Not when you could take a trip to Sant'Agata and buy one of these.Originally Posted by nota
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Not when you could take a trip to Sant'Agata and buy one of these.
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
Visca Catalunya!
Enthusiast
Ok and what about either variant of these?
Supporting Member
that counts, as well as the Daytona....if you mean by either variant also the Merak, than no....
"I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting, but it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously." Douglas Adams
Enthusiast
Yes I did mean the V6 and the V8. So is performance the delineator here for supercar status?
And should other vehicles of similar or higher performance to the Bora be accepted?
Furniture
Not only performance, I'd add rarity and style.
Of coruse then it becames highly subjective.
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
Visca Catalunya!
Supporting Member
Monteverdi Hai?
"I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting, but it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously." Douglas Adams
Enthusiast
Very much so
Subjective question:
524 Boras vs a mere 145 of these
Great styling
Genuine race pedigree
Quicker to 100 mph and maybe to 130+
Super..c...a....?
Supporting Member
same road holding as the Bora?
(and please please don't give Fleet any ideas)
"I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting, but it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously." Douglas Adams
Enthusiast
Better road holding than a Mangusta!
Rarer than the Bora supercar
Quicker to 100 mph than a Muira P400SV supercar
In europe (home of the supercar) it becomes the exotic ..
(lets contain this to authentic circuit racing credentials)
Last edited by nota; 03-07-2008 at 12:33 PM.
Supporting Member
not such a great achievement....
"I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting, but it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously." Douglas Adams
Furniture
Yes but there were 67,800 VH Valiants alone built.
And that's just a fancy Valiant...
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
Visca Catalunya!
Enthusiast
Maybe because you don't want a car that will require you seeking the services of a spinal surgeon after you drive it?Not when you could take a trip to Sant'Agata and buy one of these.
Enthusiast
It was the one nomination that I could be most confident about - a safe bet
But within this sub-sphere of comparison I'm guessing there might well be some other examples, too
You guys can probably see where I'm going with all of this ... and thanks btw for your participation in helping me with itYes but there were 67,800 VH Valiants alone built.
And that's just a fancy Valiant...
What precisely delineates a supercar? I'm attempting to pin down and define and dissect those 'split hair' qualities and strengths of ability that, in common acceptance and apparence, lifts them above and beyond the pack
Is it styling?
No, purely subjective as you rightly say
Is it rarity?
Obviously not (eg Bora supercar) nor if you adjudge on an individual marque or model basis
Handling competence?
Nope (eg Mangusta supercar)
Is it their relative level of performance?
Not this either, when comparing accelerative ability (eg upspec Muira supercar) which is 'slower' even into the triple-figure mph echelon
Now you're alluding that E49s .. which were an exceptionally rapid road-car .. should be ruled out - not because of ability - but (purely?) because it shares a certain percentage of its parts with lessor vehicles?
If so, what % of commonality would be acceptable? And of what type of commonality - as in mechanical, or structural?
If solely mechanical then I guess all those bona fide European yet American-engined supercars are in a lot of trouble!
However if qualifying for exclusive supercar-status boils down to a determination of having a shared vs unique bodyshell - pathetic as this sounds - then consider Henk's opinion re Merak vs Bora, and what you said previously re 911 atmo (supercar-no) vs 911 turbo (supercar-yes)
Overall there's lots of E49-style mechanical parts-sharing and body commonality coming from Modena & Stuggart too! (perhaps more?)
So in present summation do you accept that, in careful analysis, the quantifiable qualitity which ascends a vehicle to hallowed supercar status cannot be justly defined by a uniqueness of:
appearance
rarity
performance
handling
mechanical
structural
If you do accept the above (and why not?) then mate this whole supercar thing is beginning to look pretty SUBJECTIVE to me!
Last edited by nota; 03-08-2008 at 12:22 AM.
Furniture
Very good points indeed nota.
I personally think it's not just one of the attributes which make a supercar. It's probably a combination of them. So if a car is only fast or showy or rare it's not necessarily a supercar. For instance consider Evo IX FQ-400. Massively fast and not exactly common yet I don't think it could be considered a supercars.
There are many other examples of that, such as the Nissan GT-R your Valiant Charger or our beloved Lotus Carlton. All are very fast indeed but are they supercars? Similarly I finally don't think turbocharged 911s are supercars (I said maybe in my original post).
Possibly the definitive proof for a supercar is what we could call the "wow test". If a non car enthusiast sees it on the street and says wow! then most probably it's a supercar. If it doesn't then it probably isn't.
The Miura would pass the test, but would the Valiant Charger do?
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
Visca Catalunya!
Enthusiast
I prefer GTs. They are usually quick enough (if not too quick) for everyday use, and you can actually enjoy sitting in one, or sit in comfort. Sports cars are cool, good for showing off, and fun to drive, but you don't want to sit in one for too long... it might hurt your butt...
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