Supercars or not

[Mikie711]

You see the term supercar bandied about with monotonous regularity but what constitutes a supercar these days. When does a sportscar become a supercar?

Discuss.

[campbell]

My immediate thought was "when the marketing dept says so".

Then I consulted Wikipedia...

"A supercar (also known as exotic car) is a very expensive and high-performance sports car or grand tourer."

If you read on, the next line of the entry refers to marketing - would you believe it...

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercar

And here's one...what makes a "junior super car"? I feel like describing the Evora in that way. Would that just be plain wrong?

[C7Steve]

Also what defines the line between a Supercar and a HyperCar?

I don't like the term Supercar myself BTW.


Steve.

[foz01]

The Evora 400 isn't one regardless of what gales says..

Supercar to me is huracan, 488, avetandor etc
Hyper car is P1, 918, laferrari.

[anthonyyule]

The Evora 400 isn't one regardless of what gales says..

Supercar to me is huracan, 488, avetandor etc
Hyper car is P1, 918, laferrari.

I'd tend to agree.... there would have been a time, Im sure, that the Evora would have had the credentials to be in the "Supercar club"... back in the '80's - '90's, but now I think it sits firmly in the sports car/ GT category (which is no bad thing really - whether intentional or not).

The new breed of Lambo/ Ferrari/ Porsche has probably taken back the Supercar mantle and pushed it far out of the reaches of Lotus (for now).

HyperCar reserved for P1, Ferrarix2 and the 918 (and probably any Bugatti or Zonda you care to mention).

[Corranga]

This was touched on a few years back here:
http://www.scottishelises.com/phpbb/vie ... =2&t=25012

It changes with the times, and so it's always easier with current cars.

Using stats (top speed, acceleration, handling, cylinders, technology, cost, desirability..) doesn't really work and I guess marketing is the real answer...

I was born in the early 80s, I remember Supercar meaning Ferrari, Porsche, Lambo, then it getting complicated as things like the Esprit look like a Supercar, so it must be right, heck James Bond drives one!?

Then hyper cars appeared, as the race to and then past 200mph happened. Of course (as I probably said in the other thread) a VW Phaeton W12 does 201mph, and no one is calling that a hyper car!

The Honda NSX is classified as a Supercar by many (myself included), but my little Elise gets off the mark quicker and was made during the same period, though I loose out in top speed.
What about the Nissan GTR. It has the tech, and performance, and handling if the reviews can be believed, but is it as desirable as a Ferrari?

So, from my childhood, hypercars:
F40, F50, 959, Lambos, XJ220, McLaren F1
Supercars:
308, 328, 348, 911, 928, Esprit
Sportscars:
Anything else convertible, 944, XJS, Stag etc..

How many of those would still fit into their categories today? I'd say the hypercars are all ok. Every one of the Supercars could be argued as Sportcars, and the Sportscars are starting to slip into classics..

You have to make your own mind up. It's about how you feel about the car, and other cars too.
I always remember my dad describe the Alfa Romeo GTV V6 as a mini-Supercar. His favourite car is the 246 Dino. A V6 Ferrari with a similar performance profile, was he so wrong?

Personally, I think nowadays, we need another category, baby, or junior Supercar, for things that replace the 740s/80s/90s Supercars, like the Evora 400, Corvette, GTR...
They are much more than a sports car like an mx5, Elise, GT86, Boxster.

Alternatively, what is in the latest Top Trumps Supercar set?

[rossybee]

Simples. To be a supercar, it needs 8 cylinders as a bare minimum. And less that 4 doors. And be suitably low, cos a Bentley ContiGT isn't one, nor any V8/W12 etc super saloon.

I'd say any evora is a junior supercar, as was the 4-pot esprit, Dino, Stratos, Merak etc.

All this is very open to personal interpretation tho I guess...

[ryallm]

I still think of supercars as the big old skool Italians I lusted after when I was growing up - big, wide, manual box, totally impractical, thoroughly intimidating and with at least a 5 litre V8 or V12 in the back. Countach, Testarossa, De Tomaso Pantera, or how about this: the bonkers Cietza Moroda. A V16 engine and four, count em, 4 pop up headlights



Interesting how times change. I am sure a V6 Exige would leave any of these for dead on any road, and boggo BMW 330d estate boasts the same 0-60 time as the once untouchable Countach QV!

Geeky quiz question for the day: anyone know the strong connection between the Cietza V16, Donna Summer's I Feel Love, and Daft Punk?

Mark

[mckeann]

I'd say evora is more a grand tourer (like a 911) than a supercar.

[rossybee]

Giorgio Moroder, music producer.

Wasn't he involved with music used in Miami Vice?

[Shug]

Watch on YouTube

(Rossybee beat me to it)

[graeme]

http://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/blo ... blog/32194

That's a supercar!

[ryallm]

Giorgio Moroder, music producer.

Wasn't he involved with music used in Miami Vice?

You get the prize Don't think he was involved in Miami Vice, but I could be wrong. I am a big fan of Moroder - a real pioneer of electronic music. This is one of my fave Giorgio tracks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjGAJFrwm90

[rossybee]

Why thank you, do I need to clear a big space in my garage?

Not a huge fan of his stuff, early The The "Soul Mining" is about my limit, maybe New Order offshoot, Electronic...

...oh and I was indeed wrong about Miami Vice, 'twas Jan Hammer

Here's one of Giorgio's more famous ones...

Watch on YouTube

[C7Steve]

Also what defines the line between a Supercar and a HyperCar?

I don't like the term Supercar myself BTW.


Steve.

Meant to say Hypercar not Supercar.