What will the next battleground for exotics be?
Discussion
Historically it looks like the supercar market goes in 15-20 year cycles where a different generation of cars competes over certain metrics.
In the past 15 years we have clearly been in a raw performance market, where manufacturers’ primary focus seems to have been ever quicker 0-60s, lap times, etc.
It’s personal opinion, but for me this is now getting a bit stale, and is making supercars feel more and more samey. Even as a fan, I’d struggle to tell the names of about 50% of them. In addition, now that sub 3 second 0-60 times are becoming standard, I would assume there’s not much further they can go down this road (are 1 second cars really usable or desirable? There must come a point where we move past driver capabilities).
Therefore my question is - assuming we’re entering a new era - what will the new competition factors be?
What I’d like to see:
- Much more emphasis on unique and beautiful design. Moving away from letting wind tunnels being the designers and back to the ethos that delivered such diverse cars as the Countach, Dino, 80s 911s, F355, Miura, etc. Performance would drop fractionally (to “mere” sub 4 second 0-60s), but the market would become more diverse and interesting.
- Higher emphasis on specific driving experience. I.e. thinking about things like higher rev ranges, no power steering, etc. Anything to make each car feel more singular and have more character.
Not sure this will happen, but I’d like it.
Any other opinions on what the next generation will be all about?
In the past 15 years we have clearly been in a raw performance market, where manufacturers’ primary focus seems to have been ever quicker 0-60s, lap times, etc.
It’s personal opinion, but for me this is now getting a bit stale, and is making supercars feel more and more samey. Even as a fan, I’d struggle to tell the names of about 50% of them. In addition, now that sub 3 second 0-60 times are becoming standard, I would assume there’s not much further they can go down this road (are 1 second cars really usable or desirable? There must come a point where we move past driver capabilities).
Therefore my question is - assuming we’re entering a new era - what will the new competition factors be?
What I’d like to see:
- Much more emphasis on unique and beautiful design. Moving away from letting wind tunnels being the designers and back to the ethos that delivered such diverse cars as the Countach, Dino, 80s 911s, F355, Miura, etc. Performance would drop fractionally (to “mere” sub 4 second 0-60s), but the market would become more diverse and interesting.
- Higher emphasis on specific driving experience. I.e. thinking about things like higher rev ranges, no power steering, etc. Anything to make each car feel more singular and have more character.
Not sure this will happen, but I’d like it.
Any other opinions on what the next generation will be all about?
carspath said:
OP - highly relevant question , and I note that you have :
1) used the term ''exotics''
2) spoken about the ''driving experience ''
I think that for cars today to be engaging and usable ( and therefore fun , and not just garage ornaments respectively ) they need to be :
- narrow
- lightweight
- manual transmission
- naturally aspirated , both for linearity of response , and sound
- high revving
- low ( yes , I do mean low ) grip to power&torque ratios - wide tyres look lovely , but the huge grip they generate mean that they never let go at modest speeds , and when they do finally let go , you are doing ridiculously high speeds , so it tends to happen very suddenly
- good , but not necessarily very high , torque-to-weight and power-to-weight ratios
- more important that the ttw and ptw , is the way the torque and power are delivered , ie examine the torque and power curves
- the sound the car makes , and when and where in the rev range it screams/ roars
- reliability - nothing more frustrating than being stranded on the roadside while passers-by coo about how lovely the car looks .
- and of course the looks
- not immediately relevant , the cost : the reality is that the higher the cost ,the less inclined one is to explore the limits - some might say otherwise , but the reality is the reality ( at least for the very vast majority of us ) .
An immaculate 10 year old 189 bhp ( 7800rpm ) / 133 lb-ft ( 6800 rpm ) Toyota engined ( rev limit at 8500) , absolutely factory standard except for a bespoke 2bular exhaust , 860 Kg Lotus Elise S3 R ---- any takers ?
Great response.1) used the term ''exotics''
2) spoken about the ''driving experience ''
I think that for cars today to be engaging and usable ( and therefore fun , and not just garage ornaments respectively ) they need to be :
- narrow
- lightweight
- manual transmission
- naturally aspirated , both for linearity of response , and sound
- high revving
- low ( yes , I do mean low ) grip to power&torque ratios - wide tyres look lovely , but the huge grip they generate mean that they never let go at modest speeds , and when they do finally let go , you are doing ridiculously high speeds , so it tends to happen very suddenly
- good , but not necessarily very high , torque-to-weight and power-to-weight ratios
- more important that the ttw and ptw , is the way the torque and power are delivered , ie examine the torque and power curves
- the sound the car makes , and when and where in the rev range it screams/ roars
- reliability - nothing more frustrating than being stranded on the roadside while passers-by coo about how lovely the car looks .
- and of course the looks
- not immediately relevant , the cost : the reality is that the higher the cost ,the less inclined one is to explore the limits - some might say otherwise , but the reality is the reality ( at least for the very vast majority of us ) .
An immaculate 10 year old 189 bhp ( 7800rpm ) / 133 lb-ft ( 6800 rpm ) Toyota engined ( rev limit at 8500) , absolutely factory standard except for a bespoke 2bular exhaust , 860 Kg Lotus Elise S3 R ---- any takers ?
Edited by carspath on Sunday 8th March 22:22
Edited by carspath on Sunday 8th March 22:24
Yeah I intentionally said “exotics” because that seems a bit less pure performance oriented — however I am still talking about brands like Ferrari etc.
There are lots of cool cheaper specialist drivers’ cars (like the 4c or Elise), but I’d like to see some of this thinking extend up the price range.
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