Has modern supercar ownership become NAFF and irrelevant?

[k-ink]

I see the Noble M600 as a track weapon which will still be ok on the road. Rather like a well finished Ultima. Many have described it as an F40 but better at everything. So I think its ability, focus and under the radar badge sets it well apart from supercars. 99.9% of Ferrari and Lamborghini owners wouldn't even consider one at all.

[toppstuff]

I am glad the Noble M600 has popped up in this thread.

At a time when modern Ferrari / McLaren / Lamborghini are now dominated by those interested in branding and swagger rather than driving ( all too often sadly ) the Noble is the perfect antidote. The Noble is the drivers choice IMO. Lots of kudos to anyone who chooses one over the obvious choices. Given the money, I know I would.

[anonymous-user]

Ozzie Osmond said:

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

Absolutely typical PH macho twaddle.

Macho twaddle ? The irony !

Are you always so rude or just from behind the keyboard ?

You obviously didn't look at my profile in much detail either.

The point here is surely that different cars serve different purposes. As the other chap says you don't need to be in a sports car to appreciate a good road, or the internal combustion engine, or be a Petrolhead. I may be misreading you but you seem to be saying the only way to show that you are a person interested in cars, their workings etc is to be driving a sports car.

Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 4th August 21:59

[RobM77]

RSK21 said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

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

Absolutely typical PH macho twaddle.

Macho twaddle ? The irony !

Are you always so rude or just from behind the keyboard ?

You obviously didn't look at my profile in much detail either.

The point here is surely that different cars serve different purposes. As the other chap says you don't need to be in a sports car to appreciate a good road, or the internal combustion engine, or be a Petrolhead. I may be misreading you but you seem to be saying the only way to show that you are a person interested in cars, their workings etc is to be driving a sports car.

Edited by RSK21 on Thursday 4th August 21:59

There are many ways to be interested in cars and everyone's an individual. I'm fed up of being told I'm not a true petrolhead on here because of my individual tastes. One other thing: what's 'macho' about owning a Caterham? I've had two and I'm one of the least macho guys you'll ever meet

[ORD]

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

[interloper]

ORD said:

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

Congrats you have double posted with a 9 hour gap between your posts! Also I hope you are being ironic... A 911 Speedster and a 356 are a damn site more rare compared to more run of the mill 911s.

As for Ozzies comments about Range Rovers, drive one! Its no sports car but they are interesting in their own way.

Regarding the topic in hand, I will have a Testarosa in black thanks. Modern supercars don't really appeal, I think mostly because they weren't on my bedroom wall when I was a small boy and I don't really do modern.

[Boshly]

toppstuff said:

I am glad the Noble M600 has popped up in this thread.

At a time when modern Ferrari / McLaren / Lamborghini are now dominated by those interested in branding and swagger rather than driving ( all too often sadly ) the Noble is the perfect antidote. The Noble is the drivers choice IMO. Lots of kudos to anyone who chooses one over the obvious choices. Given the money, I know I would.

Dominated? Really? Or just generalistic baseless twaddle? I will accept that within social media it may be "dominated" as such as most proper and enthusiastic owners won't post.

Within the McLaren owners particularly many/most of these cars are bought by genuine enthusiasts who appreciate the cars abilities and who in fact utilise (on track!!) quite often.

Most supercar owners I know (through owners groups) are happy to get put at 5/6 am to go on a drive/meet/charity day when the roads are nice and quiet and not many people are about. Not the direct action of an attention seeker I would suggest.

The other thing is that generally people are able to afford these cars later on in life when inevitably in most cases kids are about so the cars are not the staple mode of transport and will not generally be driven down to the shops. I would suggest that applies to modern and classic supercars also.

[AC43]

tomtom said:

Some of the best drives I've had were in the Swiss/Italian alps in my manual Berlinetta .

Reminds me of the epic drives that Car journos would do in the late 70's and early 80's driving Italian exotics from Italy to the UK.

[Davey S2]

AC43 said:

tomtom said:

Some of the best drives I've had were in the Swiss/Italian alps in my manual Berlinetta .

Reminds me of the epic drives that Car journos would do in the late 70's and early 80's driving Italian exotics from Italy to the UK.

Have you read this Mel Nichols one about collecting 3 new Lambos and driving them back to the UK?

http://www.classicandsportscar.com/160mph-convoy-l...

[will_]

toppstuff said:

I am glad the Noble M600 has popped up in this thread.

At a time when modern Ferrari / McLaren / Lamborghini are now dominated by those interested in branding and swagger rather than driving ( all too often sadly ) the Noble is the perfect antidote. The Noble is the drivers choice IMO. Lots of kudos to anyone who chooses one over the obvious choices. Given the money, I know I would.

The problem is, there is a massive gulf between those who say they'd buy such cars, and those who actually can and do.

If the global consensus matched the posts on pistonheads then 90% of supercars would be manual, whereas the reality of those who actually buy the cars is that the vast majority demand a paddle shift. Hence why you can't get a manual Ferrari or Lamborghini anymore. The manufacturers don't produce cars to try to sell to the armchair enthusiasts with insufficient funds.

I don't think modern supercars are any more naff than Rod Stewart driving a Lambo in the 80s. There's just more of them about, and more visibility through social media. Even "back in the day" supercars were sold to show-offs with no real interest in cars other than being flash. Not much has changed.

[MC Bodge]

will_ said:

I don't think modern supercars are any more naff than Rod Stewart driving a Lambo in the 80s. There's just more of them about, and more visibility through social media. Even "back in the day" supercars were sold to show-offs with no real interest in cars other than being flash. Not much has changed.

Exactly. E-types weren't all driven by Stirling Moss.

[hypermark]

As a Londoner I tend to agree with the sentiment of the original post, however I'm fortunate (I think) to live in the North East, south Durham/North Yorkshire and the roads here are relatively uncluttered with speed cameras and are very good for fun driving. I take my old exige on a well know road in the north York moors as well as my KTM; neither are that fast but the road will test you and deliver a real sense of achievement. I'd like to think driving a supercar would be just as rewarding - its not the outright speed but how you anticipate the road and its characteristics judging gear-change and braking and listening to the engine noise bouncing off the valley side. Its not the Alps but works for me.

[BigLion]

tomtom said:

k-ink said:

Interesting posts Crack. That is a shame as I've always loved the looks of the 355. Sounds like another one to be filed away in the "Never meet your heroes".

It's also not wholly representative I don't think. The Spider is a bit of a posing pouch, especially with the F1 box. Built for the current intended 'supercar' (ugh) usage of driving around central London.

Some of the best drives I've had were in the Swiss/Italian alps in my manual Berlinetta .

And that probably sums up my thoughts on this subject. The problem isn't the car, as was evident from the two Swiss LaFerraris I saw chasing each other rather quickly over the St Gotthard pass last time I was there, but the fact that central London has become their expected habitat. Instagram makes it easy for the world to see this and all the associated negatives.

edit: I even found one of the photos I took. Much better than Sloane Street, no?

That is a thing of beauty - even if I had that in a basement so no one else could ever see it or drive it, it is something that I would derive pleasure from just by looking at it each evening!!!

I love cars and that looks amazing.

[Ozzie Osmond]

Which is why you can enjoy a supercar without having to destroy a set of tyres every time you start the engine - a la Top Gear Clarkson burnout fantasy - and you can enjoy it without being a PH driving god.

[swisstoni]

Having read the original post again and in the light of recent posts;
Yes - driving a supercar in central London automatically labels the driver an ignorant tt. It's the equivalent of wearing a wetsuit to work. Totally unnecessary not to mention uncomfortable.

Swiss Alps or similar wide open spaces - different story.

[Ali_T]

Very interesting read. Though I did immediately think back to Clarkson's review of the Disco Volante. Not the fastest or best handling supercar by miles, but it has mountains of soul and just as involving at humdrum speeds as when driving highly illegally. That's what manufacturers need to concentrate on, not Nurburgring lap times.

[rampageturke]

swisstoni said:

Having read the original post again and in the light of recent posts;
Yes - driving a supercar in central London automatically labels the driver an ignorant tt. It's the equivalent of wearing a wetsuit to work. Totally unnecessary not to mention uncomfortable.

Swiss Alps or similar wide open spaces - different story.

yeah fk them for driving a car they own where they live

the retards at the side of the road jumping in front of buses to take pics caused this attitude towards london supercars, not the cars.

[RSD 25]

Can't believe how true this sadly is.

Especially the whole instagram, attention seeking silliness & the fact nearly every Tim, Sam & Paul have supercars these days. The owners themselves are cool people to spend time with so long as they know what they're on about.

The spotters in London situation is too out of control to think about & the roads of the UK are not built for cars with such crazy power. And some of these people don't even know how to drive them either.

There is one solution though & sadly none of you are going to like it. Buy a Morris Marina or Austin Allegro.

Their rarer (and cheaper) then supercars. Apparently for good reasons. you can drive them in London without fear of being spotted by some kid with a camera & being asked to "REV IT!", just proper grown up geeks who remember seeing these cars by the million. Owning one doesn't require silly watches or silly pointless You Tube channels. you can max them on road & every journey's an adventure. So long as you're aware they'll break down & bits could fall off..

Yeah. That is a silly point. Oh well, worth trying especially here in the UK.

[RSD 25]

The Crack Fox said:

Frontline MGB. I am not a fan of the original MGB, but this is in a different league, inside and out and on the road.

I really like these! Not especially fast (fast compared to originals) but their really fun to drive for the money. Either that or for way less, a Mazda MX5.

[anonymous-user]

Think my 'supercar itch' zenith would be a nicely fettled 308 (and if talking in the realms of fantasy, 288 GTO). Having something too fast to enjoy on the road, too expensive to properly rag on the track and too common to appreciate as an investment seems somehow illogical to my tiny little brain.