Two of the rarest supercars, the Lexus LFA and the Porsche 996 GT2 are here to tell you that they might be old but never forgotten.

Behold, two of the rarest, most extreme supercars as they come together head-to-head today. But let’s start with the Porsche first. The 996 was a quite cool era for the 911 as it was the very first time the North American market got a GT3 model and the Turbo was astonishingly fast, but this one was the king of the hill.

One might say that there have been many Porsches around, even in the early 2000s; the time when this baby went out on the market, but, for its era, the Porsche 996 GT2 was extremely special because this one attracted only and only those who considered themselves to be a serious performance driver who was in search of an equally serious track car.

Another reason why the 996-gen 911 GT2 is rare lies in the fact that Porsche sold only 300 units of this one in the United States of America. Can you say that it made the 996 911 GT2 rarer than the Carrera GT? Well, you won’t be entirely wrong.

Related: Here's How The Porsche 911 Evolved Over The Years

The extremely bewitching body of the Porsche 996 GT2 was based on the silhouette and style of the Porsche 911 Turbo. The shiny silver paint was complemented by staggered-width 18-inch wheels shod in Michelin Pilot Sport tires measuring 235/40 at the front and 315/30 at the rear. All 996 GT2 models were offered standard with carbon-ceramic brakes and yellow calipers.

The cabin of this Porsche 996 GT2 held sports seats clad in black leather with embossed Porsche crests on the headrests. Despite the hot rod’s hardcore nature, one could still find some creature comforts like cruise control, automatic climate control, and a CD stereo.

The Porsche 996 GT2 had a thirst for speed and the supercar didn’t break a sweat until it reached a top speed of 195 mph. Sprinting around the northern loop of Nürburgring, the 911 GT2 reportedly outperformed the GT3, with a lap time of 7:47 minutes!

Related: Porsche 911 Carrera 996: Costs, Facts, And Figures

Even the GT2 engine was based on the 911 Turbo but with around 10 percent more punch and that was a bi-turbo engine delivering 462 horsepower. It doesn’t end here, as the Porsche 996 GT2, for its use in motorsport, was offered with a Clubsport Package! But we will come to that later. The successor to the GT2 had more power, but with the same 3.6-liter engine and was offered from the model year 2003 onwards. The bi-turbo engine was good for 483 horsepower at 5700 rpm.

On top of that, for the 996 911 GT2, a maximum torque of 457 lb-ft was achieved at as low as 3500 rpm and that was available consistently till 4500 rpm. All of this massive power from the engine was sent to the rear wheels with the help of a 6-speed manual gearbox.

Did you know that the Lexus LFA project was originally conceived in 2000 as a Research and Development exercise? Alas, the idea expanded into a determined quest to develop a car that pushed the boundaries of technology and performance to the limit. This hardship resulted in a machine unlike any other to roll off a Lexus factory before.

The Lexus LFA was constructed using advanced carbon fibre technology, and it drew power via a high-revving 4.8-liter naturally aspirated V10 engine good for delivering 552 horsepower. It was rear-mounted to a six-speed sequential automatic transmission, extending performance of more than 200 mph. It redlined all the way to the 9,000 rpm mark. To reach a speed of 62mph, it took the Lexus LFA just 3.7s seconds. It had a maximum speed of 202 mph.

As per the words of Haruhiko Tanahashi, Chief Engineer, the Lexus LFA was a machine engineered with a single goal in mind- to deliver a supreme driving experience. He believed that they had pushed every boundary in pursuit of this goal and that they created the most driver-orientated car they possibly could.

Now if we do look at the specification sheet, it shows where the brand spent hours and that is for the high-revving V10, optimized aerodynamics, auto transmission, and composite chassis.

Talking about body lines, the Lexus LFA’s lines flow from roof to sill in a seamless convex to the concave line. Since it had a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) instead of a metal, it gave the designers more freedom to create curves and edges. The LFA is characterized by a long wheelbase and short overhangs, a low-slung cabin, and quite sophisticated aerodynamics.

The cabin reflects driver-focused ergonomics that include the skeleton of the car’s construction, the human zone, with two seats placed right at the center of the car; and the driving zone, with high-tech instrumentation that connect the driver and this beast together. The seats in fine leather and Alcantara provide comfort and luxury of the highest grade. The Lexus LFA is not just a looker, but an opulent vehicle to be in!

There’s no question that these cars are not just rare but a piece of automobile history. But if we had to pick one, the that shrill, hair-raising Yamaha-tuned exhaust note of the LFA will always take our breath away.