What with today’s talk of global warming and some states namely California introducing tough new emissions regulations, are the days of the supercar numbered.
Gordon Murray designer of the venerable McLaren F1 has said as much, “The way supercars are done right now, they’ve got no future at all.” But is he right; are supercars on the road to extinction?
Well it turns out Gordon might have an ulterior motive for foretelling the demise of the supercar. He is after all developing his own super-mini concept which he’s busy hawking round all the major car manufacturers.
It’s a fair point that some cars in the lower echelons of supercardom like the Nissan 370z and the Chevy Camaro are reaching power levels and performance similar to the likes of Ferrari and Porsche, and you can’t make use of that performance on the road anyway. But that would be missing the point.
Power and Performance isn’t the only reason people buy a supercar. There is another reason, dare I say it “Badge” yes the Nissan 370Z is a great car and nearly as fast as a Ferrari in everyday use, but when all said and done it’s still a Nissan. And no amount of classy advertising and glossy imagery is going to change that.
It’s a soulless car made by robots in a Japanese factory shipped over in a huge container ship to LA and sold by a plastic salesmen on an industrial estate somewhere outside Broomfield Michigan.
Now that’s all some people want from a car and I’m happy for them. But a Nissan 350Z is not a car most people aspire to. Yes it’s a nice car, but if you offered the owner of one a Ferrari as a swap he’s not going to turn you down is he.
And that’s my point supercars aren’t about just pure speed, most never leave the confines of their air-conditioned garage anyway. They’re about dreams, about lifestyle, about driving along the French Riviera on a late summers evening, with the roof down and the wind in your hair, the intoxicating sound of that V8 dancing in your ears.
So is the supercar on the road to oblivion. I don’t think so, Yes they drink fuel but I bet the average Ferrari uses less fuel during it’s lifetime than even a Toyota Prius.
Yes they’re not much faster than some more mainstream cars, but does a $5,000 Swiss watch tell the time any better than a $100 Casio, NO but no-ones predicting the demise of those.
So in my opinion the Supercar is hear to stay, its face may change a little but the soul will still be there. And long may it be so.
