There has been no shortage of great cars from the European car market. This is, after all, the home of great car brands like Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche, McLaren, Lamborghini, and Ferrari. It has become quite the norm to expect premium car models from that side of the world. However, once in a while, things do not go quite as planned and a promising car model hits a few bumps on the road - and ends up being a dud.
Over the years, there have been quite a few sports cars from Europe that failed to hit the mark and left consumers wanting more. This was down to reasons such as build quality, reliability of components, maintenance costs, and mismanagement at executive levels.
These cars, unfortunately, earned themselves a bad reputation that, in some cases, ended up causing irreparable damage to the brand. In more extreme situations, it directly led to the end of the entire company. Now, that’s sad.
15 Marcos GT
The Marcos GT was first launched as the Marcus 1800 in 1964, and the company used up to eight different engines – from other carmakers – in the cars. The sports car actually participated in a few competitive races and was able to hold its own. However, financial struggles by the company effectively killed off the Marcos GT dream and the car never realized its full potential.
14 Lister Storm
The Lister Storm was one of the lesser-known sports cars of the 1990s, built by a racing firm and powered by a massive 7.0-liter V12 engine. The car proved to be an over-ambitious project by the small company. They just didn’t have the resources and production ended after a run of only 4 road-legal examples. The Lister probably could have gone on to be a great machine but now, we’ll never know.
13 BMW i8
This is a controversial addition to the list. After all, the outgoing BMW i8 did set some standards for hybrid technology in cars when it launched. However, the car was just too slow to be considered a proper sports car. The interior build quality – most notably, the abundance of cheap-looking bits – was a big let down as well for a car that cost north of $100,000.
12 1998 Audi TT
The first-generation Audi TT was a problematic model that troubled the German carmaker a great deal. A series of high-speed accidents, some with fatalities, forced Audi to issue a recall in order to improve the car’s stability at high speeds. Thankfully, the later models did get better but there was no doubt that the first generation failed to live up to the hype.
11 BMW Z8
In 2000, the Z8 was actually well-received upon launch, and on the surface, there was nothing really wrong with the car. However, it performed more like a leisure cruiser than a proper sports car. The steering lacked any firm response and there was no escaping the feeling of chronic understeer. All negativity aside, the Z8 is now actually appreciating in price, with well-preserved specimens going for north of $200,000 at the used car market.
10 1997 Mercedes Benz CLK
Well, the first generation CLK wasn’t exactly awful; it’s just that for a Mercedes, it was way below average. First off, the entry-level premium sports coupe was powered by only a 4-cylinder engine that needed 11 seconds to get to 60 mph. There were also known electrical issues with the early models that felt out of place on a Mercedes Sports car.
9 Jaguar XJ220
The sleek jag had great potential and could have become one of the greatest supercars ever. However, it ended up being one massive tale of disappointment and less than 300 units were produced during a run that lasted 3 years. Buyers felt robbed when they got a V6 engine instead of the V12 that was promised, especially considering the astronomical costs to acquire one of these.
8 MG Midget
It seems the engineers of the Midget got carried away with the idea of a small compact car. There were reliability issues but they were nothing that caused too much of a bother. It was the size of the car that was the main issue. It was more than a foot shorter than the Mazda Miata and was simply too small to be practical on anything other than a perfectly dry and smooth road.
7 Saab Sonnet
Saab tried all it could to make a success story out of this sports car but things never quite seemed to go their way. The first Sonnet debuted in 1955 and thereafter went through a series of engine upgrades and other enhancements to make it more appealing especially for the American market. That didn't work, and sales continued to drop even after a revamped model was launched in 1966. Saab finally threw in the towel and ended production in 1974.
6 Lamborghini Jalpa
Yes, Lamborghini did make a car called Jalpa – only it was not very good, so you’ll be forgiven for having never heard of it. Only about 400 units of the car were sold before Lamborghini decided to pull the plug. It was a pretty unremarkable car for a Lamborghini and its only redeeming quality was that it handled better than a Countach that was around at about the same time.
5 Fiat Coupe
This small sports car was launched at the 1993 Brussels Auto show and by the time production wrapped up in 2000, over 70,000 units had been sold. The Fiat was actually a very nimble and capable car with decent performance figures. It was, however, undone by its bland styling and unattractive looks.
4 Ferrari Mondial 8
The Mondial 8 has the unwholesome reputation as one of the worst Ferraris ever made; a car not worthy of the Prancing Horse badge. First off, it was ungainly and heavy, weighing in at over 1.5 tons. Then there was the matter of the puny 214-hp engine stuck under the hood that struggled to pull the car along at any speed more than a casual cruise.
3 Maserati Biturbo Coupe
In 1981, the launch of the Biturbo marked the beginning of a new Maserati era after a prolonged period of uncertainties and financial difficulties. However, the car was a victim of niggling reliability issues that irreparably harmed its reputation.
It got so bad that the company did not export a single Biturbo to the United States in 1987 so that dealers could clear out existing stock.
2 Triumph TR7
The TR7 was introduced in 1974 to replace the TR6, a 2-door sports car. Unfortunately, the car never fulfilled its potential despite the fact that almost 150,000 units were produced. The TR7 was plagued by numerous quality problems and reliability issues especially when it came to rusting bodywork and oil leaks.
1 Jensen SV-8
The SV-8 project started on a high note, courtesy of a $12 million investment funding and debuted at the 1998 British auto show. The car received a lot of praise for its performance and unique styling. That all meant little at the end of the day as the car was eventually done in by faulty management policies that killed off the company before 50 units of the car had been made.