Cheapest supercar
Discussion
alscar said:
According to the gentleman at my local hand carwash today my R8 is a " Supercar " - at least that's what I think he said ! 
Ah, but that finally answers the question about whether an R8 is one. Supercar owners don't take their car to commercial car washers - even the hand ones. 
Random R8 car wash story........that my girlfriend told me when she got home one day......
So GF took her 350Z to the local hand car wash, a decent enough place they don't sand the paint off at least. So she's sitting there watching the guys work, and behind her car pulls in an R8 V10. An R8 is her dream car, so she was a little interested of course, she's driven one before etc so she pays it some attention but goes back to her phone.
Anyway, the owner comes and sits next to her and notices he's an older gentleman, in his 60s/70s at least. She's a little impressed. Goes back to her phone. The guys washing her car shout over to her and asks if she wants the inside doing, she shouts back no at which point the guy sitting next to her says "Is that your car?". She says yes, he comments he's always liked them, asks how it is. Very pleasant. She comments that the R8 is her dream car, says she drove one once etc. They have a little chat, turns out the old guy brings his car there quite a bit. Says he enjoys it but might be swapping it for a newer one soon.
The guy finishing up the cars is coming over now with the keys, kind of overhears the conversation. Jokingly he says to the old guy "Do you want to swap and let her take yours?" to which he replies "You can f*ck off" and laughs.
She's telling me this story and saying that she's sure she knows the guy from someone, says his voice was familiar but she's rubbish at descriptions, can't tell me where she knows him from. So off she goes...........20 minutes later she comes running back phone in hand to show me who the owner was.........Michael Gambon.
So in conclusion, R8 owners deffo take their cars to hand car washes and they're also owned by absolute legends.
So GF took her 350Z to the local hand car wash, a decent enough place they don't sand the paint off at least. So she's sitting there watching the guys work, and behind her car pulls in an R8 V10. An R8 is her dream car, so she was a little interested of course, she's driven one before etc so she pays it some attention but goes back to her phone.
Anyway, the owner comes and sits next to her and notices he's an older gentleman, in his 60s/70s at least. She's a little impressed. Goes back to her phone. The guys washing her car shout over to her and asks if she wants the inside doing, she shouts back no at which point the guy sitting next to her says "Is that your car?". She says yes, he comments he's always liked them, asks how it is. Very pleasant. She comments that the R8 is her dream car, says she drove one once etc. They have a little chat, turns out the old guy brings his car there quite a bit. Says he enjoys it but might be swapping it for a newer one soon.
The guy finishing up the cars is coming over now with the keys, kind of overhears the conversation. Jokingly he says to the old guy "Do you want to swap and let her take yours?" to which he replies "You can f*ck off" and laughs.
She's telling me this story and saying that she's sure she knows the guy from someone, says his voice was familiar but she's rubbish at descriptions, can't tell me where she knows him from. So off she goes...........20 minutes later she comes running back phone in hand to show me who the owner was.........Michael Gambon.
So in conclusion, R8 owners deffo take their cars to hand car washes and they're also owned by absolute legends.
I think there is definitely an air of snobbery over applying the supercar word.
Considering how there are now hyper cars and Ferrari is making an SUV (which is definitely not a supercar based on the traditional criteria) people get too hung up on a word which could apply and not apply at the same time, depending on who you ask.
Considering how there are now hyper cars and Ferrari is making an SUV (which is definitely not a supercar based on the traditional criteria) people get too hung up on a word which could apply and not apply at the same time, depending on who you ask.
Cockaigne said:
100k plus list price, very special car that I'm still sure would "do" most modern cars. It is funny looking back at old car adverts, how cheap cars used to be, only 15 years ago. Sometimes opinions change. They are holding good value. 997 turbo s would be sweet spot, looks epic.
Audi R8 looks good, ticks load of boxes but sitting in them is uncomfortable, which probably makes it a supercar, the Turbo is a 365 supercar.
EVO which is respected on here, calls it a supercar.
I used to overtake an R8 on the way to work about twice a week.Audi R8 looks good, ticks load of boxes but sitting in them is uncomfortable, which probably makes it a supercar, the Turbo is a 365 supercar.
EVO which is respected on here, calls it a supercar.
They look really silly stuck stationary in suburban queues!
PinkHouse said:
This will forever be an inconclusive debate, but the one thing we can safely say is that any mid-engined cars with V10 & V12 engines regardless of the brand are definitely supercars and I doubt there would be any exceptions. I'd also go as far to include V8s in that group too
Erm the Jag XJ220 would like a strong word with you.........Leon R said:
To be fair he didn't say cars that don't have a V8 / 10 / 12 are not supercars.
Exactly, it wasn't an exhaustive list, all I was doing was defining a subset of cars that could always be considered supercars regardless of brand. I didn't include all 6 cylinder mid-engined cars because of cars like the Cayman/Boxster and to a lesser extent the Exige/Evora. Obviously there are also many other supercars that lie outside of this definition that still qualify as supercars e.g. some mid-engined V6 cars like the ones mentioned above and a whole host of front-engined cars like Ferrari V12s etcLeon R said:
To be fair he didn't say cars that don't have a V8 / 10 / 12 are not supercars.
Of course, but I think mine and others' examples show that the definition of a Supercar can't be nailed down to any one specific configuration. For example, the Jag at the time was much maligned for switching to the V6, even though it went on to be one of the fastest cars ever. Yet now we're seeing more and more manufacturers switch to smaller engines with various support from chargers or hybrid elements. This will only continue over time.
It raises an interesting question: What will define the supercar in the next ten years. Most pure electric sports cars are firmly in the hypercar relm currently but what about in 10 years. Would you still call the latest flagship lambo a supercar with an all electric drvietrain?
What about performance? We're seeing car performance reach frankly ludicrous levels with the number of cars able to crack 60 in under 3 seconds trickling down to include family SUVs. What will set apart the Supercar from the Sports Car/Hyper Car etc.
I wasn't nailing down to one particular configuration, it was more of a statement of cars that will always be considered supercars. A better way to phrase it is:
"There is no mid-engined V10, V12 (& maybe V8) that isn't a supercar."
There are other supercars that come in lots of other shapes, drivetrain/engine configurations, but if your car is in the statement above then it has to be a supercar. By that definition then every V10 R8 is definitely a supercar.
In fact it's probably easier to display it in the format below
"There is no mid-engined V10, V12 (& maybe V8) that isn't a supercar."
There are other supercars that come in lots of other shapes, drivetrain/engine configurations, but if your car is in the statement above then it has to be a supercar. By that definition then every V10 R8 is definitely a supercar.
In fact it's probably easier to display it in the format below
| Always a Supercar | Sometimes a Supercar | Never a Supercar |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-engined V8 | Mid-engined V6 | Any car with four doors |
| Mid-engined V10 | Front-engined V8 | Four cylinder cars |
| Mid-engined V12 | Front-engined V10 | |
| Mid-engined W16 | Front-engined V10 | |
| Mid-engined V6 Hybrid | Rear-engined Flat 6 | |
| Front-engined V12 | ||
| Front-engined V or I6 |
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