What makes a Supersportscar, and is this one too extreme?

[DeejRC]

ANY car should come with bodywork and a windscreen. Otherwise just get a bike ffs.

We tried the scaffolding, engine and wheels thing - these days it’s called the S F Edge Trophy. Or the Gordon Bennett. Or, in other words, pre war racing, or in even more other words - old fashioned.

A car is just a car. It’s not a supersportscar, it’s not a supercar, it’s not a hypercar. It’s just a car. All of them, they are just cars.









Except an R8 of course, I think everyone is agreed on them never being a supercar right…?

[Griffith4ever]

DeejRC said:

Except an R8 of course, I think everyone is agreed on them never being a supercar right…?

Absolutely!

[Jimjimhim]

Griffith4ever said:

DeejRC said:

Except an R8 of course, I think everyone is agreed on them never being a supercar right…?

Absolutely!

It says a lot when you have to try and convince someone of something

[Shnozz]

Trev450 said:

Jimjimhim said:

Trev450 said:

- excellent reliability

Caterhams look to be very simple, so not much to go wrong. I bet 1 would be a lot more fun than a big heavy super car.

They are indeed a lot of fun but my reply was in response to a post suggesting a Lotus Exige.

Had many lotus over the years and never had any real issues except for their air con is a notoriously unreliable part of the car (and indeed just repaired on my sport 350 Exige).

Very simple cars really and with a Toyota lump little to go wrong.

[Shnozz]

Spindoctor said:

Bispal said:

You know you can pull the vacuum hose off and have the valves open all the time? its a 20 second procedure, you just need to plug the hose with a small wood screw and tie it back.

I’ve got a rather nice button that the dealer installed pre-delivery at no cost which allows me to decide when the valve is open. Which in my case is all the time, obviously.

I’ve got the same button. Whilst it’s usually open, it’s a nice option when going on a long tour trip to switch off the valve when sat at a steady speed on a motorway. Not what the car is designed for, agreed, but needs must to travel to various places/Euro tour etc. To quieten it down at the press of a button is really useful. Haven’t tried my cruise control yet mind.

[Griffith4ever]

Jimjimhim said:

Griffith4ever said:

DeejRC said:

Except an R8 of course, I think everyone is agreed on them never being a supercar right…?

Absolutely!

It says a lot when you have to try and convince someone of something

Haha :-) you looked in my garage ?

[NoPaddleShiftForMe]

Superformance GT40. A real driver’s car and looks a million bucks.

[Trev450]

Shnozz said:

Trev450 said:

Jimjimhim said:

Trev450 said:

- excellent reliability

Caterhams look to be very simple, so not much to go wrong. I bet 1 would be a lot more fun than a big heavy super car.

They are indeed a lot of fun but my reply was in response to a post suggesting a Lotus Exige.

Had many lotus over the years and never had any real issues except for their air con is a notoriously unreliable part of the car (and indeed just repaired on my sport 350 Exige).

Very simple cars really and with a Toyota lump little to go wrong.

Being of senior years, my recollection of Lotus ownership goes back a bit further than the Toyota engine-sourced cars to the time when I owned an S3 Esprit Turbo. I truely loved the look and driving dynamics of the car but just about every drive out would result in something going wrong. The final straw came when the exhaust manifold cracked which necessitated the engine to be removed in order to relace it. Money was a bit tight at that time so I layed the car up in my garage for what was meant to be about 6 months but ended up being closer to 18 months. When I eventually had the funds to repair it and got it started, a missfire turned out to be seized piston rings in number 3 cylinder. £5K later, which was a fair sum back in the 90's, I got it sorted and sold it. I guess in my position it's a case of once bitten..............

[DeejRC]

Jimjimhim said:

Griffith4ever said:

DeejRC said:

Except an R8 of course, I think everyone is agreed on them never being a supercar right…?

Absolutely!

It says a lot when you have to try and convince someone of something

It’s a long standing, long running argument on here Jim about the R8. That is…mostly…conducted in the good humour that is intended.

[Jimjimhim]

Griffith4ever said:

Jimjimhim said:

Griffith4ever said:

DeejRC said:

Except an R8 of course, I think everyone is agreed on them never being a supercar right…?

Absolutely!

It says a lot when you have to try and convince someone of something

Haha :-) you looked in my garage ?

Just now, why?

[Jimjimhim]

DeejRC said:

Jimjimhim said:

Griffith4ever said:

DeejRC said:

Except an R8 of course, I think everyone is agreed on them never being a supercar right…?

Absolutely!

It says a lot when you have to try and convince someone of something

It’s a long standing, long running argument on here Jim about the R8. That is…mostly…conducted in the good humour that is intended.

Ah ok, same as a 911 I guess? Neither IMO are supercars, they are sports cars.

[coolchris]

Had this over 17 years and it still puts a smile on my face.At 23 years old things wear out now and again but actual running costs are very reasonable for the handling and performance that they offer.

[Shnozz]

Trev450 said:

Being of senior years, my recollection of Lotus ownership goes back a bit further than the Toyota engine-sourced cars to the time when I owned an S3 Esprit Turbo. I truely loved the look and driving dynamics of the car but just about every drive out would result in something going wrong. The final straw came when the exhaust manifold cracked which necessitated the engine to be removed in order to relace it. Money was a bit tight at that time so I layed the car up in my garage for what was meant to be about 6 months but ended up being closer to 18 months. When I eventually had the funds to repair it and got it started, a missfire turned out to be seized piston rings in number 3 cylinder. £5K later, which was a fair sum back in the 90's, I got it sorted and sold it. I guess in my position it's a case of once bitten..............

Lotus today are very different to lotus <1990.

[sjc]

Glenn63 said:

sjc said:

Just done 1000 miles in a week in this,quite a few of which were around the magnificent roads of the IOM.



17 years of ownership in and there’s still nothing I’d swap it for in the real world.

The IOM motor festival? I was over for a long weekend saw your car out and about looked fantastic and the only noble I think?

Indeed it was Sir,and thanks for the kind words !

[Griffith4ever]

Jimjimhim said:

Griffith4ever said:

Jimjimhim said:

Griffith4ever said:

DeejRC said:

Except an R8 of course, I think everyone is agreed on them never being a supercar right…?

Absolutely!

It says a lot when you have to try and convince someone of something

Haha :-) you looked in my garage ?

Just now, why?

... because I was joking. There seems to be a "game" where people tease R8 owners.

[Jimjimhim]

Griffith4ever said:

Jimjimhim said:

Griffith4ever said:

Jimjimhim said:

Griffith4ever said:

DeejRC said:

Except an R8 of course, I think everyone is agreed on them never being a supercar right…?

Absolutely!

It says a lot when you have to try and convince someone of something

Haha :-) you looked in my garage ?

Just now, why?

... because I was joking. There seems to be a "game" where people tease R8 owners.

I was commenting on what DeejRC had said.

[Trev450]

Shnozz said:

Trev450 said:

Being of senior years, my recollection of Lotus ownership goes back a bit further than the Toyota engine-sourced cars to the time when I owned an S3 Esprit Turbo. I truely loved the look and driving dynamics of the car but just about every drive out would result in something going wrong. The final straw came when the exhaust manifold cracked which necessitated the engine to be removed in order to relace it. Money was a bit tight at that time so I layed the car up in my garage for what was meant to be about 6 months but ended up being closer to 18 months. When I eventually had the funds to repair it and got it started, a missfire turned out to be seized piston rings in number 3 cylinder. £5K later, which was a fair sum back in the 90's, I got it sorted and sold it. I guess in my position it's a case of once bitten..............

Lotus today are very different to lotus <1990.

Yes I have no doubt they are but they still don't match up to the build quality and reliability of most of the leading sports car brands

[Shnozz]

Trev450 said:

Yes I have no doubt they are but they still don't match up to the build quality and reliability of most of the leading sports car brands

Perhaps. But reliability and build quality are different things.

I’ve never found any of my Loti unreliable. Admittedly, the build quality and materials in some areas feels cheap.

[ratrod 2]

NoPaddleShiftForMe said:

Superformance GT40. A real driver’s car and looks a million bucks.

Was for sale for a while , love the earlier Gulf colours and spec,

No price so assumed it was not cheap compared to others for sale.

[Spindoctor]

Shnozz said:

Trev450 said:

Yes I have no doubt they are but they still don't match up to the build quality and reliability of most of the leading sports car brands

Perhaps. But reliability and build quality are different things.

I’ve never found any of my Loti unreliable. Admittedly, the build quality and materials in some areas feels cheap.

I’ve had mine from new, no reliability issues so far (I hate tempting fate…). Materials? It’s got carpet, including in the boot. Its got stitching even though it probably adds weight. There’s a slight occasional rattle with the roof off but the exhaust, wind noise and driver’s whooping deal with that.