Hypercars: Everything you need to know.
It has come to my attention that many enthusiasts don't recognize the hypercar category.
The term “hypercar” has been the center of much discussion and controversy between automotive enthusiasts; many purists have yet to embrace the term, claiming that the title is superfluous and that the cars categorized as such should instead be regarded as high-level supercars. They are wrong. Hypercars have several distinct characteristics that identify them as the highest echelon of the motoring world; they are a completely separate automotive species that deserve a separate classification.
The McLaren F1, released in 1992, was the very first hypercar.
What is a hypercar?
Any good hypercar can be identified thanks to a few key elements. In order to be honored with the title, the automobile in question must boast a top speed in excess of 200 miles per hour, a price tag at or above a million dollars, and must be produced in extraordinarily low numbers. Many also hold some sort of superlative in the automotive world, whether it be “fastest”, “quickest accelerating”, “most expensive”, or really anything.
The very first hypercar, in my eyes, came in 1992 from an incredibly successful racing team based in Woking, England. This was, of course, the legendary McLaren F1. Though the term hadn’t been coined yet, the car checked all of the hypercar boxes; it amazed the world with its record-breaking top speed of 241 miles per hour, industry-topping three second sprint to 60, half-million dollar price tag (which works out to approximately a million dollars in today’s dollars), and sleek design. With just 64 examples being built for the road, the British automotive icon was also incredibly rare. Like most hypercars that followed in its footsteps, the F1 incorporated engineering techniques from motorsport; celebrated Formula 1 designer Gordan Murray spearheaded the design of the first road-going McLaren and brought with him crucial technical knowledge. All of these factors- mind-boggling performance, incredible rarity, and state-of-the-art engineering- earn the F1 the title of hypercar.
The Bugatti Veyron set the bar for hypercars in the 2000s
Hypercars and the turn of the century
The dawn of the 21st century brought with it a resurgence of hypercars. Many designers and marques wanted to try their hand at making truly special cars. Familiar names in the performance world did their best and made some great hypercars; Ferrari released the Enzo, Porsche the Carrera GT, and Maserati the MC12. However, the truly spectacular cars came from brands new and unknown. Ex Lamborghini designer, Horacio Pagani, combined his knowledge of the fledgling carbon fibre industry with his respect for classic Italian design to create the shockingly brilliant Pagani Zonda. Swedish engineer Christian Von Koenigsegg, in search of a “world-class sports car”, created the insane Koenigsegg CC8S which surprised the world with its novel applications of tried-and-true automotive philosophy.
Most notably, however, historic French auto manufacturer Bugatti was brought back to life by the Volkswagen Group; in 2009, the largely forgotten brand released the 1000 horsepower, 250+ miles per hour, 16 cylinder, quad turbo monster that was the Veyron. This car absolutely dominated almost every performance metric and set a high bar for the modern age of hypercars. The Veyron wasn’t a one hit wonder, however; it continued to evolve until, eventually, the Super Sports version set a jaw-dropping top speed of 267.8 miles per hour. Bugatti’s masterpiece was held by the car world for a while as the pinnacle of engineering and design. Until the Holy Trinity arrived.
The Holy Trinity defined the hypercars of the decade.
The golden age of hypercars
The Holy Trinity is the trio of cars that best embody the hypercars of the 2010s. What exactly is the Holy Trinity? To put it plainly, the term refers to three particular insane hybrid cars from 2013- the McLaren P1, Porsche 918, and Ferrari LaFerrari. All three pioneered very different strategies of employing electric motors as assistance to already unbelievably powerful internal combustion engines. None of these cars set the top speed record, but the 918 is still officially the quickest car to 60 with an incredible acceleration time of just 2.2 seconds. The McLaren and Ferrari were held in high regards as some of the most insane road-legal track weapons available. Obviously, all three qualified as hypercars with low production numbers, eye-watering price tags, and ridiculous performance.
The success and cult-like following of the Holy Trinity should not, however, discount the achievements of other hypercars of the decade. Pagani Automobili released the long awaited follow up to the Zonda, called the Huayra. The new car was about as different from the Zonda as you can imagine; a new turbocharged AMG engine provided a completely different experience, and a larger emphasis was put on luxury instead of the pure driving experience. The Huayra was not some disappointing sophomore slump, though; the car boasted incredible performance, cutting-edge aerodynamics, and that same fantastically beautiful Pagani design. Bugatti also offered an encore to their original smash hit in the form of the Chiron. Much like the Huayra and the Zonda, the Chiron focused more on luxury than the Veyron did, and was generally a more well-rounded car. Gone were the bulbous proportions of the Veyron, and in were the new sleek curves of the Chiron. Don’t think that Koenigsegg allowed their peers to get ahead; In 2011, they released the Agera. This balls-to-the-wall machine used a V8 developed in-house to set some truly remarkable performance numbers. A version of the Agera, the Agera RS, set the official speed record in 2017 with an average top speed of 278 miles per hour- a number that has yet to be officially broken.
The AMG ONE and Aston Martin Valkyrie are both based on Formula 1 technology.
The future of the hypercar
The future of the hypercar, simply put, looks bright. The automakers mentioned throughout this article all have projects in various stages of development (though certain Italian marques won’t stop producing their original models from 1999!). Koenigsegg has been knocking it out of the park with their upcoming models in the Regera, Jesko, and Gemera. McLaren has also found time to design a successor to the original hypercar; it has begun rolling out the incredibly hyped three seater, the Speedtail. Ferrari and Porsche are both rumoured to be working on follow ups to their holy trinity creations. These are all somewhat expected, however; the more fun and fresh news in the hypercar worlds are the companies dipping their feet into the market for the first time (in this century). Mercedes-AMG, riding the success of their Formula 1 team, is developing the AMG ONE hypercar which is supposedly a literal racecar for the road, utilizing the drivetrain and technology from Lewis Hamilton’s dominant racer. Aston Martin has taken a similar approach; they are developing the Valkyrie with Red Bull Racing, which is slated to be a slightly less literal but equally bonkers Formula 1 car for the road. Lotus, well known for their small, light, classic british sports car, have released an entirely electric hypercar with the Evija. This move shocked automotive communities worldwide but shows that every manufacturer must embrace the future.
Incredible performance, jaw-dropping price tags, production numbers that make Stradivarius violins look common. The history and future of the hypercar are set. Every single car named in this article, and more, deserve the title of hypercar. When will the naming purists- nay, conservatives- among us finally admit that these are not just over engineered supercars, but in fact, an entirely different level of automobile?
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Comments (2)
Yes, well done. Thanks!
Well done. 🙂