Is the vette a supercar or a sports car?

[ZR1cliff]

Has it crossed into the supercar bracket yet or is it just a top grade sports car?

[The Wiz]

According to the editorial in this months Spors car I(nternational its a supercar.

[roscobbc]

I would have though that anything capable of 170 mph plus has got to be classed as a supercar.

[sayerbloke]

It depends what criteria you set, I guess.

Some might say it isn't expensive enough to be a supercar but I think that's the only real sticking point... They are rare though [over here, anyway] and they aren't so cheap that just anyone can buy one.

Are TVRs supercars?

[mrvette]

well its looks and goes like a supercar

[ZR1cliff]

So whats the criteria set for a supercar?,is it...
1/Pedigree,....it seems to be building this with its 53 year history ,when you compare this with Ferrari or Jaguar maybe not so old but has more history than Lamborghini and other recent arrivals in the last couple of decades.
2/Cost, probably the most affordable perfomance coupled with reliability for the £/$
3/Performance,..deffinately a strong point and has come on in leaps and bounds without resting on its laurels,has wins under its belt along with world records.
4/Presence,Looks and reaction,this is one not normally mentioned and moving on from years ago when i used to get mistaken for "Night Rider"(no not the bloke thank christ ) ive noticed young boys along the roadside have no hesitation in knowing what to them is "Wow Look! a Corvette"!
5/Weekendability,...trackdays and shows,a very strong point here LA,yes you can use them on a daily bassis but why spoil a good weekend thing.

Please feel free to add or correct on any of these as i find it difficult to define a supercar from some sports cars.

[sayerbloke]

Needs to be rare/exclusive.
Needs to be desirable.
Needs to look "right".
Insurance group 20

[In addition to those pointed out by ZR1Cliff!]

>> Edited by sayerbloke on Monday 24th April 11:40

[v8d]

I thought the definition of a supercar was sub 5sec to 60 and better than 170 mph.
Cant remember where I heard that. I think looks and reaction play a big part as well, as does history, racing success, etc. So I would say yes.

[LuS1fer]

No. It has supercar performance but a supercar requires much more than that, particularly top notch expensive construction and interiors relative to their time (whether they fall apart is another matter) which would be tubular frame construction and expensive Connolly leather in the old days and currently aluminium and carbon-fibre, complex engine architecture with multiple howling cams and little or no deference to practicality, it must be a single-minded work of performance. It must also be drop-dead gorgeous and not in any way a compromise and be serviced by exclusive franchises who rape your wallet like a cheap whore. If a Ferrari 599 was made by Fiat, wore a Fiat badge, came off a production line and had a mass-produced V8 in it, it would be a fast Fiat. The ZR1, for it's time, almost made it, but was let down by sharing it's looks and basic architecture with a far cheaper model.

I think the overall test is one of awseomeness and rarity for it's time. Even the Citroen SM almost made it to supercar status. The Countach was like a spaceship from Mars, discussed in reverential tones and capable of incredible feats of performance. The C3 wasn't and the C4 wasn't.

[mrandy]

I think the term super car means more than just performance figures and the car in question should have a certain aura and difference about it ,radical concept or materials used etc etc , IMHO the vette just doesn’t fall into this category

[Viper]

sports car to me, the same as TVR,Lotus,99% of porches and the viper etc

supercar should have much more exclusive properties

[c5ragtop]

If you have £195 (and a supercar) you can participate in London To Silverstone SUPERCAR Tour on 5 May. The organisers have listed eligible cars and have thus defined what they consider to be Supercars:

Ascari KZ-1
Aston Martin DB9, Vanquish, AMV8
Bentley Continental GT
BMW M6
Bugatti Veyron
Chevrolet Corvette C6, Z06
Dodge SRT10 (Viper)
Ferrari Enzo, F430, 575, 599, 612
Ford GT
Jaguar XK (06)
Koenigsegg CC8S, CCR
Lamborghini Gallardo, Murcielago
Lister Storm
Lotus Exige
Marcos TSO
Maserati Quattroporte,GT Coupe,
GT Spider, GrandSport
Mercedes SLR, AMG SLK,
AMG SL, AMG CL65, CL55
Morgan Aero 8
Noble M12, M14, M400
Pagani Zonda
Porsche 911 (997), Carrera GT
Saleen S7
TVR Cerbera Speed 12,
Tuscan, Sagaris
Ultima GTR 640
Plus invitation cars at organisers discretion

[ZR1cliff]

mrandy said:

I think the term super car means more than just performance figures and the car in question should have a certain aura and difference about it ,radical concept or materials used etc etc , IMHO the vette just doesn’t fall into this category

The new Z06 could fall into this category?,and if ive ever been near say an Aston or the other day a dull Grey Ferrari then the red vette grabs all the looks,now enter a GTS Viper with stickers or a certain twin turbo yellow rear winged Z06 this will put them all in the shade.

There is something about brand snobbery i think as you could get some people not even recognise a ferrari till the moment they see a Ferrari badge.

Viper said:

sports car to me, the same as TVR,Lotus,99% of porches and the viper etc supercar should have much more exclusive properties

But would you match these in the same bracket as say a triumph spitfire which is/was seen as a sports car.
In a way a Bentley should be branded a super car because of its heritage and exclusiveness?

[anonymous-user]

Do I care?

No

[franv8]

Cliff - I rememebr a book called Supercars of the Seventies which started by trying to define what a car needed to be a 'supercar' at the time (it had my Dad's old Lotus in there, the actual one), anyways, will have to fish it out but I remember one thing was greater than 150mph top speed was one factor that would qualify a car (but less than this didn't exclude other cars). Clearly I suppose current days the goalposts would have moved.

The simpel fact is, everyone has a slightly different definition of supercar, Wikipedia recognises this:

'A supercar is a term used for a sports car, typically an exotic or rare one, whose performance is highly superlative to its contemporary sports cars. The proper application of this term is subjective and disputed, especially among enthusiasts. In addition, the use of the term is dependent on the era; a vehicle that is considered to be a supercar at one time may not retain its superiority in the future. Nonetheless, the automotive press frequently calls new exotic cars "supercars". Also see the list of supercars to help understand the term subjectively.'

In fact the entry is quite comprehensive and worth a visit.

As for is the Vette a Supercar or Sportscar- I'm kind of with 5 USA - do I care? Even my '86 gets lots of attention, neighbours/people in car parks often come over and talk about it, the Vettes are a far out car whichever way you put it, and it's great fun and a great experience to drive it. Plus, unlike many other cars, it does make me feel 'special' sitting in it.

Even sports cars - like the MX5 (Spitfire also) give more fun than you could possibly ever want, so I'd rather be in that bracket than 'there goes another £5k for a service' or being frightened to use it because of value/fragility/reliability etc.

Vette's will never be acknowledged fully for what they are, honest high performance, but in particular I'll finish on this:

Wasn't the Callaway Sledgehammer the fastest road car? Beating even the Veyron (248mph) with a top end of just over 250mph???

I'll go now...

[anonymous-user]

franv8 said:

the Vettes are a far out car whichever way you put it

As you say, exotic is often used in the definition of a real supercar and the Vette's probably not exotic. But that's just as well as exotic generally means totally over-priced and impractical.

"Blue collar supercar" is the best definition I've heard for the Vette. More interesting than the Germans, less crazy than the Italians and better engineered than the British. An astounding car you can actually use and shouldn't break the bank.

[ZR1cliff]

franv8 said:

'A supercar is a term used for a sports car, typically an exotic or rare one, whose performance is highly superlative to its contemporary sports cars. The proper application of this term is subjective and disputed, especially among enthusiasts. In addition, the use of the term is dependent on the era; a vehicle that is considered to be a supercar at one time may not retain its superiority in the future. Nonetheless, the automotive press frequently calls new exotic cars "supercars". Also see the list of supercars to help understand the term subjectively.'

Interesting point,how fickle is the term "supercar" as time moves on.

franv8 said:

As for is the Vette a Supercar or Sportscar- I'm kind of with 5 USA - do I care? Even my '86 gets lots of attention, neighbours/people in car parks often come over and talk about it, the Vettes are a far out car whichever way you put it, and it's great fun and a great experience to drive it. Plus, unlike many other cars, it does make me feel 'special' sitting in it.

I feel the same to Fran,i dont care as ime happy with my lot,i was just interested to know as the reaction ime seeing lately from people is one of (and ime not joking) extreme awe,even the other day i had two girls follow me down the road filming the car lol and today two seperate mothers stopped their boys to point out the car and this is just a fraction of the interest i see lately.

5 USA said:

As you say, exotic is often used in the definition of a real supercar and the Vette's probably not exotic. But that's just as well as exotic generally means totally over-priced and impractical.

Aswell as durability issues,reading though some of the other exotic car forums it seems that clutches,brakes and other parts need replacing at relatively low miles and at huge costs ,these cars i used to look upon as works of art now appear as white elephants

>> Edited by ZR1cliff on Tuesday 25th April 02:41

[VetteG]

I dont know if its a super car or a sports car, but when my son took my C3 up to StAndrews at the weekend and parked at a pub for lunch, he was parked beside a DB9, a Merc SLK and a new Porche Boxter, the only one being photographed by passers by was the Vette. Nuff said I think!

G

[GCerbera]

Having just returned from Monaco and having seen a few out on the roads alongside Enzos and Diablos,
they certainly looked the part.

Corvette also had a stand at the Top Marques show along side the millionaire's cars, so again
very impressive and looked very at home among the likes of Saleen, Murcielago and the Zonda Roadster F.

Personally, I've always viewed it as a mighty fine sports car - to me Supercars are limited production cars that achieve in excess of 200mph.

Still....I'll be very happy to have one on the drive by the end of the week!

[LuS1fer]

As I said to my mate last night "If your Z06 was hand-made by Italians in beaten aluminium, painted in finest paint and adorned with chrome-plated handscripted badging and a thick enamel badge and was hand-trimmed in the finest Connolly leather, then it would undoubtedly be a supercar. As it is, it needs work" LOL.