The Petrolheads Thread

[MadManCK]

what do U think was the first "Supercar"?
was it this one?

The Mercedes 300SL Gullwing is probably the first real "supercar". It was fastest at its time, has a stunning design, is partially impractical and still pops eyes when it drives by.
There were more stunning coachwork cars before the war. Think Bugatti, who placed them on race car chassis. Or the Count Trossi Merc.

Only thing that happens now is the overpricing due to "collectors", who do not even drive them. Even the parts sell for serious prices.

It was good to see one driving on the road. A real treat to drive that thing. These old school carburetor engines have very little torque at the bottom, so you really need to keep up the revs in a certain area to keep up the speed. These cars need to be worked. But the quality of the engineering still shines, 60 ! Years later.

[Miao]

what do U think was the first "Supercar"?
was it this one?

Nope.


The first real "supercar" was the Cisitalia 202 GT, then the 300SL came along and became the next one.

[Miao]

[Lunytrickz]

what do U think was the first "Supercar"?
was it this one?

Nope.


The first real "supercar" was the Cisitalia 202 GT, then the 300SL came along and became the next one.

if ya would've sayed the Lambo Miura was the first (because of mid engine i'd say ya got a point
did they even build more than double digit numbers of that Cisitak? ... did they uberhaubt reached double didgits???

[Miao]

if ya would've sayed the Lambo Miura was the first (because of mid engine i'd say ya got a point did they even build more than double digit numbers

They did build more than a 100 units. And a mid engine is not what makes a car a "supercar"...

uberhaubt

Whatever that is.

[Warachia]

I always thought this was the first supercar:


Ferrari 125 S

But this is apparently a controversial topic.

[ENZO]

But this is apparently a controversial topic.

It's because the definition of what is a supercar differs from one person to another.

To me the first real supercar is the Ferrari 288 GTO, the first production car to break the 300 km/h barrier.

[MadManCK]

It is indeed hard to define what makes a car a Super Car.
Looks, performance, price, outrageousness

Every era has its own hero's.

A modern Super Car should do at least 200MPH (320KMH)

But for classic Super Cars, they should outperform everything else available at the time. Like the SL300 did.
Supercars should also have a show element in them. And maybe they should be a little impractical.

The real introduction of what i consider to be Supercars, was in the 80's.
The Jaguar XJ220, Ferrari F40, Bugatti EB110, Lamborghini Countach, McLaren F1(first Hypercar?) and other crazy cars that marked the end of the analogue era and were the pinnacle of what was possible at the time.

And let's not forget the RUF Yellowbird. That car delivered the speed others promised. But is it a real Super Car? Maybe just a Super Hero.

Now too many manufacturers try to tap into the Hypercar Hype and Oil Dollars.

I always prefer the vision of a single creative mind above larger manufacturers.
So for me, in the modern age, Pagani and Koenigsegg embody the real spirit of Supercars.
I prefer these above Bugatti Chiron, Porsche 918, LaFerrari or McLaren P1. Even if they are spectacular in their own way.

But now they are called Hyper Cars or even Mega Cars.
They will run out of superlatives quickly.

For me there are only Sports Cars and Super Cars. The Super Cars bring something special to the table. Speed, outragious design, exclusivity and many other factors that makes a car stand out from the crowd. It should turn heads.

I'm pretty sure this Mercedes SSK from Count Trossi had that effect. Also built on a race chassis. And from the 1930's.



So, what defines a Super Car and what was the first....

[Lunytrickz]

for me the first real Supercar was the Porsche 959
as the rest was still fully analog while this was electronicaly more than a decade ahead

[MadManCK]

The Porsche 959 (Group B) was more like a test laboratory and indeed marked the beginning of the new digital era.
But it's core technology was still analogue. The combination of a smaller faster rotating turbo and a larger for the top boost was very clever. The current twin scroll turbo technology has been derived from that philosophy.

Both Ferrari with the 288 GTO and Porsche with the 959 developed their vision for Group B. Unfortunately group B was banned, thanks to the ridiculous speeds rally cars were achieving on twisty mountain roads. A few fatal accidents caused the FIA to take drastic measures.

Fortunatly for us, these automotive pinnacles are a legendary reminder of that era. The F40 was based off the 288 GTO and many Porsche technologies have found their way to street cars. The 959 did win Paris Dakar in an adapted form.