A relatively new term, a hypercar is an ultra high performance supercar where form follows function. These cars push the cutting
edge of technology, with stratospheric price tags and scarcely believable performance figures. Usually cars of this calibre are race homologation specials (CLK GT-
R,
911 GT1, XJR-15) or custom built/modified supercars (Koenig twin
turbo Testarossa, Brabus
Black Series MB, etc), but hypercars are production vehicles designed exclusively with road use in mind. This makes them far more practical than race-bred cars, which are often extremely uncomfortable and essentially
useless outside of a racetrack.
Hypercars go above and beyond the average supercar. They are the most over-engineered consumer products on the planet, built to be a collection of mind boggling numbers instead of merely a tool for dropping panties (think Gallardo versus MP4-12C, or even Alfa 8C versus Nissan GT-
R).
Cars such as the Pagani Huayra, Bugatti Veyron, Koenigsegg, LaFerrari F70, Porsche 918 and McLaren F1 all fit the
definition for 'hypercar'.
The McLaren
F1, due to being so ahead of its
time and utterly unrivaled, could well have been the first ever
true 'hypercar'.
