Supercar (car classification)
A supercar is a term used for a sports car, typically an exotic or rare one, whose performance is highly superior to its contemporary sports cars. The proper application of this term is subjective and disputed, especially among enthusiasts. In addition, the use of the term is dependent on the era; a vehicle that is considered to be a supercar at one time may not retain its superiority in the future. Nonetheless, the automotive press frequently calls new exotic cars "supercars". Also see the list of supercars to help understand the term subjectively.
Performance criteria
It should be noted here, however, that the term supercar usually refers to particular models of factory-built, street-legal sports cars, rather than heavily modified and potentially street-illegal vehicles for quarter-mile or track purposes. Because supercars are usually designed for road and amateur track use rather than racing alone, their standard equipment often do not include roll cages and other mandatory requirements for race cars .
Some common criteria for measuring whether a car should be considered a supercar or not include:
Power-to-weight ratio
Most supercars have high engine power and low vehicle weight, for the sake of high acceleration (see Newton's Second Law) and good handling dynamics. For example, the 2004 Porsche Carrera GT carries just five pounds per horsepower (3 kg/kW) — compare this to the Porsche Boxster which hauls nearly 12 lb/hp (7.1 kg/kW). The McLaren F1, introduced in 1991 and widely considered as one of the fastest supercars of the 20th century, produced 627.1 hp (467.6 kW) against a weight of 2513 pounds (1140 kg), translating to 4 lb/hp. Certain vehicles have a high power-to-weight ratio despite having a heavy weight, due to a powerful engine output. For example, the Bugatti Veyron carries 4.3 lb/hp despite weighing 4299 pounds (1950 kg), including fuel[1], due to its 1001 hp (746 kW) engine.
Acceleration
Supercars, by the usual definition, have extremely quick acceleration compared to most vehicles, including ordinary sports cars. Some current expectations are as follows:
- 0 to 60 mph (96.56 km/h): Under 4 seconds for virtually all supercars today. The Bugatti Veyron has a 0 to 60 time of 2.5 seconds and the McLaren F1 has a 0-60 of 3.1 seconds.
- 0 to 100 mph (160.9 km/h): Under 10 seconds is generally called for, with undisputed supercars being significantly faster. The Ferrari Enzo, introduced in 2002, has a 0 to 100 mph time of about 6.5 seconds. A McLaren F1 could do it in 6.3 seconds.
- 0 to 200 mph (322 km/h): Under 30 seconds. McLaren F1 28 seconds, Saleen S7 23 seconds, Bugatti Veyron 22 seconds.
- Standing Quarter-Mile (402.3 meters): Under 13 seconds is arguably a requirement, as is a trap or terminal speed of at least 110 mph (177 km/h).
- The Enzo Ferrari completes the quarter mile from a stop in about 11.1 seconds at 133 mph (214 km/h).
- The Koenigsegg CCR, introduced in 2004, is officially claimed to run the quarter mile in "9 seconds, end speed 235 km/h (146 mph)" [2]
- Standing Mile : Trap (terminal) speed of at least 200 mph. eg Saleen S7, Bugatti Veyron, Pagani Zonda, Koenigsegg CCR, McLaren F1, Ferrari FXX
Top Speed
Undisputed supercars can generally exceed 200 mph. The fastest models today have speeds exceeding 250 mph (400 km/h).
- On March 31, 1998, the McLaren F1 XP5 prototype set the speed record at 391.1 km/h (243 mph) at 7800 rpm. The production models are normally limited to 7500 rpm, giving a top speed around 231 mph. The car was driven by Andy Wallace on the 9 km straight at Volkswagen's Ehra test track in Wolfsburg, Germany.
- On February 28, 2005, the Koenigsegg CCR with 806 hp (601 kW) achieved a top speed of 387.87 km/h (241.01 mph) on default settings. The car was driven on Italy's Nardo Prototipo proving ground, a circular track with a circumference of 12.5 km. This exceeded the McLaren's record.[3]
- In October, 2005, Car and Driver magazine's editor Csaba Csere test drove the final production version of the Veyron for the November 2005 issue. This test, at Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien test track, reached a top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h). The Veyron can also do 0-300 km/h (186 mph) in just under 19 seconds[4].
Stopping ability
An increasingly common measure of overall performance — demanding both good acceleration and good brakes is the 0-100-0 mph test in which the vehicle is accelerated from a standing start to 100 mph and then brought back to a dead stop. Several modern supercars can do this demanding feat in under 10 seconds.
Handling
In contrast to a sports car which simply has a more 'sporty' or involving handling than a normal hatchback or sedan, a supercar is usually built for maximum cornering and road gripping ability in order to achieve superior racing times. Lateral g-forces during the tightest turns can generally exceed 1 g.
Other criteria
In addition to performance, the following criteria are also cited in determining if a particular sports car or exotic car deserves the supercar moniker:
- Styling — Supercars often feature groundbreaking styling elements. The Formula One-inspired Enzo Ferrari, for example, set a new styling direction for that company.
- Focused design — Supercars are not designed to be practical transportation devices, with functionality varying widely between different examples. Many car body styles (including 2+2 coupe, station wagon, and pickup truck) make inherent tradeoffs of performance potential for utility. By this measure, extreme vehicles like the Dodge Ram SRT 10 are not normally called supercars (in the case of Dodge Ram SRT-10, it is classified as a truck, not car, so the car-based description would not fit anyway). While one undisputed supercar, the McLaren F1, featured seating for three (and had a number of useful storage spaces), performance was not sacrificed, but instead improved by the seating design: the driver's central position lowered the vehicle's polar moment of inertia and increased its turning ability.