5 Reasons Why Supercar Ownership Has Zero Appeal
1. Supercars are no fun
Think about how much fun you have when driving your car. I’m guessing you have fun most of the time because, like me, you probably don’t own a supercar or hypercar. I’m sure a lot of you who do drive, don’t even have anywhere near 200bhp, and you know what? That’s awesome.
The reason why this is awesome is because you get to spank your car’s engine, suspension and chassis pretty hard a lot of the time, and I’m sure that you know what your car’s limits are by now (some of you will have crossed this line too). Now imagine reaching that same threshold of a supercar’s limits. Do it on the road (where the majority of us do 99.9 per cent of our driving), and one of three things will happen - you’ll either crash, you might kill someone and you’ll likely get your license taken by the cops for a very long time. Give me a wheezy MX-5 over a LaFerrari for a fun street hoon any time. The Ferrari I’ll take for that remaining 0.01 per cent of my driving.
2. You'll always be scared to drive it
Supercars and hypercars are fragile, highly strung machines. Their turning circles suck, their doors scrape on kerb stones and their wide bodies make it near-impossible to just flow through traffic. Narrow streets lead to more squeaky-bum moments, visibility is appalling and parking is a mission.
For these reasons, you can’t just jump in and drive to your destination. You need to plan your route, be super alert at all times and keep a very close eye on the speedo. Does that really sound like fun to you?
3. I don't think it's cool to own a supercar
People who own supercars and hypercars are minted, I get that. But why is it that the majority of these owners have zero imagination? Lambos, Ferraris, McLarens, Porsches…these are all factory cars that anyone with money can buy. So why not use the money you were going to pay out on a Ferrari 458 and create something unique and truly incredible? If I had the money for a 458, I’d rather put an LFA engine in an E30 Touring than be another rich guy in a Ferrari.
4. Jealousy from others will cost you big bucks
I can’t even begin to imagine how much trouble it is to find a safe place to park a supercar. Leave it in a bad area for even a few minutes and a massive key scratch could land you with a bill for thousands. For that reason, I’d much rather own a car that looks pretty normal, but that has the potential to embarrass a Ferrari underneath a shabby, less ostentatious skin.
Parking in parking lots and supermarket car parks brings its own issues too, I’m sure. You only need to look at some dented car doors to understand how little people care about their vehicles. And if they don’t care about their own cars, do you think they’ll give a moment’s thought to how much a panel repair on your Lambo would cost? Hell no.
5. I don't believe in status symbols
If you knew me, you’d know that I wear clothes from Primark, cut my own hair and shop at Lidl. It’s not that I’m cheap, it’s just that I see no damn point in paying extra for something that I can get for half the price. And the same goes for cars. Sure, I could have fun in a Ferrari, but that fun wouldn’t ever come close to the fun I do already have in an MX-5 or 20-year-old E36 M3 (a car I don’t consider a status symbol, I just love the look and the engine).
People buy supercars and hypercars not to explore these cars’ limits, but to impress people that they’ve never met. And to me, that’s just sad…
Comments
why not both ? you can use your daily car for work or daily activities and your supercar for vacation or car meet 👍
I can tell you from the point of a guy who most of live drived motorbikes then owned new Nissan GTR in 2013 and then “downgrade” to Evo 8 after 1 year which I modded myself.
I really, really like Nr. 5.
Because it’s true, if you can get something for cheap and the only thing different is whether it’s a status symbol or not, I too don’t care.
Also the other 4 arguments are really solid.
Nice post!
I kind of agree with you, but if I had the money, I’d buy all the cars from my “favorite car list”, which includes 3 or 4 super/hyper cars.
Some of these points are some of the dumbest statements ive ever seen on this site, and that says alot.
i dont think i would buy one, i think id rather go to where they have the rent ‘a’ Ferrari and take it to a track day. see if i liked the real thing. i like to try before i buy. my 74 Datsun 120Y puts a grin on my face every time i drive it with its 70hp of glory. to be honest id rather build a skyline GTR at a fraction of the price for something that can out perform the hypercars. if i were intent on a hypercar id get a Bugatti Veyron for the intricate engineering that has been grafted to the hand built machine. that not only destroyed its competitors but added a new definition to top speed ability. besides if you had that kind of money you could play with the car properly because you’d be able to hit up the autobahns with relative ease/
My forester with Sti swap coilovers and built engine had 413hp at the hubs, it was too much for some winding forest road thrashing.. The impreza I have now with 160bhp and suspension mods + wrx brake is way more fun to spank around the Norwegian forest roads because it doesn’t get up to crazy speeds too fast
reason 6: every week something more powerful, faster, better looking etc. will come out!
this makes a first generation audi r8, lambo Gallardo, or even a sls look a bit old, 5 years after purchase and half the value gone!
Porsche owner don’t have imagination? I beg to differ….
Is this a troll post? How many assumptions can one post stack to achieve bullshit status? Yeah, it’s a risk to park your car. Guess what, it’s a risk to walk though a parking lot, so what? If you want to huddle under a bed, sucking your thumb, then sure, you don’t get a car, period. Supercars are no fun…and this is a site for car people or did CT get bought out by GQ? And this guy, guess it’s a guy, didn’t bother to look because really, doesn’t sound like anyone I’d need to check in with, later..has spoken to exactly how many supercar owners to find out why they got the car? Are some of them status whores? Mathmatically likely. We’d ignore them if they showed up in the Space Shuttle. But I’m also sure some bought theirs because driving less than the best is a waste of time. And time, no matter how rich you are, is something we can’t buy. I didn’t buy 900 hp to impress my friends, that’s a fringe benefit. I didn’t lay down the cash to get laid. I can buy that, too :P I bought 550 hp to learn the car, kicked it up to 900 when 550 didn’t kill me, and found yep, 900’s more than I can push to it’s limits, because it surpasses my own. In other words, I reached MY potential. And that’s all I ever had any intention of doing. And I’m fine with that. The car’s scary fun to drive. Only time it bothers me, is when it’s in the garage, because the car was made to be driven. And real men were made to drive them. Not whine about others who drive theirs. Unless they’re a tool, then piss on ‘em :P Mine’s not a supercar, but I don’t disrespect someone in one, unless they’ve earned that disrespect.
You’re not wrong, sure some ‘’s u p e r c a r’’ owners are tools but in the end most buy them for the pure excitmemt, the adrenaline rush and driving a car enginered to perfection. The rush of acceleration and top end speed is what we are all after, its just a shame that there are people who are jelous and haters of others belongings(internet sterotypes). Enjoy what you have its you’re car so do what pleases you