Jeremy Clarkson Admits Supercars Are Dead And Driven By “Ghastly People”
Jeremy Clarkson thinks that the supercar is dead, and he may be right. In a recent review on the Alfaholics GTA-R for The Times, The Grand Tour host talked about how the modern-day supercar has advanced to the point of madness, even prompting him to say, “they’re too powerful.” Words we never thought we would hear from Jeremy Clarkson, but he does have a point.
“I think we are going to have to face up to the fact that the supercar is dead,” he begins. “They’re too big and they’re too powerful.
“On a normal road you cannot keep your foot down in first, second or third for more than a second because it’s like trying to fly a jet fighter through a shopping centre.”
You need a track to fully experience a modern supercar, and most people will never go to one.
“So,” he continues, “because supercars are now unusable and driven by ghastly people with no taste, wealthy petrolheads, who do have taste, are being driven into the arms of Eagle, which will sell them a beautifully restored and modernised Jaguar E-type.
“Or Jensen International Automotive, which can build them an Interceptor with the reliable engine and electronics from a modern Chevrolet Corvette.”
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Clarkson’s answer lies in a $420,400 modified Alfa Romeo GTA. The Alfaholics GTA-R is a supercar you can use. We have heard Clarkson talk about this before, how underpowered cars are more fun when he drove the Volkswagen Up! In Ukraine, he spoke about how the car has absolutely no power at all.
The Up! made the driving experience fun, as opposed to a Ferrari. Clarkson said if he were in a Ferrari, he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the road and all he would be able to think about would be cornering speed, braking, and not crashing at high speeds. In the Up! All you have to do is bury your foot in the throttle and leave it there.
The GTA-R is not the most powerful car you can buy for $420grand. It’s not even close. What it lacks in speed and flash, it makes up with soul and versatility. You can take this car to the limit without being one millimeter from death. That’s what this car is all about. Clarkson now prefers cars like this instead of V12 monsters that will try its best to kill you. You may remember this car from Top Gear when Chris Harris took it around the track.
Clarkson says if you’re going to spend all that money on a car, why not spend it on the one you can actually use. Let’s face it, we are all not on Stig’s level of driving, and very few people can even take a modern supercar to the limit. So if it’s the joy of driving you’re after and not a flashy orange Lamborghini to show off in, then you may be better off spending your money on a car like the GTA-R.
Jeremy you proved that in the challenge where you raced the sailboat he said the fastest car in the world was a rental car and from my own experience I agree
He does have a point, when your typical super car now costs between a half million and the moon, only a rarified few are ever going to afford it, then add in that in most countries you cannot drive them anywhere near fast because of traffic, speed limits or road conditions. Supercars are status symbols, they always have been but once upon a time many more sports cars were accessible to regular people, now there are only a pitiful handful that can be called accessible. So the idea of a cheap but fun to drive car makes alot more sense for actual driving enthusiasts, I just wish car makers would try to revive that market. Won’t happen here though, Americans are too fat and need giant SUVs that can fit their 4 foot wide bottoms (I’m American and speaking from direct observation).