SCR Supercar Hire Blog

Say it aint so! A supercar cannot and will not be powered by diesel fuel - or so my thought was until recently. The noisy clatter on startup, the black smoke that pours out of the exhausts, the narrow power band and the “cheapskate” view meant that it just wouldn’t fit in the glorious world of supercars.

However, when Audi won at Le Mans using diesel power, the world started to take note that there might be something in this, and that if the misconceptions could be got past that this could be an alternative. And coming later this year, Audi will try to tempt the public with a V12 diesel version of its supercar, the Audi R8. The positives are that you still have a cracking looking supercar, but one that will cost less to run on a day to day basis. But surely that defeats the whole point of having a supercar - the people who can afford to spend 100k on a car aren’t the sort that are worried about a few MPG here or there. But they also probably didn’t get to where they are without having some nouse, and if spending less on fuel means you can invest your money elsewhere more usefully then surely that makes sense?

I think we’re going to have to wait until this hits the road and road tests show how it shapes up against the petrol version of the car. I certainly won’t be rushing to buy one as I can’t get past the noise and clatter of a diesel engine right now. In a “normal” day to day car they are fine, but leave my supercars alone..

The Lamborghini Gallardo has been a very successful car for the Italian company. Squaring off with the Ferrari F430, the input of Audi on the company has meant this is a supercar that can be used every day and it was very good at doing that. However, it has been around since 2003 and it was time for an upgrade, despite the fact that we think the original still looks very very good and up to date! The new look doesn’t differ too much as you can see in the image below, but it does look “edgier” and we like it for that.

Power has been upped from 513 to 552 bhp, which will give a sub 4 second 0-60 time, going onto a claimed top speed of 202mph - truly stunning. Ok, so it won’t be cheap at £130,000 especially compared to the Audi R8 which comes from essentially the same company, but this will be an amazing car to drive and own!

Listing every new supercar coming out in 2008 would be a difficult job, but we can try to pick out some of the key things happening and give them to you in bitesize chunks!

Aston Martin DBS

Ok, so this was actually released in 2007, but this year will probably be the first chance that you get to see these cars on the road. Meaner and edgier looking than the DB9, the waiting list for one of these is unsurprisingly a couple of years long, but keep an eye out as they do look special!

Audi R8 V10

A R8 was huge success when it was launched last year, Audi hope to improve on the R8 abilities by slotting in an engine similar to that in the ’sister’ Gallardo. This should help its pure speed, and improve on giving the car the real feel of a supercar. Supercars should either make you feel ten years old again (Murcielago), or really special (DB9), and the R8 does neither in our opinion. However, give a car real speed and proper handling and it will still give you the feel you need. Also, they have excellent reviews from most of the press and there is no doubt that it is an unbelievable first effort of a supercar by Audi.

Koenigsegg CCXR

This car is a real monster, and one I fully expect to beat the record on the TopGear track with the stig at the helm! 1018 bhp, and a lightweight body improve what was already a mightily impressive ‘hypercar’, although not something you will see everyday. I don’t think I’ve even seen a ‘normal’ CCR on the roads, such is the exclusivity of them. One for the super rich to enjoy and stand out in!

Ferrari

You can’t have a year go by without something impressive coming out of the Fiorano factory, and this year will be no different. They should release the new Ferrari Dino, of which there aren’t any images of at the moment. The ‘base’ Ferrari has got slowly more expensive since the days of the 355, through the 360 to the Ferrari 430, and this should help redress the balance a little bit. It will go head to head with the Aston Martin V8 Vantage which is a tough ask, but we have little doubt that this will be an absolute scream of a car!

The very best of these new cars will of course be available to hire from SCR Supercar Hire!

Lightweight versions of already quick cars have been a popular thing for manufacturers in recent years. The recipe seems simple enough: Take one quick car, remove everything unnecessary, tweak something in the engine, change the brakes and slap an extra 20k or so on the pricetag.

The performance gains from ripping out the carpets, electric windows and rear seats for example are not that huge – maybe a point or two a second in the dash to 60mph. However, over the length of a lap on a track the potential is much better, and nothing shows that off better than the new Ferrari F430 Scuderia. This lightweight F430 has lapped Ferrari’s own test track, Fiorano, in the same time as an Enzo! That’s a car more than twice the price, with 100 more horsepower and supposed to be the best and quickest car Ferrari can build.

Porsche’s GT3 and GT3RS do the same thing, and now Lamborghini have noticed the potential for these cars with the Gallardo Superleggera. Personally, these cars seem a bit of an excess to me. If you have the chance to own one of these special cars, call me boring but I’d quite like carpet, a stereo and electric windows. Given the straight choice between a “normal” supercar and a lightweight one, the minimal performance gains wouldn’t make me choose the lightweight one. So the fact that these versions actually cost more is mind boggling!

Still, if you choose to buy one of these, its more than likely not your first supercar purchase, and there are plenty of people out there with the money and the wish to take these cars on the track, which is where they excel. Given those circumstances I’d probably join them, but right now I’d just like to own one I can drive more often on the roads without the compromises!