End of the road for hypercars as electric motors offer more power?

MARANELLO/STUTTGART: One of the first genuine supercars appeared as far back as 1987, spawning a slew of exotic metal that continues to this day.

The definition of what makes a supercar has changed since the Ferrari F40 entered the fray that year. Back then it was a car with 477hp and a price tag of 440,000 German marks. Top speed was 321kph.

The Porsche 959 debuted around the same time as the Ferrari and hot on their heels came the McLaren F1, in 1993. Both of them pushed the envelope further with more speed under the bonnet.


The McLaren blew everyone into the weeds with its Formula One-style central driving seat, huge power reserve of 627 horses and a top speed of 370kph. The price was astronomical too. A buyer needed 1.5 million German marks (around 766,000 euros) to buy one.

From now on cars like these were known as hypercars and today's models in this exclusive segment all boast superlative performance.

They can trace their heritage back to the Lamborghinis, Maseratis and Aston Martins of yore but unlike these the supercars of tomorrow are either hybrids or pure electrics.

Inspiration comes from electrified grand prix racing where petrol engines have long been ousted. Hybrid models like the LaFerrari, the McLaren P1 und Porsche 918 Spyder can glide through city streets on epower without attracting undue attention yet when unleashed they offer faster acceleration and better straight-line performance than anything that went before.

One current Italian sportscar can manage the benchmark dash from zero to 100kph in under three seconds, a British offering in 2.8 seconds and a German Porsche surges ahead with a heart-stopping 2.6 seconds.

Figures like these put old-school hypercars in the shade.

The Bugatti Veyron (built from 2005 to 2015) was no slouch but this car's heyday has long past. The 16-cylinder motor remains an engineering masterpiece but the Veyron and its successor, the Chiron will soon be exhibits in car museums or else cherished classics.

The latest breed of hypercar is hotting up fast and poised to offer fantastic performance.

One of the fastest models boasts 2,000 horses, with sub-two-second acceleration and top speed of 400kph. Even Formula One pilot Lewis Hamilton and newly-crowned champion Jos Verstappen will have trouble keeping up with one of these.

There's competition too for established makers since until now roost-rulers Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren have relied largely on petrol engines for power. Newcomers and outsiders like Rimac, Pininfarina and Lotus are giving them a good run for their money with exceptional models like the Nevera, Battista and Evija.


It seems the sky is the limit, with hypercars getting faster every year yet experts like Jan Burgard from management consultancy Berylls wonder if the days of the hypercar may soon be numbered.

"In the world of electrification, power has become so cheap to achieve that it no longer serves as the sole definition for a car model," said Burgard.

Limousines like the Mercedes-Benz EQS have up to 761hp which puts it in the hypercar league. In the same mould are the Tesla Model S with up to 1,020hp on tap and the state-of-the-art Lucid Air (1,111 hp). Lucid's testing indicates a 0-100kph time of just 2.42 seconds

"Even if someone doubles or trebles that power output we are entering into an area where the differences are purely academic since no one can use that kind of performance on a public road," said the expert.

"Unless the brands come up with something fundamentally new, competition will focus on faster charging and automotive experiences beyond driving itself. This could mean that today's hypercars are the last," said Burgard.