is the F type a supercar?
Discussion
easytiger123 said:
Ooh look the DM says an Audi A5 is a supercar too. 
I had an F Type come along to a Supercar lunch I organised a month or two a go and the owner was adamant it was a supercar when I told him it wasn't eligible to get in.
Had the same issue on other occasions with a woman in an SLK and a guy in an AMG coupe. The one like the saloon but with 2 doors.
The thing they all had in common was a bad attitude when told their cars were not "Super".
At the Cliveden lunch recently we had 40+ supercars parked on the drive and right in the middle of the display was an old Mercedes SL (brought by the wife of one of our members) which attracted more interest than many of the other cars. Why? Because most of us see Ferrari/Lambo/McLaren's all the time and we get a little bored with them. So it's nice to see something old school.
And if a 2.8i Capri had turned up.....
PS. R8's are not supercars either. Great sports cars, but not supercars.
Had the same issue on other occasions with a woman in an SLK and a guy in an AMG coupe. The one like the saloon but with 2 doors.
The thing they all had in common was a bad attitude when told their cars were not "Super".
At the Cliveden lunch recently we had 40+ supercars parked on the drive and right in the middle of the display was an old Mercedes SL (brought by the wife of one of our members) which attracted more interest than many of the other cars. Why? Because most of us see Ferrari/Lambo/McLaren's all the time and we get a little bored with them. So it's nice to see something old school.
And if a 2.8i Capri had turned up.....
PS. R8's are not supercars either. Great sports cars, but not supercars.
Angelis said:
I had an F Type come along to a Supercar lunch I organised a month or two a go and the owner was adamant it was a supercar when I told him it wasn't eligible to get in.
Had the same issue on other occasions with a woman in an SLK and a guy in an AMG coupe. The one like the saloon but with 2 doors.
The thing they all had in common was a bad attitude when told their cars were not "Super".
At the Cliveden lunch recently we had 40+ supercars parked on the drive and right in the middle of the display was an old Mercedes SL (brought by the wife of one of our members) which attracted more interest than many of the other cars. Why? Because most of us see Ferrari/Lambo/McLaren's all the time and we get a little bored with them. So it's nice to see something old school.
And if a 2.8i Capri had turned up.....
PS. R8's are not supercars either. Great sports cars, but not supercars.
Thanks for firstly confirming what a coupe is (a 2 door version of a saloon car)Had the same issue on other occasions with a woman in an SLK and a guy in an AMG coupe. The one like the saloon but with 2 doors.
The thing they all had in common was a bad attitude when told their cars were not "Super".
At the Cliveden lunch recently we had 40+ supercars parked on the drive and right in the middle of the display was an old Mercedes SL (brought by the wife of one of our members) which attracted more interest than many of the other cars. Why? Because most of us see Ferrari/Lambo/McLaren's all the time and we get a little bored with them. So it's nice to see something old school.
And if a 2.8i Capri had turned up.....
PS. R8's are not supercars either. Great sports cars, but not supercars.
I’m sure the attitude of the owners that you encountered was nothing to do with being turned away from a lunch. What harm would it have done. Sounds like they may have had a lucky escape.
There is no point making categorical statements about what is and what isn’t a supercar, it means different things to different people it doesn’t have a fixed definition. To many, a F Type R or R8 is every bit a supercar. They certainly will meet some people’s criteria if not your own or even a consensus on this site.
I personally don’t think the Jag or the V8 R8 are but that doesn’t make anyone else’s subjective view less valid when the term has no broadly accepted definition.
Neither is your view more valid because you have a Ferrari or similar. It’s not like they’re saying they are a house or a zebra.
so, what defines a supercar? for me it has to be 3 key things really
An interesting engine, obviously V8/12
not produced en masse
unique styling
in terms of volume how would a F Type fare vs say a Lamborghini / Ferrari car of the same age. I cant help think that the latter used to be exclusive but now can be bought up by any old rich person who hasnt that foggiest idea of what he/she is driving in terms of technical spec / drive train
An interesting engine, obviously V8/12
not produced en masse
unique styling
in terms of volume how would a F Type fare vs say a Lamborghini / Ferrari car of the same age. I cant help think that the latter used to be exclusive but now can be bought up by any old rich person who hasnt that foggiest idea of what he/she is driving in terms of technical spec / drive train
Edited by ericmcn on Tuesday 10th September 22:18
ericmcn said:
so, what defines a supercar? for me it has to be 3 key things really
An interesting engine, obviously V8/12
not produced en masse
unique styling
in terms of volume how would a F Type fare vs say a Lamborghini / Ferrari car of the same age. I cant help think that the latter used to be exclusive but not can be bought up by any old rich person who hasn't that foggiest idea of what he/she is driving in terms of technical spec / drive train
So an XK220 wouldn't count as its a V6!An interesting engine, obviously V8/12
not produced en masse
unique styling
in terms of volume how would a F Type fare vs say a Lamborghini / Ferrari car of the same age. I cant help think that the latter used to be exclusive but not can be bought up by any old rich person who hasn't that foggiest idea of what he/she is driving in terms of technical spec / drive train
After all it only managed 213.5mph in 1993
I love this discussion and frequently have it with my petrol head friends - everyone has a different take on this and i always find it an interesting discussion point - what defines a super car? For me, just to answer the OP original question, the F-Type in my view is not a super car. It is a sports car.
What defines a super car in my view:
- Exclusivity of the brand (however there are exceptions)
- RRP of the car - which leads to how exclusive it is
- Performance - obviously the car needs to have specific performance
- Design aesthetic - car needs to look a certain way
If you take the 4 factors above you can easily determine what a super is or not - so, any Ferrari, Lambo, McLaren (with the exception of the Portofino & Urus) have the above in abundance - so all super cars, however something like an R8 lacks the exclusivity of the brand and is a little more subtle in styling, so its a sports car not a super car - the Huracan is the super car version of the R8.
However, there are exceptions where certain manufactures can produce a super car, even tho they lack the brand and exclusivity, e.g Ford with the new GT - no question the GT is a super car, its even pushing on the door of being a hyper car, but has the same badge as the Fiesta..... very rare this happens, but there you go.
I have probably waffled enough, no doubt there are many contrasting views, but that's my two cents worth...
What defines a super car in my view:
- Exclusivity of the brand (however there are exceptions)
- RRP of the car - which leads to how exclusive it is
- Performance - obviously the car needs to have specific performance
- Design aesthetic - car needs to look a certain way
If you take the 4 factors above you can easily determine what a super is or not - so, any Ferrari, Lambo, McLaren (with the exception of the Portofino & Urus) have the above in abundance - so all super cars, however something like an R8 lacks the exclusivity of the brand and is a little more subtle in styling, so its a sports car not a super car - the Huracan is the super car version of the R8.
However, there are exceptions where certain manufactures can produce a super car, even tho they lack the brand and exclusivity, e.g Ford with the new GT - no question the GT is a super car, its even pushing on the door of being a hyper car, but has the same badge as the Fiesta..... very rare this happens, but there you go.
I have probably waffled enough, no doubt there are many contrasting views, but that's my two cents worth...
Edited by nbot on Tuesday 10th September 14:56
Edited by nbot on Tuesday 10th September 14:57
Edited by nbot on Tuesday 10th September 15:35
BRR said:
I have an F Type coupe and whilst I think it's a very good car and gets a lot of positive attention, it's definitely not a supercar
I think the v10 R8 is a supercar, as is the 360
Angelis' event sounds like a pretentious and awful thing to be a part of
I can assure you it was a great day and not pretentious at all, everyone was extremely friendly.I think the v10 R8 is a supercar, as is the 360
Angelis' event sounds like a pretentious and awful thing to be a part of
My wife’s 86 SL was the one parked amongst the supercars which Angelis references. I attended in my R8 V10 (I don’t consider it a supercar).
Chebble said:
As said, a supercar is much, much more than just a power figure. It's an idea as much as anything. Heritage plays a large part, but isn't essential (see Pagani, Koenigsegg et al.). As shallow as it sounds, name means a lot, unless the car is exceptional (Lexus LFA etc.). Being merely fast and powerful means nothing - few would consider the Nissan GTR a supercar.
Don't be so silly. Being British has nothing to do with it - Mclaren?
For the record, I've used 'supercar' loosely; I can't stand the word 'Hypercar'
Lexus LFA can’t be a supercarDon't be so silly. Being British has nothing to do with it - Mclaren?
For the record, I've used 'supercar' loosely; I can't stand the word 'Hypercar'
Gassing Station | Supercar General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff