Has modern supercar ownership become NAFF and irrelevant?

[swisstoni]

straightsixmik said:

I kind of know where the OP is coming from (admittedly not from a 'true' supercar perspective) but I get the principle.

I'd always wanted a new Porsche so bought a new Cayman GTS in white. I loved the attention it got for a year. It was an awesome car and it wasn't 'just' about the looks like some of the supercars mentioned in this thread.

https://flic.kr/p/rh4uUh

But the constant pointing from kids / feral women / the cost of running it (finance)/ the fact i was effectively just paying the depreciation (which I knew) did take the shine off it slightly.

I've now swapped it for this which not only represents a massive saving month on month, but it gets a whole different type of attention. Where as in the Porsche the great unwashed would point, the Z4M gets nods from people who 'know'.

https://flic.kr/p/KFoTpT

Sounds like you could spend more time looking at the road rather than people's reactions to your car.

[Ozzie Osmond]

aeropilot said:

all drive RR's as the daily driver - for obvious reasons

Serious petrolheads don't make excuses for leaving the interesting cars at home.

[StickBreitling]

Completely agree. I sold my 612 for an FF and whilst the uptick in build quality and solidity was impressive, I found myself enjoying the driving experience of the 612 more. The FF was dull to drive at legal speeds. If you spent the weekend running errands you park the car feeling like you've not really driven/enjoyed it. I could spend an entire weekend driving the car in 1st gear.

I'm sticking to the mid/late 2000s era cars now and have a F430 and Maser GT. I prefer the classic looks to the modern Ferraris and the F1 gearbox still has mechanical soul to it even though it's technically inferior to the latest gearboxes. The acceleration range is also more fun at legal speeds. The build quality is good enough not be a pain to maintain. Would like a manual gearbox, but I've driven flappy paddles for so long, I've pretty much forgotten how to use a manual.

[rongagin]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Range Rover is IMO transportation for people who aren't interested in driving and don't like cars. Or like the "idea" of a sportscar but can't cope with the reality. I'll start to accept I might be wrong the moment I turn on TV and see the "British SUV Championship" coming live from Brands Hatch!

or the "British Touring (BMW 1, Ford Focus, Audi, Subaru etc) Car Championship" I don't get your point, I thought the thread was supercar ownership.

[Justin Case]

I believe that my six-year-old grandson has it nailed. This afternoon we saw a newish Ferrari (he thinks it was a California) and he commented 'I like it but it's not that good'; I don't think that he was too impressed with the rear-end styling. On the other hand he might just be playing the wrong computer games, AFAIK Sonic the Hedgehog does not drive a modern supercar

[Mr Tidy]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Range Rover is IMO transportation for people who aren't interested in driving and don't like cars. Or like the "idea" of a sportscar but can't cope with the reality. I'll start to accept I might be wrong the moment I turn on TV and see the "British SUV Championship" coming live from Brands Hatch!

Oh sh*t, I so hope you are wrong!

The moment I see that headline I will turn the TV off - just like I do now when the "BangerTouringCarChampionship" contact formula comes on! "Messers" Plato, Neal, etc. you know who you are!

[dvs_dave]

Supercars are relatively much cheaper now than they were. Before the 90's an entry level Ferrari/Lambo/whatever cost multiples what an average house cost. Not any more.

Couple that with cheap finance, and an obsession amongst the hoi palloi with wealth projection and we end up here. If only they realised that no one of any significance is impressed by your fancy car costing you more per month than your rent.

Classic is where it's at these days. Chav free on the whole. Which is one of a few reasons why the market is booming.

I'd also suggest boating as a good way to get away from all this cringe worthy nonsense. It's pointless trying to show off when your potential audience is nowhere nearby so there's no attraction. Also there's generally no speed limits or police to be concerned with either. And handling a boat at 50-60mph is far from boring!

[Dave Hedgehog]

dvs_dave said:

Supercars are relatively much cheaper now than they were. Before the 90's an entry level Ferrari/Lambo/whatever cost multiples what an average house cost. Not any more.

i think its more of the case that there are a lot more people in the 'super rich' category and giant amounts of finance is also much easier to get

supercars are also a lot more reliable so buying one is far less scary than it was 20 years ago, they are also a lot easier to drive which again makes them more accessible

[p1stonhead]

Dave Hedgehog said:

dvs_dave said:

Supercars are relatively much cheaper now than they were. Before the 90's an entry level Ferrari/Lambo/whatever cost multiples what an average house cost. Not any more.

i think its more of the case that there are a lot more people in the 'super rich' category and giant amounts of finance is also much easier to get

This is more like it IMO.

In reality, the amount of people who can drop anything like supercar levels of money on an automobile are insanely small.

Even £50k is way way out of reach for most of joe public.

[johnwilliams77]

p1stonhead said:

This is more like it IMO.

In reality, the amount of people who can drop anything like supercar levels of money on an automobile are insanely small.

Even £50k is way way out of reach for most of joe public.

Of course it is. Fortunately not many of 'Joe public' are on here

[verminator]

OverSteery said:

but make sure you have colour co-ordinated power ranger suit with carbon fibre knee and elbow slides. Wouldn't want to look a D**k would you!

Dead right there my friend, that's why I don't have a sports bike! I have a 40 year old classic bike and a couple of old Harleys. Just wear a black jacket, and a pair of blue jeans. Don't think then that I would look any more of a d--k then you, would I?

[Don1]

verminator said:

Dead right there my friend, that's why I don't have a sports bike! I have a 40 year old classic bike and a couple of old Harleys. Just wear a black jacket, and a pair of blue jeans. Don't think then that I would look any more of a d--k then you, would I?

[Ozzie Osmond]

dvs_dave said:

Classic is where it's at these days. Chav free on the whole. Which is one of a few reasons why the market is booming.

IMO the classic market is booming for all the wrong reasons. Ferrari, Aston and others will put your old car into factory original condition for a humungous price - or you can get yourself "one of the last air-cooled 911s" for a silly figure. But you never see them out on the road. They appear to be bought as trophies to show off in their centrally heated garages or to brag about over dinner.

I'm not interested in private museum-pieces, I'm interested in cars getting out and driven. It's what makes Goodwood Revival and Le Mans Classic massively more interesting than Chris Evans' expensive collection of white Ferraris.

[Leins]

Ozzie Osmond said:

I'm not interested in private museum-pieces, I'm interested in cars getting out and driven. It's what makes Goodwood Revival and Le Mans Classic massively more interesting than Chris Evans' expensive collection of white Ferraris.

Very much so, and this is the sort of thing that I personally love to see as a petrolhead. I really don't get jealous of modern supercars (and will willing accept that I therefore need to sort my life out ), but have to admit to being a wee bit envious after seeing these out and about!:

[ORD]

Not sure about that - I see plenty of 993s, 964s and even older 911s around and about.

[anonymous-user]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Serious petrolheads don't make excuses for leaving the interesting cars at home.

Eh ?

'Sorry kids you'll need to tie yourself to the roll cage of the Caterham for this trip up to you Gran's rather than sit in the back of the Range Rover in case that Ozzie from PH sees us and exposes me as a non serious petrolhead'

[RobM77]

RSK21 said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

Serious petrolheads don't make excuses for leaving the interesting cars at home.

Eh ?

'Sorry kids you'll need to tie yourself to the roll cage of the Caterham for this trip up to you Gran's rather than sit in the back of the Range Rover in case that Ozzie from PH sees us and exposes me as a non serious petrolhead'

For me it's about using the right car for the job. As a petrolhead, whilst I'd always rather be driving an Elise or Caterham down a twisty B road, or driving my Formula Renault around a race track, I still gain petrolhead satisfaction from driving to Switzerland in a big saloon with our bikes and luggage onboard.

[anonymous-user]

RobM77 said:

For me it's about using the right car for the job. As a petrolhead, whilst I'd always rather be driving an Elise or Caterham down a twisty B road, or driving my Formula Renault around a race track, I still gain petrolhead satisfaction from driving to Switzerland in a big saloon with our bikes and luggage onboard.

There speaks a sensible man. Couldn't agree more.

[Ozzie Osmond]

So, check out the Noble M600 thread here,
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Is the Noble naff and irrelevant or a PH purists dream?
Trouble is, PH purist dreamers aren't worth a row of beans when your business depends on selling cars.

[Ozzie Osmond]

RSK21 said:

'Sorry kids you'll need to tie yourself to the roll cage of the Caterham for this trip up to you Gran's rather than sit in the back of the Range Rover in case that Ozzie from PH sees us and exposes me as a non serious petrolhead'

...said the bloke with two SUVs on his profile and no sportscars. You couldn't make it up.

Absolutely typical PH macho twaddle.