Supercar

For other uses, see Supercar (disambiguation).
Several supercars at a meet
Pagani Zonda R
Koenigsegg Agera R

A supercar is a high-performance sports car or grand tourer.[1][2] The term is used in marketing by automakers for unusual, high-end vehicles, and has been used to refer to at least four different sorts of cars:

Porsche 918, a plug-in hybrid

History

An advertisement for the Ensign 6, a 6.7 L (410 cu in) high-performance car similar to the Bentley Speed Six, appeared in The Times for 11 November 1920 with the phrase "If you are interested in a supercar, you cannot afford to ignore the claims of the Ensign 6."[6] The Oxford English Dictionary also cites the use of the word in an advertisement for an unnamed car in The Motor dated 3 November 1920, "The Supreme development of the British super-car."[7] and defines the phrase as suggesting "a car superior to all others". A book published by the Research Institute of America in 1944, that previewed the economic and industrial changes to occur after World War II,[8] used the term "supercar" (author's emphasis) to describe future automobiles incorporating advances in design and technology such as flat floorpans and automatic transmissions.[9]

In the United States, the term "supercar" predates the classification of muscle car[10][11] to describe the "dragstrip bred" affordable mid-size cars of the 1960s and early 1970s that were equipped with large, powerful V8 engines and rear wheel drive.[12] The combination of a potent engine in a lightweight car began with the 1957 Rambler Rebel that was described as a "veritable supercar".[13] "In 1966 the sixties supercar became an official industry trend"[14] as the four domestic automakers "needed to cash in on the supercar market" with eye-catching, heart-stopping cars.[15] Among the numerous examples of the use of the supercar description include the May 1965 issue of the American magazine Car Life, in a road test of the Pontiac GTO, as well as how "Hurst puts American Motors into the Supercar club with the 390 Rogue"[16] (the SC/Rambler) to fight in "the Supercar street racer gang" market segment.[17] The "SC" in the model name stood for "SuperCar".[18] The supercar market segment included regular production models[19] in different muscle market segments (such as the "economy supercar"[20]), as well as limited edition, documented dealer-converted vehicles.[21]

The word supercar later came to mean a "GT" or grand touring type of car.[22] By the 1970s and 1980s the phrase was in regular use, if not precisely defined.[23][24]

During the late 20th century, the term supercar was used to describe "a very expensive, fast or powerful car with a centrally located engine",[1] and stated in more general terms: "it must be very fast, with sporting handling to match", "it should be sleek and eye-catching" and its price should be "one in a rarefied atmosphere of its own".[25]

The supercar term has also been applied to technologically advanced vehicles using new fuel sources, powerplants, aerodynamics, and lightweight materials to develop an 80 mpg-US (2.9 L/100 km; 96 mpg-imp) family-sized sedan.[26] "Supercar" was the unofficial description for the United States Department of Commerce R&D program, Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV).[27] The program was established to support the domestic U.S. automakers (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) develop prototypes of a safe, clean, affordable car the size of the Ford Taurus, but delivering three times the fuel efficiency.[27][28]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers. 2003. ISBN 0-00-710983-0.
  2. ↑ Ward, Ian (1985). "Secondhand Supercars". London's Motor Show Motorfair 85 Official Catalogue.
  3. 1 2 3 Cheetham, Craig (2006). Supercars. MotorBooks/MBI Publishing. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-7603-2565-0.
  4. ↑ Vijayenthiran, Viknesh (10 January 2008). "Nelson Racing's 1,800HP Mosler MT900S". MotorAuthority. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "260mph Keating Supercar". nelsonracingengines. 8 January 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "British Ensign Motors". The Times. 11 November 1920. p. 6.
  7. ↑ "super-, prefix 6.c". Oxford English Dictionary. 1989. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
  8. ↑ Saxon, Wolfgang (4 September 1989). "Carl Hovgard, Tax Adviser, 83; Founder of the Research Institute". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  9. ↑ Cherne, Leo (1944). The Rest of Your Life. Doubleday, Doran and Co. pp. 216–217. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  10. ↑ Harless, Robert (2004). Horsepower War: Our Way of Life. iUniverse. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-595-30296-3.
  11. ↑ Gunnell, John (2001). Standard Guide to American Muscle Cars: A Supercar Source Book, 1960–2000. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87349-262-1.
  12. ↑ Norbye, Jan P.; Dunne, Jim (October 1966). "The Hot Ones: Supercars of medium size flaunt tough suspensions, great brakes, most powerful engines in existence". Popular Science. 189 (4): 83–85. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  13. ↑ Auto Editors of Consumer Guide (22 August 2007). "1957-1960 Rambler Rebel". auto.howstuffworks.com. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  14. ↑ Harless, p. 8.
  15. ↑ Campisano, Jim (1995). American Muscle Cars. MetroBooks. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-56799-164-2.
  16. ↑ "Rambler Scrambler". Car Life. 16: 33–36. 1969. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  17. ↑ "Rambler Scrambler". Car and Driver. 14: 84. 1968.
  18. ↑ Lyons, Dan; Scott, Jason (2004). Muscle Car Milestones. MotorBooks/MBI Publishing. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-7603-0615-4. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  19. ↑ Bonsall, Thomas E. (1985). Muscle Plymouths: The Story of a Supercar. Bookman Publishing. ISBN 978-0-934780-71-1.
  20. ↑ Primedia (2004). Hot Rod Magazine: Muscle Car Files. MotorBooks International. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-7603-1647-4.
  21. ↑ Carner, Colin (February 1999). "1967 Chevrolet Stage III Nickey Camaro". Sports Car Market. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  22. ↑ Harless, p. 5.
  23. ↑ Stuart Marshall (4 September 1975). "Rewards and frustrations of the super cars". The Times. London. p. 23.
  24. ↑ "Business Roundup; From the Land of the VW, a $35,000 Supercar". The New York Times. 21 September 1975. p. F15.
  25. ↑ Ward, Ian (1985), Secondhand Supercars, London Motor Show "Motorfair 1985" Official Catalogue
  26. ↑ McCosh, Dan (June 1994). "Emerging Technologies for the Supercar". Popular Science. 244 (6): 95–100. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  27. 1 2 Eisenstien, Paul (June 2000). "80 mpg". Popular Mechanics. 177 (6): 88–91.
  28. ↑ Fuhs, Allen E. (2008). Hybrid vehicles and the future of personal transportation. CRC Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-4200-7534-2. Retrieved 11 September 2014.

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