A new type of organic Bronsted acids is proposed exhibiting very high acidity in gas phase. The calculated gas phase enthalpies (Delta H-acid) of deprotonation were 220-240 kcal/mol for the proposed acids with -CN substituents indicating that they can rival the inorganic carborane acid derivatives in gas phase. The hyperacidity of these compounds rises from the extra stability of the corresponding conjugate bases due to formation of a hydrogen bonding network and an aromatic five-membered ring. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.