What came first: the noisy, brightly coloured supercar – or the reckless, narcissistic show-off you so often see at the wheel of one?
A road tester may be in a uniquely fair position to address that. I’m lucky enough to drive plenty of fast, loud, exotic cars in my regular line of work, but not because I’ve spent a perspective-eroding sum to own any of them.
I have no interest to declare. I frequently have been, am and will continue to be both tutting bystander and tutted-at offender.
More often, probably, the former. How often have you been at a car show, event or club meet and seen a supercar that you’re inexorably drawn towards a short time before it is driven in a way that makes you roll your eyes?
Well, let’s consider the case for the defence. The next time you tut, ponder for a moment if your own expectations may be a factor. Modern supercars are, I assure you, dramatic, attention-grabbing cars.
Wherever you drive one, take one, park one, or just stand next to one in a manner suggestive of ownership, you are fair game. You are an attraction. You have invited the gaze of the public.
Eleven-year-olds at bus stops wave their arms and shout: “Rev it!” People ask to take photos, to see inside. They want to know what it’s like. Of course they do.
I usually retreat to a discreet distance and admit at the earliest opportunity that “it’s borrowed”, because I don’t like the glare that these cars create – much less the idea that someone might assume I’d intended to bathe in it.
Whatever you do, though, you can’t really escape it; and clearly, for some, the water’s lovely and they’re very happy to get carried away by it.
Also, when driving a supercar, you might be surprised just how hard you need to work in order not to conform to the stereotype. That sounds like the ultimate cop-out.
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The bad drivers drive everything from a Supercar down to a lowly Toyota Yaris, they all can be driven without respect to other road users, it's not the cars fault it's the biological interface that's the problem, I admire a Supercar when I see one because it's a rarity where I live, I'm not jealous I've driven two or three and concluded that three or four laps on a race track is safer than doing it on public roads, plus if you own a Supercar when your on the public road you should drive sensibly incase you get a driver of a breathed on car trying to make you race.
I generally hold a more negative view of those driving a huge SUV. The last time I saw a supercar which prompted me to think the driver was an ass was a Lamborghini Aventador stopped at traffic lights continuously revving it simply to show off and I think he simply worked at the garage selling the car. Jealousy of course plays a big part in the reactions of some people towards those assumed to be in ownership of expensive items. Unless the driver is clearly being an ass, I generally let supercars out of side roads more than some others as plenty of people refuse to for whatever reason and I know I'd appreciate it if I was ever fortunate enough to own ir drive a supercar.