Top 10 Cars of the 2013 Festivals of Speed: Orlando

For one day, the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes in Orlando opened its doors and back yard to host the 2013 Festivals of Speed, drawing to it a small army of onlookers.

Ranging in age from being barely out of the stroller to almost needing one again, show goers this year treated themselves to a day filled with hundreds of cars ranging from something as mundane as an entry-level Cadillac to bonkers hyper cars like the Pagani Huayra. But trekking to a city normally overrun with Mickey Mouse ears hats might not have been at the top of your Thanksgiving weekend list. Faithfully, AutoGuide went about the arduous task of staring awkwardly for you; through a camera lens, of course. Boiling the show down to 10 felt worse than choking down a week-old McDonald’s apple pie — don’t ask — so expect other lists from the event in the not-too-distant future.

Alfa Romeo might be the only automaker that can make a needle-nosed front fascia cool without charging near or over a million bucks. The 8C Competizione is a perfect example, and one that you really don’t see often in North America. That’s because the V8-powered Italian eccentric exotic was only built 500 times. Of that run, 90 made it to the U.S.

The Lamborghini Diablo is cool. “How cool,” you might be asking? Cool enough for there to be a picture of one hanging on the walls of the AutoGuide.com office after Stephen Elmer found it at a garage sale.

Jokes aside, we do have a picture hanging and the Diablo is amazing. As the successor to the Countach, this was the last Lamborghini to be developed outside German influence. Audi bought Lamborghini in 1998 and hastily went about modernizing the car before bringing out the Murcielago that replaced it.

Except for the 918 Spyder, Porsche’s current styling strategy is conservative enough to make Rush Limbaugh look like a fringe hippie. Remaining true its corporate brand image is as important to Porsche as being the “best” is to Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

That’s why the 930 model Porsche 911 Turbo SC is so special. It’s the only model out of Porsche’s cherished 911 family to depart from might be one of the most recognizable front fascias in the auto industry today. The cars were available under a special order program starting in 1981 and cost considerably more than the standard 911 Turbo.

This is what the Plymouth Prowler would look like if it wasn’t a rolling piece of trash. With its open front wheels, lack of a roof and V8 power, the American-build exotic is scarce to say the least. The Panoz Roadster might be the ultimate rich guy rebellion car. It only came with a five-speed manual and had no provision for a roof, tonneau cover or really anything aside from the minimum equipment to make it street legal.

This particular car is upholstered in what looks like ostrich leather; a favorite among the Texan cowboy boot crowd. Yeehaw.

Even with the LaFerrari topping it, walking past an Enzo is nothing short of arresting. Basically a street adaptation of Ferrari’s Formula 1 racing technology at the time, the Enzo was born in 2002. People pay close attention any time the prancing pony brand builds something, especially a halo car.

Keeping up with the Enzo’s cool factor isn’t easy to do, but the F50 might be capable. Many criticized Ferrari for the F50 when it was released for being less of a serious halo car than the F40 it replaced. Nevertheless, a Ferrari halo car isn’t something to be missed in any iteration, even if it was something of a misstep better left forgotten in some minds.

If you want an unforgettable designs, look no further than the Jaguar E-Type. It’s commonly thought of as one of it not the best-looking car ever made. Its long hood, curvature and body proportions are still referenced today, even though production ended in 1974. It wasn’t until the new F-Type reached dealers earlier this year that the company finally returned to offering a legitimate two-seat sports car that will soon be offered in both convertible and coupe forms.

Even before the E-Type existed, Jaguar was building products that are just as – if not more – striking to look at today. The XK 140 is a perfect example. Built between 1954 and 1957, the car was an evolution on the XK 120 and offered more interior space, better brakes, rack-and-pinion steering and modern telescoping shock absorbers. A sophisticated car for its time, the XK 140 used a dual overhead cam 3.44-liter straight six that made between 190 and 220 hp.

Believe it or not, there was actually a time when Ferrari wanted to build more affordable vehicles. In fact, Dino was a sub-brand cooked up to let Ferrari sell lower cost models without suffering the stigma. Penned by Pininfarina, the 208 GT arrived as the era of curvaceous Italian sports cars was coming to a close in favor of more angular designs.

Strange as the name might seem the $1.4-million you’ll pay to own a Huayra brings a ticket into the exclusive world of modern hypercar ownership. Powered by a 6.0-liter twin-turbo AMG-built V12, the carbon fiber car boasts 720 hell raising horses, a cabin design with straight-up steampunk style and a hidden compartment for custom luggage. It’s also pretty quick around a race track, too. The 0-60 sprint is supposed to happen in 3.3 seconds at which point you may or may not go blind from pure joy.

Want to keep browsing? We took photos of every car at the show. Browse through them all in our mega gallery.