what makes a supercar a supercar?

[Rocco1]

as the title say,what makes a supercar a supercar and if you dont mind will you name the cars that you think makes that car a supercar.would be nice to see what other people in the real world thought what a supercar was.

[Audi 525i]

There are also thes term 'hypercars' and 'sports cars' to muddy the waters.

I have a F355 GTB - I consider it to be a supercar and the likes of the F40, Enzo etc to be hypercars.

If a Mazda MX5 and BMW Z3 for example are 'sports cars', I would place cars such as the F355, 911s and NSXs in the supercar category.

Just my 2 rupees worth.

[UH-Matt]

I would not place C2 C4 911's as supercars. But GT2 / GT3 RS maybe

I guess performance, price and exclusivity need to be factors.

[Rocco1]

had a good debate/argument yesterday evening with some friends who turned up(R35 997tt R8 M3 C63)all going on about usual 5hit,until i said okay which one has the supercar and then it turned into a firework display!

[iandc]

How about:
if you can easily afford it - sports car
if you can afford it at a push - supercar
if no chance of affording it - hypercar

[Rocco1]

our debate ended up being an argument with the owner of the R35,we all know it has mind blowing performance and handling but does it have the X FACTOR? we didnt think so, but we also agreed it embarrassed good number of so called supercars twice the cost.
So would you class the R35 a supercar or not,and no offence to R35 owners.

[UH-Matt]

R35. No.

[sherbert90]

Rocco1 said:

our debate ended up being an argument with the owner of the R35,we all know it has mind blowing performance and handling but does it have the X FACTOR? we didnt think so, but we also agreed it embarrassed good number of so called supercars twice the cost.
So would you class the R35 a supercar or not,and no offence to R35 owners.

I wouldn't class the R35 as a supercar. Supercars are about more than out and out performance, they have to possess that 'x factor' as you put it.

R35's are fantastic cars, with mind blowing performance, but they don't affect me emotionally in the way that any Lamborghini does for example.

[DayTrader]

I would argue it is a budget supercar - it is more than just a sports car.

[OdramaSwimLaden]

These days, over £200k & 200mph ish; Supercar (some will slip through under the net!)

IMHO 355, no. R35, no. GT2, no.

Big Lambos, big Ferraris, Pagani, XJ220, Bugatti etc, etc.....

[DayTrader]

OdramaSwimLaden said:

Big Lambos, big Ferraris, Pagani, XJ220, Bugatti etc, etc.....

They are "hyper cars" not "super cars" though.

[Nedzilla]

For me you just know when a supercar is a supercar and a lot of the time it has nothing to do with performance or ability.
Yes a R35 GTR will beat most supercars in terms of pace and ability but it just isn't a supercar.
There just isn't a specicic criteria for a car to be a supercar it just has to have that supercar 'x factor' and i'm sure opinions will always be divided as to what cars have it and which ones dont.

[CharlieHotel]

In my eyes, not as an owner but someone who dreams of having a supercar.

Hypercars - Zonda, Enzo, Veyron, XJ220, Koenigsegg.
Supercars - Gallardo, 458, 12C, Carrera GT.
Fast sports cars - 911 TT, M3, RS4, GTR.

Question is where does the R8 fit in?

[Nedzilla]

CharlieHotel said:

In my eyes, not as an owner but someone who dreams of having a supercar.

Hypercars - Zonda, Enzo, Veyron, XJ220, Koenigsegg.
Supercars - Gallardo, 458, 12C, Carrera GT.
Fast sports cars - 911 TT, M3, RS4, GTR.

Question is where does the R8 fit in?

Thats a good question! For me the R8 is above the fast sports car category (again nothing to do with out and out pace) but maybe just falls short of the supercar bracket.

Ask yourelf this though. If the R8 had a ferrari or lambo badge on it what would it be??

The 911 is also a difficult one.I would only refer to a 911 c2 as a sports car yet i would consider a 911 turbo a supercar yet the only difference is a bit more performance which goes against the whole 'supercar x factor' thing.

Its a debate which will go on and on.

[sillyboy]

For me, it's down to how the motor makes you feel and its exclusivity...hyper/superstars need to be elegant, fragile and temperamental (much like the missus)..

R8 and GTR are toughies, certainly supercar performance but not on an emotional level, DB9 and F355 the other way round..

E

[tjob]

OdramaSwimLaden said:

GT2, no

Going to bite. GT2 not a supercar? How is a 160k track orientated car with a few nice bits for daily usability not a supercar?

Just look at the thing! It's epically beautiful

http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/divinedetailing/sets/...

[red_duke]

A question that's been bugging me for a while is:

Once a Supercar always a Supercar?

Modern equipment blows the Supercars of old into the weeds in performance terms but should the older cars loose their Supercar status as a result?

Edited by red_duke on Sunday 1st January 15:36

[GeraldSmith]

CharlieHotel said:

In my eyes, not as an owner but someone who dreams of having a supercar.

Hypercars - Zonda, Enzo, Veyron, XJ220, Koenigsegg.
Supercars - Gallardo, 458, 12C, Carrera GT.
Fast sports cars - 911 TT, M3, RS4, GTR.

Question is where does the R8 fit in?

Below the 911 TT although I wouldn't put that at the same level as the M3 and RS4. The 911 is in a different league to an M3, as it should be at over twice the price.

[Rocco1]

The debate started when the owner of the R35 saw my SV and said "well does it work!"
I am sure the same owner of the R35 will be reading this post and pulling his hair out as i told him i will ask the good people of the interweb and see what there thoughts/take/definition are of a supercar,looks like i wasnt too wrong in what was said.
Please carry on sharing your thoughts/take/definition on what makes a supercar a supercar.

[griff7]

[redacted]