Should I hand in my PH card at the door?
Discussion
I think I must be getting old. Or boring. Probably both but I find myself rather underwhelmed at some of the current hybrid 'hyper' cars. I will most likely never ever see one in the flesh, never mind actually sit in one. As for driving one? Well I think Nick Griffin would be more likely to win the parliamentary seat for central Birmingham then I would of ever driving one short of a Lottery win. Which requires actually buying a ticket. Which I do not.
For that reason I've developed a kind of mild disinterest in the P1, (you're having a) LaF and Porsche 918. I find myself looking more at cars I have a snowballs chance in Hell of actually owning at some point, maybe, if things go my way than any of these. Epic cars, it just can't get excited by them. Am I alone?
As an aside, I also just watched an Autocar video linked in another thread about a comparison between the latest M5 with 'competition pack' and the latest VXR8 GTS and Mr Sutcliffe was waxing lyrical about how he preferred the flappy paddle'd M5 over the manual in the GTS AND that the M5's steering was much lighter than the steering in the GTS which made it better because it made it much easier to drift. Since when did artificially light (and quite possibly 'electric', I haven't checked) steering and flappy paddles become desirable traits? It was also immediately apparent to me that despite being the thick end of £30k more for the M5 over the GTS nothing would sway Mr Sutcliffe's opinions that the M5 (with competition pack) was far superior in every way. You could hear the gushing through his voice. £30k is a lot of difference to me but anyway I'm rambling now. The GTS could have actually been £30k and he still wouldn't be swayed. I'd guess that it's easy to be completely impartial about price when you get paid to drive them and are given the car by the manufacturer who also pays the tyre bill.
For that reason I've developed a kind of mild disinterest in the P1, (you're having a) LaF and Porsche 918. I find myself looking more at cars I have a snowballs chance in Hell of actually owning at some point, maybe, if things go my way than any of these. Epic cars, it just can't get excited by them. Am I alone?
As an aside, I also just watched an Autocar video linked in another thread about a comparison between the latest M5 with 'competition pack' and the latest VXR8 GTS and Mr Sutcliffe was waxing lyrical about how he preferred the flappy paddle'd M5 over the manual in the GTS AND that the M5's steering was much lighter than the steering in the GTS which made it better because it made it much easier to drift. Since when did artificially light (and quite possibly 'electric', I haven't checked) steering and flappy paddles become desirable traits? It was also immediately apparent to me that despite being the thick end of £30k more for the M5 over the GTS nothing would sway Mr Sutcliffe's opinions that the M5 (with competition pack) was far superior in every way. You could hear the gushing through his voice. £30k is a lot of difference to me but anyway I'm rambling now. The GTS could have actually been £30k and he still wouldn't be swayed. I'd guess that it's easy to be completely impartial about price when you get paid to drive them and are given the car by the manufacturer who also pays the tyre bill.
Supercars/Hypercars do absolutely nothing for me, the truth is they haven't since my balls dropped, I love cars but find the M5 type super saloon much more appealing, more and more these days I prefer classics as well, your current Ferrari range etc, do absolutely nothing for me, I couldn't even name the models.
Agree entirely OP. I find myself increasingly entrenched in the classic car camp as time goes on, which is a shame. The obsession with electricery in cars has gone quite far enough for me now. Electric steering, electric handbrake, fake exhaust note piped in through the speakers. Why not push for teleportation and and get your petrolhead kicks from playstation and have done with it altogether? Ha!
I have no understanding of what you wrote.
Do you like MX5's ?
Do you own a hammer ?
Do you own ....A freezer ?
If you had a problem neighbour, would you hammer frozen sausages over his lawn, or do do-nuts on his patio ?
330D ? with a remap?
Answer yes to one or more, and you can not leave.
Do you like MX5's ?
Do you own a hammer ?
Do you own ....A freezer ?
If you had a problem neighbour, would you hammer frozen sausages over his lawn, or do do-nuts on his patio ?
330D ? with a remap?
Answer yes to one or more, and you can not leave.
SidewaysSi said:
I agree entirely OP. it's not just a price thing but I like simpler, slower and probably more engaging cars, particularly on the road.
Even stuff like the 991 and new M5 etc hold little interest, which is a shame.
I also feel the same. I very rarely read an article on supercars or HyperCars unless there is something about their engineering that excites me. The P1 does interest me therefore. Even stuff like the 991 and new M5 etc hold little interest, which is a shame.
I think as you get older your dream cars are ones that you could achieve (without taking out bar e my affordable finance) Everything else feels like voyeurism.
I think you also realise the fun of driving can be found in a Suzuki Swift.
I guess its a matter of perspective, part of the reason for building cars like the P1 and 918 is to show what can be done, and to demonstrate the innovations manufacturers are coming up with. These innovations then trickle down where eventually we could see Ford Focuses with similar technology and approaches to drivetrain design.
You could argue cars like the Veyron were in this camp, a loss leader for VW but had a dramatic impact on showcasing what a car can do with top class engineering. Saying that, I wouldn't kick one out of bed
You could argue cars like the Veyron were in this camp, a loss leader for VW but had a dramatic impact on showcasing what a car can do with top class engineering. Saying that, I wouldn't kick one out of bed
My name's Alex, *Hi Alex*, and I dislike modern supercars. I can appreciate that they are technically very very advanced, but I think that's part of the problem for me. I don't really have grounds to comment having never driven them, but they just leave me cold. I'd rather drive a manual 355 than a 458.
Tickle said:
Any of the 'EVO analogue' supercar test line up are far more appealing to myself then the current crop of Hypercar Hybrids.
Agree entirely. The F40 etc is more appealing than a LaFF and I would much rather have an E28 M5 than a new one. New tech does not interest me at all and in many ways I think it is a backward step e.g. 991 steering.Pit Pony said:
I have no understanding of what you wrote.
Do you like MX5's ?
Do you own a hammer ?
Do you own ....A freezer ?
If you had a problem neighbour, would you hammer frozen sausages over his lawn, or do do-nuts on his patio ?
330D ? with a remap?
Answer yes to one or more, and you can not leave.
Do you like MX5's ?
Do you own a hammer ?
Do you own ....A freezer ?
If you had a problem neighbour, would you hammer frozen sausages over his lawn, or do do-nuts on his patio ?
330D ? with a remap?
Answer yes to one or more, and you can not leave.
Agree with the OP on the aiming for something realistic front. I do like seeing super/hyper cars being driven well (so nothing in london), but I'd rather own something far slower/less competent but in my mind, achievable!
It's a good point,OP. I am not getting old,I AM old (65) and have a long history with good and bad cars,lots of sports cars. I am a bit in the middle. Have driven some of the ultra-expensive cars in the past such as the Carrera GT and more popular current cars like the 991 and F type. I will never be able to afford (or really want) one of the new Big 3,but in recent years have dabbled a bit. In 2006 I bought one of the cars that ushered in the flappy Paddle, a V10 M6, and drove it for six years. I will admit I never loved it apart from the incredible engine. It never involved me. After a year I bought a 997 GT3RS.1 and added an RS.2 later. If the M6 was part of the beginning of the era,these were part of the end. Naturally aspirated,six speed,high driver involvement. The dilemma is whether you sit still and freeze your involvement. I recently ordered a 991 RS, which will come festooned with electronics and await it with a mixture of anticipation and sadness that it will have no manual shift. I will definitely keep a 997RS so can use some of my old skills and enjoy the feel of proper driving,but I do fear that we are losing something very valuable. Maybe Harris was right..go buy a 2CV. Actually. I have always hankered for an early Morgan +8..thats the answer!
Quite so. I have no interest in supercars at all, I think they are pointless & vulgar expressions of wealth for Arabs and footballers, nothing more. Whilst I wouldn't say I was uninterested in new cars (there are some worthy developments) I find many of the older ones far more desirable.
Too many cars now appear to remove you from the road feel and driving experience.
That said, if I won the Euromillions I'd buy a few supercars, though not necessarily hybrids.
Though in time I wonder how much of the F1 tech will be put into supercars so you can seamless acceleration as the batteries assist during turbo lag etc and thus have rocketship performances...
That said, if I won the Euromillions I'd buy a few supercars, though not necessarily hybrids.
Though in time I wonder how much of the F1 tech will be put into supercars so you can seamless acceleration as the batteries assist during turbo lag etc and thus have rocketship performances...
As others have said, it's the engineering skill and technical innovation of modern day hypercars that interests me. Reading in evo about the 918 I wasn't overly fussed about how it drove on track (though I recall they were limited to driving in a line behind a 911), but when the discussion turned to it moving silently through a city before opening up to an incredible level of performance on the road it became a lot more relevant as I considered the technology trickling down into everyday cars. Perhaps in 5 or 10 years time once we're seeing the technology becoming a lot more prevalent, other than in Prii and Insights, we will come to appreciate the hypercars a bit more.
Don't hand your PH card in, OP. You are more of a petrolhead than the typical buyer of a modern supercar.
Great post from RDMcG. I'm also an ex V10 M6 owner and long term Mezger GT3. I cannot see myself ever owning the really quick modern stuff. Too much electrickery and not enough satisfaction on the road. I make an exception for the F10 M5 because its primary function for me is daily driver and family wagon. It's not my fun car.
I have been following the 991 GT3 threads in the Porsche forum with detached amusement. I had thought that Porsche was the last bastion for enthusiasts but I no longer believe that. P is like Ferrari now: build very (VERY) fast cars that anyone can drive very very fast. Dare I say it I suspect Porsche now believe it is OK to sell a flagship car under a motorsport badge but not bother developing it sufficiently. Because at most the 'enthusiast' buyer will go to an occasional track day and be wowed by the car with minimal effort and the car will not face the stresses it would in motorsport.
I sometimes fantasise about owning a "hyper" car (whatever that means) for both enjoyment and investment value but the only two cars that pop into my head consistently whose values haven't taken off yet are the CGT and the Lexus LFA. Not much else seems remotely interesting enough.
Great post from RDMcG. I'm also an ex V10 M6 owner and long term Mezger GT3. I cannot see myself ever owning the really quick modern stuff. Too much electrickery and not enough satisfaction on the road. I make an exception for the F10 M5 because its primary function for me is daily driver and family wagon. It's not my fun car.
I have been following the 991 GT3 threads in the Porsche forum with detached amusement. I had thought that Porsche was the last bastion for enthusiasts but I no longer believe that. P is like Ferrari now: build very (VERY) fast cars that anyone can drive very very fast. Dare I say it I suspect Porsche now believe it is OK to sell a flagship car under a motorsport badge but not bother developing it sufficiently. Because at most the 'enthusiast' buyer will go to an occasional track day and be wowed by the car with minimal effort and the car will not face the stresses it would in motorsport.
I sometimes fantasise about owning a "hyper" car (whatever that means) for both enjoyment and investment value but the only two cars that pop into my head consistently whose values haven't taken off yet are the CGT and the Lexus LFA. Not much else seems remotely interesting enough.
I, too, am becoming more ambivalent about 'hypercars', whether of the hybrid variety or not. I think this is because having sampled many and varied machines it has become apparent to me that 400bhp is about the useable limit for any reasonably weighted vehicle, or perhaps 500bhp if of the more lardy variety, on public roads. Anything more than this just increases bragging rights and that's about it.
I also find the lines of modern 'hypercars' to be far too functional these days compared to those of yore. My petrolheadedness was kicked off all those years ago when I first clapped eyes on the Miura and I still consider the F355 to be the best proportioned and prettiest of all cars. Modern day Ferrari's, Lambos et al just don't bear comparison although Mclaren are about the best looking of the latest bunch (the LaF being the worst).
Have we now passed the Zenith of the super cum hyper car? I feel we may well have.
I also find the lines of modern 'hypercars' to be far too functional these days compared to those of yore. My petrolheadedness was kicked off all those years ago when I first clapped eyes on the Miura and I still consider the F355 to be the best proportioned and prettiest of all cars. Modern day Ferrari's, Lambos et al just don't bear comparison although Mclaren are about the best looking of the latest bunch (the LaF being the worst).
Have we now passed the Zenith of the super cum hyper car? I feel we may well have.
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