Is there a particular reason that the French don't really do supercars?

"MegaSuper" (megasuper) 05/06/2015 at 20:56 • Filed to: None

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When I say “the French,” I mean the primary manufacturers.

All the other primary auto-manufacturing nations’ primary automakers have made a supercar…Ford GT, BMW M1, Alfa 33 Stradale (or the 8C in modern times), Nissan GTR, Jaguar XJ220, the list goes on forever…

Now we’ll put Bugatti aside just because they usually only ever have one model, and plus for a time they were based in Italy, so there is that influence there.

I’m also not sure where Alpine fits into this equation. Venturi is fabulous, but too small, and technically these days they’re not French, but Monégasque, so that’s sort of like a “boutique” manufacturer type thing that you’ll see in smaller countries (like Lebanon/UAE and the W Motors Lykan Hypersport)

So why has there never been a supercar from Peugeot, Renault, or Citroën? Is there some kind of market condition, tax on engine displacement, cultural value, etc, that has made this unappealing?

They make beautiful designs, and the Peugeot Vision concepts look amazing, they do great in racing so they clearly have the know-how (savoir-faire hahaha)

Their cities are just as dense as Italy’s more or less, and the speedlimits aren’t any higher, so why did they tend to specialize in hot hatches, while Italy is more known for full-blown supercars? (Heck, I think petrol and vehicle registration is more expensive in Italy than France even…)

jkm7680 > MegaSuper 05/06/2015 at 21:03

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It’s probably just not in their target demographic, or what they’re trying to make/focus on.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > MegaSuper 05/06/2015 at 21:03

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They’ve definitely done concepts, but I’m not aware of any production supercars.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > MegaSuper 05/06/2015 at 21:04

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(In a French accent) You think these are the things that matter in life. I pity you. (puts out cigarette, walks away sipping a nice red wine)

Real answer: I don’t know, maybe after the Concorde they thought they’d pretty much won at the fast game.

Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull > MegaSuper 05/06/2015 at 21:06

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Baguettes lose structural stability when taken over 200mph. Fact.

MegaSuper > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 05/06/2015 at 21:07

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Yes, this is exactly what I’m referring to; those look great, so they’re plenty capable. It’s kind of weird to me that they have concepts in an entire SEGMENT that they’ve never produced in!

Viggen > MegaSuper 05/06/2015 at 21:18

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Peugeot loves to tease us with super car concepts, but just like the company’s racing history, it’s a short abruptly halted tease.

E. Julius > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 05/06/2015 at 21:32

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Currently living in Paris, can confirm.

XSeriesWalkingDead > MegaSuper 05/06/2015 at 21:40

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France, style over substance.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > XSeriesWalkingDead 05/06/2015 at 22:04

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...which makes me think - all the more reason for supercars!

Forgetful > MegaSuper 05/06/2015 at 22:44

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Bugatti is in France.

Edit. Posted before reading. But they did also make this:

wafflesnfalafel > MegaSuper 05/06/2015 at 23:22

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you bring up a good point - the French used to have quite a bit of engineering swagger, (construction, arms, aircraft, and motor vehicles.) Maybe they just culturally lost some of it after getting the tar beat of of them for most of the last century...

Kookanoodles > MegaSuper 10/14/2016 at 06:34

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I know I’m extremely late to this thread, but to quote your own words:

Is there some kind of market condition, tax on engine displacement, cultural value, etc, that has made this unappealing?

It’s all of that.

French people typically don’t spend as much on cars as some of our neighbours, we don’t go for the top-end models as much and we keep the cars much longer before getting a new one. French people tend to put their money in their home (be it in home improvement or holiday homes which we have a lot of) rather than their car.

There have been taxes on engine displacement since the late sixties/early seventies, I believe, and pretty tough at that. That’s why most engines are below 2.0L.

And it’s also cultural. There’s a social stigma against having a big expensive sporty car. Like in many other places I suppose, but it’s there. Now a small, relatively inexpensive sporty car, that’s another story. We love our hot hatches and stuff like an Alpine A110 would never, ever have been called a douchebag’s car, but supercars are a different story.

And finally, most of our sporty brands have either disappeared or become boutique even before the modern supercar really came into being. All we’re left with is mainstream manufacturers, and even if the UK, Germany or Italy are putting out plenty of supercars it’s not their mainstream manufacturers that are doing so (Audi R8 excepted perhaps). Yes, Peugeot, Citroën and Renault have never made a supercar but neither have Fiat or VW.