Darin Bastedo Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 When I was a youngster, the exotic car was just coming into it's own. The Lamborghini Muira was replaced by the space age looking Countach. The Ferrari Daytona was replaced by the 512bb. Speeds of 160mph, and 0-60 times of 5 seconds were things of legend. The regular sports cars of the era were lucky to top 130-140mph, and the no car was particularly reliable. 100,000 miles was the average lifespan of a car in the 70's, less if you lived in the northeast snowbelt as I did. As I got into my twenties along came cars like the Ferrari F-40, Porsche 959, Bugatti EB110, and the Lamborghini Diablo. These were faster and and more expensive than the cars above, hitting 200mph but costing $200k or much more. fast foward to today the 2013 Shelby GT500 will arrive with 650hp, and do 200MPH for half the price of the 200MPH Corvette ZR-1 The Bugatti Veyron does 268 MPH and has over 1,000 horse power!The Volkswagen group has 10 or more models that will hit 200 mph or more, and 500hp is no biggie any more. The new Porsche 911 Carrera S has over 400hp, and does 0-60 in under 4 seconds, making the top of the line Turbo of a decade ago seem weak. The 2011 Porsche Turbo S will do 0-60 in 2.8 seconds. With such extreme performance available, the question remains, where will things go from here? These cars already go faster than their racing counterparts. They already achieve performance levels that are near suicide on the street. Will there be a dialing back on top speeds and concentrate more on balance and stability? or will the push farther? Will we in ten years see 2500HP 300MPH sports cars that can only explore their limits on the salt flats or specially designed tracks? What do you guys think is the future of the super car?
Bill Eh? Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Darin, excellent thoughts. Since these kinds of horsepower and speeds are happening so frequently, does a new name need to be created for cars of this nature. Exotic and Super Car titles were easily interpreted as cars above the rest, at least in terms of horsepower and top speed. I don't want to say common place, but if cars of this nature are more numerous, you're right, what is their future? Excellent thoughts for consideration, that you have raised.
moparmagiclives Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 I think they will go as far as the fossil fuel they run on will go. Not to start another debate on alternate energy, but I think that's when they will change. Can you imagine the possibility of a nuke/electric super car.
Aaronw Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 There will always be people with more money than sense. People who want the fastest production sports car ever built even though it just sits in their garage collecting dust. I wonder how many of the existing supercars that have been built ever actually get driven, and of those how many ever get driven anything close to their potential. I think they will go as far as the fossil fuel they run on will go. Not to start another debate on alternate energy, but I think that's when they will change. Can you imagine the possibility of a nuke/electric super car. Not the nuke part but isn't the Tesla basically an electric supercar?
SuperStockAndy Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 I personally think they'll always be on gas, but someone will eventually throw a V20 into a car sometime.
moparmagiclives Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 I personally think they'll always be on gas, but someone will eventually throw a V20 into a car sometime. And it will still only make like 5.0L lol, but spin to 20k rpm lol
SuperStockAndy Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Nah, I'd be expecting some serious cubic inches out of it.
Greg Wann Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 http://www.barchetta3500.com/ Here is a car that I really like and priced very well for being custom hand built. There is a physics lesson about weight versus HP being produced by the engine. Really cool read. This would be a nice model subject too.
SuperStockAndy Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Reminds me of the Rush song "Red Barchetta"
Greg Wann Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 That is a song that I really like. That was how I found this site a few years ago.
Matt Bacon Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Personally, I think this: http://www.jaguar.com/gl/en/about_jaguar/project_c-x75/ is the future of the supercar... People make supercars to sell them; there's no point in building one that can only drive on salt flats, because you'll only sell three of them. Equally, the laws of physics and aerodynamics mean that more power turns into a lot less more speed, the higher you go. Personally, I think the Veyron is probably as far as we'll ever go in the pure horsepower/speed/money stakes. The CX-75, the Karma, the new NS-X, the 458, the new Enzo and the replacement McLaren F1... these are the new generation of supercars, where smartness, lightness, active aero, active suspension, exotic drivetrains etc result in a car that can cover real ground faster and safer than ever before, with a totally involving driving experience and with unprecedented fuel efficiency... Veyron's are so Oughties... we're on a whole new ride now! bestest, M.
Chuck Most Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 There will ALWAYS be a market for wretched excess, so you are going to see supercars with higher top speeds and ungoldy horepower/torque ratings. There's always going to be that 'mine's bigger/faster/more powerful/etc. than yours' group craving that. Never mind the fact the car will never be used to even a small percentage of its potential- some guys just want to be the baddest on the block. As far as seeing supercars built and intended as strictly race-only, I don't know if that willl happen on a huge scale. You might see some with opition packages which are racing-oriented (in fact, there already are a handful of cars that can be equipped that way) but it won't be the main intent of the vehicle when it's being designed. I think it might go the other way though- you might see more reasonably-equipped (for day-to-day use) cars being introduced, and more performance-oriented versions of existing car lines. Who knows- maybe we've already reached the pinnacle of supercar performance as far as horsepower and top speed go, and they'll focus more on handling and day-to-day operation instead. Whatever happens, it will be cool to see it unfold.
A.R.C. Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 The latest crop of perfornmance cars are incredible in every way. I was reading a Road and Track the other day and was shocked at the amount of cars that are posting 0-60 & 0-100 mph times that are close to big bore sportbike numbers. What I`m also liking is that the new GT500 AND ZR-1 perform just as well as the exotic Euro trash at 1/3 the price or more. Its about time.
Junkman Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 The latest crop of perfornmance cars are incredible in every way. I was reading a Road and Track the other day and was shocked at the amount of cars that are posting 0-60 & 0-100 mph times that are close to big bore sportbike numbers. What I`m also liking is that the new GT500 AND ZR-1 perform just as well as the exotic Euro trash at 1/3 the price or more. Its about time. I think the idea of Supercars is completely lost on you. People buy Supercars BECAUSE they are umpteen times more expensive than a Mustang or Corvette.
Aaronw Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 i don't see "supercar" in a Mustang, I would agree with this general statement. Supercars are partly performance, but also have to have some mystique that makes them stand out from the crowd. A super duper version of a fairly common car like a Saleen Mustang doesn't have that because the average member of the pubic doesn't know it is any different from the base model Mustang. Nobody, not even somebodies never had a drivers license grandmother can look at a Lamborghini Countach and not immediately know it is a stupidly expensive, mind numbingly fast sports car.
SuperStockAndy Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 Sums it up nicely Unfortunately that's very true...
Rob Hall Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 I suspect we will see more 'green' supercars, esp. those from the EU. I wouldn't expect a lot of escalation of horsepower or top speed..the Veyron is a high-water mark...I expect to see wider use of lightweight materials and smaller engines..and hybrid engines. Porsche has hybrid race cars, street versions are in the works.. If I were in the market for an exotic, handling prowess would trump top speed, acceleration or cartoonish styling or me...
Rob Hall Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) For a supercar price-no-object my choice would be fairly down to earth--an '05-06 Ford GT. For a supercar I can afford now, I'd go for a '90s Acura NSX. Never heard of that Saleen SR..pretty ugly, IMO. As far as Mustangs, the '13 GT500 looks pretty interesting, but I'd rather have the Boss 302 Laguna Seca...saw several of each up close yesterday ('12s and '13s). For all out impractical fun, I'd really like to have an Ariel Atom. Edited January 23, 2012 by Rob Hall
SuperStockAndy Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) For a TRUE supercar, I'd go with the SSC Ultimate Aero. Edited January 23, 2012 by SuperStockAndy
Junkman Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 What is the future of the supercar? I guess the same as its past. It will continue to be the showcase of what is possible in terms of performance, design and panache and it will continue to be priced in regions only a selected few can afford, albeit the number of the latter is increasing at a rapid rate. While the 'ordinary' people struggle ever harder to be able to afford a car at all, and mass market producers subsequently having to be bailed out in regular intervals, the supercar manufacturers celebrate two digit growth rates and one sales record after another. Also, hardly any supercars remain standard. They don't seem to be expensive enough, hence they usually get customized.
sjordan2 Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 I think speed will be a minor aspect of future supercars. Just as racing programs, for generations, have developed technology that filtered down to today's mundane road cars, gee-whiz supercar technological improvements will benefit the automotive industry overall with innovations that can be applied to passenger cars.
Tonioseven Posted January 24, 2012 Posted January 24, 2012 What is the future of the supercar? I guess the same as its past. It will continue to be the showcase of what is possible in terms of performance, design and panache and it will continue to be priced in regions only a selected few can afford, albeit the number of the latter is increasing at a rapid rate. While the 'ordinary' people struggle ever harder to be able to afford a car at all, and mass market producers subsequently having to be bailed out in regular intervals, the supercar manufacturers celebrate two digit growth rates and one sales record after another. Also, hardly any supercars remain standard. They don't seem to be expensive enough, hence they usually get customized. Sounds about right to me.
moparmagiclives Posted January 24, 2012 Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) IIRC the Saleen SR was basically the "street" version of thier racecar at the time. probably a bit to raw and edgy for most people then and now and i don't think it made the HP that the GT500's do now. i like the NSX a lot more now then i did in the 90's, but then i also feel a bit "nostalgic" about Ferrari Testarossa's too When I lived in Phoenix going to school, I used to see the club roll around a few times a month (I think) it was something else to see 11 or so nsxs lined up or go by under a summers street lamp. Edited January 25, 2012 by moparmagiclives
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