10 Facts About Supercars and Sportscars

The holidays are just around the corner, which means it’s time to come up with your dinner time conversation pieces. There are a few things that everyone knows about the major
supercars in today’s market, their power specs, engine and transmission options, where it sits in a legacy line or how quickly it can accelerate from zero to 60 mph. But then there are the things that only a few people are aware of, little known supercar facts that might make you look at a supercar in a different light, or at least understand how truly awe-inspiring these mechanical feats are.

(See Also: Top 10 Production Cars With The Most Torque)

To help jump-start your research, we’ve compiled 10 of some of the most interesting or unique factoids and tidbits about some of the most powerful supercars out there. Read them up, memorize them for later and be sure to let us know when you get to show off your knowledge.

Fuel Injectors

1.) The thirsty fuel injectors of Dodge’s Challenger SRT Hellcat could drain an Olympic-sized pool in 361 days. Each of the eight injectors can flow 600 cubic centimeters per minute, for a total of 4,800 cc/minute. An Olympic pool is approximately 2,500,000,000 cc. Some simple arithmetic gives us 8680.5 hours, or 361 days, for the engine to drain that amount of fuel. (Source: Dodge)

Radiators

2.) Due to the heat generated by its massive sixteen cylinder quad-turbo engine, the Bugatti Veyron has 12 radiators strategically placed throughout the body. To cool such an engine with a single radiator would require it to be about the size of a pool table. In order to create a sleek profile, smaller radiators are used in areas of high air pressure to keep the beast from a meltdown. (Source: Car and Driver)

Big Blocks

3.) In the early 1990s, when McLaren was developing the transmission and brakes for their upcoming F1, they used a 454ci (7.4L) Chevrolet Big Block V8 to ensure that their components could handle the power of the BMW sourced V12. (Source: UltimaSports.co.uk)

Tractors

4.) Ferruccio Lamborghini started a successful tractor and farm implement business after WWII. Gifted with mechanical expertise, he disassembled his Ferrari to investigate why the clutch repeatedly failed. He improved the design and created an enemy out of Enzo Ferrari. The rest is history. (Source: Lambocars.com)

Slow Down Buick

5.) The fastest American car in 1987 was the 245 hp turbocharged Buick GNX. Based on the Regal Grand National, it was much quicker than the Corvette. Chevrolet was not amused, and the GNX was canceled with only 547 cars produced. (Source: GM)

Zero Options

6.) The first production Dodge Vipers had no windows, exterior door handles, or even anti-lock brakes. (Source: Edumunds)

8 is better than 6

7.) For 1953 and 1954, Corvettes were powered by the ancient “Sovebolt” inline six-cylinder engine. It was a sales and performance failure until the V8 arrived in 1955. (Source: 69corvette.com)

Show Me the Money

8.) The 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO is the most expensive supercar ever sold. Last year a pristine example sold for $52 million to an unidentified buyer. (Source: Bloomberg)

Twins

9.) Lamborghini’s Gallardo and Audi’s R8 are cousins. Sharing the same chassis and interior layout, the differences are mostly cosmetic.

Bolts

10) The Pagani Huayra use 1,400 titanium bolts at $80 each, resulting in a cost of $112,000 for the bolts alone. Mr. Pagani has pioneered new techniques for titanium machining, and his grade-7 hardware has his logo etched into the bolt heads. Read more about these bolts in our article here.

(All images from manufacturers)