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A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance
sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
s. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as the flagship model within a vehicle manufacturer's line-up of sports cars and typically feature various performance-related technology derived from
motorsports
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
. Some examples include the
Ferrari 458 Italia
The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is a mid-engine sports car produced by Ferrari. The F458 is the successor of the F430, and was first officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was succeeded by the 488 GTB (Gran Turismo Berl ...
,
Lamborghini Aventador
The Lamborghini Aventador () is a mid-engine sportscar produced by the Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini. In keeping with Lamborghini tradition, the Aventador is named after a Spanish fighting bull that fought in Zaragoza, Aragón in ...
, and
McLaren 720S
The McLaren 720S is a Supercar designed and manufactured by British automobile manufacturer McLaren Automotive. It is the second all-new car in the McLaren ''Super Series'', replacing the 650S beginning in May 2017.
The 720S was launched at the ...
.
In the United States,
muscle car
Muscle car is a description according to ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' that came to use in 1966 for "a group of American-made two-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." The '' Britannica Dictionary'' ...
s were often referred to as "supercars" during the 1960s.
History
Europe
The
Lamborghini Miura
The Lamborghini Miura is a sports car produced by Italian automaker Lamborghini between 1966 and 1973. The car was the first supercar with a rear mid-engined two-seat layout, although the concept was first seen in a production road car with Ren ...
, produced from 1966–1973, is often said to be the first supercar.
By the 1970s and 1980s the term was in regular use, if not precisely defined. One interpretation up until the 1990s was to use it for
mid-engine
In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle.
History
The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout of ...
two-seat cars with at least eight cylinders (but typically a
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines.
The fi ...
), a power output of at least and a top speed of at least .
Other interpretations state that "it must be very fast, with sporting handling to match", "it should be sleek and eye-catching" and its price should be "one in a rarefied atmosphere of its own" or regard exclusivity (i.e. limited production volumes) as an important characteristic.
It is also claimed that the definition of a supercar has always been subjective and a matter of blind prejudice.
United States
During the 1960s, cars that are now considered to be muscle cars were then referred to as supercars.
The term was sometimes spelled with a capital S. In 1966 the sixties supercar became an official industry trend.
For example, the May 1965 issue of the American magazine ''Car Life'' includes multiple references to supercars and "the supercar club" and a 1968 issue of ''Car & Driver'' magazine refers to "the Supercar street racer gang" market segment. In the model name of the
AMC S/C Rambler, the "S/C" is an abbreviation for "SuperCar".
Since the decline of the muscle car in the 1970s, the word supercar came to mean a car that has high performance (such as those made by
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
or
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi.
Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...
)
interpretations of the term are for limited-production models produced by small manufacturers for enthusiasts, and, less so, standard-looking cars modified for increased performance.
Hypercar
A more recent term for high-performance sportscars is "hypercar", which is sometimes used to describe the highest performing supercars. As per supercars, there is no set definition for what constitutes a hypercar. An attempt to define these is "a limited-production, top-of-the-line supercar with a price of around or more than US$1 million."
Some people consider the 1993
McLaren F1
The McLaren F1 is a sports car designed and manufactured by British automobile manufacturer McLaren Cars, and powered by the BMW S70/2 V12 engine. The original concept was conceived by Gordon Murray. Murray was able to convince Ron Dennis to ...
to be the first hypercar, while others believe the 2005
Bugatti Veyron
The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car, designed and developed in Germany by the Volkswagen Group and Bugatti and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti. It was named after the racing driver Pie ...
was the first hypercar.
With a recent shift towards
electrification
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source.
The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...
, many recent hypercars use a
hybrid drivetrain, a trend started in 2013 by the
McLaren P1
The McLaren P1 is a limited-production mid-engine plug-in hybrid sports car produced by British automobile manufacturer McLaren Automotive. Debuted at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, sales of the P1 began in the United Kingdom in October 2013 and al ...
,
Porsche 918 Spyder
The Porsche 918 Spyder is a limited-production mid-engine plug-in hybrid sports car manufactured by German automobile manufacturer Porsche. The 918 Spyder is powered by a naturally aspirated V8 engine, developing at 8,700RPM, with two electric ...
, and
LaFerrari
LaFerrari, project name F150 is a limited production mid-engine mild hybrid sports car built by Italian automotive manufacturer Ferrari. LaFerrari means "The Ferrari" in Italian and some other Romance languages, in the sense that it is the " ...
, then continued in 2016 with the
Koenigsegg Regera
The Koenigsegg Regera is a limited production, plug-in hybrid grand touring sports car manufactured by Swedish automotive manufacturer Koenigsegg. It was unveiled at the March 2015 Geneva Motor Show. The name Regera is a Swedish verb, meaning " ...
, in 2017 with the
Mercedes-AMG One, and in 2019 with the
Ferrari SF90 Stradale
The Ferrari SF90 Stradale (Type F173) is a mid-engine PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. The car shares its name with the SF90 Formula One car with SF90 standing for the 90 ...
and
McLaren Speedtail
The McLaren Speedtail is a limited-production hybrid sports car manufactured by McLaren Automotive, revealed on October 26, 2018. This car is the fourth edition in the ''McLaren Ultimate Series'', after the Senna, the P1, and the F1. The car ...
.
Modern hypercars such as
Pininfarina Battista
The Pininfarina Battista is an electric sports car manufactured by Automobili Pininfarina GmbH which is headquartered in Munich, Germany, with roots in the Italian car design firm and coachbuilder Pininfarina. The name Battista is a tribute to ...
,
NIO EP9,
Rimac Nevera
The Rimac Nevera (pronounced: ǐːmat͡s něʋeːra is an all-electric sports car designed and manufactured by the Croatian automotive manufacturer Rimac Automobili. The first production prototype car was released in August 2021. Nevera pro ...
, and
Lotus Evija
The Lotus Evija is a limited production electric sports car to be manufactured by British automobile manufacturer Lotus Cars. Unveiled in July 2019, it is the first electric vehicle to be introduced and manufactured by the company. Codenamed "Typ ...
have also gone
full-electric
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
.
Hypercars will also be able to be used as a base for Le Mans Prototype cars when rule changes come into effect from 2021.
See also
*
List of sports car manufacturers This is a list of specialist manufacturers or marques of modern and classic sports cars. It includes ''only'' companies that are devoted ''exclusively'' to producing sports cars.
A sports car is an automobile designed for performance driving; howev ...
*
List of fastest production cars
This is a list of the world's record-breaking top speeds achieved by street-legal production cars (as opposed to concept cars or modified cars). For the purposes of this list eligible cars are defined in the list's rules. This list uses a dif ...
*
Supercar Season
The term "Supercar Season" began in London and became synonymous with wealthy Middle Eastern visitors showcasing their supercars in affluent London neighbourhoods, namely Knightsbridge and Kensington, while car enthusiasts collect footage to upl ...
References
External links
*
{{Automobile configuration
Car classifications
Sports cars
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...