What are the elements of a perfect sports car? When asked this question, most gearheads will have power, design, and handling on top of their list. Throughout automotive history, manufacturers have built several amazing sports cars that have all these key elements, including the Amazing Ferrari LaFerrari, the McLaren F1, and almost every Porsche 911, to name a few.
Unfortunately, manufacturers rarely build perfect sports cars, and in many cases, they lack one or more of the key elements mentioned above. In this list, we’ll look at ten cars that look amazing but are horrible to drive — either because they’re too slow or hard to control.
10
DeLorean DMC-12
Via Mecum Auctions
The DeLorean needs no introduction, as it’s one of the most famous movie cars ever built. Every gearhead who grew up in the ’80s loves the DeLorean for its role in the Back to the Future movies and its iconic wedge-shaped design.
Via Mecum Auctions
Sadly, the real DeLorean wasn’t that great to drive. It was powered by a 2.8-liter V6 engine producing a minimal 130 hp and 153 lb-ft of torque. 0-60 took more than 10 seconds, which was too slow to justify the $25,000 price tag.
9
Alfa Romeo 4C
Via:AvtoTachki
Italian automaker Alfa Romeo knows a thing or two about building gorgeous cars, as it has shown with beauties like the legendary Tipo 33 Stradale, the 8C, and the Giulia Quadrofoglio. The 4C is another gorgeous Alfa Romeo creation that gearheads across the world love.
Via FCA North America
While the 4C has beaten many European sports cars in design awards, it would get absolutely destroyed in a race by the vast majority of them. This is because it’s powered by a tiny 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing just 240 hp.
8
Shelby Cobra Super Snake
Via Robb Report
The Shelby Cobra is among the greatest American sports cars ever made, combining a superb British design with a mighty American V8 engine. The amount of power this car has under the hood is the reason why it has so many fans and also the reason why it’s scary to drive, particularly the one-of-a-kind Super Snake variant.
Via Barrett Jackson
The Super Snake has a 7.0-liter twin-supercharged V8 blurting out a crazy 800 hp. This amount of power in a 2,500-pound car, combined with its nose-heavy weight ratio, is the perfect formula for a terrible accident.
7
1991 Dodge Viper
Via: Pinterest
In the early ’90s, Dodge was getting tired of the bad reputation American cars had compared to their European rivals, so it decided to develop a sports car that could destroy any European sports car on the road and track. The result was the Dodge Viper, a stylish sports car with a gigantic 645-hp V10 under the hood.
Via: Flickr
The Viper may have had the power to beat any European sports car, but poor engineering and a complete lack of driving aids made it extremely hard to control. It’s no surprise that some gearheads have given the Viper the nickname “widow-maker.”
6
1980 Chevrolet Corvette California 305
Via: The Corvette Story
Chevrolet went through one of the toughest periods in its history during the ’70s and ’80s. After the government introduced emission regulations in response to the oil crisis, Chevrolet was forced to reduce the sizes of all its high-performance engines, leading to some of the slowest cars it had ever made.
Via futureclassicsnj.com
The 1980 Corvette came out during this period, and while it had an attractive design, it only had 180 horses coming out of the 5.0-liter V8 under the hood. The top speed was just 85 mph, making the 1980 Corvette one of the slowest cars of the day.
5
Maserati Merak
Via Classic Trader
Introduced at the 1972 Paris Auto Show, the Maserati Merak is a beautiful sports car that almost had it all. It was based on the 1971 Bora coupe, but Maserati hired Giorgetto Giugiaro to transform the design into something more special.
Via autogespot.com
Everything seemed alright with the Merak until you took a closer inspection under the hood. Instead of the 4.7-liter V8 found in the Bora, the Merak had a 3.0-liter V6 producing 187 hp and 188 lb-ft of torque. The Merak is one of the reasons why Maserati has always lived in Ferrari’s shadow.
4
BMW Z8
Via automobilemag.com
The Z8 came out in the early 2000s with an attractive design inspired by classic sports cars of the ’60s. Sadly, it was nowhere near as fun to drive as it looked.
Via Bring A Trailer
Soft suspension and poor steering made it hard to control and left gearheads wondering whether it was a sports car, grand tourer, or cruiser. What a shame, considering it had plenty of power coming from an E39 M5-derived 4.9-liter V8. Z8s are pretty rare nowadays, but if you find one, it’s the kind of collectible that you just want to look at, not get behind the wheel.
3
Aston Martin DB7
Via Mecum Auctions
Introduced in the ’90s, the DB7 is the highest-produced Aston Martin model of all time, with over 7,000 examples built. Like other Astons, the DB7 had a design that wowed gearheads everywhere it went.
Via Tom Hartley Jnr
Unfortunately, the DB7 didn’t drive as well as its predecessors. Since it was positioned as the entry-level Aston, the DB7 had many cost-cutting measures that affected the driving feel and was something of a parts binspecial. For example, it was based on the Jaguar XJS platform, which was terrible and outdated.
2
Porsche Carrera GT
Via netcarshow.com
The Carrera GT is a fantastic car, but many gearheads get a bad taste in the mouth every time it’s mentioned. This is because it’s the car that beloved Hollywood actor Paul Walker was in when he lost his life.
Via netcarshow.com
Unlike most Porsches, the Carrera GT requires quite a bit of skill to control, especially for drivers looking to test its limits. It comes with a race-derived 5.7-liter V10 pumping out 612 hp, all sent to the rear wheels via a manual gearbox.
1
BMW M1
Via Car Pixel
In the late ’70s, BMW dreamed of building the supercar that would take on the Ferraris and Lamborghinis of the day. They started by hiring legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, who came up with an attractive wedge-shaped design featuring a low, aggressive height, a flat kidney grille at the front, and folding headlights.
Via Car Pixel
Unfortunately, BMW chose the wrong engine for the M1. They equipped it with a 3.5-liter six-cylinder engine cranking out just 273 hp.
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About The Author
Martin Peter
(95 Articles Published)
Martin is a seasoned content creator who has been writing about cars for over a decade, and has been in love with them for even longer. Growing up, Martin was surrounded by gearheads who instilled a deep love and understanding for cars in him at a young age. He loves to learn and write about all the developments happening in the auto industry – especially in the EV space. When he’s not writing about cars, he likes to spend quality time with his wife, kids, and fur baby.
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