Supercar stand for the top of technology, speed, performance and design. It’s this type of automobile that allows engineers and designers to really let off steam and just build the best possible car they can make. Supercars have been with us for a long time, and over the years we’ve seen some truly spectacular endeavors from automakers around the world. While supercars are slowly converting to electric drive, gear heads remember supercars from years gone by.
There were some really fantastic supercars from almost every decade after the 60s with the introduction of the Lamborghini Miura, but arguably one of the most edgy and spectacular eras of the supercar was the 90s. That was long before the era of particularly strict emissions and safety regulations and at a time when automakers were allowed to go a little crazy with designs. Not to mention pop-up headlights and some really crazy homologation specials. In fact, the 1990s was full of some really epic supercars.
10
Lamborghini Diablo SE30
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The Lamborghini Diablo itself was introduced in 1990 to replace the Countach as the flagship of Lambo’s V12 supercar. In 1993, the Italians put together a special edition based on the Diablo to celebrate the brand’s 30th anniversary. The resulting car, the Diablo SE30, was truly a racing car for the road.
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Only 150 SE30 models were made for 1993 and yes this purple was the standard color, although you could have a different if you wanted. The V12 was chosen for up to 523 hp and various luxury features were removed to keep the weight down. If you want to sacrifice the street legal of your SE30 for a true circuit racer, you can go for the SE30 Jota package. Only 15 customers did that.
9
Ferrari F50
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Ferrari’s modern super sports car family started in the early 1980s with the excellent 288 GTO. Later in the 80s followed the absolutely legendary F40, which is still one of the most special and important Ferrari models of all time.
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In 1995 Ferrari’s third modern supercar was introduced; the F50. The most notable feature of the F50 is the engine, which was derived from an actual F1 powertrain two and a half decades before the Mercedes-AMG One. The 4.7-liter V12 developed 512 horsepower and 347 lb-ft of torque. Only 349 F50s were produced between 1995 and 1997, most of them in red, of course. Needless to say, the values have gone through the roof.
8th
Aston Martin Vantage V600
Before the excellent Vantage and Vanquish of the 2000s, Aston Martin’s Super GT flagship was the Virage. Despite the boxy styling and common Ford parts, the Virage did quite well for what it was. Towards the end of production, Aston Martin’s special orders department turned the wick on the more powerful model, also known as the Vantage.
The 5.3-liter V8 under the hood was attached not with one, but with two compressors. In the Standard Vantage it made 550 hp, but the V600 package offered in 1998 brought it to an incredible 600 hp. The Vantage V600 could do 186 mph, accelerate to 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds, and it’s absolutely terrifying to literally everyone who has ever driven it.
7th
Honda / Acura NSX
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Started as an idea and experimental (pun intended) project in the 1980s, the original Honda NSX stole the supercar show entirely, but not for the same reasons as everyone else. Sure, it was the first production car to have an aluminum body, and it was fitted with Honda’s first V6 to use VTEC, although it almost didn’t.
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The reason the NSX stole the show is something it offered, which almost none of its competitors did; Suitability for everyday use. It felt like driving a normal car, and it was just as easy to drive as a Civic, and yet it had some of the world’s best performance. Not to mention that Ayrton Senna was involved in its development. Win win.
6th
McLaren F1
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Until the 1990s, McLaren was exclusively involved in motorsport, with its Formula 1 cars dominating the world’s racetracks with Prost, Senna and Hunt at the wheel. But then, in the 90s, they decided to build a street car. Spurred on by their victories in motorsport, McLaren also decided to build the greatest supercar of all time.
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Since BMW donated a 6.1-liter V12 naturally aspirated engine with a sonorous and world-famous exhaust sound, the F1 was and is one of the greatest supercars of all time and almost certainly the best of the 1990s. There is a very good reason for this, which you probably already know; To this day it is the fastest naturally aspirated engine in the world.
5
Bugatti EB110
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Before the record-breaking Veyron, the EB110 was the only supercar of the Italian incarnation of Bugatti as started by Romano Artioli. The prototype has meanwhile been styled by Marcelo Gandini from Lamborghini Miura.
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The EB110 used a rather unusual 3.5 liter V12 engine with quadruple turbocharging and 553 horsepower, which was later increased to 602. It could reach 221 mph and accelerate to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds. In the early 90s. Unfortunately, due to many fights with project managers and the subsequent liquidation of Bugatti, very few units of the EB110 were made.
4th
Jaguar XJR15
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The XJR15 is one of two Jaguar supercars from the 1990s. Yes, we’ll get to the other in a moment. The XJR15 was essentially a homologated street version of the unstoppable XJR-9 racing car, designed and built by JaguarSport, a joint venture between Jaguar and her good friends Tom Walkinshaw Racing.
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Only 50 cars were ever made, each selling for the equivalent of $ 1.4 million, adjusted for inflation. The road car had a 450 hp 6.0-liter V12 that was mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. A 450-horsepower V12 might not sound like that much, but the XJR-15 weighed a little over 2,300 lbs, so you can imagine driving it was a total hoot.
3
Jaguar XJ220
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The other and far more easily recognizable Jaguar supercar from the 90s is the exceptionally long and exceptionally distinctive XJ220. When the concept car was first unveiled, it was promised to have a V12 engine like the XJR15 as well as stunning scissor doors.
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Except that the actual production car did not keep these promises. In addition to normal doors, a turbo V6 was used, which was clamped from the MG Metro 6R4 Group B rally car. Still, the XJ220 was not to be sniffed at, because with a documented top speed of 217 mph, it was the fastest car in the world for a (very) short time.
2
Lotus Esprit V8
The Esprit was one of the longest running Lotus nameplates, produced from 1976 to 2004. While the early models used four-cylinder engines and were just sports cars, the Esprit was brought far into the supercar field with a V8 engine.
The 3.5-liter unit was designed by Lotus itself and came with two turbochargers for a total of 350 hp. Thanks to the Esprit’s relatively light weight, 0-60 mph was sent in 4.4 seconds, which was largely the same as the Lamborghini Gallardo. Not that bad. The Esprit is also characterized by the fact that it is one of the last production cars with pop-up headlights.
1
Porsche 911 Turbo (993)
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If you wanted a supercar that you didn’t have to live with every day but didn’t want an NSX, the best bet was the Porsche 911 Turbo S. The S was a special package from Porsche Exclusiv and few cars were able to do so in the 1990s keep up with the performance of the Turbo S.
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Cars on the European market got 450 hp from the 3.8-liter twin-turbo boxer six-cylinder. Thanks to the lack of weight, the Turbo S could go from 0 to 60 in 3.6 seconds and reach a top speed of 184 mph. If you want a copy of the last of the air-cooled 911 Turbo, you have to spend quite a bit of money.
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About the author
Marko Sokolovski
(329 articles published)
Marko has been part of the HotCars team since July 2020. He started writing for different websites on different topics. He prefers weird, unusual cars over luxury ships and sports cars.
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