It is not a matter of age, neither of preference. As already stated, the term "supercar" was initially invented for the Miura, and that is a fact. If then you ask what is the first car that impressed you personally as "super", that is a totally different issue. If the second one is the question, Countach all the way for me: the most outrageously looking car up today. Ciao Eugenio
SammyB.... thank you for that writeup and photo!! The thought that that Pistachio green wonder of a car is roaring around somewhere within 300 miles of where I'm sitting right now is just awesome. What a generous owner to allow you to drive it!
By the way, I just re-read the initial question: WHO MADE THE FIRST SUPERCAR? LAMBORGHINI Ciao Eugenio
Correcto. Strictly speaking, "WHO" made the first supercar (now that we have gotten the definition of "supercar" and the subject matter fairly well established) can only be answered correctly with Lamborghini (for the Miura), or if you wish to get technical: Coachbuilder - Bertone SpA/Nuccio Bertone Designer - Marcello Gandini* Engineer - Gian Paolo Dallara Manufacturer - Automobili Lamborghini SpA/Ferruccio Lamborghini *Gandini developed and then finished a design started by Guigiaro. Joe Image Unavailable, Please Login
I agree that LJK Setright was the creator of the term 'supercar' in relation to the Miura, however it all depends on your own personal definition I guess. Personally I'm torn between 300SL gullwing (for its race bred aerodynamics) or the Miura (first mid-engined road car - as in developed as a road car, not a development of a race car). Chaa, you got any figures for the blower Bentleys? I'm just wondering how they compare to a Mercedes Benz 540K Special Roadster - it was producing 180BHP (with the supercharger engaged - 115BHP without it) and hitting 106MPH in 1937 (admittedly a fair bit later than the blower Bentleys). They are also incredibly rare and now incredibly valuable - IIRC one sold for $3.65 Million a few years back (it was originally owned by one of Warner Bros). Link to 540K pic: http://ak.scr.imgfarm.com/tran/md/AUT05RK033801.jpg
I hate to deliver depressing news, but Paul sold his Miura this past year. Basically, a gentleman had been calling him every couple months for two years raising his offering price with "if you ever want to sell it..." Finally, Paul said "okay" because the price was so astronomical, he couldn't turn it down. To show how great a guy Paul is, he said "I'll take the offer, but I'll only do it if you let me deliver the car myself." Paul didn't want any shipping company to damage the car, so he put it in his enclosed race trailer and hauled it across country. (I can't remember exactly where it went.) Paul is the one who did the body/paint on my 328 GTS (which is why it looks so awesome now.) He also has a Countach stripped for a full nut-and-bolt restoration. I can't wait until that one is done!
Technically, the Bonnet (Matra) Djet was the first mid-engined road car, not the Miura. The Djet won its class at Le Mans in '62, and did so under a production class...customer road cars were produced.
Well sense no one asked which car the above refered to it is the '37 Alfa Romeo 8C2900B - clearly a supercar of it's day (and still is). - George
In my opinion Lamborghini & Bertone with the Miura deserve the # 1 spot. The car pushed the envelope in every direction: was fast, was was stunning to look at and from the engineering point of view it was without match. Almost forty years later, it is still a traffic stopper, as it was the day it was introduced. Back in the seventies, on the autostrada, without spped limits and with the traffic we had back then, seeing a Miura coming at you in the rearview mirror was a sight to behold. Just my modest opinion, based on personal experience, Saluti,
Clearly some dont understand the question.... If the question was who made the first Super Car, then it could be anything significant going back to the beginning of the time of sporting cars. There are cars well before the Miura that indeed were "Super" cars and that we regard as significant or benchmark cars... However, the question "Who made the first Supercar?" in the context in which it is understood as it refers to that expression created by LJK Setright, is the Miura, the car for which the expression was created. Other cars since the Miura have had that same moniker bestowed upon them, and today, 30 years after the term was coined, the expression Supercar describes a whole group of several generations. Joe
The supercars originated when the designers and engineers were aiming to build the car for the purpose of the highest in performance possible; not for comfort, not for number of sale, not for marketing... but best in speed and handling... And that has to go back to the 1910's; Mercer raceabout, Stutz Bearcat, Fiat F2... The Ferrari 250GTO is just a somewhat modified of the 250 swb and the 250 swb was every bit a supercars of the 60's.....
As exciting as the Miura was at its introduction, it did not have the same impact on the world as the E-type Jaguar did when it made its debut. It's fine with me if you want to name the Muira asthe first Supercar, but I still recall seeing my first E-type and it did something even the Miura didn't.
What you said, almost. The term didn't exist until the Miura forced it, so the answer to the original question is, in fact, "Lamborghini". 'Opinions' to the contrary are irrelevant and indicative.
Man, a lot of very cool cars are mentioned but I must say "super car" to me dose not mean 'race car' or 'one off'. I guess the Lamborghini Miura is one of the top runners (http://www.wheelsofitaly.com/wiki/index.php/Lamborghini_Miura) but how about the first mid-engine car, the ATS (http://www.wheelsofitaly.com/wiki/index.php/ATS)? This is an awesome car for its time. Or how about the Bizzarrini Strada (http://www.wheelsofitaly.com/wiki/index.php/Bizzarrini_A3C/GT_5300_Strada) ...there are a ton of cars that would fit the bill. Thanks, Ciao Dan Wheels Of Italy
Sorry, but the British TV show "Supercar" was around 10 years before Setright allegedly coined the phrase.