Every gear head loves Supercar. Supercars represent the top of the range in the auto industry – they look better than other cars, perform better, and incorporate advanced technology and engineering to ensure that driving is more fun than other types of cars. It’s no surprise that supercars are in high demand in the collector’s car market.
However, not all supercars are as good as they appear at first glance. Over the years, various manufacturers have built supercars that weren’t great in any way. In this article, we’re going to explore ten supercars that were once popular but disappointing for one reason or another.
10 Lamborghini Countach
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The Countach is considered to be one of the largest Lamborghinis ever built. The Countach was introduced in the early 1970s and was praised for its eye-catching wedge-shaped design penned by the legendary Marcello Gandini. The Countach also had the power it needed, thanks to a mighty V12 under its hood.
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While we love the design and power of the Countach, those who own one probably didn’t like it that much. To start with, the Countach had a tiny cockpit that made it very uncomfortable for anyone over 5’8 “. Additionally, its handling wasn’t nearly as good as other top sports cars of the day and had reliability issues.
9 Jaguar XJ220
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In 1988, Jaguar caused a big stir in the auto industry when they introduced the XJ220 – a beautiful two-seater supercar with a 6.2 liter naturally aspirated V12 engine that transfers its power to all four wheels. Jaguar immediately received over 1,500 deposits for the car.
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Unfortunately, the car that Jaguar delivered in 1992 was very different from what it was promised. Instead of the V12, it had a supercharged V6 that sent the power to the rear wheels. Although the XJ220 was still one of the fastest sports cars of the 1990s, many buyers were disappointed with the changes.
8th Ferrari Testarossa
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The Testarossa was very popular when it was first launched in 1984. It had an excellent wedge-shaped design penned by Pininfarina and a huge 4.9 liter naturally aspirated V12 engine. However, the Testarossa has been criticized for being too wide and awkward to live with. It was also slower than most sports cars in its price range, taking over 5 seconds to reach 60 mph.
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The worst thing about the Testarossa was its poor driving dynamics. Because the engine was mounted above the transmission and rear differential, its center of gravity was high, making it difficult to control at speed.
7th Vector W8
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The Vector W8 was the talk of the town when it was launched in 1990. Despite being built by a virtually unknown American automaker, the W8 had a Lamborghini-rival wedge-shaped design and tons of power to play with – 625 horsepower and 649 lb-ft of torque from a twin-turbo V8.
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However, people soon noticed its shortcomings when they got behind the wheel. The W8 had mechanical problems that resulted in it catching fire unexpectedly. Only 17 W8s were ever built, making it one of the rarest American cars ever built.
6th Dodge Viper RT / 10
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The ’90s were great for the sports car market, spawning icons like the Honda NSX, McLaren F1, and many others. In order not to be left behind, Dodge went to work and developed the amazing Viper. The Viper was an instant hit – it had a fantastic design and tremendous performance thanks to its monstrous 8.0 liter V10.
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However, in order to reduce weight and provide a rough driving experience for owners, Dodge thought it would be a good idea to build such a powerful car without driver aids. It was extremely dangerous to drive the Viper at high speed, which is why it was nicknamed “Widowmaker”.
5 Königsegg CCX
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The CCX was an important car in Koenigsegg’s history. Although it was the Swedish company’s third car, it was the first to use Koenigsegg’s in-house engine in place of the Ford-made engines on previous models. The engine in question was a double-charged V8 with 806 horsepower on tap.
via wikipedia.org
The CCX was insanely fast, reaching a top speed of 250 mph. It didn’t have enough downforce to control such a performance, however, which was evident when The Stig crashed while filming a Top Gear episode.
4th Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
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When automotive giants like Mercedes-Benz and McLaren work together on a project, you expect the resulting car to be very special. The SLR McLaren was almost exactly that. The SLR McLaren, introduced in 2003, paid homage to the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR of the 1950s.
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Powered by a 5.4-liter, supercharged, all-aluminum V8 developing 617 horsepower and 580 lb-ft of torque, the SLR McLaren was one of the fastest cars of the 2000s. However, that feat sometimes turned out to be too much as drivers struggled with a crack while the wheels were spinning. The SLR McLaren also cost almost as much as a Ferrari Enzo, which was a much better supercar.
3 Call CTR ‘Yellow Bird’
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The Yellowbird is a fantastic supercar that was built in the 1980s by the little-known German company RUF. The Yellowbird was based on the very first turbocharged Porsche 911 and was therefore super fast. In fact, the Yellowbird was so fast that it broke the speed record for the production car in 1987 with 213 mph.
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The Yellowbird was fantastic on paper but had one big problem. Since it was based on the first turbocharged Porsche, it suffered from a massive turbo lag that set in at terrible times and resulted in drivers losing control.
2 Vector M12
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After the failed W8, Vector returned to the drawing board and in 1995 developed another failure – the M12. The M12 was based on the Lamborghini Diablo and even used its 5.7 liter V12.
via wsupercars.com
In contrast to the Diablo, however, the M12’s motor was mounted centrally in front of the transmission, which led to problems. The M12 had terrible build quality too, which is why Autoweek Magazine said it was the worst car they’d ever tested.
1 McLaren P1
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The P1 is a superb hybrid supercar launched by McLaren in 2013 as the spiritual successor to the legendary F1 of the 1990s. The P1 had almost everything – it had a stunningly beautiful design with sleek lines and V-shaped doors, advanced technology, and lots of power – 903 horsepower, which made it one of the most powerful hybrid sports cars.
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The only problem with the P1 is that you had to be a professional driver to enjoy driving. All of the power is directed to the rear wheels, making it difficult to control even when the driving aids are switched on.
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About the author
Martin Peter
(188 published articles)
Martin is a veteran content creator who has been writing about cars for over a decade and has fallen in love with them even longer. Growing up, Martin was surrounded by driven people who gave him a deep love and understanding of cars from a young age. He loves learning and writing about all developments in the automotive industry – especially in the field of electric vehicles. When he’s not writing about cars, he enjoys spending time with his wife, children, and fur baby.
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