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super cars history
Sports cars started to appear in the late 40's with the introduction of 'sporting' road cars from now famous marques such as Ferrari, Jaguar, Lotus and Porsche. In those days, the ethos of the sports car was a car designed not only for the road but for motorsport competition aswell. Through the 50's and early 60's sports car performance progressed. 1954 saw the arrival of one of the all time classics the Mercedes 300SL 'Gull Wing'. It's fuel injected 3 litre produced over 240bhp giving a clai -
DB4GT Zagato
As the 60's dawned Aston Martin and Ferrari both offered 150mph plus vehicles in the shape of the DB4GT Zagato and 400 Superamerica models respectively, but it was Jaguar that stunned the world with the introduction in 1961 of the legendary E-type. Ferrari then created a limited number of what is now the world's most valuable classic,Ferrari 250GTO the timeless 160mph 250 GTO. Lamborghini entered the fray in -
grifo
1964 with the 350GT, joined by Iso with the Grifo and TVR with the original Griffith. But it was to be Ford who would change the face of sports cars with what many people believe to be the first supercar, the GT40 -
GT 40
Ford wanted racing success and to that end tried to buy Ferrari in the early 60's. Ferrari said no! Ford didn't take kindly to this and so vowed to out-do Ferrari with their own racing car, so in 1965 the GT40 was born. To meet regulations Ford had to make a number of 'road legal' versions of the GT40, hence its inclusion here as the first supercar for the road. In the late 60's Ford went on to make seven Mark III GT40's - 'softened' for road use (with a mere 310bhp!). -
AC Cobra 427
1965 saw another candidate for the title world's first supercar, the brutal AC Cobra 427. American racer Caroll Shelby decided to shoe-horn a 427 cu in (hence the name) Ford V8 into a lightweight British sports car, the AC Ace. The result was a car of astounding performance - 160mph, 0-60mph in 4.2 sec and 0-100mph in 10 (record acceleration figures that would stand for over 20 years). -
Lamborghini Miura
1966 was an eventful year with the introduction of the 165mph Ferrari 275GTB, the 7 litre Corvette Sting Ray and the first 4-wheel drive road car, the Jensen FF. However, overshadowing all these was, in my opinion, the first true supercar for the road, the Lamborghini Miura gorgeous Lamborghini Miura. The Miura was the first production car to feature a mid-mounted engine and so its appearance was radically different to any road car that had come before. Performance from the V12 was equally rad -
365 GTB 'Daytona'
1968 saw the birth of a legend. Lamborghini had moved the goalposts with the Miura so Ferrari hit back with their first entry into the supercar league, the 365 GTB 'Daytona'. Although it still used the 'old-style' front engine layout, with 175mph and 60mph in 5.5 sec the Daytona was a performance match for its Modena rival. -
carrera
Enthusiasts reckon the 1973 Carrera RS to be the greatest 911 of them all. For purity of function they may well be right! The RS was conceived a road/racing car with a new more powerful version of the Porsche flat-6 and the use of thinner steel panels for reduced weight. To save even more weight, interior trim and rear seats were removed (except in the RST version which retained the standard cars trim). This low weight helped propel the RS to 60mph in just 5.5sec - astounding for a car of this -
Ferrari 365 GT4 BB
Ironically, in the face of the fuel crisis, 1974 saw the introduction of two of the most powerful and significant supercars to date, the beautiful Ferrari 365 BB and the 'King of Supercars' the astounding Lamborghini Countach LP400. Following the new supercar trend, Ferrari decided that the BB should be mid-engined (a first for the Ferrari flagship). Performance was on a par with the outgoing Daytona, 175mph and 60mph in 5.5sec,Lamborghini Countach LP400 but handling was vastly improved. The BB' -
Porsche 911 Turbo
1975 was another important year in the supercar world with the introduction of the original Porsche 911 Turbo. Although BMW gave us the first Turbo road car two years earlier with the 2002, it was Porsche who would become known for pioneering the technology. Porsche 911 TurboThe 12 year old design of the 911 was augmented in the turbo by the use of aerodynamic spoilers, the first road car to feature these now common styling features. -
Panther 6
As the 70's drew to a close we were greeted by two new supercars from established names, both offering a different approach to high performance. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage used the time proven big engine, big power route. At 170mph it had a good claim for the title of world's fastest production car. Meanwhile BMW's M1 went the technology route. Designed to be the most efficient supercar of it's day, it remains BMW's only mid-engined road car. As a footnote, 1979 may have seen the world's first -
Lotus Turbo Esprit
Lotus gained true entry into the supercar league with the amazing Turbo Esprit of 1980. The first cars were liveried in the colours of Essex Petroleum, Lotus's racing sponsor at the time, featuring a full leather interior and complex roof mounted stereo - pushing the price to a hefty £21,000! The Turbo's popularity steadily grew due to reduction in price and a 'starring role' in the 1981 Bond movie 'For Your Eyes Only -
Ferrari Testarossa
The Testarossa became Ferrari's flagship model in 1984, replacing the 512BB. Testa Rossa or 'Red Head' refers to the crackle Red cam covers of the late 50's racers of the same name.
