00:00These are the cars that we think should be considered super.
00:08Welcome back to Car Side Chat. I'm your host Primo and what I do is supercars. I've been
00:15doing this supercar thing for longer than most of you watching the channel have even been alive.
00:21If you're wondering, the Countach and I are actually the same age and I did not just admit
00:26to that. So one question I get quite a bit is, what car do I think should be considered for
00:33supercar status? And that's a great question. It's hard to think about it today with power outputs
00:39beyond a thousand horsepower on paper, but there was a point when a 400 horsepower car was pretty
00:45darn impressive. If you've seen any of our shorts, you have seen a list of the power outputs of
00:50supercars from the 80s and the 90s. And it's pretty baffling that they even considered them
00:57supercars, but back then that was a big deal. And that's why it's so hard to really define
01:03what a supercar is. Does it adjust for horsepower inflation? Or is it really in
01:08how the car is designed and performed in comparison to say everything else? Today,
01:13we do focus on handling and aerodynamics much more than power like we used to.
01:19In fact, if you go back, you'll find some cars wearing the supercar badge that really just don't
01:25seem to deserve it. One thing I do know is just throwing power at it isn't the answer today,
01:31but in contrast, that's kind of how Enzo Ferrari believed. He was just not a fan of aerodynamics.
01:38So I'd love to say this is what makes a supercar, but the truth be told is nobody has a solid
01:43answer. I think it really is a title that fits into the eye of the beholder and some cars give
01:49us 20, 20 vision while others make us squint really, really hard. I also have to add cars
01:55like AMG aren't considered for this. And that's because those brands really don't like being
02:01called super as much as they like being called luxury or as I like to call it, Uber luxury.
02:07Sure. There's no question. AMG one is super. I mean, if you've got a car that there is no doubt,
02:12I don't want to put it on this list. We already know the same goes for Bentley with a laundry
02:18list of track wins, but their street cars aren't designed to be track monsters. They're
02:23designed to be quiet, luxurious, fashionable, and contemporary. And the same goes for Rolls-Royce,
02:30which may never see a track, but are you ever going to get a better experience traveling than
02:35riding in one? So I really don't think, even though they don't ding all the bells or toot
02:42all the whistles that there is any doubt that those cars are considered super. No, we're going
02:47to focus on cars that make you doubt and then tell you why they should be. And you may also say this
02:54car, that car deserves to be on the list. And you know what? You're probably right. We don't have
02:59time to go over every car. So we're not going to argue about some cars, even if they don't bear the
03:04title. A lot of them are still considered by many as being a super car. So even if I didn't add it,
03:10feel free to put them in the comments below and bring a little love to your favorite model.
03:15So my first pitch here is the Ford Escort RS Cosworth. And I know it may seem a little bit
03:21subjective, but bear with me. Imagine if you're a big company and you want to win races, but before
03:27you can unleash an insane car on unsuspecting competition, you got to build a couple of real
03:34cars for the road first. Sure. You could spend a ton of time reworking everything. So it's quiet
03:40and safe for drivers on the streets, or you could go the Cosworth route and say,
03:48so basically they took a track purpose race car and they slapped it into what looked like an
03:53econobox street car. So to sum it up, it only looks like an escort, but in reality, it's a
03:58serial killer with a God complex. Over its run, only 7,145 cars were built. And that's
04:05probably a good thing because it stomped over every super and M3 like it was a fat kid in a
04:10candy store. Many have been tuned to a thousand horsepower and simply challenge anything that
04:16moved to race. The last time I saw one, it was parked next to a Veyron because nothing in the
04:21entire hyper car show was more powerful. It gets better too. Why was it canceled? Because it was
04:27too loud. The only reason I think it wasn't put in the movie fast and furious is number one,
04:32nobody knew what it was. And second, because it would have been faster than everything in there
04:37and rarer than a Murcielago. Boom, supercar stamp approved. Next, the Porsche 944. Now nobody
04:46thought of the 944 as some groundbreaking vehicle. It was Porsche's foray into water cooled engines,
04:53but it was more like a Porsche Frankenstein. The 1980s, by the way, were not kind to it, but
05:00the 1980s weren't kind to any cars. What it lacked in power, it more than made up for with handling.
05:06That rear mounted transmission may have been an abomination, but it came with a perfect 50,
05:1250 weight distribution. With a little love and a good set of tires, it could pull over a G in the
05:17corner. While others were slowing down, the mad scientist just kept pouring on the speed
05:23and it adorned the covers of magazines because of it. The Porsche 944 race car builds became
05:29synonymous with trophies too, popping them out like Pez dispensers. And they were fun to drive
05:35to boot while becoming more and more like a hyper car. One purpose build race car made 750 horsepower,
05:42which for the time is definitely supercar territory. Today it may be long in the tooth,
05:47but that hasn't really stopped them from being fan favorites. Put one back in the operating room,
05:52throw an LS or Audi motor in it, slap on some carbon fiber skin, ton of aftermarket everywhere
05:58for it. The perfect driving machine. And if that ain't super, I don't know what is. The Mitsubishi
06:043000GT VR4. And when it comes to looking like a supercar, there are actually a few cars that I
06:12think truly pull it off. If you were around long enough to appreciate the 3000GT when it came into
06:19production, it really checked all the boxes. From day one, everyone thought it should be hanging
06:25out with Ferraris. The wedge shape, the duct work, even the name said fast. The 300 horsepower
06:31versions weren't anything to scoff at and with all wheel drive, they were very capable. Still,
06:37the car never caught on and it didn't get the recognition its tuner cousins enjoyed.
06:43It also suffered more and more quality issues as time passed. And with it having an identity
06:49crisis, it lost some of that traditional supercar styling. And I think in some respects,
06:55it kind of lost its way since it wasn't built to be a race car. It didn't share the same accolades
07:01of cars like the Nissan 300ZX, the Supra, the RX-7 or Skyline. And with no trophies on the
07:08mantle, people I think ask why I bothered and moved on to other cars. So the car that had the title
07:14budget Ferrari killer got lost in the clutter. Still, if it looks like a supercar, quacks like
07:20a supercar and flies like a supercar, I think it deserves the badge, supercar. The Acura NSX.
07:28What can't I say about an NSX? It started off a warning shot across Ferrari's bow and the shot so
07:35big that Ferrari even took notice. A mid-engine car that for the time showed us what the future
07:41of supercars should have been. Affordable, fun and definitely track worthy. What it lacked was power.
07:48The NSX was painfully underpowered and it never overcame those problems either. I really think
07:54people expected it to have more power. By 1994 Ferrari had upped its game with the popular F355
08:01and simply left it in the dust on pretty much everything except for the price tag. People forgot
08:07what the NSX had accomplished. While other tuners found success, the NSX stagnated. Still, what the
08:13NSX stood for is still relevant today. Mid-engine, rear wheel drive, analog feel and even though it
08:21seemed to fail on the street, its racing counterpart was killing it on the tracks in Japan.
08:26If they have to change the rules just because you show up, you're doing something right. Still, buyers
08:32really never truly identified with it. They never started doing a lot of the aftermarket to get it
08:37up to the power numbers of its competition and that left it behind. They preferred other models
08:44as it fell into some weird niche that it never seemed to recover from. The truth is NSX did
08:50everything ahead of its time and for that we think it definitely deserves the title.
08:55The Mazda RX-7. The RX-7 is the shock factor of cars. When vehicles had sharp edges, it was smooth
09:03and sleek. When other cars had normal engines, it had a rotary. When everyone was thinking power,
09:08it was thinking handling and aerodynamics and the result was really that it proved everybody wrong.
09:14It was well balanced, dynamic, and it was literally a handling masterpiece. Sure, the
09:20rotary was a problematic engine on its best day, but it also didn't rely too much on its engine
09:26for its success. That alone seems like a novel concept. With sub 300 horsepower, it could easily
09:33out-handle or should I say manhandle competition 100 horsepower or more above its station. Go to
09:39any competition where it's regulated and you'll find it classed higher than cars with similar
09:44stats. Simply put, the RX-7 was made to go fast in all the right ways and it made it look easy.
09:51If you've never driven one, you're missing out. Just one lap and you'll say imagine what this
09:57thing could do with twice the horsepower. And that's really all that kept it from being called
10:02a supercar. What really shocked me is that nobody tried to replicate anything it did and it did
10:09everything right except for its engine. This one I have to say is a no-brainer and for those that
10:15don't know it, it really is time to understand exactly what made the RX-7 so special and so cool
10:21and that's what makes a car super. So I know you got a lot of rotary fans out there, but you know
10:26what? If it takes us to LS swap the thing to make all the power in the world, just let them have it.
10:32So that's our list. Tell us in the comments whether you agree or which cars you think should wear the
10:37supercar title. Hey, maybe you can get in one of those cool internet arguments with a complete
10:41stranger, but I hope you find some hidden gems you've never thought of before and find some
10:48common ground among other enthusiasts. I hope that with all the things that we do for Motivation
10:53Monday that somebody's paying attention and can get into some good discussions. Until then, head
10:59over to our new product store and pick up some of the new apparel and look the part of a supercar
11:04owner. Until then, we'll be looking for the next odd topic to discuss, but you know what?
11:12That's for another video. We'll see you then.
11:34Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Comments