Why supercars matter.... to me

Many people have talked a lot about the trickle down of technology from racing to supercars to everyday cars. While that does happen (hybrid, electric motors, carbon fiber), and is extremely important, I have a different opinion on why supercars matter, or at least why they matter to me.

I never grew up having posters of supercars on my bedroom walls. It wasn’t until I was in my late teens when I discovered my love for everything cars. I was 19 and all of a sudden I discovered Formula 1 – I was hooked. Now, this was in the middle of the Schumacher and Alonso duel in the early 2000s, Kimi Raikkonen was a young up and coming driver and Ferrari had won 5 straight world titles. While the racing was incredible, and introduced me to the bigger world of motor racing, I became obsessed with the technology in F1. The carbon fiber monocoques, aerodynamics, and electronics that I saw seemed almost alien to me. I started looking around for where these were being used in everyday cars and I started noticing only cars like the Ferrari Enzo and the Porsche Carrera GT had anything like what I was seeing on the TV.

This is where I became obsessed with supercars. I could see tangible results of top level racing technology being used in street cars. I saw pictures of cars like the Ferrari F40, F50 and the McLaren F1 and saw the carbon fiber body panels, aerodynamics tuned in a wind tunnel and the Formula 1 derived engine technology. Ultimately this began my journey to absorb as much knowledge as I could about engines, brakes, aerodynamics and suspension geometry.

I bought books off of Amazon, borrowed them from the library and talked with friends about anything related to cars. I learned about how turbos worked, about the engineering related to suspension geometry and the impacts of unsprung mass on it and the handling characteristics of a car among many other things. I just absorbed it all.

While some friends of mine were more into getting their hands dirty and wrenching on their cars I was more interested in learning about the engineering behind these machines. For the first time in my life I was seeing cars as more than just devices for getting from A to B but rather marvels of modern engineering.

More recently I saw the Acura NSX for the first time. As I stood next to it in the showroom at Acura of Saskatoon I looked at it very differently than the person I was there with. While they agreed it was a beautiful and impressively designed car I marveled in the careful design of the bodywork to ensure the airflow moved across the skin in just the right way to maximize cooling in the radiators and intercoolers. I also noticed the placement of the brake calipers to ensure the most optimal weight distribution. And then I realized that if Honda could accomplish this amazing feat of engineering what could a true supercar manufacturer do? This also made me think of other Acuras differently, like the brand new TLX Type S that was sitting right next to it and the styling cues that the family sedan took from the supercar.I just saw the Acura NSX for the first time in person. Made me think of other Acura’s differently like the TLX Type S.

This summer I saw my first McLaren. It was a new 570S Coupe in black, and it was magnificent. I was driving on a winding highway in the mountains of British Columbia and I only saw it for a moment but it was a moment that I still think of. When I was in the Acura dealer looking at the NSX I was amazed at how I could not stop myself from comparing them to each other. The similarities were striking, but yet they were so different. Hybrid V6 versus a naturally aspirated V8. Large volume manufacturer who’s parent company (Honda) had been supplying F1 engines to McLaren, versus a niche supercar manufacturer with a long history of racing in F1.

Looking at racing and the technology they have provided to supercars has literally changed my life. I have developed a love for cars, a love for racing and a love for the engineering of those machines. I can’t wait to see what comes next.