So Just How Do You Define a "Supercar"?

"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee) 04/05/2014 at 09:07 • Filed to: discussion of the day

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Lately there's been lots of discussion about the boundary between supercars and hypercars, much of which has been centered around the Koenigsegg One:1. Let us not forget that there is another similar boundary, though: the distinction between sportscars and supercars. Here are a few cars that skirt that line, and my opinions on how to classify them.

First up to bat: The NSX.

This car is perhaps the center of the most heated debates over what makes a supercar a supercar. Handling and driving experience are certainly up there with the best, but many argue that it falls short of supercar status in too many ways. Power output is the biggest failure, 280hp just isn't enough. Styling is also quite conservative, it's not exactly the kind of car you'll find plastered on a ten-year-old's wall. The car is also too user friendly and easy to live with, it lacks that "hardcore" feeling that you expect from a true supercar. The NSX has characteristics of both a supercar and a sportscar, but I guess I'm siding with the latter on this one.

VERDICT: Sportscar

Next up to the plate: The Venerable 'Vette

With even base model cars producing well over 400hp, performance is not the issue here. The Corvette is definitely in supercar territory in regards to power and handling. The reason the 'Vette skirts the line here is because it is just too obtainable. Its mass produced and (relatively) cheap so it lacks that exclusivity factor that you associate with supercars. The sheer performance alone, though, at the very least bumps it partway into supercar status.

Verdict: SuperSports car

Third and finally: the Esprit.

This one's a tough one. It certainly checks all the supercar boxes; it's uncommon, it'll certainly turn heads, power output is great, and handling is, well, Lotus. By all rights it should be a supercar, but even though I've never driven one it just doesn't seem to exude that balls-to-the-wall, I'll-kill-you-if-you're-not-careful aura that a supercar should have.

Verdict: Still up in the air on this one. I really want it to be a supercar, but I have a hard time thinking of it as one.

Additionally, there's the boundary between a sportscar and a sporty car. The MX-5, the Toyobaru Twins, the Audi TT. They're all smack-dab in the middle of that border. They handle better and are more fun than your average appliance, but power output is nothing special, anyone can own one, and the simple fact that they are capable of DD duties means that to me at least they're not true sportscars.

So, readers, what do you think of the cars I've listed? How do you decide what to label as a supercar or not? What are some other cars that straddle that line?

Battery Tender Unnecessary > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/05/2014 at 09:25

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I think the dilleniation between Supercar and HyperCard is pretty clean cut to me...usually anything over half a mil in price and faster than 200mph. Super vs. sports get a little more muddled. I think Supercars need that mystique that will make not only the average person but a car enthusiast go "OH SHIT!" when they see one on the street.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/05/2014 at 09:34

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You can't compare older HP figures with current figures.

The NSX was a Supercar when it was released. The power figures were comparable to the competition, the handling was class-leading, and it was still useable everyday.

The Esprit is also a Supercar. The Turbo-4 may not have been a power-monster, but the V8TT was plenty for the time. The handling is very good, but still scary at the limit, it wasn't all that reliable, and there is very little if any useable storage space.

The Vette is a sportscar. The ZR1 is a Supercar.

DollaMoneyAve > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/05/2014 at 09:39

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As far as "hypercars" are concerned, I shall quote the great Justice Potter Stewart:

"I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it."

TurboSloth > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/05/2014 at 09:39

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I've never been one to divide cars into tiers (expect for the Camry/Corolla; they're shitbox tier). To me, a supercar is something with that X-factor. Something that's not seen daily, and not mass produced. Something built for a reason; speed mainly. A supercar can be anything. If BMW wanted to take a 3 series, and get their top engineers to make a hand built limited run version of that car, but make it completely about speed, make it crazy, then it would be a supercar in my books. Basically, a supercar is a car built with a little more love than your average car.

When you want to talk about Supercar vs. Hypercar, then simply, to get a hypercar and input it into this handy equation below

SCC (Supercar Criteria) + SBI (SuperBonkersIdea) = HC (hypercar)

JR1 > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/05/2014 at 09:40

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I think I agree with your list on everything but the NSX looks. Think back to the 1990s this car compared to most was pretty damn wild. None of these cars may be super cars but if you ask me their attainability and giant crushing nature makes them the better cars.

Eutropius > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/05/2014 at 09:45

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If I had to pick one aspect that sets a supercar apart from a mere sportscar it'd be a sense of drama. Porsche 993 turbo: sportscar. Porsche 993 GT2 with that jaw-dropping externally riveted widebody and the park bench wing: supercar.

The C7 'Vette is a good example of a car straddling the line, it's got the speed and it's got the looks but it's just slightly too normal to quite qualify for full-on supercar status.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/05/2014 at 09:51

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Cars like the Miata and Toyobaru twins are on the "sportscar" border? I'd argue that they are dead center. The Mini Cooper is on the border on one side, base-model Vette borders the other. Being a sportscar isn't about being rare, powerful, or unfit as a DD. It's like what we colloquially call "tennis shoes," though very few see tennis duty. They are not dress shoes or golf shoes, they can be worn every day, and they are fit for short bits of running, if not serious concentrated athletic duty.

djmt1 > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/05/2014 at 10:11

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I reckon is relative, at the time the NSX and Esprit were some of the fastest cars around therefore they are Supercars, where as the Corvette can be comfortably be beaten by a wide variety of cars meaning it should be counted as just a sports car. That said cars like the 458 and 12C can be comfortably be beaten by cars like the P1 and 918, but those are considered Hypercars. In the end, I guess you need to decide on what the categories are first and then allocate where each vehicle belongs. I reckon the current system of Hyper > Super > Sports works fine in the current climate but what happens when the 300 mph barrier is broken?

Torque Affair > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/05/2014 at 10:48

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A supercar to me is also "super expensive" > $150K

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/05/2014 at 15:32

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What you said about the Toyobaru's and the Miata straddling the line, I have an answer, and it's from the 1960's. This is an Austin Healey Sprite. Under the hood lies a .9L (not a 1.9L, a 0.9L!) 49hp engine. This, I believe to be a pure-bread sports car. It is not fast, but it is fun, it is nimble, it is drivable on a daily basis* and it didn't break the bank to buy. A sporty car is a car that was not designed to be so, but it turned out to be. An accord V6 coupe with a manual transmission is a case in point. It's a 280hp coupe that I feel would rocket all the way in to the 150's if it was de-restricted. It isn't designed to fly down country roads, though. It's a big, lazy, fast coupe that looks good. Same goes for the GTi, The ST's The MS3 and the WRX. They're good, fun, quick cars, but their purpose in life isn't to be a purebred racer. The Evo and STI are in my mind, sports cars. They were built to beat the living daylights out of cars that cost 4-5times more on a twisty road (or off it, mind you). The fact that they can keep up with a supercar gives them sports car status

AthomSfere > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 04/10/2014 at 21:17

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Agreed! When it launched the NSX was spanking Ferraris, looked just as good and was mostly attainable compared to the supercars it was beating around the track.

nauyop > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/10/2014 at 22:37

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It's kind of unfair since American cars tend to have more horse power just because Americans like them that way which explains the vette, while there was a while when the horsepower of Japanese cars were limited by laws and that happen to affect the NSX.

nauyop > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/10/2014 at 22:43

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MX-5, the Toyobaru Twins, the Audi TT are sportscars while the Mazdaspeed 3, Subaru WRX, and Audi RS4/S4 are sporty cars, the sportscars aren't necessarily more powerful than sporty cars, but they look sportier.

Justin Clark > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/11/2014 at 00:58

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Hey, I have an NSX poster plastered, well framed and hung, on my wall! I may not be ten, but that car is gorgeous to me.

DK > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/12/2014 at 16:46

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Ah yes the sportscar to supercar debate. Vette def straddles the line, but it also depends on what model Vette you pick. Pick the base model and you are on the higher end of the sportscar scale TODAY. Pick the Z06... Well, I think you are over the supercar line at that point. Its not about power? Ok, the Z06 is using carbon fiber and titanium. The C7 Z06 is going to be demolishing its competition next year when its released. The ZR1? Who knows.

Corvette's biggest problem is its name and citizenship. American car companies simply arent allowed to build cars that are on par with the rest of the world according to the automotive press unless the goal posts are moved and a disadvantage is given to the Vette. And all you have to do is look at the last 15 years of the Vette itself to realize this. Every new iteration of the Vette since the introduction of C5 Z06 has been on point. Up until that car came out it was all about numbers and handling, thats why someone bought a Porsche over the Vette, it did numbers better. Z06 comes out and wrecks the Porsche for pennies on the dollar and then it becomes about the "lifestyle" the "image." All of a sudden, interior and comfort and pedigree were more important in a sports car than pure numbers. And Im not saying they arent important, but up until then, it was never really an issue. Same thing happens with the C6, the Z06 and ZR1 blow the doors off of everything and somehow its still not enough. Now the C7 base model comes with the same amount of power as that 99 Z06, the C7 Z06 is barking at 700HP and gripping in corners just as good as anything else available from Europe. The ZR1? They have said not until the end of the product lifecycle and with how high the bar was raised with the Z06, I can see why.

I guess the question for me is when the new Z06 is released next year and its actually put into comparisons with the best of the best, will it get the recognition it deserves and will it finally reclaim its rightful place among the best of the best in the world.