When Style Meets Performance: Exotic Cars 101
Searching for a quality luxury car will inevitably bring anyone to the
rather apt adjective, “exotic”. Exotic food or exotic beauty may be more
clearly defined, but what really makes for an exotic sports car?
Sleek and Elegant Design
Part of what makes an exotic sports car is the vehicles’ streamlined,
sleek, and smooth designs, all of which serve functional purposes to the
overall performance of the car albeit being so highly aesthetically
pleasing.
Indeed, even exotic sports car makers know emphasis that car enthusiasts
and racers put on design per se. After all, owning an exotic sports car in
contrast to owning a car is, in itself, a status symbol. This status is
endowed not only by the make of the car but also the style and visual
appeal.
In fact, companies like Ferrari even employ design houses to come up with
their car designs. Design powerhouse Pininfarina, for example, designed
the 2002 Ferrari ENZO.
Breakneck Speeds
While design is one of the considerations of many car enthusiasts, the
primary characteristic that by-far differentiates a sports car from the
rest is its acceleration and maintainable road speed. When it comes to
sports cars, it’s all a matter of speed, speed, and more speed. A pretty
car won’t cut it if it cannot deliver the exhilarating ride that is
expected of every sports car.
Exotic cars are continually challenging the rate at which a car can
accelerate from 0 to 60 mph. Designs are beginning to be shaped from the
engineering needs of the car, in order to suitably deliver a new record
speed. As of the moment, the 1994 Dauer 962 LeMans continues to reign with
2.6 seconds. However, with the likes of the 2002 Ferrari ENZO being
designed based on the specifications of making a fast car, expect faster
sports cars in the near future.
One-in-a-Million
Indeed, exotic sports cars aren’t the type that mass produced and you
can’t but then “off-the-lot”. Part of its exotic appeal is the fact that
you can only have a certain number of models made available for sale. The
rarer and more difficult to acquire, the greater a car’s exotic value.
It’s in the Name
Most cars don’t need visualization to be called exotic, they just are.
These would include your cult sports car classics—your Porsche, your
Ferrari, your Lamborghini.
While an ‘exotic sports car’ may be subjectively defined over a huge
stratum, it’s safe to believe that these qualities are more or less held
in commonality by any definition. At any rate, one look at a car may be
enough to give you a clue. |
