[myhackingtosh_ws]

I'd say out of those three, only the Koenigsegg is a "Supercar", the others meet the same subjective criteria as the Nobel that Chris mentioned.

Well... you're Brittish, you don't count.

..........

[fectsnanteemy]

It's rather the character of a car that makes it a supercar.

I don't think that a Ferrari 360 is one.

And can the corvette handle well ?

[AdipexAdipex]

I always thought the only criterion that had to be met, for a car to be classed as a supercar, was a top speed in excess of 200mph.

[myhackingtosh_ws]

And can the corvette handle well ?

It was faster around the Top Gear test track than a Zonda... So, um... yes. It's like the 3rd place at Nuremburg too isn't it? The C6-R is constantly winning races, usually 1-2 finishes, I think the just recently added more restrictions to it even, making it more "fair" for other cars.

[Grainiary]

Being British means we know a damn sight more about sports cars than most as we invented the front engine rear wheel drive sports car!

Austin Healey 3000 comes to mind but thats quite new by comparison!

[Onervemurce]

It was faster around the Top Gear test track than a Zonda... So, um... yes. It's like the 3rd place at Nuremburg too isn't it? The C6-R is constantly winning races, usually 1-2 finishes, I think the just recently added more restrictions to it even, making it more "fair" for other cars.

But the thing is - the corvette is a bit too... common. In the UK, they're very, very rare to find for several reasons, but when I went to America in 2003, they were everywhere I looked. I'd agree with Chris - a supercar must be exclusive, and a corvette just isn't if it's priced at £60k (for the top model) with so many of them already about.

Anyway, even if it was faster than a Zonda on a Top Gear track, i'd still put my money elsewhere.

[OwdBKKHO]

It was faster around the Top Gear test track than a Zonda... So, um... yes. It's like the 3rd place at Nuremburg too isn't it? The C6-R is constantly winning races, usually 1-2 finishes, I think the just recently added more restrictions to it even, making it more "fair" for other cars.

The 'vette is a damned fast car, however you can't bring the 'race' version into the whole 'supercar' thing as it's not the production car.

Thinking about it, the archtypical 'supercar' has a certain 'f*** you' attitude about it, impractical excess that exists for no good reason other than to inspire lust and envy .

[BostonDoctorTTT]

A supercar isn't practical nor made with cost savings in mind, and cannot be massed produced, it's extreme to the point of irrational. It also must be priced not on it's value, but at a point only a select few can buy it. A supercar is not a means for a company to make money, but for a company to make the cars they dream about.


A Z06 fails in all of the above. Which is not a bad thing.

A good example is the Maclaren F1, it's engine bay is lined with gold for heat sheilding. It's not needed and far cheaper options are out their that can do the job, but gold fitted to an engine bay no one can see is the epitomy of a supercar. On the other hand an F40 has such thin paint to save weight you can see through it, and the green goo they use to seal the interior is still visible. Ferrari would have customers sending it back for it's poor interior if it was a mass produced econo box that sold for $6K. But as a supercar it's accepted and infact loved for it's character.

[egoldhyip]

It was faster around the Top Gear test track than a Zonda... So, um... yes. It's like the 3rd place at Nuremburg too isn't it? The C6-R is constantly winning races, usually 1-2 finishes, I think the just recently added more restrictions to it even, making it more "fair" for other cars.

Winning races... well, thats with racing setups and doesnt have to do anything with a supercar. A super car is about what it is like on the street. A good looking, extremely exclusive (small numbers, expensive), powerful, impractical, loud, fuel wasting piece of metal, which will be used for driving down the expensive shopping lanes in Monaco and Beverly Hills more than on a race track. Maybe an occasional 300km/h drive on the Landstraße in Dubai or the Autobahn here, but thats it. I think the Viper is/was a supercar, the Carrera GT, the Veyron, the McLaren F1, the XJ220 and so on. Its not about what car can be successful at racing (depends other factors than what the car is like in its "regular" street version) but how special a car is. They are design studies combined with top notch technology that made it into "mass" production. "Mass" like in "more than one".

Driving them on test tracks is just for tv shows or giving potential buyers some numbers. Basically supercars are driving billboards, so the respective companies make the news or can say "look, this is the feeling you get when you buy our cars, even the cheaper ones".

[freflellalafe]

Is the Ariel Atom considered a Super Car?

[egoldhyip]

Hmm, Atom Ant definately would.

[BostonDoctorTTT]

Hmm, Atom Ant definately would.

I disagree. The Atom is designed for those who like track days, therefore it's relatively cheap for it's performance. The company builds them for as cheap as they can and would also sell as many as it could. Hardly exclusive.

[egoldhyip]

Well yeah, but Atom Ant would like it anyway. In case you dont know who he is:

[MoreEndotte]

Really, what's the defining characteristic of one? I've seen plenty of Corvettes or Vipers that would stomp a shitbox in Porches and Ferraris, but I almost never hear them called super cars? What's the defining line?

Is it handling? If a Civic out handles a Ferrari is it a super car?
Is it price? If you get your Pinto gold plated is it a super car?
Is it exclusivity? My 1914 Model T is more exclusive than any 360 Spider does that make it a super car?
Is it the number of vents? (That's a Saleen joke there...)

What makes a car a super car?

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

[Onervemurce]

I disagree. The Atom is designed for those who like track days, therefore it's relatively cheap for it's performance. The company builds them for as cheap as they can and would also sell as many as it could. Hardly exclusive.

Same could possibly be said for a Caterham kit car as another example, but again, you'd only use it for a fun drive out. Neither the Ariel Atom or Caterham kit cars are practical and you wouldn't want to use them for everyday driving.

[aabbaDE]

I must disagree with Wikipedia here. e.g. Bugatti Veyron is not a sports car but it definitely is a supercar.

Ariel Atom is a sports car, being a supercar I have no opinion of.

[Grainiary]

A super car is limited in quantity and limited to a select few to buy. It has to push technology boundaries therefore making it unique in appearance and features. Look at the Veyron, got a stupid amount of power, costs a million pounds and thats if you can get one this decade....

That to me needs a classification all of its own!

[uncoodync]

Same could possibly be said for a Caterham kit car as another example, but again, you'd only use it for a fun drive out. Neither the Ariel Atom or Caterham kit cars are practical and you wouldn't want to use them for everyday driving.

I would love to use them for everyday driving. Fun everyday. =D I love both those cars, the Cat. a little more.

[BostonDoctorTTT]

A super car is limited in quantity and limited to a select few to buy. It has to push technology boundaries therefore making it unique in appearance and features. Look at the Veyron, got a stupid amount of power, costs a million pounds and thats if you can get one this decade....

That to me needs a classification all of its own!

I think the term "hypercar" is what the motoring world is calling the Veyron.

Same could possibly be said for a Caterham kit car as another example, but again, you'd only use it for a fun drive out. Neither the Ariel Atom or Caterham kit cars are practical and you wouldn't want to use them for everyday driving.

Yep any kit car, or track car is not a Supercar. Even if they have superior abilities to a supercar, they are classified as road registerable race cars.

[pGJLweEw]

Well yeah, but Atom Ant would like it anyway. In case you dont know who he is:

Do you think Adam Ant would like it?