[Closed] 1980s supercars

Jaguar's sports cars have all been a bit bland-looking since the E-type, IMO. Love the XJ saloons though.

I can’t think of anything more 80s...

Looks very, very '70s to me, but I guess these things are subjective.

Ghah! How did Faguar make it onto a page about "supercars"?

Probably because Jaguar made [i]the[/i] original post war supercar, followed by the E-Type in the 60s - a supercar that one could (almost) afford.

The XJS may have been a bit paunchy-middle-aged-TV-detective by the 1980s, but the XJR-S was a pretty handy GT car capable of almost 160mph. Even though I am probably the biggest sceptic of the XJ220 on this thread, there's no denying that it was an actual, bona-fide supercar.

The people at Ferrari have a history of liking jags,
Enzo Ferrari said the e type was the most beautiful car ever made, and he made some crackers.

Thanks @chip.

Not forgetting the wonderful Pinninfarina Jaguar Kensington of 1990, which was hugely influential, just look at a Lexus GS300...

Great thread this. Am I the only one who never really got Porsches? I mean, they're very nice and all, but they just didn't do it for me.

No not a supercar ... but still up there for an 8 year old, who didnt know better, in the early 80s

See, I'd have preferred the third gen:

[img] [/img]

Ah a Corvette. Didn't they have a fibreglass-balsa wood composite floor?

And a live rear axle?

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Probably because Jaguar made the original post war supercar, followed by the E-Type in the 60s - a supercar that one could (almost) afford.

Jag made the 300SL ? 😉

PJM1974 - Member

I do love how an 1980s supercar thread has a bunch of adults arguing like the big kids that we all are. Superb!

Well he started it.

Cougar - Moderator

Great thread this. Am I the only one who never really got Porsches? I mean, they're very nice and all, but they just didn't do it for me.

Never was a fan, but as old age looms I find myself more and more attracted to the idea of them.

See, I'd have preferred the third gen:

If it could speak and had a "Turbo Boost" button then maybe ... 🙂

CaptainFlashheart - Member
You stay classy

Clearly hit a nerve there eh CFH.

Don’t tell me how to behave, thanks.

I don't doubt that that may have been influential when I was 10, aye.

😆

chip - Member
The people at Ferrari have a history of liking jags,
Enzo Ferrari said the e type was the most beautiful car ever made, and he made some crackers

Yerbutt, that was a myth. The sarcasm was lost in translation. 😆

Don’t tell me how to behave, thanks.

If it's casual homophobic comments like that, I will.

Genuine lol at P-Jay!

If we’re talking Porsche, then surely the 959 is very high in everyone’s wish list? Paris-Dakar pedigree, climate control, 4wd, ABS, TCS and 197mph (in Sport trim).

Asides from the horrendous maintenance costs associated with suspension hydraulics (they need frequent running apparently and don’t take well to being left as garage ornaments), it’s a super car that you could live with.

Also, I watched the Evo vid featuring the McLaren F1 XP5 prototype. At time of filming (2013), it had a staggering 98k on the odometer. Seriously. That’s twice as many miles as my diesel Alfa 159!

I'd argue that the MR2 is a kind of supercar, in-that it brought technology, fun and real mid engine driving skill/reward* to the masses.

[img] [/img]

Here's a MK1.b

*The reward[I] may [/I] be the casual thrill of exiting through a hedge backwards.

You know what? I agree re the MR2.

Sublime chassis, superbly built.

I'd argue that the MR2 is a kind of supercar, in that it brought technology, fun and real driving skill/reward to the masses

Valid points, but did anyone ever had one on their bedroom wall as a child? Surely that's a key criteria for inclusion in the super car category.

Ah, but quite a few people had posters featuring that god-awful 1930s reproduction monstrosity.

Genuine question: Ducktail Sierra Cosworth; supercar or uncouth upstart?

gofasterstripes - Member

I'd argue that the MR2 is a kind of supercar

PJM1974 - Member

You know what? I agree re the MR2.

No need to argue that it's a supercar, sports car is what it is.

Genuine question: Ducktail Sierra Cosworth; supercar or uncouth upstart?

I always liked the Sierra. I remember when it came out, it looked like it'd just landed from the future.

Would I have had a photo of it on my bedroom wall though? I somewhat doubt it.

I doubt it.

CaptainFlashheart - Member
If it's casual homophobic comments like that, I will.

Stay classy.

[url=

View this post on Instagram

car or not?[/url]

muddyground - Member

kit car or not?

The reg would tell us, but otherwise you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell from the outside. The fact that it's being towed on a car trailer behind a Mondeo probably says enough. Google Prova Countach.

Interestingly, the earlier Countach models (1974 - 1980) seem to fetch close £1million, whereas the be-winged later versions are about 1/3rd of that.

Does a Lotus Esprit Turbo count as a supercar? That's what I remember lusting after - that or an RS200 (yeah I know it's a Ford and it never won anything important, but it looks so much better than any of its competition).

Though this is what I had a pic of on my wall:

[img] [/img]

The Mondeo may well have been worth more, true. Point being my neighbours ropey Herald / Etype kit car gets more looks, and that's a shed. EType trumps Countach. That Prova thing looks great.

[quote=jimjam ]Interestingly, the earlier Countach models (pre big wing) seem to fetch close £1million, whereas the be-winged later versions are about 1/3rd of that.

The LP400 - it does look much better without the wing IMHO, and of course that's the original version, so not really surprising.

I was massively into cars in the 80’s and was totally blown away by the Countach...nothing else had the drama!

A few cars have jogged my memory on this thread as big faves at the time. In no particular order:
Corvette Stingray
Lotus Esprit spy who loved me
911 turbo black
Ferrari 328S magnum
Audi Quattro

Never owned any of em! 🙁

Sod your Lambo toys. Lambos were when fast cars stopped being racing derived and started to become gaudy baubles for idiots.

Now THIS is a car. Peasants.

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Road legal 962

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[quote="sbob"]I wonder what would happen if Jaguar ever visited Bonneville? I'm reliably informed that a showroom spec XFR will hit 200mph by only changing one parameter in the software. The one that tells it how fast it's allowed to go.

^^^^^ one of our directors has a road legal and "in use" 962. He's brought it to work twice in the 15 years i've been here. It's the only private car thats been allowed on site since about 1980.

PJM1974 - Member
Ah a Corvette. Didn't they have a fibreglass-balsa wood composite floor?

And a live rear axle?

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks for the clarification, I stand corrected.

The MG earlier has suspiciously close lines when compared to a Honda NSX...

America has yet to make anything that comes close.

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Ford GT40

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Vector W8

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Shelby Cobra

[img] [/img]
Boss Mustang

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Corvette ZR1

Never was a fan, but as old age looms I find myself more and more attracted to the idea of them.

I've often said that the older you get, the more you hanker after a Porsche.

America has yet to make anything that comes close.

The GT40, America's greatest car, was designed and built in Britain by the British. 8)

I had a mate (my boss) that had an original SWB Quattro. He was dying of cancer and as his daughters were going to be well looked after in the event of his death, he said I could have it as he knew I'd look after it.
He planned to meet his solicitor on the Friday to amend his will to bequeath me the Audi.
Bastard died on the Thursday!
The Quattro had just come out of the garage after having the interior renewed.
He was running an absolutely mint and original Renault 5 GT Turbo whilst the Quattro was in the garage.
I liked that bloke.
RIP Bob!

The GT40, America's greatest car, was designed and built in Britain by the British.

AFAIK, the engines were all American. Later models, like the one in the picture above, were built in U.S.

Don’t think you can call The Shelby Cobra American, Shelby slotted a big US engine in a British car

MR2s are cool (they must be, I owned one 😉 ) the Mid-Engined, RWD thing made them pretty unique in the 80s but a super car they are not - but if you want to feel how a really well balanced, RWD drivers they’re a great find to find out for real world money.

Was always the F40 for me on my wall. Loved it then and still love it now
[img] ?itok=UAMHsJ3w[/img]

However my taste has modified 'slightly' in that the F40 LM is the one i'd buy if I won the lottery 🙂
[img] [/img]
Sound very much required for this one!

Oh alright then. At least I tried 😉

*Goes to collect his "new" MR2 MK3*

Nice, careful if it’s icy - they can bite you if you drive like a wally.

Anyone make a bike rack for them? 😉

Don’t think you can call The Shelby Cobra American, Shelby slotted a big US engine in a British car

The first ones were just a British sports car with a Ford small-block. AFAIK, by the time they'd put the big-block engine in, they'd changed so much that it was pretty much a new car, basically an American design, inspired by a British car, built in the UK. It then spawned a huge litter of bastard offspring, many built in the US. Always wished I could get to drive one, apparently quite terrifying even to professional racing drivers.

I did some back to back testing of the F40 and 959. I set a track record in the F40 that I could never get near in the 959*

My older brother had the countach on his wall so to be non-conformist I had the xj220 xjr15 and lotus esprit turbo. Still hanker after the lotus.

Was never a fan of Porsche as a kid but as I get older I'm drawn to an early 911.

These days jags leave me really cold, just dismal things.

*In outrun on the 086 pc.

hols2 - Member

The first ones were just a British sports car with a Ford small-block. AFAIK, by the time they'd put the big-block engine in, they'd changed so much that it was pretty much a new car, basically an American design, inspired by a British car, built in the UK. It then spawned a huge litter of bastard offspring, many built in the US. Always wished I could get to drive one, apparently quite terrifying even to professional racing drivers.

Thousands of kit cars about. I'd say a good one would replicate the experience pretty well.

Thousands of kit cars about. I'd say a good one would replicate the experience pretty well.

Not sure I'm brave enough to try replicating the experience of 180 mph on cross-ply tyres and comedy brakes. Sounded so exciting back when I was 17...

https://amyshorephotography.com/2016/05/15/legends-and-its-dino/

[img] [/img]

A mates dad had one of the original Sierra Cosworth hatchbacks. Blooming heck it was bonkers. So was he.
I remember him racing a Quattro in the *****ng rain on the M4 8O.
Also the first time my dad and I had a lift to Rossendale from Bristol with them, we left Bristol at 6 am going north, mates dad was telling us about the car, mentioned ABS..dad enquired "whats that?"
Cue an emergency stop from 120 to 10.. in the middle lane of the deserted M5. Quite impressive at the time.
Motorways were also a lot less busy.

Sierra Cosworths were nuts. As were the later 90’s younger brothers.

My mate was in the army had never driven, then did one of those army crash courses (no pun intended) where they teach you to drive in a couple of days, then you have your test, which nobody ever fails

He’s without doubt the worst driver i’ve everr been in a car with. So obviously having just passed his test he bought one of these...

[img] [/img]

We proceeded to spend every weekend ragging it round the country to warehouse parties. I really don’t know how we remained alive 😯

A mates dad had one of the original Sierra Cosworth hatchbacks. Blooming heck it was bonkers. So was he.

When I was at college a mate had one of those. Blue & white Ford tiger stripes, flared arches, oversized wheels (which rubbed the arches at full lock). He used to moan that he was continually being stopped by police "because I'm a young black lad in a fancy car." Obviously nothing at all to do with the fact that he drove like a ****.

Sorry if I missed it, but if we're talking 80's supercars surely we should have mentioned this:
[img] [/img]

Yes, I remember him saying at the time that the frequent police stops were a bit tiresome. Mostly they just wanted to have a look under the bonnet and check he wasn't a prat.

928 or 911 would have been on my wall as a kid.

928 apparently went like the clappers but didn't stop with the same conviction..
928, Risky Business & Rebecca De Mornay. (Forget about Cruise)

TheDTs - Member
(Forget about Cruise)

How dare you.

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AC 3000ME.

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Mad Max's Motor.

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Then of course there's this. It's better in brown because that makes the joke better.
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Italian brothers down my road had a 8.32 thema. When it worked, what a noise!

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

Hmmm remember having a white Lamborghini and a black Porsche 930 turbo on my bedroom wall.

Was only having this conversation yesterday in work with a m8.

Had a Countach on my wall. Knew even then they were hideously impractical but god did they look good. I'd have to have a 5000QV though, that is the iconic Countach for me. That black one is a belter though.

I think this needs to be here.

[img] [/img]

AND THIS WHY IS THIS NOT HERE ALREADY

Blimey. 224 posts. Had no idea this would kick off so much.
Glad I started it.

Finally watched "The Wolf" on the big telly last night. Phwoarr.

[img] [/img]

^HubbaHubba^

^HubbaHubba^

As a young lad it always confused me greatly why Aston Martin were so highly regarded when they clearly just made Ford Mustang replicas 😆

[img] ?rev=2[/img]

AND THIS WHY IS THIS NOT HERE ALREADY

BECAUSE IT'S NOT A SUPERCAR. AND STOP SHOUTING I'VE ONLY JUST GOT UP.

How is the R32 not a supercar?

>inb4 bedroom walls

Skyline GTR is a GT car, of sorts.

Same for that big green Aston.

gofasterstripes - Member

How is the R32 not a supercar?

[url= https://image.ibb.co/kJW7S6/R32sedan.jp g" target="_blank">https://image.ibb.co/kJW7S6/R32sedan.jp g"/> [/img][/url]

Lay off the crack dude.

Yet the NISMO R32 is faster around a track than many of the cars in this thread. Doesn't that count?

>GTS?
Different car... I mean a fast version obviously 🙂

gofasterstripes - Member

How is the R32 not a supercar?

>inb4 bedroom walls

Supercar is obviously a fairly elastic term but I think these days it's generally accepted to mean an exotic, very high performance*, very expensive and generally mid engined car. There are lots of terms to define cars, sports car, coupe, GT car, performance car etc.

The R32 Skyline is the coupe version of the saloon Skyline above.

gofasterstripes - Member

Yet the NISMO R32 is faster around a track than many of the cars in this thread. Doesn't that count?

No because you could modify a Golf or a Fiesta to the nth degree to achieve similar.

Here's the R31 Skyline.
[img] [/img]

is that also a super car?

I guess what were drilling down to here is what we find "super" about a car. In my case it would be performance above all else.... Hence props for the MR2 (rather impractical), the AMG Hammer, and the oh-shit-here's-the-boost Skylines 🙂

>edit the r32 was also a technical tour-de-force

I mean a fast version obviously

Show me the slow version of the XJ220, the F40, the F1. 💡

The Skyline is nothing like a supercar.

gofasterstripes - Member

I guess what were drilling down to here is what we find "super" about a car.

Well that's okay, that's your personal definition.
If you had a 1000bhp Golf and you causally mentioned to some bloke down the pub that you drove a supercar, they probably wouldn't expect to see a golf. they'd expect something similar to what you find when you do a google image search for the term "supercar".

The Golf GTI Clubsport S is faster round a circuit than many older supercars but it'll be a long..loooooooong time before they are fetching a million quid at Sothebys.

I understand your point, but I disagree: the 1000hp golf is an exceptional car, and would exceed the performance of all expectations of normal drivers in all ways. Therefore; it seems logical to call it a super car 🙂 And the ¨bloke down the pub test" seems only to prove that ¨the bloke down the pub¨ is a bit narrow minded 😉

Anyway, it? OK I?l just let you guys post other stuff... Ivé got a 5 hour first drive in my MR2 tomorrow so I? happy enough with that!

Therefore; it seems logical to call it a super car

It might, if you didn't know what a supercar was. 🙂