Is an R8 a Supercar?
Discussion
franki68 said:
The r8 does not make you feel special when you climb in it,like a 911 ,both have the same interiors as much cheaper cars but in terms of public reaction I found it generated more interest than anything I owned bar the gallardo Spyder.I had one of the first ones in the uk,and the first time I drove into Manchester I was sat in the car park queue for m&s and had a Ferrari 430 in front if me and a db9 behind me ,this group of school kids got off abus and rushed over to the car ,ignoring the Ferrari and Aston.it was an amazing reaction ,and I had similar the entire 3 years I owned one.
While you're sitting there in one of the first cars in the country, its not really a fair comparison is it.I think we all know what gets more attention today from an f430 and an R8.
What about the DB9 is that a super car? I'm going to say no.
gregf40 said:
MKnight702 said:
Dblue said:
I think you'll find it does get that sort of reaction albeit far less than the Ferrari.
If the reaction is far less then that surely answers the question, it's a nice sports car but not a supercar.
It may not be to some of the Ferrari owners on here - but to the general population it certainly is!
MKnight702 said:
Park the same R8 next to a 458 in the playground and ask the same question. One is a supercar one isn't, sorry but there you are.
There isn't only 1 supercar though is there? I imagine they would say both were.Park a LaFerrari next to a 458 and no doubt the 458 would get no attention. It's a silly argument.
gregf40 said:
MKnight702 said:
Park the same R8 next to a 458 in the playground and ask the same question. One is a supercar one isn't, sorry but there you are.
There isn't only 1 supercar though is there? I imagine they would say both were.Park a LaFerrari next to a 458 and no doubt the 458 would get no attention. It's a silly argument.
The real question should be why are so many (supposed) car enthusiasts so keen to argue why a R8 is NOT a supercar? Have we had the BMW i8 yet, is that a supercar since it is from a mainstream manufacture whose most common product appears to be a sub £30k diesel saloon much the same Audi? Are SLS AMG products immune to any a link with a A class?
Lost soul said:
Supercar status has moved on , as a kid a wheezy Countach would have qualified
a 308 was a junior to the 512bb , the 512bb was a supercar the 308 was not
the R8 is in the same position as the 308
Good point and just as I remember it at the time. a 308 was a junior to the 512bb , the 512bb was a supercar the 308 was not
the R8 is in the same position as the 308
So in fact by this historical measure the current junior Ferrari 8 cyl model is NOT a Supercar (i.e. the 458 ) the 12 cyl F12 is actually the BB equivalent
Likewise the Gallardo is not but the Aventador is,
Its nothing to do with how fast it goes but historically this is bang on. The point is that the R8 is on the same level as the 458 although Ferrari is a far more prestigious brand
Prawnboy said:
more importantly, a good one is now 40K,so, how cheap will they get and can i ever get my greasy mitts on one?
i don't know but if they ever get down the the levels that NSXs were in the early 2000s then beg borrow and steal to get one! I find it bonkers that there were NSXs under £10k and had it not been for buying a house (circa 2006 right at the top of the market) I'd have put my money into a NSX and probably have £25k worth now :-(
aka_kerrly said:
i don't know but if they ever get down the the levels that NSXs were in the early 2000s then beg borrow and steal to get one!
I find it bonkers that there were NSXs under £10k and had it not been for buying a house (circa 2006 right at the top of the market) I'd have put my money into a NSX and probably have £25k worth now :-(
There were a lot of things I nearly bought about 5 years ago.I find it bonkers that there were NSXs under £10k and had it not been for buying a house (circa 2006 right at the top of the market) I'd have put my money into a NSX and probably have £25k worth now :-(
Countach, Dino, Ford GT.
Then a couple of years ago I got the GS instead of a 308/328/360 or a Testarossa.
I was bemoaning my bad fortune, until the other chap said he had a Dino, and sold it 6 years ago to buy a new M5.
He reckons he's about £200k down on the deal.
DevonPaul said:
aka_kerrly said:
i don't know but if they ever get down the the levels that NSXs were in the early 2000s then beg borrow and steal to get one!
I find it bonkers that there were NSXs under £10k and had it not been for buying a house (circa 2006 right at the top of the market) I'd have put my money into a NSX and probably have £25k worth now :-(
There were a lot of things I nearly bought about 5 years ago.I find it bonkers that there were NSXs under £10k and had it not been for buying a house (circa 2006 right at the top of the market) I'd have put my money into a NSX and probably have £25k worth now :-(
Countach, Dino, Ford GT.
Then a couple of years ago I got the GS instead of a 308/328/360 or a Testarossa.
I was bemoaning my bad fortune, until the other chap said he had a Dino, and sold it 6 years ago to buy a new M5.
He reckons he's about £200k down on the deal.
Ive since read his story and in the 1960's and 1970's he started to buy painting from a half decent artist called "Pablo Picasso".
twenty years later the pictures he purchased for around $6000 each were worth $40,000,000 too $120,000,000 a piece !
ZeusF said:
Love the reply by _Leg_ above, I would love to read up on your trip if any of you have done it ??
Mini link in my post but this is the link to my post http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...We do one every year. Last year was ARSE (Alpine Roads Summer Expedition) and this year's was FART (French Alps Riviera Tour). We were thinking of Norway next year but I draw the line at the "Cars Up Norway Tour" so I expect next year will be back to the Alps again, maybe more into Italy this time.
gregf40 said:
It's a sad world where car enthusiasts don't look if an R8 goes past the other way (as a couple on this have said they don't).
If I am in my F40...I still look and get excited by R8's!
I'd rather be in my world than theirs!
To be frank I get excited if I see an Austin Allegro. As someone earlier said, even if a car isnt a supercar, it can still be a super car and that doesnt just mean an R8 or Porsche Boxster (both of which are great cars, I own one of them). If I am in my F40...I still look and get excited by R8's!
I'd rather be in my world than theirs!
I did Leeds to John O Groats and back in a £180 Suzuki Wagon R+ recently non stop (apart from petrol stops) in a race of 6 sub £200 cars I organised with a bunch of friends. In that context, the Suzuki was a super(b) car. Cost less than a tyre, didnt miss a beat, won the race and we had a great laugh. I still have the car!
Slightly off topic but for me it doesnt have to be a supercar to get acknowledged, lauded or appreciated. I'm as likely to get excited about and congratulate someone on a well modded saxo as I am on a LaFerrari frankly. Im just glad people like cars or I would be a lonely sad git.
gregf40 said:
It's a sad world where car enthusiasts don't look if an R8 goes past the other way (as a couple on this have said they don't).
If I am in my F40...I still look and get excited by R8's!
I'd rather be in my world than theirs!
I never said I don't look, they are a nice car and my wife wants one, but they lack the theatre of a supercar like an F40.If I am in my F40...I still look and get excited by R8's!
I'd rather be in my world than theirs!
Even EVO Magazine agrees, look in the back and you won't find any R8s in the Supercar list, they come under Coupes and GTs.
Performance alone doth not a supercar make. Stick a 480bhp turbocharged Zetec into a Fiesta and it will do 178mph, it still isn't a supercar.
Late to the party, but in reply to the OP's question, I agree with what someone posted a few pages ago, although a subtle variation of it: if you have to ask, it isn't.
No-one I know has ever entertained the notion that my 550 is not a supercar, equally, if I tried to tell them my 997 GT3 was one I'd probably get a few funny looks. It goes like the clappers, stops like you've dropped an anchor, corners better than 99% of cars on the road and would blow its contemporary F430 out of the water on track. To top it all, it's reasonably uncomfortable, unnecessarily loud when the exhaust valve opens and costs silly numbers for standard parts/maintenance etc. So technically you could argue that it's a supercar, but we all know it isn't but then life isn't fair
No-one I know has ever entertained the notion that my 550 is not a supercar, equally, if I tried to tell them my 997 GT3 was one I'd probably get a few funny looks. It goes like the clappers, stops like you've dropped an anchor, corners better than 99% of cars on the road and would blow its contemporary F430 out of the water on track. To top it all, it's reasonably uncomfortable, unnecessarily loud when the exhaust valve opens and costs silly numbers for standard parts/maintenance etc. So technically you could argue that it's a supercar, but we all know it isn't but then life isn't fair
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