correct wording: Super Car VS Exotic

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tssdetailing

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what determines whether a vehicle is a sports car or super car or exotic?



To me the line gets a bit defined by price. I would figure a vehicle is exotic b/c it's not obtainable by the masses (ie a $200k + price tag). A super car is one where the factory takes the basics of a sports car and redefines the vehicle through extensive performance tuning. I'm very open to your thoughts and corrections if there truly is a definition out there?
 
I think all three are somewhat interchangeable. Sports car is really a class of vehicle that is fast and handles well on the road. The Corvette is considered a sports car. A super car IMO is actually a sports car, but one that is in the category of being the fastest and most expensive class. Then an exotic would be any car that is hand built and very expensive. Again, probably all super cars would fit this classification, which are in turn also sports cars. But a Rolls Royce would also be exotic.
 
All the definitions are objective. IMO a sports car is a car that's designed to handle and accelerate faster than what is normally required, ie a Camaro or miata. a super car is a car that is designed to be an uncompromising effort for a car that is the best performance vehicle it can be *and* is competitive with other vehicles on a global scale. By this classification, a gtr-r and 911 turbo would fit, but so would an Evo or Sti, even though they cost a fraction of the gtr and 911. An exotic would be in my opinion, any vehicle that is manufactured from certain countries, is rare *and* Is a sports or super car.
 
Sorry, but a Camaro is not a sports car. Sports cars are smaller, lighter, and lower to the ground from other cars. The Corvette was the first American sports car, made to compete with the European brands. The Camaro is too heavy and bulky to be in that class. Sports cars are normally made from something other than steel for the body.
 
I think of "exotics" as being certain more rare and valuable car brands. They're not your run of the mill car brands but rather brands that offer more features and / or performance at a much higher price, making them more rare and exotic in a field of ordinary transportation devices.



Supercars are meant to be the uncompromising best. The extensive use of rare materials in order to gain higher performance thresholds mixed with over-engineering (for street use) combine into the best of the best. Exotic manufacturers like Ferrari don't only make supercars, but rather it's the opposite: they mainly make exotics but every now and then release a supercar (288GTO / F40 / F50 / Enzo for example).
 
IMO "exotic" refers to exclusivity and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with performance, while "super car" refers to performance (relative to the vehicle's contemporaries) and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with exclusivity.
 
In my humble opinion, "sports car" applies to a two-door, RWD car designed to handle well...or at least it should look like it does. I think of any MG, Triumph, Austin Healey, Lotus Elise, TVR, Jag E-type, Miata, etc. Does not have to be pricey. Average non-car people may call exotics or any convertible at all a "sports car."



"Exotic" to me, is an old-school term used to describe performance cars not commonly seen on our U.S. roads. I think of the Lambo Jalpa and Espada, the Testarossa, F-40/50, Porsche 959, even TVR or Jensen. The term does not have to mean "100% fast, awesome, and dependable" (think Maserati Biturbo). I love the Biturbo, though.



"Supercar" to me means a vehicle that exceeds the performance and technology of its contemporaries by miles. Enzo, Porsche 959, and basically any thing on this list:

Fastest Cars In The World: Top 10 List 2011-2012
 
Grimm said:
Sorry, but a Camaro is not a sports car. Sports cars are smaller, lighter, and lower to the ground from other cars. The Corvette was the first American sports car, made to compete with the European brands. The Camaro is too heavy and bulky to be in that class. Sports cars are normally made from something other than steel for the body.
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So what do you call the Camaro and Mustang then?
 
RaskyR1 said:
So what do you call the Camaro and Mustang then?
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Back in the day, those were called "Pony Cars", along with the MOPAR "e" and "a"-bodies.



concourswanna b said:
In my humble opinion, "sports car" applies to a two-door, RWD car ...
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Partial as I am to RWD, I wouldn't say it's mandatory for something to be a "sports car".
 
Accumulator said:
Back in the day, those were called "Pony Cars", along with the MOPAR "e" and "a"-bodies.
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I thought the "Pony" cars were when they had a 6 cylinder only. :D
 
Yes, technically the Mustang and Camaro are Pony cars, but they are usually lumped in the Muscle car class. That would be any intermediate size car with a big engine: Camaro, Mustang, Challenger, etc.
 
Grimm said:
Sorry, but a Camaro is not a sports car. Sports cars are smaller, lighter, and lower to the ground from other cars. The Corvette was the first American sports car, made to compete with the European brands.
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Thing is, the first Corvettes weren't much lower to the ground than a standard car, and modern 'vettes are by no means "small" if we're comparing to something like an M3 or a Porsche 911. Marginally lighter, sure, but even that's not by much. Yet it's still universally accepted as a "sports car."



2Vettes.JPG




Perfect comparison -- C5 vs. C1.



The Camaro is too heavy and bulky to be in that class. Sports cars are normally made from something other than steel for the body.
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The 5th-gen is too heavy/bulky, yes. The 3rd and 4th gen Camaros weren't though. However I agree that they are generally either a "pony car," "muscle car," or simply a "2+2 coupe/convertible"
 
These are just my opinions, but here are some examples of each.





Supercars: Corvette ZR1, Nissan GTR, 911 Turbo, etc. Amazing performance, best in class in nearly every category, etc. Performance puts it in this category, not exclusivity.



Exotics: Aventador, 458 Italia, Carrera GT, BMW M1 (original). A step above supercars. Smaller production numbers, performance may or may not be better than the supercar category, but are considered exotic due to country of origin, brand cachet, etc.



Hyper-exotics: Gumpert Apollo, Pagani Zonda, Wiesmann, Koennigsegg, etc. The rarest of the rare. You can live your whole life and never lay eyes on one.







Anyway, just my opinions here and anyone is free to disagree. :razz:
 
I think of the term "exotic" more along the lines of what Accumulator said. More about exclusivity than anything else.



I think I'd use the term "supercar" to define a high performance exotic. I think of supercars as being a 200+ mph car. And then I'd call anything in the upper echelon of that realm (220+ mph) a hypercar.
 
Quote: Originally Posted by Accumulator

Partial as I am to RWD, I wouldn't say it's mandatory for something to be a "sports car".
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I kinda forgot the GTI. You could also put the Del Sol, VW Eos, and Lotus Elan M100 (with Isuzu engine, of all things) into the "sports car"

category.
 
Grimm said:
Sorry, but a Camaro is not a sports car. Sports cars are smaller, lighter, and lower to the ground from other cars. The Corvette was the first American sports car, made to compete with the European brands. The Camaro is too heavy and bulky to be in that class. Sports cars are normally made from something other than steel for the body.
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Your post sounds more like a biased one rather than a rational one..

You can call anything whatever you want, by your definition some saturns are sports cars(they had plastic body panels) and if the Camaro isn't a sports car, neither is the ZL1, Boss 302 or new 650HP shelby GT500, all of which easily whoop all forms of a vette sans a Z06/ZR1, as I said it's a very objectionable term, however, the literal definition is this;

Sports car - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A sports car (or sportscar or sport car) is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability.
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Sports car - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

a low small usually 2-passenger automobile designed for quick response, easy maneuverability, and high-speed driving
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FWIW, I don't consider the modern Mustang or Camaro to really be "muscle cars" as to me, a muscle car is what happens when you take a more ordinary car and stuff the biggest engine you can in it. The CTS-V and M3 are great examples of this modern day, while even the v6 configurations of the Mustang and Camaro are still build with more performance in mind and much less utility (compared to a CTS or 328i).
 
CTSV said:
Your post sounds more like a biased one rather than a rational one..[/url]



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The Camaro is over 500 pounds heavier than a Corvette, and probably even more of a difference with other sports cars. I don't think a Camaro would be able to compete with most sports cars in a road race. Plain and simple, a Camaro is Modern Muscle IMO. It really probably still fits in the Pony Car class (a small sized, sporty car built for, and affordable for the masses).
 
Grimm said:
The Camaro is over 500 pounds heavier than a Corvette, and probably even more of a difference with other sports cars. I don't think a Camaro would be able to compete with most sports cars in a road race. Plain and simple, a Camaro is Modern Muscle IMO. It really probably still fits in the Pony Car class (a small sized, sporty car built for, and affordable for the masses).
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I see, I didn't realize a 7:41.27 nurburgring lap time was slow for a sub $60K car.
 
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