What 90s Supercar would you have?

"Seitz" (Seitz)
08/19/2013 at 10:44 • Filed to: 90s, Super Cars, Supercars, TVR, Ferrari, Aston, McLaren, Porsche, Mercedes, Jaguar

In the 90s we were all just happy with what we had. Of course, every once in a while we'd be ok with a 240mph McLaren as well.

(Welcome to Neutral Nineties on Oppositelock! We look at anything 90's; from cheap Japanese sport compacts, to that white Bronco OJ use to drive. Why was OJ driving a Bronco anyway? Does anyone actually read this thing?)

In the 90s you really only had two choices for a supercar; McLaren and Jaguar.

Wait...no, you had that Ferrari F50...yeah. OH no, you also had that really rare Porsche 996 GT1, I mean, it still counts. Oh shit, no you also had the Bugatti EB110, everyone forgets about that. Oooooh wait, I forgot about the Diablo! yeaaaaah, that thing was bitchin'.

Ok, so I guess in the 90s you had like, somewhere in the ballpark of 4 to 15 choice of supercars...I don't know, man. This is Oppositelock, no one is paying me to do this. Here are your choices:

Bugatti EB110

Sleek, Seductive, Sexy, Charismatic, Beautiful.
These are words that have never been used to describe the Bugatti EB110. It was fast, very fast in fact. Matted to a quad-turbo V12 producing 671hp (in 1991!) and then putting that to 4 wheels, the EB110 was very advanced. it's been 20 years and we're just now seeing cars reaching that sort of power figure.

and look at that little front grill. the designers at Bugatti forgot that it was a tradition to put that on every car and slapped it on at the last minute.

McLaren F1

Add power and lightness, that was the formula used by Lotus McLaren to concoct the perfect supercar. But then, BMW accidentally added a secret ingredient...Chemical waaaaaaaaaay too much power. The 6.1L, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! from BMW produced 618hp, still today one of the most powerful Naturally Aspirated engines ever made. McLaren then dropped the engine into a car that weighs less than your MX-5 thanks to Magnesium, Kevlar, Titanium and Carbon Fiber used in just about every way imaginable. The end result was a 241mph car that only 64 people could afford thanks to an over 1 Million dollar asking price.

Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR

You know this, Jalopnik, when some car company finally builds that car you wanted them to, say a nice !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . That's sort of what happened with the CLK GTR. however, much opposite of what happened with the McLaren F1, instead of building a batshit insane roadcar and then toning it down a bit to race, Mercedes took a batshit insane racecar, took of its decals, put in leather seats, and put it up for sale at $1.5 Million. the 6.9L V12 (which is larger and more powerful than the GT1 racing version) produced 609hp. You will probably never see one of these, as only 6 were sold and in good old supercar fashion, all of them probably went to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Lamborghini Diablo

Yes, the long forgotten Diablo. Ironically, the most subdued styling of all of these supercars. This was the last, completely Italian Lambo. It was also the most produced of the supercars, with over 2800 examples made. Many trim levels as well, with power output anywhere from a very reasonable 490 to clinically insane 600. AWD was offered in a few models as well. The car was surprisingly technically advanced, adjustable dampers were standard, Carbon fiber was used on interior bits, and even ABS was available as an option (This is incredible for a Italian supercar manufacturer)

Porsche 911 GT1 Straßenversion

In a very similar fashion as the CLK GTR, Porsche homoligated this '911' (lol, as you kids say these days). Although it looks nothing like a 911, it still has a 3.2 Twin-Turbo Flat-6 behind the rear axel, producing about 530hp in street trim. The entire machine weighs less than 1,000kg, giving it the capability to reach 0-60 in less than 4 seconds.

Ferrari F50

The Ferrari F50 is not pretty, or easy on the eyes. A news paper once reported that it actually killed a man with it's awful looks (we have our guys checking this fact as I write this). It was, however, just like the rest of these, crazy. It's figures don't do it any justice either: 500hp, 1,200kg. It must be said, though, that the 0-60 time of 3.7 seconds was the fastest of all of these cars minus the McLaren and Bugatti.

Cizeta-Moroder V16T

upon finishing the design for the Lamborghini Diablo, Marcello Gandini was then abducted by Martians and forced to design a new car. Happily, however, he made another wedge, with a V16 engine this time. The Cizeta V16T was extremely luxurious, which means it was heavy weighing in at over 1700kg (more than my Toyota 4Runner). Incredibly, though, the power from the V16 is so immense that it's still capable of reaching at least 206mph.

Aston Martin Vantage Le Mans

What? Did I surprise you? huh? Oh yeah. This is a Supercar. In fact, it's more so than most of these. The Vantage not only had 600hp (!) but was probably the most beautiful and restrained of the 90s supercar bunch. Look at that long-nose short-deck layout. Oh, and check out this interior:

Oh yeah, I'm blowing your mind right now. It also handled well, as every Aston does. Why? Science, that's why.

Jaguar XJ220

The short-lived XJ220. There isn't much to say about this car. It handled awfully, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and it wasn't that reliable. Jaguar even lied about the engine it would have. Technically they only gave us half the engine they said. A Twin-Turbo V6 replaced the promised V12. Hell, they even lied about the top speed, 220 was quoted in the name of the car (XJ220, in case you forgot). Sounds fast huh? it only reached 217 by most tests. The car was simply too expensive, too large, too cramped (yes, Jaguar made a boat with no interior space) and too not-the-car-that-it-was-suppose-to-be for it to sell, dropping out of the market after only 275 cars and 2 years.

TVR Cerbera Speed 12

It's up in the air whether this made it into production or not, but this car wins automatically if it did. 1,100kg, an estimated 960hp (estimated due to constantly pwning the Dyno) NATURALLY ASPIRATED 7.7L engine. Road-going versions were made, tested, recorded, etc. but only 1, personally sold by Peter Wheeler, ever made it to a consumer. EVO magazine even reported that it wasn't bad around the bends thanks to the completely ridiculous wings and spoilers.

What do you guys think, what's missing? tell me. do it.

DISCUSSION (22)

UserNotFound > Seitz
08/19/2013 at 10:48

My write-in: Nissan R390. I learned of it's existence only recently, and I fell in love with it because it's so awesome and so insanely rare.

There's one out there somewhere, and everything is for sale at the right price.

Kinja'd!!!

Also, I've had the incredible luck to see two McLaren F1's and a CLK-GTR roadster in the same garage. And I got to sit in the McLaren. That was just craziness.

Jagvar > Seitz
08/19/2013 at 10:54

The Jaguar XJ220 is the car that got me interested in cars, so it wins by default. The Cizeta would be a close second, though.

YSI-what can brown do for you > Seitz
08/19/2013 at 10:57

William Byrd > Seitz
08/19/2013 at 10:59

F1 please. Love some of the others, but that's always 1st in my heart.

Somethingwittyer likes noisy > Seitz
08/19/2013 at 11:00

Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR for me. It was so badass in NFS II.

Sn210 > Seitz
08/19/2013 at 11:02

Kinja'd!!!

Great list! This is probably my favorite era of supercars. I've seen Ralph Lauren's silver F1 and I saw an XJ220 in Vegas. I had to dig deep to think if others not on the list, but...

Lotec C1000? I think there was at least 1. If you Google it an old Jalopnik article comes up from 2008 about finding it in a North Carolina dealership.

Seitz > UserNotFound
08/19/2013 at 11:03

I was debating put this car in, but it didn't really have any hard figures on hp or 0-60. some sources said 0-60 in 2.5 seconds which sound absurdly wrong, some said 3.2 which is much more believable.

Some said top speed of 200, others 206. With only 1 out there, it's kind of hard to really pinpoint any good facts. at least with the TVR it was highly publicized

Takuro Spirit > Seitz
08/19/2013 at 11:06

Speaking of write ins, I remember a test of this versus a R390 (I think) in a magazine, and I had never heard of it before.

Kinja'd!!!

Seitz > Takuro Spirit
08/19/2013 at 11:09

The XJR-15 was more of a track day machine. It got really bad reviews because of how unbearably uncomfortable it was. Driving wise, it was apparently a sight to behold.

SpeedSix > Seitz
08/19/2013 at 11:56

My vote goes to the Jaguar XJR-15 (53 produced),

Kinja'd!!!

which was the street-legal production version of the Jaguar XJR-9

Kinja'd!!!

and the predecessor of the much more famous Jaguar XJ220.

Kinja'd!!!

mr. idk > Seitz
08/19/2013 at 13:38

Ill Take a Mac F1 with a side of Porsche Gt1 and an order of French Bugatti EB110 on the side!

Corey CC97, MAZDA DPI IS STILL BAE JOESTACTIV JOESTACTIV JOESTACTIV JOESTACTIV VISIT FLORIDA RACING LIVES FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS > Seitz
08/19/2013 at 14:07

My vote goes to the Ferrari F50.

123456 > Seitz
08/20/2013 at 11:01

Definately the F50, brilliant sound. A car that at it's time actually was as close you could get to F1. Same construction technique, F1-derived engine, carbon tub etc. The sound is marvellous and I'm told it's truly brilliant to drive, surpassing the infamous F40 in just about every way.

JGutz164 > Seitz
08/20/2013 at 13:44

EB110 please, anyday

Wonk Unit > Seitz
08/20/2013 at 14:09

Mclaren would be my first choice. then the XJ220, then F50 or GT1. unless your allowing the F40 to be considered 90s in which case THAT! I WANT THAT!!

Seitz > Seitz
08/20/2013 at 14:22

Interesting, no one has said the Aston yet.