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A supercar, also known as an exotic car, is a street-legal
sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...
with race track-like power, speed, and handling, plus a certain subjective ''cachet'' linked to pedigree and/or exclusivity. The term 'supercar' is frequently used for the extreme fringe of powerful, low-bodied
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 ...
luxury Luxury may refer to: *Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, a tax on products not considered essential, such as speedboats or diamonds. **Luxury tax (sports), a ...
sportscars. A low-profile car may have limited ground clearance, but a handling-favorable
center of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the barycenter or balance point) is the unique point at any given time where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. For ...
and a smaller frontal area than a
front engine Front-engine design is an automotive design where the engine is in the front side of the car, connected to the wheels via a drive shaft. The main types of Front engine design are: * Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, the traditional automo ...
d car. These characteristics can reduce supercars'
aerodynamic drag In fluid dynamics, drag, sometimes referred to as fluid resistance, is a force acting opposite to the direction of motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding fluid. This can exist between two fluid layers, two solid surfaces, or b ...
, enabling higher top speeds. Since the 2000s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest-performance supercars. Supercars often serve as the flagship model within a vehicle manufacturer's sports car range and typically feature various performance-related technology derived from
motorsports Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the po ...
. Some examples include the
Ferrari 458 Italia The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is an Italian mid-engine sports car produced by Ferrari. The 458 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 Turi ...
,
Lamborghini Aventador The Lamborghini Aventador () is a mid-engine, two passenger sports car manufactured and marketed by Lamborghini from 2011 until 2022. Named after a prominent Spanish fighting bull that fought in Zaragoza, Aragón, in 1993, the Aventador suc ...
, and
McLaren 720S The McLaren 720S is a sports car 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 t ...
. Automotive journalism typically reserves the predicate 'hypercar' for low (two- to low 4-figure) production-number cars, built over and above the marque's typical product line-up and carrying 21st century sales prices often exceeding a million
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
s,
dollars Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...
, or pounds. Examples include the Porsche's Carrera GT,
Ford GT The Ford GT is a Mid-engine design, mid-engine two-seater sports car manufactured and marketed by American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company, Ford for the 2005 model year in conjunction with the company's 2003 centenary. The second gene ...
s, and the Ferrari F40/ F50/
Enzo Enzo is an Italian given name derivative of the German name Heinz. It can be used also as the short form for Lorenzo, Vincenzo, Innocenzo, or Fiorenzo. It is most common in the Romance-speaking world, particularly in Italy and Latin America. ...
lineage. Only a few car makers, like
Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French automotive industry, manufacturer of high performance vehicle, high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German Empire, German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the ...
and
Koenigsegg Koenigsegg Automotive AB () is a Swedish manufacturer of high-performance sports cars based in Ängelholm, Skåne County, Sweden. Koenigsegg cars have on several occasions broken various production car speed records. Company The company w ...
, only make hypercars. }


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 high-performance production road car with a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, which has since become the standa ...
, introduced in 1966 by the Italian manufacturer, is often said to be the first supercar. By the 1970s and 1980s, the term was in regular use for such a car, 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 ...
two-seat cars with at least eight cylinders (but typically a
V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-Cylinder (engine), cylinder Internal combustion engine#Reciprocating engines, piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V engine, V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more c ...
), 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"; exclusivity – in terms of limited production volumes, such as those of the most elite models made by
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
or
Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. ( , ), usually referred to as Lamborghini or colloquially Lambo, is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its su ...
– is also an essential characteristic for some using the term. Some European manufacturers, such as
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
, Pagani, and
Koenigsegg Koenigsegg Automotive AB () is a Swedish manufacturer of high-performance sports cars based in Ängelholm, Skåne County, Sweden. Koenigsegg cars have on several occasions broken various production car speed records. Company The company w ...
, specialize in only producing supercars.


North America

During the 1960s, the highest-performance versions of American
muscle car A muscle car is an American-made two-door sports coupe with a powerful engine, marketed for its performance. In 1949, General Motors introduced its 88 with the company's OHV Rocket V8 engine, which was previously available only in its lux ...
s were referred to as supercars. The description was sometimes spelled with a capital S. Its use reflected the intense competition for primacy in that market segment between U.S. manufacturers, retroactively characterized as the "horsepower wars". Already by 1965 the May issue of the American magazine ''Car Life'' included multiple references to supercars and "the supercar club", and a 1968 issue of ''Car & Driver'' magazine describes a "Supercar street racer gang" market segment. The "S/C" in the model name of the AMC S/C Rambler produced in 1969 as a street-legal racer is an abbreviation for "SuperCar". Since the decline of the muscle car in the 1970s, the word supercar has been more broadly internationalized, coming to mean an "exotic" car that has high performance; interpretations of the term span from limited-production models produced by small manufacturers for performance enthusiasts to (less frequently) standard production cars modified for exceptional performance. The 1990s and 2000s saw a rise in American supercars with similar characteristics to their European counterparts. Some American "Big Three" (i.e. General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford, the historic leaders of America's Detroit-based auto-industry) sports cars which have been referred to as supercars include contemporary
Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a line of American two-door, two-seater sports cars manufactured and marketed by General Motors under the Chevrolet marque since 1953. Throughout eight generations, indicated sequentially as C1 to C8, the Corvette is not ...
s, the
Dodge Viper The Dodge Viper is a sports car that was manufactured by Dodge (by Street & Racing Technology, SRT for 2013 and 2014), a division of American car manufacturer Chrysler from 1992 until 2017, having taken a brief hiatus in 2007 and from 2011 to 20 ...
, and the
Ford GT The Ford GT is a Mid-engine design, mid-engine two-seater sports car manufactured and marketed by American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company, Ford for the 2005 model year in conjunction with the company's 2003 centenary. The second gene ...
. Supercars made by smaller American manufacturers include the
Saleen S7 The Saleen S7 is an American hand-built, high-performance sports car designed and built by American automobile manufacturer Saleen Automotive Inc. Developed jointly by Steve Saleen for the initial concept, direction and engine, Hidden Creek Indu ...
,
SSC Ultimate Aero The SSC Ultimate Aero is a mid-engined sports car that was produced by SSC North America (formerly known as Shelby SuperCars) from 2004 until 2013. The SSC Ultimate Aero held the world production car speed record title, according to the ''Guinne ...
,
SSC Tuatara The SSC Tuatara is a sports car designed, developed and manufactured by American automobile manufacturer SSC North America (formerly Shelby SuperCars Inc.). The car is the successor to the Ultimate Aero and is the result of a design collabora ...
,
Hennessey Venom GT The Hennessey Venom GT is a high performance sports car manufactured by US manufacturer Hennessey Performance Engineering. The Venom GT is based on the Lotus Elise/ Exige. Speed records On January 21, 2013, the Venom GT set a Guinness World ...
, and Hennessey Venom F5.


East Asia

During the early 1990s, Japan began to gain global recognition for making high-performance sports cars; the automotive media described the lightweight, mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive, V6
Honda NSX The Honda NSX, marketed in North America as the Acura NSX, is a two-seater, Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, rear mid-engined, rear-wheel drive sports car manufactured by Honda. The origins of the NSX trace back to 1984, with the HP-X ...
produced from 1990 through 2005 as Japan's "first". Matching contemporary European supercars in performance and features, the NSX was more reliable and user-friendly. In the 21st century, other Japanese makers produced supercars. From 2010 until 2012, Lexus marketed the
Lexus LFA The is a two-door sports car produced between 2010 and 2012 by the Japanese carmaker Toyota under its luxury marque, Lexus. Lexus built 500 units over its production span of two years. The development of the LFA, codenamed TXS, began in early ...
, a two-seat front-engine coupe powered by a V10 engine producing . The 2009–present
Nissan GT-R The Nissan GT-R (''Gran Turismo–Racing''; model code: R35; Japanese: 日産・GT-R; ''Nissan GT-R'') is a series of cars built by Japanese marque Nissan from 2007 to 2025. It has a 2+2 (car body style), 2+2 seating layout and is considered b ...
has been described as a modern supercar that delivers everyday practicality. It features a twin-turbo V6 producing between , with all-wheel-drive and dual-clutch transmission. The
second generation Second generation or variants may refer to: * Second generation immigrant ** Nisei, one of the second generation of people of Japanese descent in the Americas * Second generation of Chinese leaders, see Generations of Chinese leadership * Second-ge ...
Honda NSX made from 2016 until 2022 used all-wheel drive, a hybrid powertrain (producing up to ), turbocharging, and a dual-clutch transmission.


Hypercar

Another term for high-performance sportscars is "hypercar", which is sometimes used to describe the highest-performing supercars. An extension of "supercar", it too lacks a set definition. One offered by the automotive magazine, ''The Drive'', is "a limited-production, top-of-the-line supercar"; prices can reach or exceed US$1 million, and already had by 2017. Some observers consider the tubular framed, first-ever production fuel-injection, world's fastest street-legal, 1954
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (chassis code W 198) is a two-seat sports car that was produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1954 to 1957 as a gullwinged coupé and from 1957 to 1963 as a roadster. The 300 SL traces its origins to the company's 1952 racin ...
"Gullwing" as the first hypercar; others the revolutionary, first-ever
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 ...
d 1967
Lamborghini Miura The Lamborghini Miura is a sports car produced by Italian automaker Lamborghini between 1966 and 1973. The car was the first high-performance production road car with a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, which has since become the standa ...
; others yet the 1993
McLaren F1 The McLaren F1 is a sports car that was the first Motor vehicle type approval, type approved road-going sportscar manufactured by British Formula One team McLaren. It was the last road-legal, series-produced sportscar to win the 24 Hours of Le ...
or 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 Pi ...
. With a 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. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...
, many new hypercars use a hybrid drivetrain, a trend started in 2013 with the
McLaren P1 The McLaren P1 (codenamed P12) is a flagship sports car produced by British marque McLaren Automotive. Styled by American car designer Frank Stephenson, it is the second installment in McLaren's Ultimate Series after the McLaren F1. Considered ...
,
Porsche 918 Spyder The Porsche 918 Spyder is a high performance sports car manufactured by German marque Porsche. The 918 Spyder is a plug-in hybrid powered by a mid-mounted naturally aspirated V8 engine, developing at 8,700RPM, with two electric motors deliveri ...
, and
LaFerrari LaFerrari, project name F150, is a limited production mid-engine, mild hybrid sports car built by Italian automotive manufacturer Ferrari. Its name means "The Ferrari" in Italian, as it is intended to be the definitive Ferrari. Design and de ...
, then continued in 2016 with the Koenigsegg Regera, in 2017 with the Mercedes-AMG One, and the McLaren Speedtail. Modern hypercars such as Pininfarina Battista, NIO EP9, Rimac Nevera, and
Lotus Evija The Lotus Evija is a limited production electric sports car manufactured by British automobile manufacturer Lotus Cars. Unveiled in July 2019, it is the first electric vehicle introduced and manufactured by the company. Codenamed "Type 130" and ...
have also gone full-electric. Hypercars have also been used as a base for the
Le Mans Hypercar A Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) is a type of sports prototype race car that competes alongside LMDh entries in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship. It also competes in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA SportsC ...
class after rule changes came into effect from 2021.


See also

*
List of sports car manufacturers A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
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 below list of rules. This list use ...
* Supercar Season * Super truck * Super SUV


References


External links

* {{Automobile configuration Car classifications
Sports cars A sports car is a type of automobile that is 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 1910s and ar ...