Supercars sure are great to observe, but what about owning one?

Supercars have been around for decades now, and they have now made several generations of little boys wet their pants. Even as grown adults, seeing one of these exotic beasts on the road is one of the most exciting things to behold whilst you're taking your leisurely stroll down the pathway.

You have this car to thank for making supercars so special

It obviously helps that the low-riding kerb scrapers are driving amongst a sea of dull, diesel cars. If you think about it, when you go to a car show, you no longer get excited at every Ferrari you see because there are suddenly hundreds of them wherever you look. So be thankful for those VW Passats that surround the prancing horse.

So it’s obviously very nice for you when one comes burbling past. But what if you won the lottery? What if you took the plunge and decided to own one? Things might not be as rosy…


I want to say right now that I will not be speaking from experience here. I do not and probably never will own a supercar. But there are some accurate assumptions you can make from simple common sense. So let’s try and peer into the world of a supercar owner.

Your best friend will become Mr. Esso. Or maybe Mrs. Shell. Whatever way you look at it, you are going to be spending a long, long time of your life at the filling station. However, things aren't as bad as they used to be: the McLaren 12C can touch almost 30mpg if you're careful with the throttle. But what is the point of being careful when you have all that “powaaaar”?

Some supercars are slightly better these days. Slightly.

If you go for a full-on supercar with lightened this and stronger that, you have to prepared for some of the worse journeys of your life, even if it’s only a 5 minute trip to your local supermarket. You will feel every single bump and crack on the road (which is great on the track, obviously), and don't expect any engine noise cancellation. Of course, this is a great thing mostly, because you get to hear the beautiful engine note that is one of the reasons why supercars are so orgasmic. But I have a sneaking suspicion that 70mph on the motorway with a droning V8 at constant revs will get very tiring, very quickly.

And best of all, the one that would crush me, is the amount of attention you'll receive. For some people, this is a good thing because they like to be noticed and stand out of the crowd. But if you're like me, who'd rather own a stealthy sleeper than a 'look-at-me' kind of car, then a supercar would soon drive you to madness. Certainly, you wouldn't be able to drive it in the stop-start traffic that is the town centre without a nine-year-old peering into the window and exclaiming what an awesome car you have. Sure it's a compliment, but I don't want those greasy paws touching my 6-figure sum car. Also, as a bit of food for thought, would you be comfortable leaving your supercar in a car park, or just anywhere that’s outside a secure garage?

When you have downsides, supercar owners have serious highs

It does sound like I have a massive downer on supercars. Trust me, I don't. Because for those owners, there will always be that special time where they find the right road in the right conditions, and now they have the right car for it. Supercar owners enjoy massive highs but are balanced out with some extreme lows.

The Hennessey Venom GT is the cocaine of the car world.