That’s obviously an exaggeration, but why don’t manufacturers of basic cars just put a fancy-looking exterior onto them? Aren’t you mainly paying for the engine and electrics and upholstery and sound system with fancy cars? Why is it (seemingly) only Lamborghini and Ferrari that look like Lamborghini and Ferrari? Is chassis manufacturing more difficult than it seems to a numbnut like me? I assume it’s just pressing sheets of metal into a mould, so I’m probably way off the mark.
It’s like when you see a computer mouse that’s named something like GamerStealth eXtreme Zero Pro, and it’s the worst piece of shit you’ve ever used but looks like it came from Area 51. Same for PC cases, actually. Alienware rigs look a million percent better than they actually are. Why is this not also the case for cars?
Full disclosure: I know nothing about cars. I just know that when I see a fancy car, and check the make, it’s BMW or something high end, and when I see a pygmy hippo lookin’ motherfucker, it’s made by one of those “buy one, get one free” type manufacturers that appeal to meth head soccer moms. And by “fancy” I don’t even mean “luxury”, just obviously high quality. Most BMWs and Rolls-Royce don’t look like spaceships, but they nevertheless look really impressive. Again, I need to stress that I know nothing about cars.
Cheers!
Plus it would surprise me little if an economy motor had a hard time pushing a supercar frame and body.
It depends on the frame and the ideals of the manufacturer. You can make a sports car with essentially an economy motor from the same brand (Miata, MR2) or maybe a reliable engine from another (Lotus with Toyota engines), but largely it comes down to if the brand wants to spend money to do it.
What do you define as a super car? The things that make a car great at high speed are mostly the same things that make for a fuel efficient car at lower speeds. Downforce is one of the exceptions, but until you get to the fastest highways not much downforce is needed. Which is to say replace a super car engine with an economy engine and the resulting car will likely get better fuel mileage than either, but it wouldn’t go nearly as fast. The Corvette is often the most fuel efficient car in GM’s line up because the advantages of a light aerodynamic body are far more than the cost of a massive engine.