Definition of a supercar
Discussion
Supercars, to me, have a certain intangible je ne sais quoi. That they are still considered fast is a welcome but not essential characteristic.
Obviously a F355 passes that test with aplomb. I would challenge anyone to open their garage door to be presented by a F355 sat there and not have their heart start racing.
Obviously a F355 passes that test with aplomb. I would challenge anyone to open their garage door to be presented by a F355 sat there and not have their heart start racing.
IMHO You need lots of different classifications of cars.
HyperCars eg LaFerrari, Veyron, Paganis
Performance Cars e.g. M3
Sports Cars: everything from a MX5, Z3 etc
Supercars: start with the Miura and Countach and are about the supercars of each era. How the cars were compared to their peers at the time they were made. A car can't stop being a supercar. F40, 288GTO, 911 Turbo.
Classic Cars - any Ferrari etc pre-Miura/Countach I would call a Classic car
Thinking like a set of supercar top trumps: I would all the 2 seat Ferraris as Supercars, even if they don't all have F40 performance. Same fro Lamborghini Jalpa.
The there are GT cars: 4 seaters like Ferrari 412 456 80s Aston Vantage
Which cars don't fit into this? I think these will cover most cars
HyperCars eg LaFerrari, Veyron, Paganis
Performance Cars e.g. M3
Sports Cars: everything from a MX5, Z3 etc
Supercars: start with the Miura and Countach and are about the supercars of each era. How the cars were compared to their peers at the time they were made. A car can't stop being a supercar. F40, 288GTO, 911 Turbo.
Classic Cars - any Ferrari etc pre-Miura/Countach I would call a Classic car
Thinking like a set of supercar top trumps: I would all the 2 seat Ferraris as Supercars, even if they don't all have F40 performance. Same fro Lamborghini Jalpa.
The there are GT cars: 4 seaters like Ferrari 412 456 80s Aston Vantage
Which cars don't fit into this? I think these will cover most cars
Robert W said:
IMHO You need lots of different classifications of cars.
HyperCars eg LaFerrari, Veyron, Paganis
Performance Cars e.g. M3
Sports Cars: everything from a MX5, Z3 etc
Supercars: start with the Miura and Countach and are about the supercars of each era. How the cars were compared to their peers at the time they were made. A car can't stop being a supercar. F40, 288GTO, 911 Turbo.
Classic Cars - any Ferrari etc pre-Miura/Countach I would call a Classic car
Thinking like a set of supercar top trumps: I would all the 2 seat Ferraris as Supercars, even if they don't all have F40 performance. Same fro Lamborghini Jalpa.
The there are GT cars: 4 seaters like Ferrari 412 456 80s Aston Vantage
Which cars don't fit into this? I think these will cover most cars
Agree with this.HyperCars eg LaFerrari, Veyron, Paganis
Performance Cars e.g. M3
Sports Cars: everything from a MX5, Z3 etc
Supercars: start with the Miura and Countach and are about the supercars of each era. How the cars were compared to their peers at the time they were made. A car can't stop being a supercar. F40, 288GTO, 911 Turbo.
Classic Cars - any Ferrari etc pre-Miura/Countach I would call a Classic car
Thinking like a set of supercar top trumps: I would all the 2 seat Ferraris as Supercars, even if they don't all have F40 performance. Same fro Lamborghini Jalpa.
The there are GT cars: 4 seaters like Ferrari 412 456 80s Aston Vantage
Which cars don't fit into this? I think these will cover most cars
Bo_apex said:
Robert W said:
IMHO You need lots of different classifications of cars.
HyperCars eg LaFerrari, Veyron, Paganis
Performance Cars e.g. M3
Sports Cars: everything from a MX5, Z3 etc
Supercars: start with the Miura and Countach and are about the supercars of each era. How the cars were compared to their peers at the time they were made. A car can't stop being a supercar. F40, 288GTO, 911 Turbo.
Classic Cars - any Ferrari etc pre-Miura/Countach I would call a Classic car
Thinking like a set of supercar top trumps: I would all the 2 seat Ferraris as Supercars, even if they don't all have F40 performance. Same fro Lamborghini Jalpa.
The there are GT cars: 4 seaters like Ferrari 412 456 80s Aston Vantage
Which cars don't fit into this? I think these will cover most cars
Agree with this.HyperCars eg LaFerrari, Veyron, Paganis
Performance Cars e.g. M3
Sports Cars: everything from a MX5, Z3 etc
Supercars: start with the Miura and Countach and are about the supercars of each era. How the cars were compared to their peers at the time they were made. A car can't stop being a supercar. F40, 288GTO, 911 Turbo.
Classic Cars - any Ferrari etc pre-Miura/Countach I would call a Classic car
Thinking like a set of supercar top trumps: I would all the 2 seat Ferraris as Supercars, even if they don't all have F40 performance. Same fro Lamborghini Jalpa.
The there are GT cars: 4 seaters like Ferrari 412 456 80s Aston Vantage
Which cars don't fit into this? I think these will cover most cars
Am I the only one who dislikes the term Hypercar. I remember hearing it briefly with the Jag XJ220 years ago but it didn't seem to catch on. Seems to be here to stay now. With the amount of different players developing new cars and now some mentioning the word Megacar it's getting a bit of a bore. I was quite happy when they were all Supercars, just some were better than others and cost more. It used to be so simple 
Pioneer said:
Am I the only one who dislikes the term Hypercar. I remember hearing it briefly with the Jag XJ220 years ago but it didn't seem to catch on. Seems to be here to stay now. With the amount of different players developing new cars and now some mentioning the word Megacar it's getting a bit of a bore. I was quite happy when they were all Supercars, just some were better than others and cost more. It used to be so simple
Yup fully agree - pointless. People who care about cars will know how awesome/expensive/fast the car is without out extra classifications ....people who don't care about cars will just think you are that little bit more of a knob if you say hypercar IMHO there are two eras of Supercars.
The Miura and Countach and Testarossa were 0-60 in about 5 secs and 180mph top speed. Then on to the 959 F40 with 0-60 in sub-4 secs and 200mph top speed. These cars were still 100 grand pounds ish.
By the late 90s, when a driveable civilised front engined GT car like the 550 Maranello was 0-60 in near 4 secs and 199mph top speed, then the real top supercars were capable of a lot more, which is where I see the big step forward.
I think when you get into the Veyron, LaFerrari, MC12, Paganis, Reventon and One77, these cars are often limited production, massive price tag, astronomical performance compared to even an F40, and are the second era of supercars. I'm talking price when new, not subsequent collectors car price.
It's like the Enzo was the tipping point between the first and second era of supercars - which camp it sits in I'm not entirely sure.
Whether you call the first era of supercars "supercars" and the second era "hypercars" or not, I think the supercar world definitely changed.
The Only anomaly I can see was the Mclaren F1, which is a matter of timing - it was a second era supercar but 10+ years ahead of the other second era supercars.
The Miura and Countach and Testarossa were 0-60 in about 5 secs and 180mph top speed. Then on to the 959 F40 with 0-60 in sub-4 secs and 200mph top speed. These cars were still 100 grand pounds ish.
By the late 90s, when a driveable civilised front engined GT car like the 550 Maranello was 0-60 in near 4 secs and 199mph top speed, then the real top supercars were capable of a lot more, which is where I see the big step forward.
I think when you get into the Veyron, LaFerrari, MC12, Paganis, Reventon and One77, these cars are often limited production, massive price tag, astronomical performance compared to even an F40, and are the second era of supercars. I'm talking price when new, not subsequent collectors car price.
It's like the Enzo was the tipping point between the first and second era of supercars - which camp it sits in I'm not entirely sure.
Whether you call the first era of supercars "supercars" and the second era "hypercars" or not, I think the supercar world definitely changed.
The Only anomaly I can see was the Mclaren F1, which is a matter of timing - it was a second era supercar but 10+ years ahead of the other second era supercars.
Superleg48 said:
A “Supercar” is defined in the Dictionary as a high performance Sports Car. So, I am pleased to have been able to clear that up without any room for relativity or subjectivity Lol
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:-)
200Plus Club said:
Superleg48 said:
A “Supercar” is defined in the Dictionary as a high performance Sports Car. So, I am pleased to have been able to clear that up without any room for relativity or subjectivity Lol
- Ends Thread**
- starts new thread
:-)
- starts thread again**
It covers a broad spread - and the 930 Turbo is definitely in there
Discuss......
My definition would be a beautiful, mid-engine, two-seat car that is/was pushing the limits of their era with a certain level of impracticality; and I've always thought there's a lot of emotion attached to them. I don't consider the DB11, Vantage, 911, R8, GTR, F12 etc 'Supercars', they're Sports Cars or Super GT's; they're all still awesome but not got the same head turning power of a Supercar.
PantsFire said:
I don't consider the 911, F12 etc 'Supercars', they're Sports Cars or Super GT's; they're all still awesome but not got the same head turning power of a Supercar.
Disagree with your criteria of a supercar being mid engined.GT4?
Have you driven/owned an F12? It is a supercar.
You need to qualify which 911s too. Carrera.. ..GT3 RS?
And how can the latest £212k GT2 RS not be a supercar....700bhp 2 wd carbon fibre, magnesium, ground breaking aero similar Ring time to the 918 Spyder La F etc. And only 30 for the UK so very rare too. Anticipated premium £850k+.otr cost.
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