The world of automotive engineering is ever-changing, with more technology and innovation coming into play. While customers are looking for great cars that are super powerful, they are also looking for those that will turn heads on the streets. That is, cars with impressive designs and sporty looks which everyone would love to have. Consequently, some people will argue that all that matters in a great car is the engine or performance. As true as that may be, no one wants to remain stuck in a car with a mediocre design.
Additionally, the design of a car is the first thing that you will come into contact with. For cars with a sleek design, this creates an appeal to learn more about the car. On the other hand, a boring design can really turn potential customers away even when the car has massive power under the hood. The point here, therefore, is that looks may not be everything in a car because they can be deceiving, but they surely do count for something.
Unfortunately, there are a few of the cars that are quite impressive to look at and yet that’s where the good news ends. Compared to their competitors, these cars have a lot to live up to. Though some of the cars may not have been necessarily slow during their time, these cars continue to send all the wrong signals, to date. The following is a list of cars with fast looks that are actually pretty slow.
24 Porsche 924
Porsche is one of the automakers of sports cars that has made a name for itself. However, even the best can also sometimes go wrong, which is what happened with the Porsche 924. It is a 2+2 model coupe that came as a replacement to the Porsche 914. This car was the first to bear an auto transmission and a rear-wheel drive configuration for Porsche's line of cars. To the main issue, Porsche 924 takes a whopping 8.4 seconds to move from 0-60 miles per hour. Porsche's 911, on the other hand, takes half of that time to hit the 60 mile per hour mark.
23 Toyota Celica
Throughout the time of its reign, the Toyota Celica was the brand's only low-cost as well as front-engine sports car. Most people would think of it as a fast car because of its long-term sporting history.
However, for a car that takes almost 10 seconds to accelerate from 0-60 miles per hour, it's nothing close to fast.
Toyota introduced this car to target the more youthful generation of buyers but failed along the way. The car was low on power with about 180hp, and its highly compressed engine bay made it difficult to modify the car.
22 Scion TC
Toyota designed this car as a Touring Coupe—hence the TC in its name. It was made to create an appeal to the youthful generation of car buyers as a replacement for the Toyota Celica. Besides giving the car a sporty look to create an appeal to the specific niche, it included numerous standard features with extra ease to add optional ones. Under the hood was a 2.4-liter inline-four engine with 179 horsepower. With such little power, the car could only manage 7 seconds from 0-60 mph and took about 15 seconds to complete a quarter mile.
21 Dodge Challenger V6
There is nothing much to say about this car's looks because its aggressive style speaks for itself. The Dodge Challenger is a common car on the road and one of the most modded cars you will find on the streets.
A very common mod for this car is adding some racing stripes, which then makes most people believe it’s a fast car.
Additionally, having featured in some racing games like Need for Speed, most people would tend to believe this car lives up to its hype. However, this car takes 6.4 secs to move from 0-60 miles per hour.
20 Plymouth Prowler
The Plymouth Prowler is a wild-looking two-seater and a rear-wheel-drive sports car. It is probably the only car on the streets with a close resemblance to Formula 1 racers. Under the hood, the car is fitted with a V6 engine and can manage power output of up to 253 hp. The initial version of the car had a rating of 215 horsepower, but with some upgrades in 1998, more power was achieved. Regarding speed, the automaker improved from 7.2 seconds to 6 seconds to sprint from 0-60 miles per hour, which is still very slow for a sports car.
19 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
General Motors were making a statement with this car by naming it after a renowned race, the Monte Carlo Grand Prix. That is why if you think this car was fast, then no one would blame you because, with such a name, something must have been cooking.
However, what came out of the factory was a total disappointment of a car that could only move from 0-60 miles per hour in 8.5 seconds.
The two-door coupe was classified as a sports car, but its speed leaves much to be desired. Chevy may have tried to make amends with the Z06, which was twice as fast as the Monte Carlo SS.
18 Opel GT
The Opel GT is a classic and all credit goes to its great styling. It is a two-seater sports car and looks like a really fast car from the outside. It had all the aspects of being fast thanks to its lightweight body and a turbocharged engine. However, the car could only achieve a record of 10.6 seconds to move from 0-60 miles per hour. It is said to resemble the 1968 Chevrolet Corvette C3 due to its pop-up headlights and similar body styling. As a classic, it is not very powerful and came with a 1.1-liter OHV, straight-four engine and only 69hp.
17 Lexus CT 200h
Lexus is a brand known for their reliable range of cars as well as luxury SUVs. Though not much of a sporty kind of commuter can be expected from the brand, their cars are moderately respectable in performance terms. The CT 200h is fitted with a 1.8l 4-cylinder motor engine with a power rating of up to 134hp. It looks aggressive and has a sporty front, which would lead anyone into thinking the car is fast. On contrary, it records a slow time of 7 seconds from 0-60 miles per hour and about 17 seconds to complete a quarter mile.
16 Mitsubishi Eclipse
The fourth generation of the Mitsubishi Eclipse is not a sports car as many would expect. In fact, when the Mitsubishi Eclipse was being introduced, it was marketed as more of a sports car for the poor man. This had a lot of meaning to the car enthusiast fraternity, giving them a lot of expectations about the car. However, Mitsubishi failed to meet their promise of sportiness, and the credibility of their performance cars plummeted with this one. It proved to drag itself from 0-60 miles per hour in around 8 seconds, which is not impressive for anyone looking out for speed.
15 Fisker Karma
This car has great performance with the ability to run on electric power alone or on a combination of electric and gasoline combustion. It is quite an economical car to drive with a fuel economy of 20 mpg in all-gasoline mode. Regarding its design, the Fisker Karma is stylish with curvy edges that gives an impression of a really fast car. The interiors were, however, limited, which explains why it was rated as a subcompact car by the EPA. As for its speed, the Fisker Karma takes about 5.8 seconds to move from 0-60 miles.
14 Dodge Dart
Among the non-sporty category, the Dodge Dart maybe among the most aggressive looking sedans. However, its performance ratings do not live up to the looks.
Under the hood, this car houses a 2.0-liter engine producing 160hp and 148 lb-ft of torque.
It takes 8 seconds for this car to reach the 60 mile per hour mark and 16 to 17 seconds to complete the quarter-mile, depending on the engine. The Dodge Dart may have the looks, but with such low acceleration speed, the Honda Civic and Mazda 3 are better, and faster, options.
13 Toyota MR2
The Toyota MR2 is a two-seat, rear-wheel-drive sports car that the automaker marketed for over three generations. It employed design features such as a range of inline-four engines, independent rear and front suspension, and four-wheel disc brakes.
It was a convenient sports car due to its small size, and very economical.
It is, however, a slow car for its class with an acceleration speed record of 8.4 seconds from 0-60 miles per hour. Even for the ones with a turbocharged engine, the best 0-60 record stands at 6 seconds.
12 Mazda6
The Mazda6 has the most stunning and sensuous looks of all the Mazdas. It is powered by a 2.5-liter engine with 184 horsepower and 185 lb-ft of torque. Out on the street, the style of the Mazda6 would lead you to think its speed is terrific. However, it manages just 7 seconds to hit the 60 miles per hour mark. The automaker has realized this challenge and plans are underway to introduce a turbocharged version, which is believed to be faster. Until then, this car remains fancy to look at but is definitely still wanting in terms of speed.
11 Ford Crown Victoria
The Ford Crown Victoria is a common type on the streets since most police departments use this car. The perception, therefore, that this car is fast must have emerged from police chases in the movies and in real life news coverage. On the contrary, these cars are not as fast as may be portrayed, or perceived, by the majority of people. The car takes about 8.5 seconds to jet from 0-60 miles per hour and with the fastest sports cars these days recording as low as the 2 second range, the Crown Victoria is overrated.
10 Hyundai Veloster Turbo
The Hyundai Veloster came to replace the stylish Tuscani Coupe that held the record for elegance. With its bold look, asymmetrical doors, aggressive hood, and stubby rear, the Veloster is a head-turner for sure.
It is fitted with a six-speed manual, a 1.6-liter, inline-four turbocharged engine with 201 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque on tap.
It takes a sluggish 7 seconds to reach 60 miles per hour and takes 15 seconds to complete the quarter mile. Hyundai may have nailed it on the looks and bold design but there is a lot of push needed for it to achieve real sports car speed.
9 Chevrolet SSR
The Chevrolet SSR had a unique design inspired by retro themes that surprised car enthusiasts when it debuted. It was a roadster combined with a pickup, although the result is something that remains unclear where it really lies. It adopted the Chevy Trailblazer chassis, which made it very heavy—weighing about 5,000 lbs. It was fitted with a 5.3-liter engine and could give 300hp but that was not enough for its weight, since it struggled to impress in the quarter mile, managing slightly below 16 seconds. After observing its performance, Chevy tried to spice it up with a 400 hp option but still, the SSR could not stand up to most of its competitors on the streets.
8 Porsche Cayenne
Porsche may have made some very powerful cars but this is their second car to make it on this list. Its unique design, that Porsche badge, and a high market price mislead most people to thinking that this car is a true legend. However, if you look further into the statistics, you will find its extremely low speed with a frustrating 7.3 seconds from 0-60 miles per hour. The top speed of the Porsche Cayenne stands at 147 mph while other low-cost brands like Dodge have speeds above 200 mph.
7 Subaru BRZ
Subaru is among the automakers with cars that seem like they will never disappoint in speed and handling. The BRZ, for instance, has a reputation for its great handling and sterling quality.
It has an appealing style and will hit you like an everyday kind of a car that's fun when it needs to be.
It is one of the affordable, lightweight machines on the streets right now. The latest models are fitted with a 2.0-liter, flat-four engine and can produce up to 205 horsepower and 156 lb-ft of torque. Those figures produce a disappointing time for sprinting to 60 miles per hour, though, which takes 6.0 seconds.
6 Mitsubishi 3000GT
The Mitsubishi 3000GT was a disappointment considering others in the model lineup, like the 3000GT VR-4 and the 3000GL SL. Apparently, the 3000GT versions are the ones common today and the most likely iterations that you will probably run into on the streets. It has a 3.0l V6 engine and can deliver just 160 horsepower compared to the VR-4's 320 hp. Those who confuse the two would tend to think the GT is fast. However, it is only able to reach 60 miles per hour in 8.4 seconds while the VR-4 can achieve the same in as low as 4.7 seconds.
5 Chevrolet Corvette C3
If you were asked to judge the Corvette C3 on its looks, you would probably go wrong from the get-go. It has all the looks of a fast car with those sharp front view and that curvy rear-end.
In fact, plenty of people agreed to buy this car based solely on its good looks.
Regarding speed, however, the car hits 60 miles per hour in about 9 seconds and has a top speed of 123mph. It is very disappointing that such a small-sized and lightweight sports car could end up being slower than an SUV.