Supercars are to celebrities what the colors red white and blue are to America, an integral part of their identity. Being rich and famous in the public eye requires plenty of attention to one's image, and a 6 figure vehicle that is as much a work of art as it is a car fits perfectly with that lifestyle. With new entries into the world of supercars each year, there are plenty of dream machines to choose from, whether its a luxury-oriented Aston Martin, or a track dominating Ferrari.
But while many supercars fit the bill as a status symbol, and luxurious red carpet cruiser, there are plenty that celebrities wouldn't be caught dead in. Many are so brutal you need genuine racing driver skill to even think of driving properly, and without offering the luxury and status symbol recognition that celebs look for in a supercar.
At the end of the day, its a matter of personal taste. So read on, to see 15 supercars that definitely don't appeal to celebrity tastes:
15 Panoz Esperante
It looks incredibly weird and has an odd name from a company few have ever heard of, naturally, it won't appeal to the glamorous world of celebrity supercars. But Panoz is no joke as a performance brand, having plenty of GT racing wins under their belt. The Esperante is their road-going supercar, and while it may not be the fastest out there, it's a unique American performance machine that definitely stands out from the crowd, for better or for worse.
14 Ford GT40
While the modern Ford GT is a well-known car and one owned by plenty of celebs, the original 1960s car it's based on remains a stranger to the world of celebrity owners, instead remaining pure as a motorsports icon. The multi-million dollar auction prices may have something to do with that, but regardless, original GT40s remain in the hands of only the most die-hard of motorsports aficionados.
13 Ascari KZ-1
Low volume supercars have it tough. When you're asking 6 figures for a car with no existing name recognition, it's a hard sell. But what these obscure performance machines lack in brand image and glamour, they make up for in brutal performance and pure driving experience. The Ascari KZ1 is a prime example of that, built almost entirely out of carbon fiber, with a 500 HP BMW sourced V8, and no driver aids to speak of, its a uniquely pure experience in a world of cars that assist you at every step of the way
12 Mercedes Benz CLK GTR
While a multi-million dollar Mercedes Benz may sound like exactly the type of supercar you'd see a celeb driving around glamorous areas like Beverly Hills, this absolute monster is the farthest thing possible from glamorous. Only 50 of these beasts were made for the road to comply with FIA GT racing rules, it's a proper race car for the road. But that means a cramped interior and a brutal driving experience, not something most celebrities would want to or be able to deal with.
11 Factory Five GTM
A lot of supercar owners have no intention of ever getting their hands dirty working on it, that's the farthest thing from the truth when it comes to the Factory Five GTM though. As crazy as it sounds, this is a DIY supercar. Yes, it's a kit car, but one that is an original design, and can pose a genuine threat to factory-built supercars that cost 6 figures. All that's missing from the kit is an engine, suspension, control arms, and fuel tank from a Corvette donor car.
10 Cizetta Moroder V16T
The name should be a dead giveaway, but this rare Italian work of art is powered by a V16 engine. Even cooler, that V16 is made with 2 Lamborghini sourced V8s merged together, and mounted sideways in the engine bay. It's unique, fast, and well built, but that was its downfall. Cizetta Moroder just couldn't produce the car as quickly and reliably (relatively speaking) as companies like Ferrari could with their supercars, and it mostly faded to obscurity.
9 Noble M600
The "Noble" name may inspire images of high-class royal craftsmen building a luxurious vehicle, but the Noble M600 is as far from that as can be. There's nothing fancy about the M600, instead, it's focused on absolute speed and performance, even if that means compromising with a basic interior. If you can stomach spending the $200,000 on such a basic car, and have some serious driving skills, the M600 is incredibly rewarding as a performance monster, but not much else.
8 Gumpert Apollo
The looks are love it or hate it, but the driving performance is undeniably wicked. Proof of this came in 2009 when it shattered the Nurburgring lap record. Like most supercars from small start-up companies though, performance is the name of the game, with a basic interior and no real driver aides. With a weight of 2,400 lbs and 700 HP though, that performance is well worth it for the right speed-obsessed owner though.
7 TVR Sagaris
A cult classic brand, TVR makes some rather obscure vehicles, but they're downright wicked in both looks and performance. The Sagaris is one of TVR's modern entries into the performance world, but modern is a very loosely used term here. The transmission is straight out of a 1980s Mustang, and there's very little modern technology to speak of. It's a raw thrill machine, but one that requires a skilled driver, and a buyer that will appreciate the lunacy of TVR as a brand.
6 Shelby Series 1
Shelby cars are downright awesome, cars like the Mustang GT500 are true performance icons, but are tuning and upgrade packages on top of existing cars. Shelby's first and only car designed from the ground up was this little supercharged V8 rocket, the Series 1. Only 249 were produced, with most going to hardcore Shelby collectors. Such a rare car with niche appeal is far from what celebs look for in a supercar, even if they could find one for sale.
5 MAT New Stratos
No car has such a passionate niche enthusiast base as the Lancia Stratos though. Known as the Rally Queen, the Stratos is a jaw-droppingly beautiful piece of old school Italian racing dominance, but original examples are extremely hard to come by. Created by a group of Stratos owners and enthusiasts, this revival of the Stratos is built by chopping a Ferrari F430 in half, keeping the engine, and re-designing the entire car. Until we see a Hollywood blockbuster on rally racing history, it's doubtful one of these will make an appearance at the red carpet any time soon.
4 Lamborghini Jalpa
While celebrities frequently choose Lamborghinis as their status symbol vehicle, they tend to choose the highest-end models, the Gallardo helped changed this, but that's another story. In the '80s though, the Lambo of choice was the Countach, but that gorgeous wedge had a little brother who mostly went unnoticed, the Jalpa. It's by no means a groundbreaking vehicle, but it's still sad to see such a beautiful little car become almost entirely forgotten.
3 Ferrari Mondial T
Another "entry-level" Italian supercar that went unnoticed, and was mostly forgotten, the Ferrari Mondial T isn't the most impressive car by any means. The first generation was slow and unreliable, earning it a spot in Car & Driver's "50 Worst Cars Of All Time" list. Things improved from there, but the Mondial remained unloved by Ferrari enthusiasts. The combination of it being entry-level and slow meant celebs ignored it in favor of its bigger and more glamorous brother, the Testarossa.
2 Callaway C8 SuperNatural Camaro
How can a third-generation Camaro ever be considered a supercar? By being re-worked with a massively advanced performance package, and body kit by Callaway. The SuperNatural Camaro managed to lay down over 400 HP without any turbo or supercharger, impressive today, mind-blowing in the early '90s. Unfortunately, only 18 were made, making this one of the most underrated, rarest, and forgotten supercars of the '90s.
1 Pontiac Tojan GT
Despite having a production run of over 150 cars, the Pontiac Tojan GT is almost entirely forgotten today. This was Pontiac's genuine attempt to make a supercar out of the Firebird, with new suspension, a tuned 305 V8, a racing transmission, and plenty of other aftermarket goodies. While it wasn't all that successful, the prototype cracked 200 mph with a twin-turbo V8 out of a boat, that's even crazier than the "Tojan" name they gave it.