Hyper and Super Car (Expanding Vocabulary)

AutoWeek, like so many other sources these days...in a bid to stay relevant, offers poor 'narrative'. A poor application of immediate and readily available information. reaching these 'conclusions' based on missing information, such as the intention and motivation of the drivers around the corners.

And it should go without saying that it really helps when you try to form conclusions, the information that is used is as accurate as possible. Further perpetuating things that are flat out wrong is an indication on being far out of the loop, maybe even lazy journalism...such facts like the P1 NOT weighing anywhere close to 3,075lbs. They are in the range of 3,400-3,475lbs. So, knowing that Z06 and P1 are in fact, in real life, very close in weight, the 'narrative' must then be adjusted. However, because of the desire to demonstrate just how big of a gap there is between the words 'super' and 'hyper' (the point of their 'narrative' in the first place), it has to be repeated: 650hp vs. 903hp...3500lbs vs 3000lbs. Frankly, the continued 'ignorance' is stupid and annoying.

 

You know that there is a Ferrari hypercar too, don't you?

 

I think it is misdirected to tie the terms "super,hyper,exotic,etc." to performance much anyway - the terms really go most directly to how limited the production is, and performance is so fleeting.

The P1, F40, laF, etc. will always be "more" than more common exotics, even as new models eclipse performance.

It is a bit tricky for special editions of common cars ( that might be fewer than exotics), but such is life.

So Imo, we have exotics for the cars from the boutique manufacturers, super/hyper or whatever for the really limited editions, and once so named it sticks, even if the next gen of std model is faster than yesterday's Hyper model.

 

To me the term "supercar" comes from the time that we separated cars above normal sports cars. In my mind it really begins with the F40. Its not just the performance or the rarity, its also the styling, the price everything. Everything pushes the envelope.

That leaves the 288 GTO out because its not quite there. In my mind the 288 is the progenitor for the Ferrari Supercars.

Id put all the cars on your list in the Supercar category.

The current crop of exotic sportscars such as the 458 push the abilities of the car so beyond their predecessors that its tempting to call the 458 a Supercar. And because it really has the lines, the performance, I think it has begun to encroach into the Supercar category.

When I see the LaFerrari, I think its so far beyond Supercars of yesteryear that I think its a Hypercar.

This is all subjective of course, its just how I understand it.

 

Simple...

Junior Supercar:
308, 355, 430, 458, 488, Esprit Turbo, Jalpa, Gallardo, Huracan, etc, etc

Supercar:
512BB, 599, F12, Countach, Murciélago, Aventador etc, etc

Hypercar:
F40, Enzo, LaFerrari, F1, P1, Zonda, Veyron etc, etc

If you're of a certain age (i.e. old!) this pecking order will probably be familiar. What's happened is that, over the years, lazy motoring journalists have just thrown terms around either in the search for hyperbole or through plain ignorance and everyone is now confused.

 

Oh, and I've just remembered that Lamborghini have not helped matters by describing the Aventador as a 'Super Sportscar'.

 

Seems to me these terms are era depedent. Countach, F40 and 959 were super cars in their day. Today the 458 outperforms.

 

There's more to being a supercar than just the numbers. By definition, a company like Nissan can't make a 'supercar'. A supercar has to be 'special'. The GTR is amazing, but it's not special.

And, yes, the categories keep pace with the times. If you stopped measuring at the Countach there'd be quite a few fairly ordinary cars that you'd have to classify as supercars (if we were going only on the numbers, of course).

 

All my cars are Supercars as I think they are super !

 

Rather predictable response from Nissan.

 

Agree with this and it was simple.

 

I'd swap the 599 with the Speciale. The 599 is a V12 and a great car but not (in my humble opinion) nearly the drive of the Speciale.

 

In that case, I would discount all cars driven by batteries as well. Which will soon mean every car.

 

I always thought about classifying cars such as:

sports - higher production, high performance, Corvette, Porsche 911, etc.

exotic - lower production, high performance, more rare, Ferrari 458, Lambo Gallardo, etc.

super - more rare car, Lambo Aventador

hyper - unique, one-off, etc. Zonda, P-1, Porsche 918, etc.

Of course the lines can be blurred in a few cases, i.e. a top-rare Porsche GT2/GT3 would cross over into exotic/super car, but a base 911 would only be a sports car...same maybe with a Ferrari more limited 599GTO would be a super car rather than an exotic...

This has worked well for me to get these organized in my head and holds true even going back in time to some extent, although the hyper-definition is a little more difficult to apply going back in time, i.e. in the 90s a hyper-car would have been the McLaren F1 but I don't think there were hyper-cars going back in the 70s, 80s, etc. I'd consider the Countach and the BB512 (the top of what Lambo and Ferrari produced as super cars).

I'm just guessing that the car manufacturers have diversified into different strata over time to cater to more markets and this has created new terminologies such as above...

 

This makes very good sense. Where would limited run Fcars like the 16M or the 458 Aperta fit into this?

 

I am fortunate to own an F40 and 458 Speciale. There's no question the 458 Speciale is massively a better car to drive than the F40. Night and day better. I would sell the Speciale this afternoon over the F40.

The F40 is a go-kart with a V8 and two huge turbos attached. Unruly, hard, raw. The gear change is rough. OK, with a body which is pure filth.

The F40 doesn't schmooze, it wasn't designed to meet today's rules and regs. The Speciale is incredible. I am gobsmacked at the range of its ability. I adore driving the Speciale. But it's the F40 that makes me sweat, makes my heart-rate double, it is the one that makes me piss my pants laughing. That sets the F40 apart from the Speciale.

Btw, there is a car which remains a dark horse but IMO kinda straddles both the F40 and Speciale experience. An ex racing driver told me very recently he thinks the F50 is about as good as it gets.

 

I would put them one level higher (i.e. if the 430 was an exotic then these would be super cars) but only if there was a substantial modification to their performance, which I think in the case of the 16M and other limited production I think it would be the case. The lines are blurred between these classes in my mind; especially when you add the 'race car' category and some of the lightened versions of the street cars such as the Scuderia would gravitate towards the race-inspired versions.

 

Agree -- and also if we look at today vs 3-4 decades ago there were much fewer categories. Heck, at the beginning of the car generation, there was only the Ford Model T, i.e. 'car' Then there were more performance = sports cars, then more rare cars that were raced, i.e. race cars; etc.

 

There were race cars long before the Model T.

My classification is simple:

Hypercars: LaFerrari, P1, Veyron etc. The best of the best!
Supercars: F12, Aventador etc. The next best thing.
Jr Supercars: 458, Gallardo etc. The smaller and more nimble supercars.
Sportscars: 911, Evora etc. Affordable fun and purity.