Are special cars… special anymore?
Discussion
When I was growing up in the 1970s you did not see exotic or special cars outside of car shows, unless you lived in central London.
Porsches, Ferraris and Lamborghinis? I don’t recall seeing any on the road until I was about 12 and then it was just one 911 in Jersey. I don’t think I saw my first Ferrari until I saw a 308 when I was hitchhiking in Germany aged 21 (I almost threw myself in the road to get a lift - it worked though!)
Nowadays they are everywhere. There are three or four Porsches on my street alone and seeing Ferraris, Lamborghini or AMs is a weekly occurrence.
There are more exclusive brands today but I don’t think any have the same level of recognition that Porsche et al had in the 1970s.
Of course in one way it is good that more people can afford them and they have diversified the range but on the other hand they aren’t as special as they once were.
Porsches, Ferraris and Lamborghinis? I don’t recall seeing any on the road until I was about 12 and then it was just one 911 in Jersey. I don’t think I saw my first Ferrari until I saw a 308 when I was hitchhiking in Germany aged 21 (I almost threw myself in the road to get a lift - it worked though!)
Nowadays they are everywhere. There are three or four Porsches on my street alone and seeing Ferraris, Lamborghini or AMs is a weekly occurrence.
There are more exclusive brands today but I don’t think any have the same level of recognition that Porsche et al had in the 1970s.
Of course in one way it is good that more people can afford them and they have diversified the range but on the other hand they aren’t as special as they once were.
Trying not to get overly political here, but I would wager that the main reason there are more exotic & luxury cars about nowadays is because a lot more wealth has become concentrated into the upper strata of society.
High end car makers keep reporting massive profits, look at Rolls Royce; business is booming so much for them that they are confident enough to invest £300m into expanding their factory, mainly to meet the increasing demand for bespoke cars.
High end car makers keep reporting massive profits, look at Rolls Royce; business is booming so much for them that they are confident enough to invest £300m into expanding their factory, mainly to meet the increasing demand for bespoke cars.
I would say no.
Exotic supercars back in the 80/90s were bought outright and only the super rich could afford them. seeing a supercar was a rare event and often left you awestruck as you knew that 98% of the population would never be able to get their hands on one.
Even German "marques" such as BMW, Mercedes were only driven by company directors and the such, and if you had one of these you must be doing well in life.
Look now and pretty much any supercar (maybe not hypercar) can be financed, whether you can afford them or not and be put on the drive of your 3 bed council house. M2's / M3's, C63's are only an online application away.
Exotic supercars back in the 80/90s were bought outright and only the super rich could afford them. seeing a supercar was a rare event and often left you awestruck as you knew that 98% of the population would never be able to get their hands on one.
Even German "marques" such as BMW, Mercedes were only driven by company directors and the such, and if you had one of these you must be doing well in life.
Look now and pretty much any supercar (maybe not hypercar) can be financed, whether you can afford them or not and be put on the drive of your 3 bed council house. M2's / M3's, C63's are only an online application away.
I partly agree
Porsche you are 100% correct, they are just a BMW or Mercedes rival now. Pick any medium size town in this country and you won't be able to drive from one side to the other without seeing at least two Porsches, probably a lot more. Of course they will almost certainly be saloons and SUVs, but still.
For the more exclusive brands I think it depends a lot where you live. I live in the south east, but outside London, and will see maybe one Ferrari a month. McLaren I see probably fewer than that, it's a handful a year. I might see a lamborghini more often, but it just so happens I am 3 miles from a Lamborghini main dealer, and the very few I see are usually around that area, so that will skew the average.
But that's just numbers, the question was are they "special". For that we turn to the industry standard "9-year-old-boy test". I have a young son who is car mad, he is a full-on petrolhead and like most boys he loves supercars. If he sees a Ferrari on the road he will point it out and be excited to see it, likewise a McLaren. If he sees a Lambo that isn't an Urus he will be even more excited; it's his favourite brand - if it is an Urus he will either not notice or say in a disgusted tone "urgh, it's an Urus". He will also point out an Aston Martin, but be less excited than for a Supercar - again with the exception of the DBX which may as well be a Volvo to his eyes. I cannot recall him pointing out a Porsche.
Porsche you are 100% correct, they are just a BMW or Mercedes rival now. Pick any medium size town in this country and you won't be able to drive from one side to the other without seeing at least two Porsches, probably a lot more. Of course they will almost certainly be saloons and SUVs, but still.
For the more exclusive brands I think it depends a lot where you live. I live in the south east, but outside London, and will see maybe one Ferrari a month. McLaren I see probably fewer than that, it's a handful a year. I might see a lamborghini more often, but it just so happens I am 3 miles from a Lamborghini main dealer, and the very few I see are usually around that area, so that will skew the average.
But that's just numbers, the question was are they "special". For that we turn to the industry standard "9-year-old-boy test". I have a young son who is car mad, he is a full-on petrolhead and like most boys he loves supercars. If he sees a Ferrari on the road he will point it out and be excited to see it, likewise a McLaren. If he sees a Lambo that isn't an Urus he will be even more excited; it's his favourite brand - if it is an Urus he will either not notice or say in a disgusted tone "urgh, it's an Urus". He will also point out an Aston Martin, but be less excited than for a Supercar - again with the exception of the DBX which may as well be a Volvo to his eyes. I cannot recall him pointing out a Porsche.
Yeah, we used to go car spotting on occasion but soon got bored, and mostly it was a dreary parade of Fords, Vauxhalls, BL, Volvo (they always had some weird whistling noise) VW, Rootes and the like, a Porsche 924 was a good spot, maybe a Silver Shadow or Turbo R. Later on a Sierra Cosworth looked like the aliens had landed such was its impact.
Nowadays, the selection of car spotters congregate between Wilmslow and Alderley Edge and video it, Ferraris, Astons, Lambos, McLarens, fancy classics and even the odd Bugatti, Zonda or something. Only really saw stuff like that in Observers book of cars in the early eighties.
I guess people have got richer, or maybe it filters down a bit more but typically, most people didnt have much, we werent poor but we had pretty old cars my dad worked hard to keep on top of. Remember next door getting an XJS in about 1987 as he was a Copper and got a big pay out, that just didnt compute, waaaay too posh for our road a fairly new Jag.
More routes to big money now, be it football, YouTube or just flashing your reproductive organs on Only Fans, can have a new Ferrari in a few months if you do well.
Special cars are still special, just more of them to go round, thats not a bad thing is it ?
Nowadays, the selection of car spotters congregate between Wilmslow and Alderley Edge and video it, Ferraris, Astons, Lambos, McLarens, fancy classics and even the odd Bugatti, Zonda or something. Only really saw stuff like that in Observers book of cars in the early eighties.
I guess people have got richer, or maybe it filters down a bit more but typically, most people didnt have much, we werent poor but we had pretty old cars my dad worked hard to keep on top of. Remember next door getting an XJS in about 1987 as he was a Copper and got a big pay out, that just didnt compute, waaaay too posh for our road a fairly new Jag.
More routes to big money now, be it football, YouTube or just flashing your reproductive organs on Only Fans, can have a new Ferrari in a few months if you do well.
Special cars are still special, just more of them to go round, thats not a bad thing is it ?
Gastons_Revenge said:
Trying not to get overly political here, but I would wager that the main reason there are more exotic & luxury cars about nowadays is because a lot more wealth has become concentrated into the upper strata of society.
High end car makers keep reporting massive profits, look at Rolls Royce; business is booming so much for them that they are confident enough to invest £300m into expanding their factory, mainly to meet the increasing demand for bespoke cars.
I think t’was ever thus. Yes, there are more Porsches sighted, and, my goodness, aren’t they the masters of limited editions, some would claim that it’s because of PCP and similar. There is also a small ‘ rent a Lambo for a wedding’ industry.Having just read the RR centenary thread, though, there is a small group of rich ie very rich who can afford these. This was the case 90 years ago, too when ,according to conventional history, there was a depression.High end car makers keep reporting massive profits, look at Rolls Royce; business is booming so much for them that they are confident enough to invest £300m into expanding their factory, mainly to meet the increasing demand for bespoke cars.
Edited by Lester H on Thursday 16th January 14:03
Cars have become more of a status symbol maybe, and those who seek status symbols have grown in number as available money for certain professions increases - football, IT, property, pharmaceuticals, finance, recruitment.
The equivalent of a £200k car is a hell of a lot more attainable today than it was 40 years ago, either through cash or finance.
It’s not just cars, see also watches, clothes, food, holidays.
The equivalent of a £200k car is a hell of a lot more attainable today than it was 40 years ago, either through cash or finance.
It’s not just cars, see also watches, clothes, food, holidays.
Anyone claiming Porsche are equivalent to a BMW or Audi clearly hasn't even driven a Carrera never mind a Porsche GT.
As for numbers there are as many Ferraris and Maclarens in my area as Porsche and one visit to cities such as Leeds Liverpool or Manchester further confirms this.
Interesting how some manufacturers have managed to retain exclusivity and brand value despite increased numbers and despite dire reliability/issues even despite their high cost ...Maclaren Aston and to a lesser extent Lotus in particular take heed. One direct consequence of unreliability and build issues is of course many of these cars are more frequently off the road than on so appear much rarer than they actually are.
Reckon PCP replacing cash purchases in the past and easier finance rates up to recently at least has mainly
facilitated this rise in numbers together with car manufacturers chasing volume and replicating models for the pure sake of it.
Great of course that these different cars exist for true petrolheads/enthusiasts particularly in the twilight years of ICEs.
As for numbers there are as many Ferraris and Maclarens in my area as Porsche and one visit to cities such as Leeds Liverpool or Manchester further confirms this.
Interesting how some manufacturers have managed to retain exclusivity and brand value despite increased numbers and despite dire reliability/issues even despite their high cost ...Maclaren Aston and to a lesser extent Lotus in particular take heed. One direct consequence of unreliability and build issues is of course many of these cars are more frequently off the road than on so appear much rarer than they actually are.
Reckon PCP replacing cash purchases in the past and easier finance rates up to recently at least has mainly
facilitated this rise in numbers together with car manufacturers chasing volume and replicating models for the pure sake of it.
Great of course that these different cars exist for true petrolheads/enthusiasts particularly in the twilight years of ICEs.
I'd possible equate seeing those Porsches and Ferrari's in the 70's to seeing proper exotica today.
If you see a Bugatti for example, I've seen 2 or 3 in the wild, then that's a genuine wow moment.
I had to give way for an F40 at a roundabout about 10 years ago and again that was a pinch me moment.
I've never seen a Pagani or a Koenigsegg outside of a car show, probably not too many being daily'd.
But generally I'd agree, even in the grim north it's not hard to spot an Aston, Bentley, Porsche or Ferrari on a daily basis. The Ferrari being rarest.
If you see a Bugatti for example, I've seen 2 or 3 in the wild, then that's a genuine wow moment.
I had to give way for an F40 at a roundabout about 10 years ago and again that was a pinch me moment.
I've never seen a Pagani or a Koenigsegg outside of a car show, probably not too many being daily'd.
But generally I'd agree, even in the grim north it's not hard to spot an Aston, Bentley, Porsche or Ferrari on a daily basis. The Ferrari being rarest.
NDA said:
I think it depends on where you live - I don't see many exotics (almost none) around me in Hampshire, but loads in London. I shall be in Devon in a few weeks - I won't see many down there either.
For me, many exotic cars are still special.
I see more tractors in Lincolnshire than I do exotics to be fair, and the farmers seem to be the only ones with any money around me.For me, many exotic cars are still special.
I love seeing fancy cars for sure, and I was really spoilt in that regard when I used to live in Sandbach and I used to drive through Alderley Edge to work. I used to see loads of nice stuff back then in comparison to now.
Most Porsche aren't exotic in the same way a Lamborghini Countach was back in the day and todays Countach the Revuelto is still very exotic at £500k+
Porsche sell 300,000 cars a year Ferrari and Lamborghini shift around 24,000 between including 6000 Urus (which aren't exotic but expensive) So I still think a Ferrari or Lamborghini supercar is exotic and a rare sight unless you live in central London or a northern mill town.
NDA said:
I think it depends on where you live - I don't see many exotics (almost none) around me in Hampshire, but loads in London. I shall be in Devon in a few weeks - I won't see many down there either.
For me, many exotic cars are still special.
Bound see one on the motorways almost daily occurance if you travel regularly.For me, many exotic cars are still special.
There's a guy who stashes their 458 in a student area of Southampton!
av185 said:
Anyone claiming Porsche are equivalent to a BMW or Audi clearly hasn't even driven a Carrera never mind a Porsche GT.
What about all the Macans, Cayennes, Taycans and the like, its teeming with them round here, three Taycans within 50 metres of where I live, two on the road and one of the next road over, couple of 997s, a nice Cayman, a Boxster. Seeing a Porsche used to be a good spot, now it needs to be something interesting or classic, not going to get excited of £1500 worth of Cayenne.
Most folk dont really know the difference, can tell its a Porsche by the badge but wont be able to tell between a 15 grand 996 or 200 grand GT, I had someone tell me to be careful in my 944S2, earnestly telling me how tail happy they are what with the engine being way out in the back
Southern end of the Cotswolds here and supercars are everywhere. Locals but also Londoners with 2nd houses and visiting groups, especially during summer. It's not surprising to see a group of flash motors pass through, obviously on a club run.
There's also Clarkson, Harry and Number27 pootling about and more. Never mind Kate Moss in her classic silver Roller parking on the double yellows outside Londis. Jason Donovan prefers to shop on his bicycle however.
I love it and still think it's special. The cars tend to be respectful when they come into the village, but the one thing that gets to me are the groups of stuperbikes that think it's cool to constantly rev their engines at junctions and lights, like we're going to applaud.
There's also Clarkson, Harry and Number27 pootling about and more. Never mind Kate Moss in her classic silver Roller parking on the double yellows outside Londis. Jason Donovan prefers to shop on his bicycle however.
I love it and still think it's special. The cars tend to be respectful when they come into the village, but the one thing that gets to me are the groups of stuperbikes that think it's cool to constantly rev their engines at junctions and lights, like we're going to applaud.
J4CKO said:
av185 said:
Anyone claiming Porsche are equivalent to a BMW or Audi clearly hasn't even driven a Carrera never mind a Porsche GT.
What about all the Macans, Cayennes, Taycans and the like, its teeming with them round here, three Taycans within 50 metres of where I live, two on the road and one of the next road over, couple of 997s, a nice Cayman, a Boxster. Seeing a Porsche used to be a good spot, now it needs to be something interesting or classic, not going to get excited of £1500 worth of Cayenne.
Most folk dont really know the difference, can tell its a Porsche by the badge but wont be able to tell between a 15 grand 996 or 200 grand GT, I had someone tell me to be careful in my 944S2, earnestly telling me how tail happy they are what with the engine being way out in the back
Interesting how folks view the SUVs with the same badges. Taycans are becoming increasingly common I must admit.
Quite a few Lamborghini Urus knocking around which don't excite me one bit tbh but always nice to see and of course hear the odd Hurracan (Perf) knocking about and a few Aventadors although these are invariably at weekends via wedding hire quite a few of course ending
up stuffed due to usual lack of driving talent.
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