Definition of a supercar
Discussion
67Dino said:
Another thought: a key difference between a nova and a supernova is that when a supernova explodes it destroys its host star.
So on the same basis, I think that a Supercar should either ruin you financially to run one or nearly kill you when you drive it.
That would mean something like a TVR Tuscan (replace with any Modern TVR model name) is a super car, as a near death experience is never too far away So on the same basis, I think that a Supercar should either ruin you financially to run one or nearly kill you when you drive it.
Also, your standard 0-100 mph straight-line performance can't have too much influence now on what is and what isn't a supercar. Big V10 and V12 engines can't compete with a 350+ kW electric motor. When I was young a supercar absolutely smashed everything else on the road in reference to performance. Now a second-hand £65k four-door saloon from Mr Musk will embarrass a lot of us. Considering most manufacturers are now heavily investing in Hybrid an EV's this is only going one-way 
m4tti said:
67Dino said:
Another thought: a key difference between a nova and a supernova is that when a supernova explodes it destroys its host star.
So on the same basis, I think that a Supercar should either ruin you financially to run one or nearly kill you when you drive it.
That would mean something like a TVR Tuscan (replace with any Modern TVR model name) is a super car, as a near death experience is never too far away So on the same basis, I think that a Supercar should either ruin you financially to run one or nearly kill you when you drive it.
Edited by 67Dino on Saturday 27th April 06:45
Drclarke said:
The Audi R8 is not a supercar.
Just because it has two seats and engine at the rear, you could also include a Toyota MR2 as the same!
Like a 911, the R8 is a sports car.
Nah, sports cars need to be small convertibles with 2 seats. Oh, ‘supercar’ and ‘sports car’ are highly subjective terms. Just because it has two seats and engine at the rear, you could also include a Toyota MR2 as the same!
Like a 911, the R8 is a sports car.
Noone is saying R8 is a supercar cos it has 2 seats and engine in the back ‘like an MR2’. There are other things too.
It’s more the Lamborghini underpinnings (and engine in the case of the v10). And the hand built aluminium body. And don’t forget the glass engine cover and open metal gate and carbon fibre side blades which are pure supercar. And the racing pedigree of 5 Le Mans wins. And Quattro’s heritage. And the way it looks and it’s shape which is far more reminiscent of a supercar than any 911. Even having a v8 / v10 engine makes it more special than steel bodied mass produced 6 cylinder Porsche’s. Lots of things like that.
Having owned the R8 and a 911, and in fact having owned a number of nice but not supercars (check out my garage, I suggest you populate yours it helps to see where posters are coming from with these sorts of opinions), I can tell you the R8 is in a different class to own. The Porsche's are fantastic too but the R8 is a step up in ownership
I’ve had 3 people tell me it’s their all time dream car as it was mine. And random bystanders and other motorists give me thumbs up. All very strange.
Way more special than any 911. Given the choice now taking cost out, I wouldn’t swap it for any Porsche outside a 918, or a Ferrari or Lamborghini. Maybe a McLarren. I love that it is far more understated and subtle than the Italian supercars.
jakesmith said:
Nah, sports cars need to be small convertibles with 2 seats. Oh, ‘supercar’ and ‘sports car’ are highly subjective terms.
Noone is saying R8 is a supercar cos it has 2 seats and engine in the back ‘like an MR2’. There are other things too.
It’s more the Lamborghini underpinnings (and engine in the case of the v10). And the hand built aluminium body. And don’t forget the glass engine cover and open metal gate and carbon fibre side blades which are pure supercar. And the racing pedigree of 5 Le Mans wins. And Quattro’s heritage. And the way it looks and it’s shape which is far more reminiscent of a supercar than any 911. Even having a v8 / v10 engine makes it more special than steel bodied mass produced 6 cylinder Porsche’s. Lots of things like that.
Having owned the R8 and a 911, and in fact having owned a number of nice but not supercars (check out my garage, I suggest you populate yours it helps to see where posters are coming from with these sorts of opinions), I can tell you the R8 is in a different class to own. The Porsche's are fantastic too but the R8 is a step up in ownership
I’ve had 3 people tell me it’s their all time dream car as it was mine. And random bystanders and other motorists give me thumbs up. All very strange.
Way more special than any 911. Given the choice now taking cost out, I wouldn’t swap it for any Porsche outside a 918, or a Ferrari or Lamborghini. Maybe a McLarren. I love that it is far more understated and subtle than the Italian supercars.
Huh? Next you'll be telling us an Evoque isn't really a Freelander. Just kiddingNoone is saying R8 is a supercar cos it has 2 seats and engine in the back ‘like an MR2’. There are other things too.
It’s more the Lamborghini underpinnings (and engine in the case of the v10). And the hand built aluminium body. And don’t forget the glass engine cover and open metal gate and carbon fibre side blades which are pure supercar. And the racing pedigree of 5 Le Mans wins. And Quattro’s heritage. And the way it looks and it’s shape which is far more reminiscent of a supercar than any 911. Even having a v8 / v10 engine makes it more special than steel bodied mass produced 6 cylinder Porsche’s. Lots of things like that.
Having owned the R8 and a 911, and in fact having owned a number of nice but not supercars (check out my garage, I suggest you populate yours it helps to see where posters are coming from with these sorts of opinions), I can tell you the R8 is in a different class to own. The Porsche's are fantastic too but the R8 is a step up in ownership
I’ve had 3 people tell me it’s their all time dream car as it was mine. And random bystanders and other motorists give me thumbs up. All very strange.
Way more special than any 911. Given the choice now taking cost out, I wouldn’t swap it for any Porsche outside a 918, or a Ferrari or Lamborghini. Maybe a McLarren. I love that it is far more understated and subtle than the Italian supercars.
jakesmith said:
And the way it looks and it’s shape which is far more reminiscent of a supercar than any 911. Even having a v8 / v10 engine makes it more special than steel bodied mass produced 6 cylinder Porsche’s.
But your Audi is clearly far less special on all levels than limited run alloy/carbon fibre and magnesium bodied 911s e.g. GT2RS.av185 said:
But your Audi is clearly far less special on all levels than limited run alloy/carbon fibre and magnesium bodied 911s e.g. GT2RS.
Not really. R8 is its own model distinct from other Audi’s. GT2 is just a 911. That’s like saying an M3 is more special than a 320d. Us petrol heads might know that it is but to most it’s just a 3 series.
The way it drives and the power of the GT2 are less relevant than the looks and sounds if you live anywhere reasonably populated. R8 v8 I hardly ever get to open up on the m25/m4 commute. A turbo 6 cylinder hardly has a soundtrack to get excited about compared to a nasp v8 or v10
Like I say, I wouldn’t swap my r8 v8 for any Porsche outside a 918 they don’t look or sound exotic enough for me.
jakesmith said:
Drclarke said:
The Audi R8 is not a supercar.
Just because it has two seats and engine at the rear, you could also include a Toyota MR2 as the same!
Like a 911, the R8 is a sports car.
Nah, sports cars need to be small convertibles with 2 seats. Oh, ‘supercar’ and ‘sports car’ are highly subjective terms. Just because it has two seats and engine at the rear, you could also include a Toyota MR2 as the same!
Like a 911, the R8 is a sports car.
Noone is saying R8 is a supercar cos it has 2 seats and engine in the back ‘like an MR2’. There are other things too.
It’s more the Lamborghini underpinnings (and engine in the case of the v10). And the hand built aluminium body. And don’t forget the glass engine cover and open metal gate and carbon fibre side blades which are pure supercar. And the racing pedigree of 5 Le Mans wins. And Quattro’s heritage. And the way it looks and it’s shape which is far more reminiscent of a supercar than any 911. Even having a v8 / v10 engine makes it more special than steel bodied mass produced 6 cylinder Porsche’s. Lots of things like that.
Having owned the R8 and a 911, and in fact having owned a number of nice but not supercars (check out my garage, I suggest you populate yours it helps to see where posters are coming from with these sorts of opinions), I can tell you the R8 is in a different class to own. The Porsche's are fantastic too but the R8 is a step up in ownership
I’ve had 3 people tell me it’s their all time dream car as it was mine. And random bystanders and other motorists give me thumbs up. All very strange.
Way more special than any 911. Given the choice now taking cost out, I wouldn’t swap it for any Porsche outside a 918, or a Ferrari or Lamborghini. Maybe a McLarren. I love that it is far more understated and subtle than the Italian supercars.
Drclarke said:
The Audi R8 is not a supercar.
Just because it has two seats and engine at the rear, you could also include a Toyota MR2 as the same!
Like a 911, the R8 is a sports car.
Agree entirely. I've owned a 911, and supercar it ain't. Other than nimbleness and speed, there's no real occasion. Friend owned an R8, swapped it for a Skyline and said the Skyline was a step up.Just because it has two seats and engine at the rear, you could also include a Toyota MR2 as the same!
Like a 911, the R8 is a sports car.
Some discussion earlier about whether a car that was a Supercar in 1970s or 80s, say, still counts given that by modern standards it may not be that quick.
My view on this is that it should follow the same convention as for US Presidents: if you’ve ever been one, you keep the title. Otherwise iconic supercars like the Lamborghini Miura or Ferrari Testarossa would be excluded and that just wouldn’t be right.
My view on this is that it should follow the same convention as for US Presidents: if you’ve ever been one, you keep the title. Otherwise iconic supercars like the Lamborghini Miura or Ferrari Testarossa would be excluded and that just wouldn’t be right.
CaptainSensib1e said:
The McLaren isn't a supercar and the R8 is.....borderline. To be fair the R8 packs a 600bhp+ V10 whereas the McLaren only has 530bhp turbo V8. About the same as your get in many smaller German super saloons. So the R8 is league up in raw performance terms.
yeah but your original definition didn't include any reference to power or performance, an F40 has less than 500bhp, so is that not a supercar either?Nano2nd said:
CaptainSensib1e said:
The McLaren isn't a supercar and the R8 is.....borderline. To be fair the R8 packs a 600bhp+ V10 whereas the McLaren only has 530bhp turbo V8. About the same as your get in many smaller German super saloons. So the R8 is league up in raw performance terms.
yeah but your original definition didn't include any reference to power or performance, an F40 has less than 500bhp, so is that not a supercar either?popeyewhite said:
Agree entirely. I've owned a 911, and supercar it ain't. Other than nimbleness and speed, there's no real occasion. Friend owned an R8, swapped it for a Skyline and said the Skyline was a step up.
I don’t think anyone is disputing whether a 911 or GTR is a supercar, they aren’t. There are 2 areas where the GTR is a step up from an R8. Power, and the 2 rear seats.
A supercar has to be a dream, something that most people wont get, something of unjustified value yet you still want it more than anything and look at it as a trophy of effort/dedication and hard work. Or a lottery win
And r8 is a supercar on paper apart from one thing, the badge so a supercar also has to have a rare badge too
And r8 is a supercar on paper apart from one thing, the badge so a supercar also has to have a rare badge too
crimbo said:
A supercar has to be a dream, something that most people wont get, something of unjustified value yet you still want it more than anything and look at it as a trophy of effort/dedication and hard work. Or a lottery win
And r8 is a supercar on paper apart from one thing, the badge so a supercar also has to have a rare badge too
Porsche produced 238,000 cars in 2016And r8 is a supercar on paper apart from one thing, the badge so a supercar also has to have a rare badge too
Hardly a rare badge then
Are the Carrera GT and 918 therefore not supercars?
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