Supercars have a long history in which they are different from all other cars. After all, they’re far more expensive to buy than any other car on the road. Supercar are usually smaller than normal street cars and have large, powerful engines that take up a lot of space inside the car. With this in mind, supercar makers have had to be very clever with the packaging of their cars and find places where they can potentially spend “cheap” without anyone noticing, such as using cheap wing mirrors on a car worth 490,000 U.S. dollar.
Some classic supercars had the strangest solutions to design and construction problems, resulting in strange features like an illegal rear spoiler, additional equipment to bypass noise pollution issues, and optional exterior mirrors. These properties have made the cars more desirable and collector’s items, which of course goes hand in hand with the exorbitant price tag.
Some of these features are weird, some are interesting, and others are just amazing to look at as they are cleverly done and / or offer surprising practicality for such a class.
10 Jaguar XJ220 – Citroën CX wing mirrors
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The Jaguar XJ220 was the fastest production car in the world – less than a year before the McLaren F1 appeared. The XJ220 had a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 that developed 542 horsepower and 475 lb-ft of torque that went to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission. It could reach a top speed of 217 mph – a record at the time – and was sold for a staggering $ 580,000 in 1989.
Via: Artebellum
For a car at this incredible price, it was fitted with mirrors from a cheap French Citroën CX station wagon. While this may seem like a scam on a half a million dollar car, the CX’s wing mirrors were revolutionary in their design, including being featured in cars like the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Lotus Espirit, and TVR Griffith, and the Marcos Mantis.
9 Lamborghini Diablo – Nissan headlights
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The Lamborghini Diablo was the last Raging Bull car to be built prior to its takeover by the Germans. It was equipped with the V12 that originated in the 1964 350 GT and ended with the 2010 Murciélago SV. In the Diablo it displaced either 5.7 or 6.0 liters, produced between 560 and 600 hp and around 468 lb-ft of torque to the rear, or all four wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission.
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It started at $ 240,000 when new, but was fitted with the headlights of a Nissan 300SX after the facelifted model was forced to change the pop-up headlights due to new pedestrian protection regulations. The change of the headlights was noticeable; However, the fact that they were Nissan headlights wasn’t immediately apparent unless told to. Most drivers now know the Raging Bull through Japanese eyes.
8th McLaren F1 – side luggage compartment
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Before the Bugatti Veyron changed our perception of the hypercar, the McLaren F1 was the king of the high-speed mountains, surpassing the 230-mile mark in 1993. It was a love letter to automotive technology in terms of design and execution with a wonderful naturally aspirated 6.1-liter V12 engine, specially developed by BMW for the F1, paired with a 6-speed manual transmission.
About GT Spirit
The F1 featured a central driving position for better visibility and control and gold foil on the engine bulkhead to ensure the carbon fiber engine cover didn’t melt. Another interesting feature is the overhead bins just in front of the rear wheels, which were sold with luggage mounted to ensure a perfect fit.
7th Aston Martin V8 Vantage V600 twin compressors
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Aston Martin is known for its luxury grand tourers, which are usually equipped with smooth V12 engines for a smooth and powerful driving experience. However, the 1993-2000 V8 Vantage features a 5.3-liter V8 that makes 330 horsepower and a healthy 364 lb-ft of torque while self-primed.
About Top Gear
From 1998 Aston Martin introduced the Vantage V600 – a car that was built by Aston Martin’s factory service. It was still the 5.3-liter, but it featured twin-superchargers, resulting in a ridiculous 600 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque. So it was more of a British muscle car than a grand tourer!
6th Lamborghini Miura – Optional exterior mirrors
Source: Flickr
The Lamborghini Miura was the car that Lamborghini originally cemented as a worthy competitor to automobile giant Ferrari. The Miura was faster than any Ferrari on offer and was the first supercar to be built with a mid-engine. It had a 3.9-liter V12 that was mounted transversely directly behind the driver and made 350 hp in the original P400 model.
Via: Pinterest
The Miura was the car that officially started the supercar war and led to the automotive battles we all know and follow to this day. The weird thing about the Miura was that the wing mirror was optional. Lamborghini’s explanation for this was that in a Miura, the driver wouldn’t look backwards while driving. How is Lamborghini?
5 Porsche 959 – ‘Terrain’ Gear
Via wikipedia.org
The Porsche 959 was built as a Group B rally car, but before Porsche could drive it, the FIA required that they build at least 200 units and sell them to the general public in order to comply with homologation regulations. At the time of production, the twin-turbocharged 959 was the fastest production car in the world with a top speed of 300 km / h.
About Motor1
One problem at Porsche in making sure the car complies with road vehicle regulations was that the exhaust was too loud when starting. So they used a nifty tactic by putting a “G” (for “off-road”) on the gear knob and marketing it as an “off-road” transmission. That was because Porsche was underhanded and was hiding the fact that when pulling away in 1st gear, 2nd
4th Ferrari F40 – thin paint & driving aids
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The Ferrari F40 was built to beat the Porsche 959 and claim the title of fastest production car in the world – which it did. To achieve this, Ferrari has used many techniques to get the most out of their new car. The F40 had a unique engine designed specifically for it – a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V8 that developed around 471 horsepower and 475 lb-ft of torque – but because of the F40’s handcraft, many cars produced more power than claimed.
About STEVS Automotive Performance LTD
The strange thing was that the entire body of the car was made of carbon fiber, kevlar, and aluminum to reduce weight, with such a thin layer of paint over the body panels that the fabric of carbon fiber and kevlar was visible. Many customers found this undesirable and had their cars repainted. Today collectors prefer non-overmolded F40s.
3 Bugatti EB110 – two tank flaps
via: Pinterest
The Bugatti ED110 was the first Bugatti car since the company’s demise after Ettore Bugatti’s death in 1947. Development of the EB 110 began in the late 1980s and became the world in 1991, 110 years after Ettore Bugatti was born presented – hence the name. It had a brand new 3.5-liter V12 with quadruple turbocharging, which made 550 hp in the GT and 600 hp in the Super Sport and went to all four wheels via a 6-speed manual transmission.
via: CarBase
The car had many interesting features, but the fact that it has two tank flaps is the most significant as it has two fuel tanks – each for supplying a bank of cylinders. This was an odd feature as both tanks had to be filled for the car to work properly.
2 Lamborghini Countach – the rear wing
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The Lamborghini Countach was the original figurehead – one that would hang somewhere visible on a wall to dream of. With its angular, futuristic design and the great, big V12 that propels it to 285 mph. In 1975 the Canadian Walter Wolf (owner of the Wolf F1 Team) commissioned a more powerful Countach with an engine that was almost identical to the LP500 concept on which the Countach is based. The Countach “Walter Wolf Special” developed 447 hp and paved the way for the LP500 S, which was brought onto the market in the 1980s.
There was also a huge rear wing attached to the car, which wasn’t entirely legal on serial countaches. Instead, the car (without the wing) was produced, inspected, cleaned and driven to just outside the factory where a technician assembled the wing after which it was officially recognized as an aftermarket modification. A very Lamborghini way of doing things.
1 Vector W8 fighter jet style screen
Via: Reddit
The Vector W8 was a strange car. Not only was the styling out of this world, but the engine was much more powerful than any of its competitors and – if someone had taken the effort to test it – it would probably be the fastest production car at the time of production and for the time being World been some time later.
Via Supercars.net
The W8 had a 6.0-liter V8 with twin turbocharging, which was coupled with a heavily modified 3-speed automatic from a Chevrolet RV. It produced 625 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque; However, the car was equipped with driver-adjustable turbo boost levels and with a maximum boost of 14 psi the engine was recorded at around 1,200 horsepower. The strangest (and possibly coolest) feature of the W8 was the jet fighter-style screen that was used to show engine RPM, speed, and various other indicators.
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About the author
Michael De Kock
(17 articles published)
Michael De Kock is a qualified psychologist and is currently training to become a mechanic. He has a passion for cars and is aiming for a career in auto journalism. He’s interested in everything from avocados to particle accelerators. He also has a book, 125 Creative Writing Prompts for Petrolheads, which is available on Amazon. Help stop the hatred – adopt a V8.
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