In the space of the next month or so we will have witnessed the launch of some pretty spectacular cars - the BMW M2, Ford Focus RS and Porsche 911 Turbo, to name but a few. We'll also see the arrival of the first officially imported Ford Mustangs into Ireland, whilst Volvo is rolling out its impressive XC90 plug-in hybrid. And then there's the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, which promises to deliver some pretty special machinery including the successor to the Bugatti Veyron and an already sold out super limited edition Lamborghini.
But I can't help but wonder if we are moving towards some kind of petrolhead event horizon. We are seeing some really impressive feats of engineering being pulled off; the Focus RS is a case in point. Think about it; a family hatchback with all-wheel drive and 350hp that's capable of making you look (almost) as talented as Ken Block yet is easy enough to drive that your grandparents could nip to the shop in it. Just recently I spent time with the 610hp Audi R8 V10 plus and despite being ludicrously fast it was incredibly easy to navigate through town. Ten years ago you wouldn't have believed me if I told you about such cars.
That fact that these exist pleases me greatly, but I can't help but feel that the clock is ticking for performance driven machines. Increasingly stringent legislation and urban planning, not to mention the fact that driving them at even three-tenths will see you coming to the attention of law enforcement, all makes me wonder just how long such cars have left.
Perhaps the biggest potential risk to the future of such vehicles is changing social attitudes. Figures suggest that young people aren't rushing out to get driving licences as soon as they're entitled to do so. Insurance costs are soaring. Traffic congestion in towns and cities is getting worse, as is pollution, while many governments are looking at restricting access to cars in preference to public transport. Getting around with public transport in some cities is becoming easier, helped by bicycle sharing schemes and better integration of buses, trams and trains.
Some new car companies are also taking a different approach to cars as a means of transport. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) back in January saw the first offering form Faraday Future. It may have been a rather exotic looking sports car concept, but the ethos of the company is what was more interesting. It doesn't see itself as a producer of cars that people will own, rather of vehicles that people will choose to use on demand. Even Ford's Executive Chairman, Bill Ford, described how 'The Blue Oval' sees itself becoming a mobility company rather than an automobile maker in the future.
Add to this the increasing amounts of autonomy being introduced into new cars, much of which is aimed at taking the stress of driving away from the driver, and you can soon see how we could be moving towards a whole new era of motoring for future generations. Eight- and nine-speed automatic transmissions offer fuel efficiency and emissions that are better than the respective manual counterparts, not to mention being easier and less taxing to drive. The other huge tipping point that is fast approaching is long range electric vehicles, with batteries capable of delivering 500-kilometre driving ranges.
Don't get me wrong though; I am a huge fan of technology and truly believe that the next decade will be one of the most interesting and impressive yet from an engineering perspective. But there is a part of me that is also a touch apprehensive that there is such a momentum behind all of the aforementioned areas that the days of the cars that we petrolheads in the definitive sense lust after are numbered. Is this it? I hope not.