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What is a Super Car?

Thu, 2009/12/10 - 10:10am — Journo.Student

Have you ever noticed when you are sitting at a table with friends, family or even strangers, and someone mentions a supercar, you see eyes light up and opinions start flowing. There is something about supercars that fascinates human beings. Is it the 200mph speed of a normal supercar, the price tag we wish we could afford or is it the unique design that make you stare for hours?

Someone once asked me, what makes a car a supercar. “Well this is going to be a simple question to answer” I said to myself. To tell you the truth I didn’t know how to answer that simple question. So I made it my mission to find out … What does it take for a car to join the exclusive league of supercars.

It would only be fitting, for people/aliens born on another planet to see what they look like so I show you a couple of supercars. Here are some of the best supercars on the market out there:

The all new and exiting Audi R8 V10

When they design racing tracks all around the globe, I bet they have only one car on there minds, the new Audi R8 V10. Combining the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 engine with Audi’s legendary quattro-drive system, which has won Audi several rally trophies, you can only think that this is worthy of such a name as SUPERCAR.

Unlike normal supercars, the R8 comes out with a standard 5year/ 100 000km service plan. This covers everything on the car. “We are the first, between our competitors, with a supercar” said Unathi Tete from Audi. “This is Audi’s flagship. It lets you escape and it is very exclusive” said Unathi Tete.

Audi is the world’s first automobile manufacturer to compete for overall victory at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans with a diesel engine and is, as a result, a step ahead of the competition. Audi is the inventor of the TDI and therefore the trend setter in this area. There is an 80% chance that the R8 will be produced with the V12 TDI motor. With ideas like this, Audi’s possibilities are endless.

I had the privilege of test driving a new Audi R8 V10. At the turn of the ignition, all my childhood dreams flashed in front of me. All those posters I had on my wall of supercars, all those looooong hours talking about what supercar I would own when I grew up. I was in the driving seat … the wheel in my hands and blast off a few seconds away.

I had to admit I felt a little intimidated and thought perhaps driving a supercar would be a little difficult. But that is what makes the R8 such a brilliant everyday supercar, it wasn’t difficult at all. When driving at the normal speed, it feels like your everyday car, but when you stomp on that accelerator paddle; you let loose all 512 of those horses out of the gate at the same time.

And that is a good thing … yehaaaaa!

Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4

Way back when Ferruccio Lamborghini went to see Enzo Ferrari about the clutch problem on the Ferrari 250 GT, years ago, Enzo Ferrari didn’t have any time for a tractor manufacturer. I bet he was sorry a few years later!

Ferruccio Lamborghini thought that there was nothing Ferrari could do that he couldn’t do better. Well did he show him the finger! The rivalry continues today.

How do you take the normal Gallardo and improve on it? You design a 5.2litre engine with 560 horse power, that’s how. With its permanent 4-wheel drive system, it helps to put all those steroid crazy horses on the road. With the same engine as the Audi R8 V10, what makes this car so much more exclusive?

Ahem …the price tag. Yikes! at around R4.5 million you can own one like this. But it’s not just about the price, it’s about the history and culture that comes with this car.

This is a car that you usually see on your son’s bedroom wall, a car that people wonder about. It is THE car that every young boy wants when he grows up.

The Ferrari F430

When someone asks you, what car do you think of when you think of a supercar? Ferrari is one of the first cars that springs to mind.

The Ferrari F430 is the successor of the ever popular Ferrari 360. With a V8 powered engine, it produces 483 horse power at 8500 rpm. It might not have as much power or such a big engine as the Gallardo or R8, but damn it makes a statement.

It is sex on wheels … just look at it …

There is more to this car than the looks and price tag. With devices like C/SiC, E-Diff and GSD3 EMT tyres, it sounds like this master piece has been put together by NASA themselves.

What is a Supercar?

The motor guru Jeremy Clarkson says: “Supercars have a huge allure. Their beauty. Those massive engines. The sense that you will never want for anything else, ever again. That you are stuck in a pantomime and life is just one big bag of sweeties and laughter.

You dream of an Alpine road, and of dropping down a cog in the tunnel to amplify the noise still further. It is a lovely dream to have and it’s why I’m a sucker for the breed. It’s why I bought the Lambo 10 minutes after I sold the Ford and said, “Never again”. And it’s why, now, 10 minutes after I sold the Lambo and said, “Never again” again, I am looking at the R8 with a cocked eyebrow and a head full of possibilities.”

When looking for a supercar on the road, don’t mind looking in the traffic. You will find them in a place with chicanes, s-bens and long straights, a place called the race track. This is a place where you can unleash that big engine and super agility.

They aren’t meant to be stuck in traffic on you way to work, it’s meant to be out in the wild like an animal. For some it’s a toy others a party trick, and others who buy these pricey beasts it is no more than mechanical Viagra – a babe magnet!

Who coined the word ‘supercar’, was brilliant. Combining the two most powerful words in the English language, they managed to successfully capture what a supercar is about.

I don’t think we will ever know the true meaning of the word supercar. But that is the beauty of it. It is an experience to be enjoyed … the wind in your hair, adrenaline in your veins and the fading sirens of the metro cops in your ears.

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