Can someone clearly explain the difference between Hypercar vs Supercar for me?

"n54 & s38" (straight6)
08/22/2014 at 17:41 • Filed to: None

Is it in the use of technology (hybrid drivetrains, carbon fiber chassis, etc) like the 918, LaFerrari, McLaren P1, etc. Or maybe give me an example of each and what distinguishes one from the other?

Thanks, guys!

DISCUSSION (21)

djmt1 > n54 & s38
08/22/2014 at 17:44

Performance. Putting a 458 and a 650s in the same league as the LaFerrari and the P1 is just misleading.

Brian Silvestro > n54 & s38
08/22/2014 at 17:45

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > n54 & s38
08/22/2014 at 17:45

A Hypercar attracts Supermodels and you get laid.

A Supercar only attracts other guys who want to take photos of your car and ask you questions about driving it while all the hotties walk over to the guy with the Hypercar.

jariten1781 > n54 & s38
08/22/2014 at 17:45

Nope, no one can explain it because it's pretty much arbitrary.

n54 & s38 > djmt1
08/22/2014 at 17:46

Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But what distinguishes a supercar from a regular high end sports car then? Does a 458 count as a supercar? I know it's an arbitrary designation. Just curious whether the term Hypercar will eventually replace what we used to refer to as Supercars?

Nibbles > n54 & s38
08/22/2014 at 17:46

A hypercar happens when a supercar collects the seven Super Emeralds and collects fifty rings. They gotta be careful though because the rings go away and if they lose all of them, it transforms back into regular car

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > n54 & s38
08/22/2014 at 17:46

"do I need to be 'sold a successful startup' wealthy or oil prince wealthy to buy one of these?"

The Transporter > n54 & s38
08/22/2014 at 17:46

It's whatever the person doing the car review wants it to be.

n54 & s38 > Brian Silvestro
08/22/2014 at 17:46

Thanks!

TJDMAX > n54 & s38
08/22/2014 at 17:46

Price is a big factor. Something around a lamborghini aventador or Mclaren 12c or Porsche turbo s, or Ferrari 458 would be a super car. Something like a Mclaren P1, or Porsche 918, or La Ferrari, or Bugatti Veyron, or a Koenigsegg Agera R would by a "Hyper car".

But with the insanely high price comes performance. Speed, technology, handling, braking, aerodynamics are all a notch above in a hyper car.

There are some exceptions though, I would consider a Nissan GT-R a supercar but its about half the price of other examples.

TheCraigy > n54 & s38
08/22/2014 at 17:48

One is a term which describes the top-tier of exotic performance cars.

Another is a term invented by some snot nosed twelve year olds who thought it would be cool to come up with another term, and unfortunately it has stuck around.

mcseanerson > n54 & s38
08/22/2014 at 17:50

F40 > Everything else. That was the beginning.

djmt1 > n54 & s38
08/22/2014 at 17:52

Everyone has their own definitions and categories but they are wrong because they don't match up with mine, which are.

Sports car

M3 < 458 < P1

GhostZ > n54 & s38
08/22/2014 at 18:00

There's millions of factors that really go into it, but this is what I've learned:

A Supercar is a car that is designed to be a car above normal cars, and the best possible car to drive. This means that it takes price, appearance, prestige, performance, comfort, etc. altogether. A Lamborghini Aventador is a perfect example. A Jaguar E-Type is a supercar.

A Hypercar is a car that is designed to be the highest performing car possible. It ignores price, appearance, prestige, comfort, etc. all for performance. It may have those things, but they are not the focus of the car and it would not have them in place of performance . A Veyron is a hypercar because a comfortable interior doesn't prevent it from having an insane top speed. An Agera R is a hypercar because they're not willing to make it look more 'classically' beautiful at a sacrifice of performance. A P1 is a hypercar because they're not willing to make it more spacious or comfortable, or bring the price down, at a sacrifice of performance. Until the 80s or so, hypercars were just road-going race cars and didn't have their own classification.

But since race cars for the road (as in, cars that are actually registered to race being driven on the street) were phased out due to safety requirements and more advanced racing technology, that niche was filled by what we now know as the traditional 'hypercar'.

MrPseudonym > n54 & s38
08/22/2014 at 18:16

The difference is, one is for people who get lucky with money, and the other is for people who inherited LOADSAMONEY. That's about it.

Redd, the RX-7 that could > n54 & s38
08/22/2014 at 18:18

A hypercar is a car so revolutionary that it changes how we think about cars, this is why the P1, LaFerrari, and 918 are all hypercars, the Veyron too is a hypercar, because it raised the limit of what we thought was possible from a car. This is why the Aventador and Huracan are just supercars. Even though the Aventador is twice or thrice the price, 700hp has been achieved before and there is nothing truly unique to warrant calling it a hypercar. I think Clarkson said it best: "Hypercars are made to pull G-forces, while supercars are made to pull G-strings." Now there will always be exceptions, of course, like the Huayra. It doesn't necessarily have any revolutionary features, but when it comes together, the package as a whole creates something truly special and worthy of the hypercar title.

n54 & s38 > Redd, the RX-7 that could
08/23/2014 at 01:46

So by that definition, would the Mclaren F1 have been considered a hypercar for its time?

Redd, the RX-7 that could > n54 & s38
08/23/2014 at 13:02

Absolutely, the seating position, and all the tech that had never been used on a road car, like the gold lining the engine bay, made it revolutionary for it's time.

Shoop > GhostZ
08/24/2014 at 16:25

Currently. Supercar is 205+ mph top speed. Hypercar is something the pushes the limits of what can be accomplished on 4 wheels.

Hamadamma2499 > Redd, the RX-7 that could
03/18/2015 at 02:52

Ive been watching top gear all my life. The clarkson quote is in fact the other way round, i remember it clearly. "Supercars are designed to mess with G forced, hypercars are designed to mess with G-strings". Dont believe me? Watch the episode where the star guest was Kristin Scott Thomas and Jeremy tested the Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640.

Redd, the RX-7 that could > Hamadamma2499
03/18/2015 at 09:35

is it really?