Seize the Summer in style – Continent-crushing GT cars
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- 15 min read
The British summer time can be a fantastic thing, those balmy afternoons in the park, watching the sun set in all its golden splendour on yet another perfect day. Ahhhh, the mind sure can play some tricks on you as you wait unendingly for your expectations to be matched by reality.
Well, the South of France regularly delivers on its summer promises and Monaco just happens to be a mere 874 miles from the centre of London. Were you to be in the right vehicle, say a fast and comfortable GT car, in less than 15 hours you could be sunning yourself with the rich and famous on its sandy beaches.
Were the roads straight, unrestricted and you didn’t need to stop for fuel and the loo that time would be drastically reduced too…
So instead of staring out your window at yet another cloudy ‘summers’ day let’s get searching through our list of the very best GT cars for the trip. Speed is of the essence to be sure but so is style and a modicum of practicality so that you can actually take some luggage and a passenger or two with.
We have even included a handy if highly optimistic London to Monaco calculator that totally ignores speed limits and fuel stops and assumes that the entire journey is one straight line.
Hmmm, maybe not that handy but a bit of fun to compare between cars nonetheless. So let’s get clicking to find your perfect travel companion…
Classic cool
Starting with the very first fast Grand Tourers, we take a look at some of the best post war machines that our fathers and grandfathers used to escape from smoky, monochrome London to the Azure Coast.
Jaguar XK120 1948
The very fastest production car in the world when it arrived in 1948, the XK120 got its name from the fact that it could reach 120mph.
In fact it could achieve a fair bit more when not forced to use the 70-octane ditch water that was available at the time.
Available in either roadster or Coupe body styles the basic layout was developed into the XK140 and XK150 along with uprated versions of the inline-6 engine.
Top Speed: 120mph
London to Monaco: 7 hours 17 minutes
Find a Jaguar XK120 on AutoTrader
Mercedes 300SL 1954
The 300SL was a showcase for Mercedes’ technological brilliance in the early 50s, with a race-derived 3.0-litre engine featuring fuel-injection for the first time ever on a production car it was a very rapid machine.
The gullwing doors and seriously swoopy body made everything else seem a bit old-fashioned too.
Top Speed: 160mph
London to Monaco: 5 hours 27 minutes 45 seconds
Find a Mercedes on AutoTrader
Maserati 3500GT 1957
Maserati 3500GT 1957
The 3500GT was Maseratis first proper GT car and arrived at a time when they were heavily involved in Formula 1 and endurance racing.
The resultant road car was a beautiful masterpiece and developed up to 232bhp from its new 3.5-litre inline 6 motor. More than good enough to challenge the very best cars of the era.
Top Speed: 145mph
London to Monaco: 6hours 1 minute 39 seconds
Find a Maserati on AutoTrader
Aston Martin DB5 1963
Aston Martin DB5 1963
The DB5 is perhaps the most recognisable GT car of the 60s thanks mostly to numerous links to the man with a license to kill.
Before all the silver screen associations though it was still considered to be one of Britain’s best GTs and surviving models today are trading for ludicrous sums.
Top Speed: 143mph
London to Monaco: 6 hours 6 minutes 43 seconds
Find an Aston Martin DB5 on AutoTrader
Lamborghini Miura 1966
While the Germans focused on what went under the bonnet, the Italians agonised over each curve of their beautiful GT cars.
That is not to say that the Lamborghini Miura was anything but technologically advanced, but it was the show stopping looks that most people fell for.
In truth the early cars suffered from a bit of front end lift at speed so looking at them was a lot safer anyway.
Top Speed: 171mph (Miura 400S)
London to Monaco: 5 hours 6 minutes 40 seconds
Find a Lamborghini Miura on AutoTrader
Modern GT Marvels
Modern GTs
Classic beauties are all good and well but the chances of your journey ending in a billow of smoke on the side of the road before you even hit Dover are rather high.
Let’s instead leave that priceless classic at home and slip behind the wheel of something a bit more modern.
Aston Martin DB11 2016-on
The latest DB Aston Martin raised some eyebrows when it was revealed that the venerable old 6.0-litre V12 would be replaced by a Mercedes sourced 5.2-litre twin-turbo unit.
That is until they got to experience the full force of 600bhp and 700nm of torque launching them down a stretch of road.
While the innards may now be a bit more Germanic, the cockpit and bodywork is still pure Aston.
Top Speed: 186mph
London to Monaco: 4hours 41 minutes 56 seconds
Find an Aston Martin DB11 on AutoTrader
Bentley Continental GT 2003-on
Bentley Continental GT 2003-on
The basic design may have been around since 2003 but subtle tweaks have only improved it with age and the oily bits have been subjected to many changes too.
For our continent crossing road trip only the mightiest second generation Bentley Continental will do, namely the GT Speed.
We are disqualifying the 700bhp Supersports due to its unforgiving ride, still the GT Speed’s 642bhp is just about enough to get us by those pesky lorries on the motorway.
Top Speed: 206mph
London to Monaco: 4 hours 14 minutes 34 seconds
Find a Bentley Continental on AutoTrader
Ferrari GTC4 Lusso 2016-on
The update/replacement to the quirky FF, the GTC4 Lusso is prettier quicker and has more buttons for your passengers to play with.
We need pure speed here so lets avoid the competent but ever s slightly slower turbocharged V8 version and go with the full-fat 680bhp V12.
Top Speed: 214mph
London to Monaco: 4 hours 5 minutes 3 seconds
Find a Ferrari on AutoTrader
Audi RS7 2013-on
Audi RS7 2013-on
New money will perhaps opt for one of the very competent German options, the RS7 with its twin-turbo V8 and 553bhp is quite capable of showing the established GT cars the way but only if you tick the Dynamic Package Plus option which greatly raises the speed limiter from the standard nanny-state 155mph.
Top Speed: 189mph (raised limit)
London to Monaco: 4 hours 37 minutes 28 seconds
Find an Audi RS7 on AutoTrader
BMW M6 Gran Coupe 2012-on
The M6 has been around for a while now but it still has what it takes to take on most challengers.
The addition of the Competition Package in 2016 gave it a round 600bhp and enough firepower to put any newer upstarts in their place.
Make sure you pick that swoopy Gran Coupe body style just because it looks so good.
Top Speed: 189mph (Tick the M Driver’s Package)
London to Monaco: 4 hours 37 minutes 28 seconds
Find a BMW M6 on AutoTrader
Mercedes S65 AMG Coupe 2015-on
Mercedes has long been a purveyor of top-end GT cars, their S-Class based coupes are some of the best long distance cruisers on the market and in S65 AMG guise you will be commanding 621bhp with your right foot.
Press too hard though and the tug-boat like 1000nm of torque will threaten to disrupt the earth’s rotational speed, best to sit back then and enjoy the equally powerful sound system.
Make sure to get your limiter raised to avoid embarrassingly head-butting that 155mph limiter down your driveway each morning.
Top Speed: 186mph (raised limiter-ask your dealer nicely)
London to Monaco: 4 hours 41 minutes 56 seconds
Find a Mercedes S Coupe on AutoTrader
Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid 2016-on
When it comes to the search for the pinnacle of German performance cars then inevitably one will end up browsing through Zuffenhausen’s offerings.
We have saved you the trouble and found the best GT car they have, the brand new Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid.
With a combined output of 671bhp it crushes all but the most determined super cars away from the lights and on the open road.
Top Speed: 193mph
London to Monaco: 4 hours 31 minutes 43 seconds
Find a Porsche Panamera on AutoTrader
Something for those in a serious hurry
Right, lets dispense with the pleasantries and move on to the real low-flying super GT cars.
If you sneeze Swarovski crystals, have champagne flowing from the gold taps at home and have a personal shopping assistant, have we got some cars for you.
Mercedes AMG GT 2015-on
The AMG GT has been an unqualified success for Mercedes-Benz since its introduction a few years ago.
It may have dropped the iconic 6.2-litre V8 from the previous SLS AMG in favour of a smaller turbocharged power plant, but performance is still stellar and the more forgiving suspension makes for a truly accomplished GT car.
Top Speed: 189mph
London to Monaco: 4 hours 37 minutes 28 seconds
Find a Mercedes AMG GT on AutoTrader
McLaren 570GT 2016-on
McLaren has been on a roll with its latest range of supercars, while the mighty P1 and 720S may have the headline figures the eminently capable 560bhp 570GT is their ultimate GT offering.
Featuring a less track-focused suspension setup and a useful rear hatch it is one of the very quickest ways to traverse long distances with disdainful ease.
Top Speed: 204mph
London to Monaco: 4 hours 17 minutes 4 seconds
Find a McLaren 570GT on AutoTrader
Ferrari 812 Superfast 2017-on
The 612bhp Ferrari 599 was seriously fast, however the 730bhp F12 that replaced it moved the game on in a big way and was truly breath-taking. Surely this was the pinnacle of naturally aspirated rear-wheel drive motoring?
Well not exactly, as the technical magicians at Ferrari have just produced the 812 Superfast. It now produces 789bhp from its 6.5-litre V12 making it the most powerful and fastest front-engined Ferrari ever produced.
Is there more come, well probably yes but for now this is the very best Ferrari GT out there.
Top Speed: 221mph
London to Monaco: 3 hours 57 minutes 17 seconds
Find a Ferrari on AutoTrader
McLaren F1 1992
What is a 25-year old car doing in our ultimate listing you may ask?
Well thanks to its ingenious 3-seat layout it is the only car here that allows you to take your wife and mistress on holiday with you (not recommended) and despite its age, it also leaves most everything else far behind when it comes to top speed.
This 627bhp V12 modern classic is also worth more than every other car here combined.
Top Speed: 241mph
London to Monaco: 3 hours 37 minutes 36 seconds
Find a McLaren on AutoTrader
Bugatti Chiron
For the ultimate in modern speed and comfort you will need to look no further than the 1500bhp Chiron.
Taking over the mantle of fastest production car from its Veyron sibling, the new Chiron adds a welcome layer of driver involvement to its jet plane challenging top end.
Top Speed: 261mph (limited until some proper tyres are found and someone brave enough has a proper go)
London to Monaco: 3 hours 20 minutes 55 seconds
Find a Bugatti on AutoTrader