Do you/Can you, really enjoy DRIVING your supercar anymore?
Discussion
London probably has the highest concentration of supercars in the UK and I suspect many of those travel very few miles and not far from the city. For many they are just a status symbol, for a minority they are bought with driving in mind.
In answer to OP's question it probably depends in which camp you reside. There is most likely a higher proportion of posters on here who fall into the latter camp so you will get a bias towards driving enjoyment.
For the rest, as long as they can impress they probably don't give two hoots about the erosion of driving pleasure, it's just about the image.
In answer to OP's question it probably depends in which camp you reside. There is most likely a higher proportion of posters on here who fall into the latter camp so you will get a bias towards driving enjoyment.
For the rest, as long as they can impress they probably don't give two hoots about the erosion of driving pleasure, it's just about the image.
tuscaneer said:
i didn't realize you had a naturally aspirated v10 lamborghini huracan performante, you've not mentioned it before.....i heard a rumor you've got a macca as well...
I think I recall mention of a carbon tub somewhere along the lines too ;-) But at least its not been capitalised to place emphasis anywhere :-)Pioneer said:
"My starting this topic might seem like a 'wind-up ' exercise , but I started it because I genuinely think that an era is coming to an end , and that it might be sensible to acknowledge this ."
There is truth in this but maybe for another reason. My 3 children (all boys) and a very good majority of their friends for whatever reason think supercars are 100% uncool. Almost to the point where only 'kn*bs' drive them. Complete opposite to my youth when if your dad had a supercar he was cool, instantly. This is the next generation of car buyers saying this. Occasionally I meet one who still loves them but even those seem to lose interest as they get older.
That's a different issue though. I couldn't care less whether people think I'm "cool" or a knob - it makes little difference to how much I enjoy driving the car. (And in fact, 99% of the driving population seem to think overtaking is illegal even on a 2 mile straight road with no oncoming traffic on a bright sunny day - so I am already aware that plenty of people think I'm a knob).There is truth in this but maybe for another reason. My 3 children (all boys) and a very good majority of their friends for whatever reason think supercars are 100% uncool. Almost to the point where only 'kn*bs' drive them. Complete opposite to my youth when if your dad had a supercar he was cool, instantly. This is the next generation of car buyers saying this. Occasionally I meet one who still loves them but even those seem to lose interest as they get older.
BlueIn2Red said:
It still feels more like a "wind up exercise". All the replies disagreed with you, the posters saying they do still enjoy driving their cars on today's roads, yet you choose to interpret the complete opposite!
I suspect there are plenty reading this that, like me up to now, are in complete agreement but silent.If you enjoyment is mainly because of the sound and the "event", then it's lost the plot and these incredible cars just belong in SW1 doing burnups to frighten posh grannies.
Meantime, I'll be pushing my old 308 down twisty B roads click-clacking at redline through the gears, manually blipping to rev match on the downshift and keeping it all together on 14" tyres & no power steering, not to mention all the other nanny aids.
If you prefer SW1, that's fine & it's a free world.
in answer to the op .... can't the experience be a combination of all the factors of ownership?..
as stated by someone earlier, just throwing the garage door up is a pleasure for me for starters. i haven't driven mine nearly enough over the last few years but try where i can.
starting it up, backing it out of the driveway and something mundane like a quick trip into work on a sunday morning can be huge amounts of fun. i know a 430 isn't the fastest of modern-ish metal by any stretch but i'll be the first to admit you can't really exploit more than 70% of what the car is capable of...but does that matter??..not to me. sunday gone i bumped into a neighbour who had said he heard me coming home from about 3 miles away..anyway, he jumped in the passenger seat and we went off for a 10 minute spin. quickly enough to set him off a bit
...the sensation of clacking up and down the open gate with the engine screaming away behind our heads was beautiful as always.
i certainly don't feel like the car has become an irrelevance in any way. every facet of ownership is a pleasure for me although i will give you that the performance of any of these cars, particularly the offerings of ferrari/lambo/mclaren over the last few years appears to be attracting buyers who love to sit around and argue who's car has achieved the best lap times around the nurburgring .......which feels like such a w
kery thing to do
as stated by someone earlier, just throwing the garage door up is a pleasure for me for starters. i haven't driven mine nearly enough over the last few years but try where i can.
starting it up, backing it out of the driveway and something mundane like a quick trip into work on a sunday morning can be huge amounts of fun. i know a 430 isn't the fastest of modern-ish metal by any stretch but i'll be the first to admit you can't really exploit more than 70% of what the car is capable of...but does that matter??..not to me. sunday gone i bumped into a neighbour who had said he heard me coming home from about 3 miles away..anyway, he jumped in the passenger seat and we went off for a 10 minute spin. quickly enough to set him off a bit
...the sensation of clacking up and down the open gate with the engine screaming away behind our heads was beautiful as always.i certainly don't feel like the car has become an irrelevance in any way. every facet of ownership is a pleasure for me although i will give you that the performance of any of these cars, particularly the offerings of ferrari/lambo/mclaren over the last few years appears to be attracting buyers who love to sit around and argue who's car has achieved the best lap times around the nurburgring .......which feels like such a w
kery thing to doBigR said:
tuscaneer said:
i didn't realize you had a naturally aspirated v10 lamborghini huracan performante, you've not mentioned it before.....i heard a rumor you've got a macca as well...
I think I recall mention of a carbon tub somewhere along the lines too ;-) But at least its not been capitalised to place emphasis anywhere :-)i haven't heard him say much about them?
someone once told me a carbon tub and the relative stiffness would eradicate scuttle shake to the point i would get round the 'ring 0.75648 seconds quicker....which would always come in handy!
tuscaneer said:
i didn't realize you had a naturally aspirated v10 lamborghini huracan performante, you've not mentioned it before.....i heard a rumor you've got a macca as well...
To be factually correct don't forget the Ferrari F355 GTS manual with capristo 😁As such I like to think I'm brand neutral and give an honest opinion on the car in question and not just the pedigree/brand.
PS you can't beat a carbon tub !
davek_964 said:
Pioneer said:
"My starting this topic might seem like a 'wind-up ' exercise , but I started it because I genuinely think that an era is coming to an end , and that it might be sensible to acknowledge this ."
There is truth in this but maybe for another reason. My 3 children (all boys) and a very good majority of their friends for whatever reason think supercars are 100% uncool. Almost to the point where only 'kn*bs' drive them. Complete opposite to my youth when if your dad had a supercar he was cool, instantly. This is the next generation of car buyers saying this. Occasionally I meet one who still loves them but even those seem to lose interest as they get older.
That's a different issue though. I couldn't care less whether people think I'm "cool" or a knob - it makes little difference to how much I enjoy driving the car. (And in fact, 99% of the driving population seem to think overtaking is illegal even on a 2 mile straight road with no oncoming traffic on a bright sunny day - so I am already aware that plenty of people think I'm a knob).There is truth in this but maybe for another reason. My 3 children (all boys) and a very good majority of their friends for whatever reason think supercars are 100% uncool. Almost to the point where only 'kn*bs' drive them. Complete opposite to my youth when if your dad had a supercar he was cool, instantly. This is the next generation of car buyers saying this. Occasionally I meet one who still loves them but even those seem to lose interest as they get older.
Behemoth said:
I suspect there are plenty reading this that, like me up to now, are in complete agreement but silent.
If you enjoyment is mainly because of the sound and the "event", then it's lost the plot and these incredible cars just belong in SW1 doing burnups to frighten posh grannies.
Meantime, I'll be pushing my old 308 down twisty B roads click-clacking at redline through the gears, manually blipping to rev match on the downshift and keeping it all together on 14" tyres & no power steering, not to mention all the other nanny aids.
If you prefer SW1, that's fine & it's a free world.
You're an odd chap. Congratulations on the 308, sounds lovely.If you enjoyment is mainly because of the sound and the "event", then it's lost the plot and these incredible cars just belong in SW1 doing burnups to frighten posh grannies.
Meantime, I'll be pushing my old 308 down twisty B roads click-clacking at redline through the gears, manually blipping to rev match on the downshift and keeping it all together on 14" tyres & no power steering, not to mention all the other nanny aids.
If you prefer SW1, that's fine & it's a free world.
RamboLambo said:
tuscaneer said:
i didn't realize you had a naturally aspirated v10 lamborghini huracan performante, you've not mentioned it before.....i heard a rumor you've got a macca as well...
To be factually correct don't forget the Ferrari F355 GTS manual with capristo ??As such I like to think I'm brand neutral and give an honest opinion on the car in question and not just the pedigree/brand.
PS you can't beat a carbon tub !
i'm sure you're right on the carbon tub...i'm just not convinced i really need to get to tesco that couple of milliseconds earlier....
best of luck with it!tuscaneer said:
ahhh....i'd forgotten about the 355!...in my defence your comments about it don't quite get the heavy rotation of everything else so it most likely got lost in a blizzard of PERFORMANTE and 720 this and 570 that
i'm sure you're right on the carbon tub...i'm just not convinced i really need to get to tesco that couple of milliseconds earlier....
The advantage of the carbon tub is weight and rigidity hence why McLaren spiders are so good and better than the competition. Its not about speed so much as how it feels with no shake, rattle and roll you get in say a 488 spider.i'm sure you're right on the carbon tub...i'm just not convinced i really need to get to tesco that couple of milliseconds earlier....
Once you have driven a carbon tubbed convertible anything else will feel inferior in comparison
RamboLambo said:
The advantage of the carbon tub is weight and rigidity hence why McLaren spiders are so good and better than the competition. Its not about speed so much as how it feels with no shake, rattle and roll you get in say a 488 spider.
Once you have driven a carbon tubbed convertible anything else will feel inferior in comparison
Let's stop that there before another thread turns into playground drivel.Once you have driven a carbon tubbed convertible anything else will feel inferior in comparison
carspath said:
With the increasing number of unmarked , camera-equipped road safety cars around , I don't think you can anymore .
Modern supercars are too long-geared , and in particular the gaps between the lower gears are spaced too far apart , for the speed limits in the UK , and the EU .
Combine this with supercars that produce colossal amounts of power , and you have very limited opportunities for changing gear , and to compound the problem , very little time in which to enjoy the build up to the crescendo just below the red-line .
This is before even beginning to talk about congested and pot-holed roads .
Or ,the gross width , and poor sight-lines of most supercars
And the fact that supercars stand out , makes them even more vulnerable to the afore-mentioned unmarked camera-equipped safety cars .
So I am genuinely intrigued by owners who say that they really enjoy DRIVING their supercars ---where , when and how are you getting these thrills ?
Absolutely. I've even taken the F40 into town albeit early.Modern supercars are too long-geared , and in particular the gaps between the lower gears are spaced too far apart , for the speed limits in the UK , and the EU .
Combine this with supercars that produce colossal amounts of power , and you have very limited opportunities for changing gear , and to compound the problem , very little time in which to enjoy the build up to the crescendo just below the red-line .
This is before even beginning to talk about congested and pot-holed roads .
Or ,the gross width , and poor sight-lines of most supercars
And the fact that supercars stand out , makes them even more vulnerable to the afore-mentioned unmarked camera-equipped safety cars .
So I am genuinely intrigued by owners who say that they really enjoy DRIVING their supercars ---where , when and how are you getting these thrills ?
But I've just purchased the new Alpine 110 Premiere (delivery July) for city needs. Super light, near supercar performance, and from test reports, super fun. As I explained to the Mrs; just like bags and shoes it's all about having the right repertoire
RamboLambo said:
tuscaneer said:
ahhh....i'd forgotten about the 355!...in my defence your comments about it don't quite get the heavy rotation of everything else so it most likely got lost in a blizzard of PERFORMANTE and 720 this and 570 that
i'm sure you're right on the carbon tub...i'm just not convinced i really need to get to tesco that couple of milliseconds earlier....
The advantage of the carbon tub is weight and rigidity hence why McLaren spiders are so good and better than the competition. Its not about speed so much as how it feels with no shake, rattle and roll you get in say a 488 spider.i'm sure you're right on the carbon tub...i'm just not convinced i really need to get to tesco that couple of milliseconds earlier....
Once you have driven a carbon tubbed convertible anything else will feel inferior in comparison
Anyway ... back to the question posed by the OP. I am on my first supercar and get plenty of enjoyment out of it. I do drive it as fast as I can get away with and the pleasure it brings, even just starting it up in the morning, is just immense. Maybe it's because it my first so there is a bit of a novelty factor for me but I do really enjoy driving it. Have to admit though, got stuck on the M62 for a few hours and that wasn't fun due to some people finding it funny that a chap in a super car is stuck in a traffic jam just like them, pervious owner didn't spec the "hover and fly off option". Oh well.
TGETV said:
Could be worse; could be a 41 year old obsessed with car Youtubers.
Here's a suggestion - buy your own supercar, and see whether I have a go at you about how you enjoy your own car?
Lol.Here's a suggestion - buy your own supercar, and see whether I have a go at you about how you enjoy your own car?
If you want to park your car up in disabled and electric charging spaces in central London posing and playing the big I AM whilst making a video for #Youtubecash that's up to you TBH.
That said You put yourself out there to be shot at whilst making money so man up and take it on the chin. Its the tinternet.
Just a shame you don't really drive any of your cars properly or produce anything but video drivel
I'm lucky enough to be able to afford a 458/McLaren/Lamborghini/Porsche or other supercars and I think they are fabulous cars with their looks, their sound, performance and of course street cred. I really do love 'em and I'm tempted on many occasions to buy one just for the 'occasion' and their aura. But you can't use their performance, it's really difficult to get them to a speed where they start to work and feel like a supercar.
I'm not one for driving up and down the high street either showing off like some do.
I just think everyone whose got one of these has missed a big trick. I've got an Alfa 4C, it's small, it's nimble, it's very quick, it sounds (for a 4 cylinder turbo) brilliant and best of all it's an absolute hoot to drive, a real event every time I go anywhere. It's a whole lot less frustrating to drive than a proper supercar as you can work it hard, rev it out without doing massively silly speeds and generally feel like your getting something back from the car rather than cruising around being unable to give your car the beans.One a Euro trip last year I could'nt have gone any faster in reality than a Ferrari or whatever but I bet you I was having the best fun.
I genuinely think that many people miss a trick, like Colin Chapman was ramming down our throats so many years ago, it's lightness that counts not horsepower or street cred.
If you are a true petrolhead you want to be able to wring out your car on a regular basis without becoming an outcast through silly speeds, you get that from cars similar to mine, like Elises etc. They are the true drivers cars not the big HP super cars being touted these days.
I'm not one for driving up and down the high street either showing off like some do.
I just think everyone whose got one of these has missed a big trick. I've got an Alfa 4C, it's small, it's nimble, it's very quick, it sounds (for a 4 cylinder turbo) brilliant and best of all it's an absolute hoot to drive, a real event every time I go anywhere. It's a whole lot less frustrating to drive than a proper supercar as you can work it hard, rev it out without doing massively silly speeds and generally feel like your getting something back from the car rather than cruising around being unable to give your car the beans.One a Euro trip last year I could'nt have gone any faster in reality than a Ferrari or whatever but I bet you I was having the best fun.
I genuinely think that many people miss a trick, like Colin Chapman was ramming down our throats so many years ago, it's lightness that counts not horsepower or street cred.
If you are a true petrolhead you want to be able to wring out your car on a regular basis without becoming an outcast through silly speeds, you get that from cars similar to mine, like Elises etc. They are the true drivers cars not the big HP super cars being touted these days.
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