What Do You Think is the Defining Supercar of This Decade?
Ducati Minor
The word "supercar" had changed over time, from its casual use in the 1960s for muscle cars and race-bred exotics to the 1980s where it was applied to a breed of unique and specially marketed premium-performance vehicles; the supercar can help define a decade and be defined by it. The flat, angular lines of the Ferrari F40 are fitting with the utilitarian styling trend of the period. Just the same, the McLaren F1's obscene performance and smooth surface broke new ground for factory-built street cars in the 1990s.
We don't quite have flying cars and low-priced civilian space travel, but we do have some impressive technology at work. A lot of that auto tech is applied in the name of speed. The supercar world is becoming less and less exclusive with new names hitting the scenes, old ones coming back, and establish marques marking their place. What supercar of this generation do you think stands out the most, and will thirty years from now? The Ferrari Enzo? Bugatti Veyron?
- Discuss (11 comments)
- Digg It
- Del.icio.us
- StumbleUpon
Popular Sections
- European Car Talk (German, British, Italian, Swedish)
- Tuning and Project Cars
- Automotive Technology and the Driver
- Design & Autoshows
- Motorcycles
Tom Martin
The decade isn't over, of course, but I'll argue for the Veyron: big, heavy, impressive specs, luxurious, excessive, not that interesting to drive. That characterizes a lot of recent "enthusiast" product: well-engineered cars trying to be too many things to too many people (see: DB9, M5, F430, anything AMG, 997 etc. etc.; see also: SUV). This may simply be the nature of the market, but I can't help but think that the big companies had so much technology at their fingertips that they couldn't resist using almost all of it. Hopefully this is a phase, and the driver will come back to the center of the picture.
Steve
While I agree with the general premise of your point... Can we at least agree that any car with 1001hp is going to be at least mildly interesting to drive? ;-)
I do think the Veyron has to be "the car" for the 2000's... It's the only car that has come along that has re-set the bar, a la F40 & Macca F1. It changed the game.
I imagine that "the car" for the 2010's will in some way integrate hybrid/green/etc technology to again change the game. Time will tell.
"There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”
- Ernest Hemingway
Tom Martin
Sure, we can agree. But I think it is more interesting in the sense that you'd like to try it, not in the sense of long term satisfaction (particulary for the $$). I'm glad they built the car and at the same time I think it is symbolic of a philosophy that can be bettered.
Chris Paukert
I've got to agree with TMartin on this. Even though I don't find the Veyron to be terribly palatable, it to this point, at least, I think it is the defining supercar of this decade... one that is emblematic of the "add everything but the kitchen sink" mindset that consumers (and in turn, the automotive industry) has been dutifully fostering for years now.
With a heightened emphasis on light weight and a general "less is more" attitude now taking hold in American society and its industries, it will be interesting to see who responds to this paradigm shift with a supercar that embodies these qualities.
Chris Paukert
Editor-In-Chief
Winding Road Magazine // NextAutos
Mena
One of the things I like most about the supercar is its anti-social nature. They're loud, somewhat unrefined, impractical, and over engineered. It's a breed of car that's relatively unmolested and uncompromised. Pure emotion. The ""less is more" attitude" can be represented on millions of other cars. The supercar doesn't need to be shifted. Shift the M5, the 911, or the Corvette. Let the supercar have its niche.
The wife and I were driving down the 101 through Calabasas, CA a few months ago in our Solstice. We were on our way back from driving the Malibu hills when we both hear the harmonic cacophony that can ONLY come from one of the "I" cars (Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini). In this case, it was a F430 Spyder. With all that traffic around with its associated tire, engine, and wind nosies, the Ferrari stood out like a sore thumb. It was wonderful. A shark mixed in with the fishes. Not being part of the group is part of the supercars allure and I don't think that needs to be changed or even modified.
Those cars are on the outskirts of automodom and should remain there.
On topic, I think the Enzo defines todays supercar. The Veyron, IMO, is a little too luxurious.
Ducati Minor
My two cents...
I noted the Enzo because its flamboyant styling and race-bred world-class engineering have made it the biggest fashion statement on four wheels. The Veyron, however, is the record-setter.
BillS
I'd argue against the Enzo for this reason: it is a very good car (I guess), but not really a step ahead of the McLaren F1 from 10 years earlier. If the Enzo is the defining supercar, then the meaning of the decade was "no progress". That might be right, but it wouldn't be my first thought. And if you ask me, the Enzo looks worse than the F1.
I'll argue for the Ferrari 360 Modena. Purists can argue that it came out in 1999, but if you'll work with me here's the point: the Modena brought full-on advanced supercar tech to the masses. It was the breakout car between the old supercar model:
low-volume/super expensive/not very drivable/mostly a big motor in a swoopy body approach/sells in hundreds (typified by Lambo, but Ferrari wasn't far off)
and the new supercar model:
real technology/driveable/semi-affordable/reliable/still exotic-looking/sell in thousands
The Modena was studied by all sorts of car companies. It had a very stiff chassis, real aero, glorious sound, paddle shifter that worked. After the Modena, everyone doing supercars had to grow up or go home.
Ducati Minor
The Modena isn't along the lines of what I consider a supercar. Design aside, the 360 did not employ the best of Ferrari's F1 racing tech. The Enzo did. Even the 360 Challenge Stradale didn't set a new standard in the exotic car world, if reviews and comparison tests are to be believed. The Porsche 996 GT3 matched the Stradale in performance and for 40% less money.
Yet, I actually like your explanation of the 360 creating a new model for the supercar world. I don't agree with it, but I like the idea. The 360 isn't my cup of tea, but the overall shape and the impression the car as a whole left was Ferrari embarking on a new chapter. The F355 really started pushing Maranello ahead of the pack in the 1990s. You had fast, sleek, and exciting cars coming from Chevy, Acura, and Dodge. But the 360 does warrant praise.
Dave B.
I think I'll go to the other end of the spectrum. I vote for the Audi R8, it's this decade's NSX, a supercar that works as a daily driver and is almost attainable by mere mortals.