Supercar Week!
I suppose this topic is up for discussion really, where/when did the supercar really come into existence? I was going to ramble on about my current favourite of the moment, the Darracq 200hp from 1905 but then that was really a one off race car and I think supercars have to be production models (or at least concepts of the right sort)
So how about The Bugatti T57SC Atlantic
They were making the Type 57 as a tourer so chopped it down to make a shorter lighter sports version, the T57S. Then they supercharged them, the T57SC. Then four were projected to be built with these swoopy "Atlantic" bodies, out of an Aluminium/Magnesium alloy called electron that couldn't be welded, hence the fin down the middle were the two halves were riveted together. Perhaps the electron was more awkward than envisioned, and so it would seem they were all made from aluminium in the end. (I think the Silver Arrows Auto Union/Mercedes race cars were made using it though?)
Supercars need to be fast right? Well I reckon 210hp with only 950kg to haul about should do quite nicely, especially when you consider the normal cars of the day.
www.bugatti.com/en/tradition/100-years-of-bugatti/automobile-milestones/type-57-sc-atlantic.html
I suppose this topic is up for discussion really, where/when did the supercar really come into existence? I was going to ramble on about my current favourite of the moment, the Darracq 200hp from 1905 but then that was really a one off race car and I think supercars have to be production models (or at least concepts of the right sort)
So how about The Bugatti T57SC Atlantic
They were making the Type 57 as a tourer so chopped it down to make a shorter lighter sports version, the T57S. Then they supercharged them, the T57SC. Then four were projected to be built with these swoopy "Atlantic" bodies, out of an Aluminium/Magnesium alloy called electron that couldn't be welded, hence the fin down the middle were the two halves were riveted together. Perhaps the electron was more awkward than envisioned, and so it would seem they were all made from aluminium in the end. (I think the Silver Arrows Auto Union/Mercedes race cars were made using it though?)
Supercars need to be fast right? Well I reckon 210hp with only 950kg to haul about should do quite nicely, especially when you consider the normal cars of the day.
www.bugatti.com/en/tradition/100-years-of-bugatti/automobile-milestones/type-57-sc-atlantic.html
