Supercars. Meh.

[mr_spock]

Thanks for all the comments. Glad some of you enjoyed the writing! Just to pick up on some of them…

I’m not THAT old! In the past I’ve had a Porsche 944 Turbo, a 928 S4 and a GranSport. I’m happy with a manual, an auto (with the right engine behind it) and was quite happy with the Maserati’s single clutch paddle box. I daily drove all of these, along with a Jag Mk2 3.8 with E-type cams and a Moss ‘box and, at one point, a ‘59 Ford 100E. So I don’t mind cars which are by modern standards a complete pain in the backside. For a while I drove a ‘56 F100 pickup as a commuter - not the best choice! None a supercar of course, but I’m familiar with compromise.

To reiterate, the 488 was by far the best. All the cars were driven in all modes, manual and auto. Generally we started in Auto to get familiar with the controls, then turned it to manual/sport etc to try them all out.

I’d have a DB9, no problem. Or a Vantage. As I said, I thinking about a GranTurismo, but the XKR is quite attractive as they’re not silly money and still decently quick. I don’t think any of them is a supercar though, but there are plenty of threads on that.

[RDMcG]

Interesting thread.

As I also live in Toronto it stakes a chord. I have tended to avoid supercars as I am basically too old and have a long history with track-focused cars. Lots of experience with BMW M cars and Porsche GT cars and have some in the garage.

I think the issue is whether you will track the car or not. A 200MPH car in a 65MPH world is a problem. As it it the Porsche RS cars I have are a fair bot of overkill.

In all truth I have never driven a Ferrari, though was tempted a little by a Roma as a long distance weekender.

If I wanted a supercar I would get a Porsche Carrera GT, best car I ever drove.

[Bispal]

964Cup said:

murphyaj said:

I also would not drive the Ferrari into London, but then I wouldn't drive anything into London if I had the choice. London driving is an exercise in frustration and while I definitely bought my car to drive it, I didn't buy my car to drive it at 8 mph! And, as you say, multi-storeys; even brand new ones still seem to have parking bays designed for 1970s Britain, I can barely park the family car in there while being able to open both doors, let alone the 430. As wonderful as supercar ownership is I could never have one as an only car in the same way as I could with an Aston V8 Vantage or a 911.

Edited by murphyaj on Monday 23 May 09:09

Your choice, but we just took the 720 down to Portman Square (from North London) for some shopping at Selfridges and a snack at the club. Yes, we never went much over 30 and mostly noodled along in the high teens. Yes, we probably got about 6mpg. Yes, we could have gone in the wife's i3 and been clean and green and all that, but where's the sense of occasion? These cars are about fast driving on continental roads, and hooning about on track days, and all that, of course, but they're also about the pleasure of ownership and the feeling of making even boring journeys special. Not unlike watches, I guess - I normally wear a Garmin and enjoy the practicality and all the data, but today I wore something nice as part of it being a little treat. I lost out on tracking my steps and heartrate and SPO2, and getting alerts about whatever is exciting the editors of Loop News (not a high bar), and I won't have an accurate calorie count for the day (the horror!) but I could still tell the time (and the date, and the moonphase - that vital piece of info) and I took pleasure from doing it.

Last week for the first time ever in 6 years of supercar ownership I took the 1 hour drive into central London, City of London to be exact where my 675LT was part of a display for Drivers Union at the London Concours. I didn't enjoy the experience at all (the drive). A supercar is gold fish bowl in the city. I had to plan my route to avoid back streets, width restrictors & speed bumps. Although I got lots of thumbs up driving along the A24 I felt like a complete bell end. I would much rather have been in my MX5 (except I couldn't as its not ULEZ, well I could for £15). I usually take the tube or my 17 year old Subaru Forester into town. There is absolutely no ownership pleasure, for me anyway, in plodding around at 10mph in the centre of London when I just want to be out on the open road. I don't get driving into London in a supercar at all. A sense of occasion it certainly isn't, a sense of worry & unease compared to the cheeky youthful pleasure I always feel from the MX5. Don't get me wrong the 675LT was flawless, utterly comfortable and easy to drive with no problems, the issues were probably all with me. At least the 675LT managed 22mpg in traffic which is better than my MX5