Top 10 Favorite Hypercars of My Lifetime
Last list, we had my 10 favorite supercars of my lifetime. This week we do Hypercars. What is a "hypercar?" Simply put, a hypercar is a supercar that has elevated itself further up the pantheon of automotive greatness by being more of everything. This means it's expensive, fast, and rare, but even more expensive, faster, and rarer.
What about the looks and iconic status, you say? Don't worry, I didn't forget those. Just be being a supercar, the car is laready good looking. And by definition, a hypercar already IS iconic. It just is.
So now after qualifying as a supercar, a hypercar must meet all the following criteria:
(1) Insanely expensive: Not just extremely, but insanely. Not just US$120,000 in today's money. Oh, no. Try US$400,000.
(2) Insanely fast: Nothing short of 200mph please.
(3) Insanely rare: Less than 3,500 made, across the entire range. We wouldn't want the commoners to touch our exclusive rides, now would we?
There is just two more rules I'll be using for the purpose of this list.
First, the car must have been in production no earlier than in the 70s. The reason is simple: I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough to properly rate cars that were around long before I was born.
And second, to get hypercar status the car must be a hypercar from its inception. No souped up supercars or sports cars here. We are talking about exclusivity here.
The last thing to remember is this: this list isn't about technical achievements, or value-for-money, or handling or any of those things. Its about how these cars make me FEEL. Ultimately, that's what makes supercars great - they way they speak to your heart, long before you'e aven drien them. This is a subjective list, and I urge anyone who reads this to comment on their own top 10.
So with that (once again) out of the way, here's my list!
1. 1987-92 Ferrari F40 (1, 2, 3, 4)
SRP (new): $400,000 ($793,000, 2011 adjusted)
Engine: 2.9L Twin-Turbo V-8
Output: 471bhp/425lb-ft
0-60: 3.8sec
Top Speed: 201mph
1,315 made
About the car: In the eyes of many, mine included, the single greatest supercar of all time. Purpose-built to be the fastest car in the world, it was the first ever production car to do 200mph. It was a pure driver's car as well, with no amenities, no electronic driver aids and a simple 5-speed manual gearbox. Its forced induction nature took its cue from the Formula 1 turbocharged V8s of the day. The F40 is so named as it celebrated the prancing horse's 40th anniversary, and it was -fittingly - the final car that Enzo Ferrari would personally see to completion.
My take: I didn't think it would go here. When I first thought up this list that the McLaren F1 would the numero uno. Ferrari isn't my favorite marque - those have always been BMW and Lamborghini. But how can you deny a car that combines technical excellence with an unfiltered driving experience, all in this dramatic shape? Just looking at the F40 tugs at my heartstrings, and the soul and purity of this Ferrari have, somehow, made it my all-time favorite supercar/hypercar.
Interesting fact: In Enzo Ferrari's own words: “A little more than a year ago I expressed a wish to my engineers: Build a car to be the best in the world. And now that car is here.” 'Nuff said.
2. 1992-02 McLaren F1 (1, 2, 3, 4)
SRP (new): $970,000 ($1,541,000, 2011 adjusted)
Engine: 6.1L NA V-12
Output: 627bhp/479lb-ft
0-60: 3.2
Top Speed: 240mph unrestricted
106 made
Aboout the car: Engineering perfection - the F1 was Gordon Murray's technical masterpiece. So anal about everything the even the engine bay was lined with gold to reflect heat to protect the carbon fiber chassis. The driver's seat is in the middle for optimal weight distribution and outward visibilty. During it's planning stage several engine makers turned down Murray's demand that it make at least 550 hp from a naturally aspirated motor. Enter BMW's M division - the 6-liter V-12 produced 627 horses to more than meet McLaren's needs and power the car to 231mph - a number surpassed by only a handful of cars even 20 years later, and to this day the F1 is the worlds fastest naturally-aspitated production car.
My take: I'm a bit upset at this. I wish i could make the F40 1a and the F1 1b. If the F40 was about the pure experience of driving, this was the ultimate in automotive engineering. Even if the F1 was introduced today, the power output, use of exotic matierials, and otherworldy performance would make it among the fastest cars in the planet. To put that in perspective, imagine your 20 year-old 386 computer or Motorola analog phone being able to match specs with todays computers and mobile phones. Amazing!
Interesting fact: Gordon Murray first approached Honda to build the F1's engine, as it was also the engine manufacturer od the McLaren F1 cars. The S70/2 M-Division engine is one of the first Double-VANOS units built by BMW, and (despite the designation) is not related to the S70 found in the 850CSi.
3. 1986-89 Porsche 959 (1, 2, 3, 4)
SRP (new): $225,000 ($451,000, 2011 adjusted)
Engine: 2.4L twin-turbo Flat-6
Output: 450bhp/369lb-ft
0-60: 4.1sec
Top Speed: 195mph
337 made
About the car: Hailed as a technological tour-de-force upon its launch, the 959 advanced the concept of 4WD performance more than any car besides the original Audi Quattro. Its PSK system automatically adjusted the power distribution from the front to the rear wheels depending on acceleration, grip and road conditions. Its suspension also adjusted the ride height, lowering itself as the car approached its top speed of 195mph. That made this Group B homologation special, at least for one year, the worlds fastest ever production car.
My take: Though it does fall 5mph short of the 200mph barrier, the 959 ushered in the age of the hypercar. Porsche fired the first shot in what would be a war between sports car marques to see who built the fastest, most audacious, and most desirable car. It was certainly the first modern hypercar, and soon after its launch Ferrari, McLaren, even Jaguar followed suit, and the hypercar arms race truly began.
Intersting fact: Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen imported one each despite not being road-legal in the US. Is that techie enough for you?
4. 1999-11 Pagani Zonda (1, 2, 3, 4)
SRP (new): $741,000 ($853,000, 2011 adjusted)
Engine: 2.4L twin-turbo Flat-6
Output: 450bhp/369lb-ft
0-60: 4.1sec
Top Speed: 195mph
* note: Data above reflect the Zonda F, which, at 25 units, was the most produced of the Zondas
146 made
About the car: Perhaps the most schizophrenic car of all time, the Zonda had 9 "mass production" variants, which in this case means just 5 or more made. There were also 6 special editions (one-offs) and two non-homologation race-track-only versions, and a race-car version that is redesigned by an American/Belgian/Dutch company but approved by Pagani. It's bold, brash, and unafraid to show off. But the performance speaks just as loud as its engine note: the "slowest" Zonda lap (7:44 by the Zonda S in 2005) is faster than the Mercedes Benz SLS and the Ferrari 599, and matches the Audi R8 V10. The Cinque - one of the last Zonda variants - boasts numbers of 678bhp, 757lb-ft of torque, 0-60mph in just 3.3seconds, and a top speed of 221mph.
My take: A bonkers but bespoke car is what was needed to break into the stranglehold that Ferrari and Lamborghini had on the Italian exotic car market. And credit Horacio Pagani for having not just the vision, but the balls to pull it off. The car is loud, audacious, and if a car could be mentally unstable, this would be.
Interesting fact: The original test driver for the Zonda was Juan Manuel Fangio, the legendary Argentinean F1 driver, whose 5 F1 Drivers Championships was a record held for 45 years until Michael Shumacher won his 6th in 2003. Still, Fangio is often considered the greatest F1 driver of all time.
5. 2005-11 Bugatti Veyron (1, 2, 3, 4)
SRP (new): $1,440,800 ($1,659,000, 2011 adjusted)
Engine: 8.0L Quad-Turbo W-16
Output: 1001bhp/922lb-ft
0-60: 2.5sec
Top Speed: 253mph (267mph, Supersport variant)
291 made
About the car: In 1999, VW CEO Ferdinand Piëch (VW owns Bugatti) said that Bugatti would make a car with 1000 horsepower, and the world thought he was insane. Six years later, he proved that he was right. Named after a Pierre Veyron, a Bugatti race car driver from the 1930s, this car has the distinction of being the only car to have held the official production car speed record twice, once in its original form and again with the Supersport variant, which had 1183bhp instead of "just" 1001.
My take: The ultimate in the pursuit of just two things - top speed, and getting there in luxury. You can't hate on that.
Interesting fact: The advertised claim of 1001bhp isn't the real power figure - Bugatti guarantees that each Veyron produces 1001 at minimum, and the estimated outputs start at 1006bhp and above.
6. 2006-11 Koenigsegg CCX (1, 2, 3, 5)
SRP (new): $695,000 ($774,000, 2011 adjusted)
Engine: 6.0L NA V-12
Output: 660bhp/485lb-ft
0-60: 3.6sec
Top Speed: 245mph
100 made (approx)
About the car: Sweden is known for safe and conservative wagons (see: Volvo) and quirky but likable saloons (see: Saab). So who thought the next Scandanavian automobile would be a firebreathing hypercar with stunning looks, incredible performance, and those insane doors? To add to the insanity, Koenigsegg decided that the CCX wasn't powerful enough and released the CCX-R only a year after launching the CCX. Despite the claims of the CCX-R being an eco-friendly vehicle (it can run on e85 or e100 fuel, as well as normal 98-octane petrol), the car is best known for some staggering performance figures - 1,064bhp, 782 lbt-ft of torque, 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, and a top speed of over 250mph. With this astronomical speed came an astronomical price - $1,200,000.
My take: Though the CCX-R's numbers are nearly at par with the Veyron, the audacity of Bugatti's "1000hp car" claims - long before the car was even built - trumps Koenigsegg R&D's own 1000hp tour de force. That being said, however, the Swede Speedster's stunning good looks (one of Forbes Magazine's 10 most beautiful cars) and ludicrous power are more than enough to catapult it to the middle part of this list.
Interesting fact: Apparently, Keonigsegg thought the price of the CCX-R wasn't enough, so the created the CCX-R Edition (no typo - they left out the "limited" in "limited edition") that had some styling tweaks attached to a $2.1million price tag. Then they released just three units of the CCX-R Trevita (which means "three" in Swedish), with a silver (rather than black) carbon fiber body and charged clients up to a reported $4,000,000. In related news, Jay Leno bought one of the three, so maybe he just happened to have four million dollars lying around...
7. 2004-06 Porsche Carrera GT (1, 2, 3, 4)
SRP (new): $440,000 ($523,000, 2011 adjusted)
Engine: 5.7L NA V-10
Output: 605bhp/435lb-ft
0-60: 3.9sec
Top Speed: 205mph
1,270 made
About the car: The Carrera GT almost never was. The project team was re-allocated in favor of the Cayenne project. A decision to have a concept car on display in the 2000 Geneva Motor Show allowed Porsche execs to see genuine consumer interest in the Carrera GT, and the project was given the green light. And what a greenlight - at 205mph, it still is the fastest road-legal Porsche evr (since tied by the 997 GT2 RS), and with a 7:27.71 lap time in the fabled Nurburgring, it held the lap record for production cars for nearly three years.
My take: This might be the prettiest Porsche since the 550 Spyder, and with a lightweight engine fitted to the middle, a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard, and rear wheel drive, it may be the purest driver's car that Porsche has produced in a long time. And Porsche nearly didn't make it because of the Cayenne? Do I need any more reason to not like the Cayenne?
Interesting fact: Rumor has it that Ferdinand Piech, chariman of VW-Audi, wanted to delay the Carrera GT so that the Audi R8 LeMans car (not to be confused with the road car of the same name) would not have to duke it out with Porsche's new racer.
8. 2008-09 Lamboghini Reventon
SRP (new): $1,370,000 ($1,429,,000, 2011 adjusted)
Engine: 6.5L NA V-12
Output: 640bhp/487lb-ft
0-60: 3.3sec
Top Speed: 211mph
21 made
About the car: Only Lamborghini could have done this: take a "normal" Murcielago LP 640, give it an insanely gorgeous carbon fiber body, add childish toys and overblown fighter jet references, and then sell it. With only one color option - a flat gray. And launch the car as a 1/4 scale model. For nearly $1.4 million. Which is a million more than the Murcielago. Despite not being any faster or more powerful. And then sell it out within a week hours of its launch. Sounds insane, you say? Insane like genius! It was in danger of not making it because it's basically a Murcielago in a tux, but how could you keep a car like this out? I mean, look at it!!!
My take: This blurs the line a bit about souped up supercars, since it's not a whole lot more than a Murcielago with a bodykit, but look at it! Just look at it!!! LOOK AT IT!!! I think I might explode if I come onto contact with it...
Interesting fact: Does this car NEED any more interesting things said about it? JUST F****** LOOK AT IT!!!
9. 2002-04 Ferrari Enzo (1, 2, 3, 4)
SRP (new): $670,000 ($831,000, 2011 adjusted)
Engine: 6.0L NA V-12
Output: 660bhp/485lb-ft
0-60: 3.12sec
Top Speed: 218mph
400 made
About the car: This car was meant to celebrate Ferrari's first F1 win of the new millenium, and was packed with F1-derived technologies. This included a carbon fiber honeycomb body, carbon fiber-ceramic braks, an electrohydraulic sequential gearbox, among other tech. During its launch, the Enzo was the most radically-styled production car in the world, somehow out-doing the Zonda in this aspect. This shape wasn't just for shock-value, but also exuded the Enzo's F1 roots with the center "fuselage" flanked by is "front wing." These styling touches, however, were specifically designed to produce downforce, essentially creating an F1 car (albeit with a closed cockpit) for the road.
My take: Any car named after Enzo Ferrari has a lot to live up to. And somehow... it felt like it didn't. It's certainly a shocking car to look at, and is extremely fast. Despite the tech packed into it, it didn't set the production car speed record, and was only marginally quicker to 60mph than the (then) 10 year old McLaren F1. In fact, Ferrari stablemate Maserati even got to use the Enzo as the basis of its own MC-12 hypercar/homologation racer. I'm don't know if Enzo Ferrari would have approved.
Interesting fact: If the styling seems somewhat un-Italian, there is a reason for that - though the design was contracted to famous Italian firm Pininfarina, the head of the project was a Japanese designer named Ken Okuyama.
10. 1989-93 Vector W8
SRP (new): $455,000 ($828,000, 2011 adjusted)
Engine: 6.0L Twin-Turbo V-6
Output: 625bhp/630lb-ft
0-60: 4.2sec
Top Speed: 218mph
19 made
About the car: History has not been kind to the W8. Porsche 959 and Ferrari F40 are rightuflly recognized as the world's first hypercars. But while other early entrants such as the McLaren F1 or the Jag XJ220 have been celebrated 20 years on, the Vector has been mostly forgotten. But the American-made Vector had a greater top speed than any of those cars, and even recorded a 242mph top speed run in the Bonneville Salt Flats. Yes, that's faster than the fastest Zonda, or the fastest Ferrari, or the fastest Porsche or the Fastest Lamborghini. 20 years ago.
My take: This is probably the most underappreciated of all hypercars, and it's important if only for one thing - it was the first entrant into the supercar/hypercar market by a new company with no racing heritage since Lamborghini in the 50s. If not for the (relative) success of the Vector W8, manufacturers like Koenigsegg and Pagani might not even exist.
Interesting fact: Vector's full registered name is "Vector Aeromotive," and its catchphrase was "Aeromotive Engineering," though the company had no roots of any sort in the aerospace industry.The company's growing pains were many, including a famous story about tennis start Andre Agassi getting a refund after a rushed car was delivered to him and broke down.
Honorable Mentions:
1992-94 Jaguar XJ220
SRP (new): $580,000 ($921,000, 2011 adjusted)
Engine: 3.5L Twin-Turbo V-6
Output: 542bhp/475lb-ft
0-60: 3.9sec
Top Speed: 217mph
281 made
My take: The shape of this car came straight out of science fiction, just like its incredible performance. During its time, only the Mclaren F1 and the Vectro W8 could beat the XJ220's top speed, and it is still the fastest Jag ever built.
2003-10 Mercedes Benz-McLaren SLR (1, 2, 3, 5)
SRP (new): $455,000 ($551,000, 2011 adjusted)
Engine: 5.4L Supercharged V-8
Output: 626bhp/575lb-ft
0-60: 3.12sec
Top Speed: 207mph
3,500 made
My take: The ultimate old-guy hypercar. Insane speeds, automatic transmission. The 722 edition is about as serious as a car can get, but still had a slushbox tranny.
1995-97 Ferrari F50
SRP (new): $480,000 ($703,000, 2011 adjusted)
Engine: 4.7L NA V-12
Output: 513bhp/347lb-ft
0-60: 3.7sec
Top Speed: 202mph
349 made
My take: Between the purity of the F40 and the insanity of the Enzo, the F50 seems lost somehow. Those incredible performance figures from 1995 would still make modern supercars cower in fear, but it wasn't even as fast as it's predecessor. Pity.
2006-present Shelby Supercars Ultimate Aero
SRP (new): $650,000 ($724,000, 2011 adjusted)
Engine: 6.3L Twin-Turbocharged V-8
Output: 1,062bhp/1,001lb-ft
0-60: 2.46sec
Top Speed: 236mph
Still in Production
My take: A turn as the world's fastest production car and the Shelby name gives this car some cred. Unfortunately, the Veyron Supersport has taken the top speed crown, and Jerod Shelby (SSC's founder) is in no way related to automotive legend Carol Shelby. Still, 2 year run as the world's fastest car isn't bad.2010-present Koenigsegg Agera
SRP (new): $1,200,000 (current SRP)
Engine: 5.0L Twin-Turbocharged V-8
Output: 910bhp/811lb-ft
0-60: 3.1sec
Top Speed: 245mph
Still in Production
My take: The Agera also has an R-version, like it's CCX predecessor. And like the CCX-R, the Agera R runs on biofuel and makes more power than its non-R sibling: 1,115bhp and 885lb-ft of torque! Top Gear's 2010 Hypercar of the Year claims it can reach speeds of up to 270mph, but is limited to just 245mph. Koenigsegg is planning a special event where it will scrap the limiter and see exactly what the Agera R can do.
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