When CAR Magazine Editor LJK Setright claimed to coin the term “supercar” in the mid-1960’s, he was referring to the Lamborghini Miura. At the time, a supercar was defined as a car that was mid-engined, outlandishly expensive, rare, and supremely quick.
Today, cars like the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and the Nissan GT-R blur the lines. For starters, both are front-engined and only the Ferrari is outlandishly expensive and rare. And yet, few would deny them access to the supercar “club”.
But if you start letting in $90,000 cars in the supercar club, that doesn’t make it quite exclusive enough, now, does it?
So let’s delve into the sea of semantics and try to rectify some of the confusion surrounding sportscars, supercars, and the more recently coined hypercars. Continue reading