Has modern supercar ownership become NAFF and irrelevant?
Discussion
I think its very much a London/Big City thing. My theory is that because property prices are so high people are treating themselves to lavish lifestyles and expensive cars as opposed to property or investments.
I do not live in a particular nice part of London but I have noticed a few 'supercars' being parked outside some VERY average houses. A Gallardo and a 458 outside a converted two bed semi detacted flat and a 488 and a Range Rover parked outside the smallest new build 'cottage' you ever could imagine.
The houses still cost probably at least £500k each, and you'd probably need to spend at least that again to get anything significantly more 'wow', so why not treat yourself to a supercar or two?
I do not live in a particular nice part of London but I have noticed a few 'supercars' being parked outside some VERY average houses. A Gallardo and a 458 outside a converted two bed semi detacted flat and a 488 and a Range Rover parked outside the smallest new build 'cottage' you ever could imagine.
The houses still cost probably at least £500k each, and you'd probably need to spend at least that again to get anything significantly more 'wow', so why not treat yourself to a supercar or two?
A lot of owners drive these cars just because they're a status symbol, if you enjoy a crowd of teenage boys chasing after you then you have ego issues. But you do come across the odd owner who owns them because they simply enjoy them, and fair play to them. I think owning a supercar has a stigma attatched to it which is due to modern culture, people will take pictures of you, complain if you hold them up to negotiate a speed bump, and say things like "my mates subaru would beat that". But if you can just enjoy it for what it is i think owning a supercar would be a joy.
Murcielago_Boy said:
Swampy, don't get me wrong, don't make this debate about £££££ because it's not about that AT ALL.
This is about a disillusioned supercar enthusiast. I'm moaning because I'm almost "upset" (for want of a better word). I couldn't wait to save up, and buy my dream car. And now, having got there, I'm thinking "good grief, this is a load of tacky pointlessness."
Kinda disappointing really.
I agree with you. This is about a disillusioned supercar enthusiast. I'm moaning because I'm almost "upset" (for want of a better word). I couldn't wait to save up, and buy my dream car. And now, having got there, I'm thinking "good grief, this is a load of tacky pointlessness."
Kinda disappointing really.
Supercars used to be silly in a likeable way.
Now they are generally serious in an unpleasant way.
I don't think a Countach or Testarossa or Diablo owner was really taking things very seriously. It was a jolly jape. A bit of whimsy. They arrived laughing.
But I'm sure most Ferrari and Lamborghini buyers today are taking themselves very seriously indeed. The car is a key component of their Luxury Lifestyle Projection Project.
No laughing. Might get wrinkles.
Murcielago_Boy said:
I have thought of a solution. Go classic. I'm still thinking. But the title of my thread refers to "modern supercar" ownership and perhaps going classic would prove my point.
Thoughts?
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People were probably saying this type of stuff when rockstars started buying supercars back in the 1970's! The supercar 'scene' evolves with society and yeah, I agree that it's a bit on the crass side currently. Like a lot of society in general. But at the end of it all one has to remain true to their ideals and the reasons for partaking in an interest such as supercars. The supercar industry itself and those on its periphery (i.e. Media) rely on the upgrade cycle to keep on going and the upgrades in performance of a supercar revolve around getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible and to get to that requires removing what barriers you can to reach that goal. Better suspension and tyres, traction and stability control, a computer which works out how much power to send to each wheel and so on. Thoughts?
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But part of the attraction for some enthusiasts is working around the barriers their cars put up. Like changing gears yourself, for example. Or having no traction control at all. Which is at odds with what Big Supercar thinks you want. So your alternative is to simply stick with the era of supercar which gives you what you want and resist getting sucked into the upgrade hype. The supercar scene you like doesn't have to disappear - the cars continue to live on. The new scene won't care much for 'your' cars which is probably a blessing in disguise....imagine seeing Mr Huge Watch instagramming his 'new' Testarossas steering wheel arm draped across like some gangsta and blathering about 'old skool kool innit'.
Supercars now are so fast and relatively easy to drive that you are either in danger of losing your license (or worse) and there is no challenge to driving them well. How many supercars can you buy with a manual gearbox these days?
I drive an MX-5 and a Seat Leon and can genuinely say that they both have enough performance to be fun on the road. I occasionally think about ‘upgrading’ to a faster / flashier car but I honestly don’t think I would use the extra performance for 95% of my driving and if I did use the performance I would be worried about getting banned which would result in me losing my job and my independence. It’s just not worth it.
I also have a bike licence and have been thinking about getting another motorbike. I’m not interested in anything more than a 70bhp twin. Such a bike would have more than enough performance to have fun with on the public road and I’m not interested in getting my knee down on roundabouts or clipping apex’s on country roads.
I used to get loads of people looking at me when I had a Caterham 7. Didn’t bother me in the slightest but I admit I would likely feel very self conscious driving through the middle of town in an open top Ferrari or similar.
Murcielago_Boy said:
Swampy, don't get me wrong, don't make this debate about £££££ because it's not about that AT ALL.
This is about a disillusioned supercar enthusiast. I'm moaning because I'm almost "upset" (for want of a better word). I couldn't wait to save up, and buy my dream car. And now, having got there, I'm thinking "good grief, this is a load of tacky pointlessness."
Kinda disappointing really.
Like I say, I see your point reference usable power and public perception, and I'm not arguing against it. This is about a disillusioned supercar enthusiast. I'm moaning because I'm almost "upset" (for want of a better word). I couldn't wait to save up, and buy my dream car. And now, having got there, I'm thinking "good grief, this is a load of tacky pointlessness."
Kinda disappointing really.
I don't know about most, but the world we live in seems to be very much that way, save hard for what you want, only for it to be ruined by those who have been handed what you have saved so hard for.
aeropilot said:
Murcielago_Boy said:
I have thought of a solution. Go classic. I'm still thinking. But the title of my thread refers to "modern supercar" ownership and perhaps going classic would prove my point.
Thoughts?
This has been a solution for the past 10+ years in all honesty.Thoughts?
Modern Supercars (in London, at least), have been ruined by the idiots.
Go buy a 80's Ferrari (in a colour other than red), or a late 60's/early 70's 911. Not flashy enough to interest the 'yoof'. Analogue. Not stupidly fast. Interesting to drive at any speed.
fred bloggs said:
jhoneyball said:
Get a motorbike. A BMW S1000RR or Ducati Panigale 1299S or equivalent will show you want real usable performance on the road really means.
Oh yes. Really useable, yes. Really good for using all the performance in central London. Did some research -- in the time I've had a car license, number of vehicles has gone up by about 60% in the UK. Driving used to be fun. It isnt any more -- far too much traffic almost everywhere, almost all of the time.
Mbike solves that. Even BMW know that on the satnav on my mbike -- routes plan out 30% quicker in bike mode than in car mode.
Edited by jhoneyball on Monday 1st August 13:46
I can only comment as someone looking to it from the outside:
I was stuck staying in Kensington for a conference recently (in a hotel room literally 2m x 2.5m) and found it strange that the most interesting cars parked up weren't the bentleys, porsches, astons or ferraris but the odd classic or even the sheddy old cars. The 2 interesting exotics were a 911 GT3 and a lambo of some sort (Murci i think) but still driven by attention pillocks (burnouts on a highstreet anyone?!?).
Outside of the SE though they're a rare thing. Maybe just having one in London is crap? But then my opinion of London has always been pretty low due to the density of people.
With regard to the fun of it, you can easily break the speed limit in granny's supermini on most roads now, it must take extreme self restraint in anything with 250+ bhp/ton not to risk points every time you take it out for a pootle in the country. Self-restraint doesn't normally = fun. A classic that might get beasted off the lights by a hot hatch (most classic supercars have similar power to a hot hatch of the last 10 yrs) but its the involvement you're after not A-B speeds.
I was stuck staying in Kensington for a conference recently (in a hotel room literally 2m x 2.5m) and found it strange that the most interesting cars parked up weren't the bentleys, porsches, astons or ferraris but the odd classic or even the sheddy old cars. The 2 interesting exotics were a 911 GT3 and a lambo of some sort (Murci i think) but still driven by attention pillocks (burnouts on a highstreet anyone?!?).
Outside of the SE though they're a rare thing. Maybe just having one in London is crap? But then my opinion of London has always been pretty low due to the density of people.
With regard to the fun of it, you can easily break the speed limit in granny's supermini on most roads now, it must take extreme self restraint in anything with 250+ bhp/ton not to risk points every time you take it out for a pootle in the country. Self-restraint doesn't normally = fun. A classic that might get beasted off the lights by a hot hatch (most classic supercars have similar power to a hot hatch of the last 10 yrs) but its the involvement you're after not A-B speeds.
SpeckledJim said:
Supercars used to be silly in a likeable way.
Now they are generally serious in an unpleasant way.
Where does that leave the clowns who are clumping about in their "never go off road" 4x4s with Gucci tyres and Fandango badges? I saw a crassly huge Bentley Bentayga on the road a few days ago - almost died laughing.Now they are generally serious in an unpleasant way.
jhoneyball said:
Get a motorbike. A BMW S1000RR or Ducati Panigale 1299S or equivalent will show you want real usable performance on the road really means.
The OP could well be about superbikes too. I love my 999R - it's an event every time I ride it. Bitey brakes, silly gearing, stiff suspension, no ABS, no stability control...I do agree with the OP on most of the points. I have not had and will probably never will have the ability to afford a true super car but I have had the pleasure of owning cars of similar performance. The Tuscan was very very quick and I did have to be mindful of where and when you stamped on the loud peddle so I can only imagine what the likes of a 488 or Lambo would be like.
I got to admit when I see older sports/super cars I do tend to think they are owned by a car person rather than someone who could probably afford a badge but has decided not to compared to a modern supercar that could have been purchased as a show of wealth.
I got to admit when I see older sports/super cars I do tend to think they are owned by a car person rather than someone who could probably afford a badge but has decided not to compared to a modern supercar that could have been purchased as a show of wealth.
I admire supercars/hypercars but I don't desire one (which is very handy as I can't afford one).
I like to see and hear other people's but the sheer size and attention would grind me down very quickly. If out on a nice drive you come across a Lambo or suchlike it elevates a very nice drive to a memorable one. I would imagine I am having more fun though.
I like to see and hear other people's but the sheer size and attention would grind me down very quickly. If out on a nice drive you come across a Lambo or suchlike it elevates a very nice drive to a memorable one. I would imagine I am having more fun though.
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