Boutique Sports Cars Offer New Choices for High-End Car Buyers

Porsche and Ferrari are household names even if the cars they build don’t sit in many U.S. garages. The world of exclusive, high-end sports cars is poised to gain some less-familiar brand names, though, as Fisker, Yes! and Tesla plan new models for the U.S.

Because these cars are so unusual, they should appeal to a number of customers, but competition in the exotic sports car segment is already fierce and challengers face additional hurdles, like establishing a dealer network and building a brand reputation.

It's also far from a foregone conclusion that all three of these sports cars will make it to a road near you, as any number of factors could force their makers to abandon previously announced plans.

2008 Chicago Auto Show Video: Yes! Roadster

One car I found astounding at the Chicago Auto Show was the German-built Yes! Roadster 3.2 and 3.2 Turbo. The company was gracious enough to let me climb all over the little orange Turbo during the media days and here’s the video proof. One correction, horsepower for the 3.2 Turbo is 355 hp not 381 hp. It’s still sub-4 second 0-60 mph fast though. Share this video via YouTube.

Up Close: Yes! Roadster

I had a chance to poke around the Yes! Roadster 3.2 Turbo at the Chicago Auto Show yesterday. First up: Get the headlights and taillights in black. One of the two display cars had them in black, but the other had them in silver. Up close, the silver ones’ molded backings look unfinished and almost tacky. Either way, the whole car seems very busy — almost chaotic — with no shortage of creases, louvers and portals. The same could be said of the Lotus Elise, though, so that look might be your sort of thing.

Yes! Roadster Starts at $77,995

German carmaker Yes! released pricing on its all-new roadster yesterday. The 255-hp, naturally aspirated version starts at $77,995, while the 355-hp turbo roadster will set you back $97,995.

The latter goes from zero to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds, which is two tenths of a second quicker than the most powerful Lotus Exige. Opt for an additional turbo power upgrade on that car, and it spits out 415 hp and storms to 62 mph in 3.4 seconds. That sort of acceleration leaves a number of supercars in the dust — and considering the upgrade costs $7,995, we’d pass up options like the navigation system ($4,995) and full leather interior ($4,995) to get the extra power.