Cars come and go all the time. Not only are there millions of automobiles on the streets right now, but new cars are produced each day and new models released each year. Amid this chaos, it is only natural that some cars fade away from the public eye while some remain in it for decades. Take the 1970 Dodge Charger for example. Despite being nearly 50-years old, the Charger is burned into our minds as being one of the coolest and most powerful cars to ever be made.
With this in mind, let us jump in and talk about ten sports car models, everyone forgot existed.
10 Hyundai Tiburon
The first Tiburon was produced in 1996 and was an instant failure. Up until 2003, Hyundai desperately tried to make an appealing sports car but failed for seven years until the 2003 model. The 2003 Tiburon finally produced a respectable amount of power for its price. The second-generation of Tiburon’s were larger, had new styling, and had the option of a V6 engine.
In addition to the changes mentioned above, many more modifications were made that made the Tiburon a popular car for a while, until people lost interest. The public simply did not rely on Hyundai sports cars as much as they did on Hyundai family cars, and so, due to lackluster sales, the Tiburon died a sad demise.
9 Ariel Atom
Upon first glance you might ask yourself, how can anyone forget this car? The Ariel Atom is a road-legal, high-performance British vehicle equipped with a V8 Ariel engine capable of producing up to 500 bhp. The design for this unique car emerged as a student project at Coventry University by student Niki Smart and was developed with university funds in 1996.
Since 2005, the Ariel has been produced in Virginia, USA, and has been known to tear up the racetracks with its impressive acceleration and speed. Now to answer the question, how can anyone forget this car? It’s simple, a fast car does not necessarily equate to a practical car. The Atom has no roof, no windshield, is too small, and has no use apart from the racetracks. No ordinary family would ever buy this car, and for that reason, the Atom has long since been forgotten.
8 Buick Reatta
The Buick Reatta is unsurprisingly on this list of forgotten sports cars. The Reatta was a low volume, front-engine, front-wheel-drive vehicle that prioritized neither power nor performance. This two-seater was born out of a factory in Michigan and marketed by Buick as a coupe and convertible. During its premiere in 1988, the only impressive thing about this automobile was its touch screen dash.
Apart from this, the Buick contained minimal features and even lacked airbags, which were added in 1990. Eventually, the demand and production of the Reatta declined due to better performing and safer cars’ emergence in the growing market.
7 Porsche 944
In 1982, German manufacturer Porsche introduced the 944. The Porsche 944 was based upon their prior 924 models and had one front engine and rear-wheel drive. The 944 was produced as both a coupe and a convertible and was, in fact, a popular sports car for a considerable amount of time.
Unlike the other cars on this list, the 944 was not forgotten due to lack of advertising or consumer interest, rather, it was self-sabotage. The 944 was set to continue production in the 1990s, and Porsche had plans to develop the 944 S3. Major revisions, however, resulted in the S3 becoming the brand-new Porsche 968, which effectively killed off the 944.
6 Lexus SC300
The Lexus SC300 had the potential to be something great, but like the Porsche 944, poor choices on behalf of the manufacturer led to its untimely demise. On June 1, 1991, Lexus introduced the SC400, which was honored as the Motor Trend Import Car of the Year in 1992. In July of 1992, Lexus introduced the SC300, essentially a smaller-engined model of the SC400.
Unfortunately, due to the immense popularity of the SC400, the SC300 never gained enough traction to become a popular sports car. The Lexus SC models eventually moved into their second generation, and production of the SC ended in July 2010.
5 Volvo P1800
The Volvo P1800 is a rear-drive sports car introduced in 1961 and halted in 1973. The original design for this automobile looked like a classic coupe but was redesigned by Pelle Peterson. Despite being a class S sports car, Volvo branded and advertised the P1800 as a touring car. In its later years, the P1800 became widely known by its appearance on the show, The Saint.
Unfortunately, this Volvo’s acting days were short-lived, and as the decades passed, Volvo rebranded itself as a luxury family car maker, rather than a sports car manufacturer. If interested in purchasing one of these vehicles, you should know they retail between $10,000 and $18,000 and are by no means the fastest cars on the road.
4 Opel GT
If you were wondering what an identity crisis looks like in a car, the Opel GT is perfect for you. The brand itself, a German manufacturer, is a French subsidiary and was owned by General Motors until 2017. This Corvette-like car is produced in France and contains a 4-cylinder engine instead of a traditional V8.
If you were to drive this in America, the most popular question would undoubtedly be, “What kind of Corvette is that?” The Opel GT debuted in 1965 and the GT Concept was introduced at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. Despite its classic vintage look, and sports car feel, this vehicle, unfortunately, failed to make an impression.
3 Honda S2000
The Honda S2000 defined the brand through the 2000s. Today, nobody remembers it. To celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary, the S2000 was launched on April 15, 1999. The S2000 is an open-top sports car named for its two-liter displacement engine and carries on the legacy of past roadsters such as the S500 and the S800. Over time, the S2000 simply lost its appeal with the public as the Civic gained more traction. Heck, the Civic is still one of the most popular cars today while the S2000 is a mere blip on the radar. If the Civic hadn’t outshined the S2000, Honda may not have discontinued it in 2009.
2 Saleen S7
The Saleen S7 supercar is a marvelous piece of engineering, but as you hear its story, you will come to know why nobody has heard of it. The S7 was born out of a Mustang tune shop. This hand-built supercar was more of a side hobby than a business idea.
The S7 is powered by a Ford Windsor 427 and outputs 550 hp worth of power. With a twin-turbo V8 mod, however, riders can enjoy the 750 hp the S7 has to offer. If it weren’t built out of scraps from an auto-body shop, this car would have persevered in our minds well into the next century.
1 Ferrari F430 Spider
The Ferrari F430 Spider was unveiled at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show and is Ferrari’s 21st convertible automobile. The Spider puts out 503 hp using a 4.3 L V8 engine, and truly is an incredible car, but yet lays forgotten. The two reasons for the disappearance of the Spider from the public view is the extremely high price tag, and the release of new models each year. With a sticker of $190,000, not many people care to look into the Spider. With the constant release of exciting new models almost every year, it’s no surprise that this one faded away.