5 SUPERCARS THAT WERE ACTUALLY MEANT TO BE DRIVEN

Supercars, the automobile equivalent to Hollywood movie stars, make an impact on everyone that glances at one. Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari F40 posters were displayed all over children's rooms in the 1980s. Arcade games and video games would display these desirable vehicles as eye candy for the players, and for many of them, these cars would sear into their brains unforgettable sights and sounds.

Pick anyone off the street, and they can tell you what a Ferrari is. Even if they do not recognize the emblem, they'd certainly know a Rosso Red car when they see it. Unfortunately for the general public, many of these supercars never see the light of day. Often, the cars themselves live reclusive lives tucked away in a climate-controlled garage.

In the mass of cookie-cutter commuter cars, it's a rarity to see one of these mighty vehicles roaming the city streets or back roads in your local area. Why aren't these iconic cars driven more often? It may be possible that some are uncomfortable. It may also be true that some are too valuable to drive. No matter the issue that makes these sought after vehicles a rarity in day-to-day life, we've picked five that anyone would be hard-pressed to not drive. Starting with one of the most instantly recognizable shapes in the automotive landscape.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS 992

The Most Recognizable Shape In The Automotive Industry

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, designer of the 911 and the grandson of the founder Ferdinand Porsche, was quoted saying;

The 2023 to 2024 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 992 is no different. It carries the 911's unique DNA from 1963 and has been refined each year into a more potent track-focused weapon that is surprisingly still enjoyable on the street. Many manufacturers make the overconfident claim "Race car for the street" and often fall short of the reality either in performance metrics or in making their race cars truly usable on the street.

The Porsche 911 GT3 RS 992 is the rightful keeper of that claim, with great power-to-weight and a driver-focused experience that is rarely matched. This 518-horsepower 4.0-liter flat-six powered German rocket delivers a jaw-dropping performance that is seldom matched on track and keeps the ride livable for those wanting a more spirited drive commuting to work. Every metric of the 911 GT3 RS is relentlessly pursued and refined every year into a better driver's car.

Performance Specifications

Keeping the Porsche 911 GT3 RS rear-wheel drive is one of the key factors for creating feedback through the pedals and steering wheel. The Porsche isn't a flashy price tag for wowing onlookers. Although it certainly will do that, it's a rewarding vehicle for those who enjoy the pursuit of driving. That's why so many of them are driven, they were created for enjoyment, and that certainly translates to the buyer. Porsche has a history of memorable cars and nothing captures it better than the motto, "Porsche, there is no substitute."

C7 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1

The Last Supercharged And Front-Engined Corvette

The introduction of the C6 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 blurred the line between sports car and super car. Punching way above its weight, the mighty bowtie-wearing sports car could beat out the likes of Ferrari. Not only did it outperform the Ferrari 360 Modena, but its performance was on par and even better in some metrics than the Ferrari Enzo .

What the C6 Corvette ZR1 had in performance it sacrificed in the interior and exterior flair. One of the biggest critiques of the C6 generation Corvette in general is the flimsiness of its plastic rear bumper cover and the base-model-like interior in the top trim variants such as the Z06 and ZR1. All of what was disappointing about the C6 Corvette was made right with the introduction of the C7 Corvette. It was a more angular body that had supercar edges and lines, and the body composition was more rigid.

The interior experienced a real glow-up from the previous generations' one, often being described as a fighter jet cockpit in terms of look and feel. The C7 interior was so good in fact that many of the design elements and layout were carried over to the new mid-engined C8 generation. The C7 Corvette ZR1 would cement itself as a supercar not by appearances alone, but by the blistering performance it showed on the track, partly thanks to GM's LT5 engine.

Performance Specifications

The Corvette would show its potency on the racetrack. At Virginia International Raceway, the mighty Chevrolet ZR1 bested the latest iteration of the Ford GT wheeled by Chris Doane of Car And Driver by 3.5 seconds. A massive margin in the racing arena and no small feat as the Ford GT is a very quick supercar indeed.

Chevrolet will not build another ZR1 until the 2025 model is released and with it, we should see a new performance benchmark. Unlike many of its supercar counterparts, the Corvette stayed true to the driver's car formula and allowed the buyer to pick an eight-speed automatic or a Tremec seven-speed manual transmission. The 2019 Chevrolet Corvette will be the last of the supercharged V8 rear-wheel drive monsters, and is truly a swansong to the original DNA of the Corvette.

Dodge Viper ACR

A Worthy Successor To The Shelby Cobra

It is hard to replicate perfection. For many, America's sports car would be the child of an unlikely marriage between a small British roadster company and Detroits own Ford Motor Company. The officiant of this unlikely marriage would be none other than Carroll Shelby, a legendary racer, car builder and race team manager.

When Shelby found himself (in his own words) a washed up racing driver with a Le Mans victory under his belt and a heart condition in his chest, he was pressed with some hard choices. He could either retire a winner, cut off from his sport due to his health, or press on to more difficult endeavors. History has already told us Carroll's path, and thankfully, it didn't end with Ford or Shelby's own Cobra .

Shelby would dabble in projects with other manufacturers over the years, but it took something special for him to be a part of it. One of those projects was a two-door American sports car cooked up in the mind of Bob Lutz, the president of the Chrysler corporation, and Chrysler's chief of design Tom Gale.

The resulting car would be the Dodge Viper, and Carroll Shelby would be the promoter of this new American sports car. The Viper had all the trimmings of a super car, a manual six-speed transmission and a V10 heavily massaged by Lamborghini, but lacked the performance of a supercar and was still on par with sports cars of its era. Once the formula was set, all that was left was to refine the platform to make it lighter, faster and more powerful.

Performance Specifications

Introduced in 1999, the Dodge Viper ACR, ACR standing for American Club Racer, would be everything the initial Viper wanted to be. With the original Viper modeled in the image of the Shelby Cobra, the hope was to make a sports car that not only looked like the Cobra, but performed like it. Unfortunately for Dodge and SRT, this would be a long road to finally creating one of the best supercars of its day. This became apparent to everyone in 2017 when a 2017 Dodge Viper ACR Extreme ran a whopping 7:01.3 minutes at the Nürburgring.

That time would not only become the fastest Viper time, it would also be in the record books as the fastest manual transmission time, the fastest rear-wheel drive time, and the fastest American car time. That's faster than the Rimac Nevera which posted a time of 7:05.298 in 2023. Granted, that time was produced from the Viper ACR with the Extreme Aero Package.

The previous generation Dodge Viper ACR posted a lap at the 'ring of 7:12.13 in 2011, which is a quick enough time to edge out a 991.2 Porsche 911 GT3 whose lap time was 7:12.7 in 2017. While the Viper has a reputation for being an unruly beast, the truth is, it's one of the most rewarding driver cars on the market. Capable of blistering fast lap times or biting you in the butt, that is part of the allure of this American powerhouse.

Lamborghini Murcilago

The Last Of The Miura V-12

Lamborghini is one of the most well-known supercar manufacturers in the world, and like many auto manufacturers, it was born out of the sentiment, "I'll do it myself". Lamborghini jumped leaps and bounds as a manufacturer moving from piecemeal tractors to in-house supercars, thanks in part to Enzo Ferrari being a particularly stubborn bull.

Modern Lamborghini's are about as flashy as a car can get without being gold-plated. They aren't just for appearances or clout though, they are always a brand focused on fun. Lamborghini has always prioritized the enjoyment of their cars and their faithful fan base and buyers are a testament to that ideology.

The Lamborghini Murciélago may look tame when placed next to an Aventador SVJ , and while the styling is toned down compared to more modern examples, don't let appearances fool you. The Miura based V-12 sound alone from this bygone era of supercar is enough to make any enthusiast press the gas pedal with gusto. One major draw to the Murciélago is that it would also be the last generation of a Lamborghini to come with a gated manual transmission.

Performance Specifications

The Murciélago is finding its own cult following as many enthusiasts pine for the sound of the older V-12 engines. Where the Aventador V-12 is a screaming banshee, the Murciélago V-12 is a mechanical symphony. Both have amazing sound profiles and both are equally polarizing when it comes to those with expert ears.

The Murciélago gives the driver an amazing amount of feedback from the steering wheel and, with a 30/70 split front to rear power bias for the all-wheel drive system, much of the rear-wheel drive behavior is retained while bolstering the drivers' confidence with extra grip from the front wheels. The gated manual may be the biggest selling point for any enthusiast that loves the V-12 sound and Lamborghini looks, but wants to row their own gears.

The Murciélago is also more comfortable than previous Lamborghini iterations, including creature comforts like A/C and power windows. Just don't get carried away with the modernness of the car, they still prioritize cigarette lighter and ashtray positioning over everything else in the cockpit. Some things never change.

Ford GT

The Car Built To Celebrate The 100th Anniversary Of Ford

The 2005-2006 Ford GT is stunning. If nothing else could be said of the car and the history surrounding it, most would agree it ranks in the top ten most beautiful cars ever made. Maybe that is an antiquated claim at this point, but the fact remains that the Ford GT40 would quite literally shape racing as many manufacturers and teams would borrow for the design of their own race cars. The 2005-2006 Ford GT would draw its shape and design directly from the Mark I GT40 and stay faithful to that design with larger dimensions to accommodate more consumers who were too big for the original GT40, like Jeremy Clarkson.

The new car would also integrate little touches to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Ford Motor Company, such as the headlight design displaying 100 under the lens. The Ford GT was set out to do on the street what the GT40 did on the racetrack. The goal was to be the fastest car in its segment and in the process eclipse Ferrari by building the more capable street car.

Ford achieved just that with the new Ford GT, and although Ford would not take this generation of GT to the racetrack, privateers quickly saw the potential and placed the cars in competition. With the most famous privateers being David and Andrea Robertson, the husband and wife team who took the podium 3rd place finish at the 24-hour classic at Le Sarthe in 2011.

Performance Specifications

The Ford GT is a car that was meant to be driven. While many see the car as a collectible time capsule, and, admittedly, the values reflect that, the most exciting part of this supercar is its ability to be driven anywhere by anyone. The new dimensions made the GT platform more accessible than ever and the supercharged 5.4-liter powerhouse shared parts with much of the modular Ford engine family, making it serviceable at a local Ford dealership.

With minimal driver aids, a six-speed manual transmission, and 550 horsepower supercharged V8 whining just three inches from your ears, this GT continually begs to be driven. While many might do the reasonable thing and keep their GT in the garage to appreciate in value safely, Carroll Shelby had a saying that rings true for most enthusiasts. He would often say of his own cars, "These cars are meant to be driven".

2024-08-22T11:02:04Z dg43tfdfdgfd