Nissan GTR, Audi R8, McLaren 720S, these are supercar legends! And I’m sure if you’re reading this article, one day you’d love to own one. Yeah, me too. But if you’re still trying to figure out your dream car, just make sure that these horrid cars aren’t on your list.
Today, we’re going to take a squinted-eye look to some of the ugliest, most disappointing and worst supercars ever made. Like, seriously, these cars should be smashed! So, put your hands over your eyes, peep out of your fingers, and let’s go!
DeLorean DMC-12 – We Don’t Need Roads
Growing up, I loved Back to the Future! All of us Boomers did! And the star of the movie, other than that hoverboard, and Marty McFly, was the DeLorean DMC-12! As a kid, that thing was a supercar in my eyes! I mean, it went 88 miles per hour! That’s fast to kids!
Sold in the USA from 1981 to 1983, this rear-engine sports car was hyped up upon its release. However, it fell pretty short of expectations, especially in the performance department.
When you look at those angular body lines and those gull wing doors, you have to think this is fast, but you would be dead wrong! Equipped with a 2.8-liter V6 that made a measly 130 horsepower, this thing was more like a snail than a spaceship. Sorry, no flux capacitor in here! And when its paired with the 3-speed automatic transmission, the DeLorean limps to 60 in 10 seconds! Lame!
And the worst part is the price of these when the DMC-12 first came out in 1981 was $25,000 MSRP. But that 80’s money. If we adjust for inflation, today that’s $70,000! Yikes! What car would you spend $70,000 on today? Hopefully something better than a DeLorean!
Now, I know this thing might be appealing to some, but come on! The DeLorean is seriously going out of style. But you know a car that’s always been in style? Lamborghinis! Driven by YouTubers and CEOs, these poster cars must all be good, right? Nope! If there was one I wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole, it would be the Lamborghini Jalpa.
Lamborghini Jalpa – Italian for “Bad Car“
This is the worst Lambo you can buy. Introduced at the 1981 Geneva Motor Show as the “affordable” Lamborghini, the Jalpa cut corners everywhere, especially in the looks department. There’s a reason you never saw these on posters in the 80’s. The Jalpa looks more like a mess than an actual Lamborghini.
I mean, it didn’t even have a legit Lamborghini V10 or V12 engine! It had a 3.5-liter V8 that put out an unexciting 255 horsepower. And with a mockingly easy driving feel, it turned off a bunch of car enthusiasts. Lamborghinis from the 80’s were meant to be hardcore and analog. This just felt too plush and boring.
I will give it one point for its interior, though. With soft leather and a dashboard straight out of a cockpit from a fighter jet, the Jalpa would be cool too sit in, but not to drive.
Seriously, I can’t even look at this thing. Kind of like the next car on this list, because when I first looked at this, I thought, What is that? Well, I came to find out that this fugly supercar is called the Mitsuoka Orochi.
Mitsuoka Orochi – Japanese Nightmare
I bet the people at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show must have been dumbfounded when they saw the Mitsuoka Orochi. Just take a look at this thing. It gets worse and worse the more you look at it. You got a chrome grill with a fin on the front splitter and a rear spoiler that looks like wings. This thing is a mess!
I’m sure I’ve seen this car chase me in a nightmare when I was a kid. Oh no! Yeah, this thing is scary. Maybe you’re saying, “But wait! It looks so exotic! It must have a ton of power!” Nope!
A Toyota-sourced 3.3-liter V6 straight out of a Camry makes 230 horsepower for this knock-off supercar. So, it’s not that fast, it barely makes any sound from the exhaust, and the ride is too comfortable. Nothing fits how the Orochi looks. This is just a mess.
And given that this ugly car is worth over $200,000, I’ll be saying no thank you to Orochi!
I think we’re bashing this car a little too much, but it’s okay, because our next car is a Jag. The Jaguar XJ220 set high expectations when its concept debuted, only to fall unbelievably short.
Jaguar XJ220 – The Supercat
The XJ220 was put on the showroom floor in the 1988 British International Motor Show with a 6.2-liter V12 in the engine bay which was encased in glass. Shiny! Jaguar promised this cat would bring out over 500 horsepower to all 4 wheels, which would have made it one of the fastest production cars at the time.
With those smooth curves, you could tell that this thing meant speed. I mean, people at the 1988 show left the Ferrari F40 to see this thing. I’m using the past tense here because what the concept car promised was not how it actually came out.
Yeah, when this car released in 1992, owners were saddened to see a measly twin-turbo V6. And the worst part about it was it was rear-wheel drive! What were they thinking? They made a car with only half of everything! Half the cylinders, half the drivetrain, it was a trainwreck!
Though the V6 did offer significant power numbers at 562 horsepower, the car just feels downright dangerous with all that power going to the rear wheels.
With only 282 produced during its 2 years of production, the XJ220 has become a collector car. A reminder of a failure.
But you know what wasn’t a failure? The Dodge Viper!
Dodge Viper – Don’t Get Bit
This was definitely a poster car when I was a kid, and I finally got to own one. An all-American V10 monster that injects venom and fear into any supercar it pulls up next to at the stoplight. With arguably one of the best exhaust notes from any car ever, the Viper just begs to be pushed to the limit!
But don’t given in to temptation, because until recently, Dodge Vipers were death traps! With the 8.0-liter V10 putting over 400 horsepower to the rear wheels, and with no assistance from things like ABS or traction control, this thing is straight up dangerous.
You need those aids if you want to drive a Viper fast. And if you oversteer coming into a corner, you’ve just got to sit there and pray that you don’t hit something. Let me tell you, when I owned one, I nearly sh*t myself when I spun out. Seriously, scary stuff! No wonder it has a name like the Viper, because if you mess up, you’re going to get bit!
And supercars are meant to have a little sense of class. For one reason or another, the Viper doesn’t stack up. Vipers feel trashy compared to the competition.
It’s American though, so it should at least be cheap to maintain, right? Wrong! These snakes are expensive to repair!
A disappointing supercar that kills you in maintenance? Sound familiar? Sounds like a Ferrari! And if you had to pick the most disappointing Ferrari, it would definitely be the Ferrari Mondial.
Ferrari Mondial – A Three-Legged Horse
Seriously? If it wasn’t for the red paint and the badging, the Mondial would be downright worthless. With those weirdly placed vents and its odd proportions, this car looks like you asked a five-year-old to draw an 80’s Ferrari from memory. It has all the parts, but none of them are in the right place.
I mean, when this thing debuted at the Geneva Auto Show in 1980, people automatically hated it. They saw a Ferrari with four seats, and with a 214-horsepower V8 in the back, putting this blood drop to 60 in an uneventful 8 seconds. The Ferrari Mondial was a total letdown!
Man, I thought Ferraris were supposed to be fast? And I also thought old Ferraris were supposed to be expensive, but this one is cheap! $30,000 is what these sell for nowadays, which is the same cost as a brand new fully-loaded Toyota Camry. And, to be honest, I might go with the Camry. Speaking of cheap Ferraris, check out this Ideal video about the cheapest Ferraris you can buy!
The Ferrari Mondial may be the worst thing on four wheels that Ferrari ever made, but what’s the worst thing on six wheels ever made? That title has to go to the Covini C6W.
Covini C6W – More Isn’t Always Better
An Italian supercar with six wheels. Yeah, six wheels! Sure, there have been a few six-wheeled winners, like the G-wagon 6×6, or the VelociRaptor 6×6. Those look sick! But the Covini C6W looks like a bad Photoshop edit come true.
The four wheels were placed at the front to provide maximum grip; however, this thing just looks silly. I mean the two front axles turn with each other, making this thing look super whacky when you turn it. In fact, Covini had to stop production for this car because of limited amounts of the special low profile tires on the fronts, limiting production numbers to 6 to 8 per year. That definitely gave the Covini that super desirable exclusivity.
But given that the C6W was $400,000 new, I wouldn’t even think about getting one. Powering this child’s drawing is a 4.2-liter Audi-sourced V8 putting 400 horsepower to the rear wheels. That makes this thing moderately quick, but I don’t think it wants to go that fast, because just look at it from the front, it looks angry. Like, “why did you put six wheels on me?”
I think this was a car that sounded better in the designers’ heads. Oh, it would be great to put 6 wheels on a supercar! Yeah… it didn’t turn out so well. With atrocious looks and six wheels, I’d take a pass on putting this on my supercar shopping list.
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