the wheel and wading through the facts and figures was our motoring editor, Rory FH Smith, who tested the latest and greatest cars of 2025. Riding beside him was Gentleman’s Journal editor-in-chief Harry Jarman – who’s driven more than his fair share of contemporary and classic cars over the years, alongside a packed backseat of expert editors and car writers. Here to separate the great from the good, our panel got to work on identifying the very best the automotive world had to offer in 2025.

In 2025, the Polestar 5 stepped up to the plate as a reassuringly stylish take on an all-electric saloon. While we’re yet to get behind the wheel, the headline figures and aesthetic appeal are enough for the latest Polestar to take the design award. Under the skin lies a massive 112 kWh battery, which is good enough for 872 bhp, a Porsche Taycan Turbo-matching 0-62 mph time of 3.2 and a top speed of 155 mph. The £100,000 plus 5 also has a rear-end seemingly lifted from a sci-fi movie. Bravo, Polestar. We’ll be looking forward to getting behind the wheel when it lands in 2026.

Runner-up: Aston Martin Vanquish Volante

This 660 bhp twin-turbo, non-hybrid V8 two-seater arrives 100 years after the first ‘Super Sports’ – the first Bentley capable of exceeding 100 mph. Due to hit the streets at the end of 2026, this stripped-out, sub-two tonne Continental gives Bentley’s sporting credentials a much-needed boost. Dripping in carbon-fibre fiddly bits, the exterior styling is more than just for show, with the bodywork generating 300kg more downforce than the Continental Speed. Just 500 Supersports will be made at the marque’s HQ Crewe, so you’d best get in quick.

Runner-up: Porsche GT3

Few people outside of Aston Martin HQ thought the DBX 707 needed any more power but that’s just not Aston’s way, so now we have is the most powerful DBX yet – the DBX S. It’s a convincing sportscar, let alone an SUV that can fit a family and tackle tough terrain. Producing 717 bhp from its AMG-sourced and tweaked 4.0-litre turbocharged V8, the DBX S gets a boost from two turbochargers that were developed in part for Aston’s forthcoming mid-engined Valhalla supercar. At £210,000, it can be specced with new lightweight options. In a world dominated by chunky SUVs, this is more like a high-riding super tourer.

Runner-up: Polestar 3

The Supersport is more than a tastefully tweaked twist on Morgan’s usual no-frills fare. Despite the cleaner surfaces, more geometric shapes and extra creature comforts inside, underneath there’s still a bespoke aluminium chassis and body panels that are still shaped over a hand-assembled ash frame. Know of any other carmakers still using wood? Thought not. Crucially, that means the Morgan Supersport is light, so the 330 bhp produced from the venerable BMW straight-six is more than enough to power the 1170kg, £102,000 Morgan from 0-62 mph in a very respectable 3.8 seconds.

Runner-up: McLaren Artura

The Alpine A110 still reigns supreme when it comes to accessible, lightweight sportscars. There’s just something about its plucky 1.8-litre engine, which produces 248 bhp – enough to crack a respectable 4.5-second 0-62 mph time. On paper that’s not much, but its more than enough when you consider the pint-sized £55,000 A110 weighs just over a tonne. On the road, that translates to fun as it bounces around B-roads with the same vigour as a Labrador puppy. And then there are the handsome looks – plus you’re unlikely to see another one, given the rarity factor.

Runner-up: Audi R8

When it comes to cars that are guaranteed to get you out of trouble, look no further than the £70,000 Ineos Grenadier. The brainchild of petrochemicals tycoon and adventurer Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the car was created as rugged, do-it-all off-roader. The Grenadier is all about mechanical might – an old-school off-roader that’s happiest wading, climbing and churning its way out of trouble, over terrain you wouldn’t even walk across. Powering the Grenadier is a choice of robust and reliable, BMW-sourced 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six petrol or diesel engines, which develop 283 bhp and 248 bhp respectively.

Runner-up: Toyota Land Cruiser

Who said saloon cars are dead? Certainly not Volvo, which launched the all-electric ES90 in late 2025. Part fastback, part elevated saloon, the ES90 fights against the torrent of SUVs flooding the market with a modern take on the traditional saloon car silhouette. The single-motor model delivers more than enough power with 328 bhp and a 0-62 mph time of 6.6 seconds, with a 400-mile range. The Performance variant unleashes 680 bhp and a four-second sprint to 62 mph. Inside, it’s calm Scandinavian chic in the spacious, whisper-quiet cabin. Prices are £70,000 to £86,000.

Runner-up: Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge

Fun, compact city cars are hard to come by these days. A few, namely the Fiat 500-based Abarth 500 E and Renault 5-based Alpine A290, have taken it upon themselves to rekindle the hot hatch dream for an all-electric age. The 500 E packs a pocket-sized punch with 152 bhp, a 0-62 mph dash in seven seconds and goes for over 100 miles on a single charge. But on the city streets, its petit proportions and sharp styling are a refreshing respite from the malaise of overweight ‘city cars’. Plus, its convertible canvas top is a joy to slide open in summer. For a fun, all-electric city car under £32,000, look no further.

Runner up: Alpine A290

The Porsche 911 Turbo S has always been the benchmark when it comes to sportscars. If you asked its rivals, they’d say it was annoyingly good. So you won’t be surprised to discover that nothing’s changed with the most powerful Turbo S to date. It arrived in mid-2025 and is an all-rounder: blisteringly quick with its twin-eTurbo 3.6-litre six-cylinder boxer engine, but also capable of crushing a cross-continental drive in comfort. The impact of bolting on two eTurbos is the most powerful 911 to date, with 701 bhp and a 0-62 mph time of 2.5 seconds (roughly the same as a Bugatti Chiron). The new Turbo S starts at £199,100 and £209,100 for the Cabriolet.

For more standout winners, don’t miss the Gentleman’s Journal Drinks Awards 2026.