By Ryan Hooper
Have you ever wondered, what makes a car a supercar?
Asking what makes a car super is like asking, what makes a woman beautiful - everyone has its own opinion.
A term supercar was coined to describe extremely expensive, extremely beautiful and extremely fast cars. But the proper use of this term is often subjective and disputed, especially among enthusiasts. There is no clear definition of what characteristics a car must have to be a supercar. What constitutes a supercar is often a matter of opinion. Also, the use of the term is heavily dependent on the era - a car that is considered to be a supercar at one time may lose its superiority in the future.
It is also important to know that the term supercar refers to factory-built, usually unmodified, street-legal cars. Heavily modified and potentially street - illegal vehicles do not fall into the supercar category. Supercars are not muscle cars or tuned up sports cars. And there is no such thing as a cut price supercar.
A supercar is a car that combines speed, handling, unique design and represents the pinnacle of the automaker's art. Supercar is the car equivalent of a supermodel or a race horse. There are, off course, some basic criteria for measuring whether a car should be considered a supercar or not. Things to consider: design, acceleration, top speed, handling, power-to-weight ratio, style, rarity, price - all of these has to be super in a supercar.
Want an example? Here is a prime example of a supercar - The Bugatti Veyron.
The Bugatti Veyron is currently (2007) the most expensive (around $1.5 million) and fastest fully street legal car in the world. The Guinness Book of World Records included Bugatti Veyron under the heading - Fastest Production Car. With 1001 horsepower this supercar champion features all the most recent automotive advancements and is able to achieve a top speed of 253 mph (407km/h). This is faster than any production car ever made, it's actually faster than Formula 1 cars. Supercars are not just fast, they are blazingly fast.
Other supercars include: Koenigsegg CCX, Pagani Zonda, McLaren F1, Saleen S7 Twin Turbo, Enzo Ferrari, Lamborghini Murcielago and so on.
On the fun side, if you ever doubt whether a car is a supercar or not, consider this: A car might be a supercar if - you have a wallpaper or a poster of it, it's worth more than your house, you drool when you see one, it can break the speed limit in 1st gear, you will probably never own one, but if you do, you would never give the keys to the valet.
In conclusion, a supercar is a car that changes your idea of what a car is and what a car can do.
About the author: Ryan Hooper is a car lover and a big admirer of the first true American supercar: Saleen S7 Twin Turbo
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