6 best looking racing cars in 2023

1. Cadillac V Series.R – IMSA/WEC

This year’s fleet of brand new Le Mans Hypercars and LMDh machines that will do battle in the Hypercar category of the World Endurance Championship are handsome machines. So picking just one of each side isn’t easy. But there’s no denying that Cadillac’s follow-up to its DPi V.R is an awesome car to behold.

The fact that it’s backed up by a mighty V8 soundtrack only helps to reinforce how much cooler the V Series.R is than its awkward name.

2. Ford Mustang – V8 Supercars

The old Australian Supercars Mustang looked… bad. It was the body of a Ford Mustang awkwardly stretched over the chassis of a saloon car. It had a drooping nose that made it look like it had melted in the sun.

Now, there is a new era of V8 Supercars racing, and the cars have gone from awkward to awesome. The Mustang now looks like an actual Mustang, but if anything a better Mustang than standard. It’s angry and stanced and ready for action. Especially in Cam Waters’ Monster Energy livery, or its original pure black testing guise.

3. Red Bull RB19 – F1

Say what you like about the Red Bull RB19, and how Red Bull F1 cars have exactly the same paint scheme every year, but the car underneath is clearly the best-looking car on the grid in pure aesthetic terms.

That is probably because the “Red Bull concept” is now being adopted by the rest of the grid and adding bits of that concept to other ideas makes for some awkward design features. And that also explains why the car itself is the most well sorted on the grid, a smooth concept that’s been developed correctly. Will it win every race this year? Maybe.

4. Toyota GR Yaris – WRC

Current WRC cars don’t look quite as good as the previous generation, they’re just not quite as aggressive. But they are still some of the most outrageous-looking racing machines around. Massive wings, big boxy arches, all tacked onto tiny little hatchbacks.

The Ford Puma and Hyundai i20N look pretty cool, but it is the GR Yaris that we think looks the best. And that is probably helped by the fact that the road car it takes inspiration from looks awesome (modern Rally1 WRC cars are not direct road chassis). Plus, if you make any hatchback look mental it’s awesome.

5. Ferrari 499P – WEC

The return of the Prancing Horse to the sportscar world’s top level has been made even more delicious by the fact that the car with which Ferrari returns is an absolute corker. Bathed in a Ferrari livery that for once includes a decent amount of yellow as well as the traditional red, the 499P would look quite good if it was any shape.

But the car that emerged from testing looks purposeful and aggressive, with some hints of Ferrari road car thrown in – as the new Hypercar regulations allow. At the back there’s a floating full width light, the rear wing endplates and fin are angular and aggressive and the front looks mean. Overall, we can’t wait to see it in person.

6. Hendrick Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 – Le Mans

A bit of a wildcard. This car will only race once in 2023, but as it will race, we feel it can be included here. When it was announced that a specially-prepared NASCAR Cup Series car was going to race at Le Mans to celebrate the centenary of that great event and the 75^th anniversary of NASCAR we were excited. When we heard it would have extra aero we knew it was going to be good and when we finally got to see the car we were ecstatic.

Turns out, the current generation of NASCAR, which already looks pretty good, becomes an absolute world beater if you add some dive planes and (shock horror) real headlights. Seeing (and hearing) this roaring around La Sarthe is going to be incredible.

Photography courtesy of Motorsport Images.