Like just about everything else in the World, things come and go in cycles. One of the most exciting trends is supercars. Every 20 to 25 years, enthusiasts are treated to fantastic road and track machines that dreams are made of. Although many continue to be built, the great ones come and go.
Two decades ago, I was drooling over the Ferrari 288GTO, the Lamborghini Countach LP5000 and the Porsche 959. Does anyone remember the Jaguar XJ220 or the McLaren F1? How about the ill-fated Vector cars? These cars were exceptional in design and performance but they did not last. In the course of the 90s, Ferrari was down to three models and both Lamborghini and Porsche were limited to just one. Fast forward to 2005-06 and each of these builders are soaring to new heights. Porsche and Ferrari are creating ultra exclusive cars available in very limited numbers and Lamborghini has just introduced a third car in its line-up.
Although the ultra-luxury super-sports car business is doing well, many of them are leaving us as these lines are being read. One of them is the Porsche Carrera GT. Production has ended and very few are left. Ferrari has sold all of its 299 Enzos and Enzo-derived non-street legal FXX (29 available). These cars will never return to the assembly lines; this is both sad and good as these gems will become all the more desirable and exclusive. The fabled long-running Acura NSX is another dedicated performance automobile that has left us.
To a certain extent, I believe that the supercar business has peaked. Over the next 10 years, fewer of these models will be introduced until, hopefully, in the mid to late teens of the 21st Century, the craze will begin anew.
At the moment though, there are many independent builders, in Europe especially, that continue to assemble exhilarating cars. I am thinking of Pagani and Noble for example. These small enterprises use existing powertrains (saving time and money) and are able to satisfy many enthusiasts with their specialty products.
Why do these supercars exists? These cars are showcases by which manufacturers display their no-how and their latest technology. Nearly all of them are financial drains on the builder. Take the fastest, most powerful and ultimate car ever built to date; the Bugatti Veyron. It costs Volkswagen 7.35 million euros to build a car that they then retail for 1.235 million euros. In other words, the Bugatti costs nearly 6 times more to be assembled than the price they sell it for.
If we are lucky, and I know we are, history will continue to repeat itself. We will never have time to get bored.
Two decades ago, I was drooling over the Ferrari 288GTO, the Lamborghini Countach LP5000 and the Porsche 959. Does anyone remember the Jaguar XJ220 or the McLaren F1? How about the ill-fated Vector cars? These cars were exceptional in design and performance but they did not last. In the course of the 90s, Ferrari was down to three models and both Lamborghini and Porsche were limited to just one. Fast forward to 2005-06 and each of these builders are soaring to new heights. Porsche and Ferrari are creating ultra exclusive cars available in very limited numbers and Lamborghini has just introduced a third car in its line-up.
Although the ultra-luxury super-sports car business is doing well, many of them are leaving us as these lines are being read. One of them is the Porsche Carrera GT. Production has ended and very few are left. Ferrari has sold all of its 299 Enzos and Enzo-derived non-street legal FXX (29 available). These cars will never return to the assembly lines; this is both sad and good as these gems will become all the more desirable and exclusive. The fabled long-running Acura NSX is another dedicated performance automobile that has left us.
To a certain extent, I believe that the supercar business has peaked. Over the next 10 years, fewer of these models will be introduced until, hopefully, in the mid to late teens of the 21st Century, the craze will begin anew.
At the moment though, there are many independent builders, in Europe especially, that continue to assemble exhilarating cars. I am thinking of Pagani and Noble for example. These small enterprises use existing powertrains (saving time and money) and are able to satisfy many enthusiasts with their specialty products.
Why do these supercars exists? These cars are showcases by which manufacturers display their no-how and their latest technology. Nearly all of them are financial drains on the builder. Take the fastest, most powerful and ultimate car ever built to date; the Bugatti Veyron. It costs Volkswagen 7.35 million euros to build a car that they then retail for 1.235 million euros. In other words, the Bugatti costs nearly 6 times more to be assembled than the price they sell it for.
If we are lucky, and I know we are, history will continue to repeat itself. We will never have time to get bored.