The future of performance cars is superlights, not supercars

"PardonMyFlemish16" (TheCoolKid) 02/17/2014 at 10:01 • Filed to: None

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Let's imagine 2 cars, OK. Both cars do 0-100 mph in about 8 seconds. Both cars have skidpad grip well in excess of 1.0gs, with downforce that increases with speed. Both cars seat 2.

However, Car A is made in some factory somewhere with all types of exotic, handbuilt materials, whereas Car B comes in a kit and can be assembled in a backyard. Car A has all types of technology that's smarter than you... automated gearbox, traction control, drift angle control, stability control, launch control, all types of controls outside of the driver's control, whereas Car B doesn't even have power steering as it's light enough to not need it, and doesn't have any trick toys as they are too expensive. Car A has a bespoke engine, but it's turbocharged and muffled to the point that it needs a "sound symposer", because some bureaucrats somewhere who hate cars don't want anyone to know it exists; while Car B has something pedestrian like a Subaru flat 6 or an LSx that's tuned for response and noise while still making emissions. Car A relies on technology to rein in all the weight and inherently bad dynamics of all that technology; Car B's technology is its simple design.

Most importantly, Car A is priced well beyond the realm of all but the 1%, often bought as display art for some unoccupied mansion somewhere, with eye-watering service costs and complex systems that only trained mechanics can deal with; whereas Car B can be damn near a learning tool for anyone looking to get into wrenching and car maintenance, and with its simple design and hodgepodge of mass-market components can be affordable and ownable by all but the brokest Jalops

If the future of performance is in technology that is complex, expensive and unattainable, there is no future for performance cars. We need more superlights, more Factory Fives, more GT86s, more Miatas... albeit with a little more performance, at the expense of bespokeness... and less eye wateringly expensive and complicated cars damn near nobody can afford new

Z_Stig > PardonMyFlemish16 02/17/2014 at 10:09

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I wish Car B was the future, but with all the legislation regarding crash standards, emissions standards, and the piss-poor driving talent of the masses, it will never happen.

Aaron James > PardonMyFlemish16 02/17/2014 at 10:09

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That's why both types are available. There is a place for both types and as long as the 1% keeps buying exotic cars, there will be exotic cars available. That's like saying we need to get rid of BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc. because Hondas and Toyotas do their transportation job just fine and are less complicated and cost less.

kanadanmajava > PardonMyFlemish16 02/17/2014 at 10:38

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A superlight car sounds nice but building a kit doesn't sound good. I'm not meaning that I wouldn't like to build a kit car but in Finland it just doesn't sound legally possible.

We can build a car here with lower safety and emission regulations require for manufacturers. But lower doesn't mean much lower. One of my friends built his own car years ago. He bought a new 2-seater Smart and took it apart. Then he constructed a carbon fiber body and installed all of the Smart part that were usable into it. It was basically a Smart roadster but different body. Sounds modern enough to hit the street?

But then comes the legality part. Safety and emission stuff were already type approved but my friend needed to get exemption permit for because the parts were only type approved for Smart. However he was in good terms with the local vehicle administration and he got the permit.

But there was a catch. The exemption permit is only valid when my friend remains the owner of the car. So he will also be the last owner of that car unless the administration guys will some day give an exemption permit from the earlier exemption permit.

I think I will stick to engine swaps...

PardonMyFlemish16 > Aaron James 02/17/2014 at 10:41

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The problem with this is often times the low end manufacturers try to emulate the high end manufacturers, which results in less variety, and also makes the manufacturers feel like they can use the same gimmicks to cover up bad design. I forget which Audi and what reviewer it was, but someone said the Audi had like 128 different electronic configurations, but none of them could sort the car out. Similarly Hyundai just came out with a multi-mode steering system, but aside from weight there is no change and no feel through the wheel. So there is a lot of compromise that is getting to the point that it's affecting performance cars in a negative way.

Aaron James > PardonMyFlemish16 02/17/2014 at 10:58

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Certainly manufacturers are moving away from pure sports cars like the 280z and old air cooled 911's but the reasons for that is the market, not the manufacturers. It's the same reason that manuals are going away. People want and buy cars that can do more for them, in the not so distant future cars will be driving themselves. I totally get where you are coming from but the fact is there are only a handful of people that would choose to forgo all the modern conveniences and cool electronic gadgets for the rawness and do it yourself nature of the "pure" sports car. That handful of people is so small that the only way to competitively serve that market without going bankrupt is to offer homebuilt and kit cars. The car buying consumer majority has changed, people no longer buy cars because they are fun to drive and put a smile on the drivers face. We are out there but we are small and there aren't enough of us to support that segment. Like I said I feel you man, I really do but manufacturers must evolve with their market or they go away. It's sad and unfortunate but the new generations of car buyers simply don't want an enthusiast car, they want transportation with lots of gadgets and electronic doodads, flim flams, and google farts.

Pockets > kanadanmajava 02/17/2014 at 12:11

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Solution: Register it in Britain (or somewhere else that has more flexible rules, what are the Baltic countries like for this?), then import it. If it's road legal elsewhere in Europe then as long as it passes any roadworthiness test then they have to register it.

HiramJahoovafatJr > PardonMyFlemish16 02/17/2014 at 12:20

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... somewhere, there are blind Toyota Camrys.

PardonMyFlemish16 > kanadanmajava 02/17/2014 at 13:34

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Thats not the fault of the car though. Here in the US for example laws forbid us from having things like the Ariel Atom. That doesn't make the Ariel Atom any worse of an idea than the GT-R.