Fancy Sport cars

[kinaero]

I am watching Fifth Gear at the moment and Tiff was test driving the Maclaren 12C, and a few nights ago, and they were test driving Ferrari

I don't know about you guys, but I just have no interests in them any more, it didn't excite me the way it did a few years ago.

Although, I must admit, I still wanted the Morgan plus 8 !!

I am more interested in AMG estate(Q car?) and S class nowadays.

Must be an age thing??

 

[jamesfuller]

I used to have sports cars but in all honesty I found them annoying for serious journeys as apposed to just going for a thrash. I like to have a bit of room to stretch out rather than being crammed in a mid engine car. Also nice to take some friends along to scare!

It would have to be something very old and interesting to make me buy it now.

 

[Charles Morgan]

May be an age thing but I tend to think the same. As I drive from traffic jam to traffic jam, over potholes and past speed cameras and the occasional plod, I think what would I rather spend my time in - something comfortable with a decent turn of speed or something uncomfortable which I can never use to anything close to its potential except on a track.

 

[Oli]

May be an age thing but I tend to think the same. As I drive from traffic jam to traffic jam, over potholes and past speed cameras and the occasional plod, I think what would I rather spend my time in - something comfortable with a decent turn of speed or something uncomfortable which I can never use to anything close to its potential except on a track.

I don't think it's particularly an age thing, in a lot of parts of the Country, powerful,fast cars are pointless now, at least on a bike it's much easier to overtake.

 

[jamesfuller]

May be an age thing but I tend to think the same. As I drive from traffic jam to traffic jam, over potholes and past speed cameras and the occasional plod, I think what would I rather spend my time in - something comfortable with a decent turn of speed or something uncomfortable which I can never use to anything close to its potential except on a track.

I can also add, I find driving a normal car a lot less stressfull. The worry of the wrong person seeing me when I open it up a bit. The hassle of parking it somewhere and it being left alone.

I get in my old Merc and its just got enough power to move when I need it, space, comfort, company and you can buy stuff while you are out. Plenty of ground clearance too.

 

[phoenix550]

I used to lust after a really powerful low slung sports car but now that I'm 215 lbs it's not feasible. A c class was too cramped for me so a sports car is out, especially some of the more dainty stuff like a mazda mx-5 or lotus elise.
I did see an F40 the other day. It was stunning and the loudest car I've ever heard. If I had the cash and I could fit I'd be tempted

 

[HumberMart]

Interesting thread as I feel the same also, and it seems to be a current trend.

So I'm not sure if it's an age thing. Could it be a post credit crunch effect?

Do we all feel we now need to be a bit less self indulgent and are less comfortable being seen as a poser in an impractical sports car?

We've maybe been subconsciously reprogrammed over the last 5 years to appreciate more practical/economical/longer lasting less faddy products.

Or maybe since all rep mobiles these days are 320s, E250s etc you no longer need a Z4 or MX5 to have some weekend thrills on the B roads?

 

[jamesfuller]

Interesting thread as I feel the same also, and it seems to be a current trend.

So I'm not sure if it's an age thing. Could it be a post credit crunch effect?

Do we all feel we now need to be a bit less self indulgent and are less comfortable being seen as a poser in an impractical sports car?

We've maybe been subconsciously reprogrammed over the last 5 years to appreciate more practical/economical/longer lasting less faddy products.

Or maybe since all rep mobiles these days are 320s, E250s etc you no longer need a Z4 or MX5 to have some weekend thrills on the B roads?

I don't care what I look like driving any particular type of car and I'm not bothered how others perceive me in that car. As you can probably tell

The things that bother me now didn't when I were a lad.

M3 and M5 of the 4 & 6 cylinder variety plus a couple of Alpinas is what led me away from the Italian motors for weekend toys.

The one thing I have not been able to replace is the noise of a flat plain crank V8!

I can make do with a big rumbly v8 cruiser for the daily grind though!

 

[KillerHERTZ]

P1

Saw one in the flesh. Incredible.

 

[artyman]

In days gone by you perhaps needed a sports car for performance, since the average cooking motor is now more than capable and also with the creature comforts, it has perhaps depressed the desire, so now possibly just an emotional pull.

 

[grober]

Such is the performance of modern supercars that 60% of their performance envelope is probably beyond the average driver. To achieve their levels of performance sacrifices have to be made in other aspects of the cars design to achieve that. Things such as ride comfort, visibility, ground clearance, noise levels, driveability, space for luggage, running costs - even passengers!! The mid engined 2 seat supercar is a toy for the race track. What has never gone away thankfully is the front engined rearwheel/allwheel drive 2/4 seat GT and has been joined by the luxury large 4x4 as the conveyance of choice by rich people who need to use their cars on a daily basis.

 

[GP801]

I used to think it was just me until I read this thread. Was in Malta last weekend visiting family and there was a charity car show. Loads of flash Ferraris and even the Lexus LFA. The local Toyota dealer is a friend but the car could not be driven. It had an oil leak at 2000km. It created more interest than any other vehicle there but did nothing for me. Oddly enough I found the immaculately restored Fords from the 60s and 70s much more interesting. I really must be getting very old.

 

[blue gnome123]

I've seen quite a few McClaren 12C's and even some P1 test mules around here, as I'm not too far from Woking. Great looking cars. The P1 is quite different to anything on the road. However I'm sure that owning one would be a frustration since I'm not into track days. I'm still considering a second car and maybe a 388bhp CLK or a CLK63 would be good. I like driving karts for track fun.

 

[Dryce]

I used to think it was just me until I read this thread.

Likewise.

I don't think I can name a current Lambo. My recollection goes back as far as the likes of the Miura and stops after the Diablo - and my recollection of the Diablo was something along the lines 'Oh they still make cars ...' followed by unfeigned disinterest.

I can still get interested in 911s but then it's not a super-flash 2 seater mid engined bit of fluff. But I find Porsche's announcements of cars that seem pretty much the same as the last one and the one before that a bit off-putting. I think as you get older and time passes quicker the 911 sub-variants and specials sort of run together into a fast stream of synaptic mush that makes them not very meaningful any more.

What has changed in the last 40 years is that there are 3 litre turbo-diesel saloons can now easily break sub 6s on a 0-60 - and more to the point can do it repeatedly and consistently without much hassle independent of driver skill.

Moving up a notch to V8 land the likes of the C63, E63, and M5 are not just aspirational - they're attainable by a much larger section of the population. They go extremely fast in the real world and they can carry luggage and passengers and get serviced at dealers in any major city. You can get estate versions of some of these beasts.

Moving down a notch there are other crazy options like Scoobies and Evos. Still 4 seaters. Agile and swift and still more practical than a mid engined two seater.

 

[Scott_F]

I remember reading an interview with Stephen Hendry a while ago.

He said that it had always been his ambition to own a Ferrari and when he became Snooker World Champion for the first time aged only 21 he was able to go out and buy one.

The first time he went out in it he said he felt a complete berk and promptly got rid of it for something less showy.

I think there is much to be said for that.

 

[blue gnome123]

Having said all the above just remembered that one of my business colleagues has a Ferrari FF and that is quite a combination of practicality and performance.

 

[Oli]

Such is the performance of modern supercars that 60% of their performance envelope is probably beyond the average driver. To achieve their levels of performance sacrifices have to be made in other aspects of the cars design to achieve that. Things such as ride comfort, visibility, ground clearance, noise levels, driveability, space for luggage, running costs - even passengers!! The mid engined 2 seat supercar is a toy for the race track. What has never gone away thankfully is the front engined rearwheel/allwheel drive 2/4 seat GT and has been joined by the luxury large 4x4 as the conveyance of choice by rich people who need to use their cars on a daily basis.

You know, usually I'm not the biggest fan of Bentleys but that one looks stunning.

 

[jamesfuller]

Having said all the above just remembered that one of my business colleagues has a Ferrari FF and that is quite a combination of practicality and performance.

To my mind the FF is more of a GT than a Sports car, like the old 400 and 456 used to be.

Much more bearable for a long journey or even daily use.

 

[Oli]

Likewise.

I don't think I can name a current Lambo. My recollection goes back as far as the likes of the Miura and stops after the Diablo - and my recollection of the Diablo was something along the lines 'Oh they still make cars ...' followed by unfeigned disinterest.

I can still get interested in 911s but then it's not a super-flash 2 seater mid engined bit of fluff. But I find Porsche's announcements of cars that seem pretty much the same as the last one and the one before that a bit off-putting. I think as you get older and time passes quicker the 911 sub-variants and specials sort of run together into a fast stream of synaptic mush that makes them not very meaningful any more.

What has changed in the last 40 years is that there are 3 litre turbo-diesel saloons can now easily break sub 6s on a 0-60 - and more to the point can do it repeatedly and consistently without much hassle independent of driver skill.

Moving up a notch to V8 land the likes of the C63, E63, and M5 are not just aspirational - they're attainable by a much larger section of the population. They go extremely fast in the real world and they can carry luggage and passengers and get serviced at dealers in any major city. You can get estate versions of some of these beasts.

Moving down a notch there are other crazy options like Scoobies and Evos. Still 4 seaters. Agile and swift and still more practical than a mid engined two seater.

The current Lamborghini is called the Aventador, I appreciate it, think it's a stunning car but even if I could afford one I don't think I would bother, it's just too loud and inpractical, the 911 is a great car, an everyday,reliable supercar.

If someone offered me a choice of 2 brand new vehicles forgetting about value:

 

[Darrell]

My old boss was like that. He started out as a carpenter and ended up owning a very successful bulding company.

At the age of 37 he managed to buy a new Porsche 911 C4S. We were driving through Hampstead one sunny afternoon with the roof down until we both realised we looked like a couple of idiots. We turned the next corner, put the roof up and got outta town very quickly. He soon sold it and bought a Pug 307.