If we've learned anything from our many years as car enthusiasts, it's that no automotive company is too big to fail. Examples like Pontiac, Fisker, and so on, are prime examples of exactly this. However, a serious flop doesn't necessarily mean an end to the whole company, rather a specific model.
Nearly every carmaker that still exists today has had at least one problematic car. Though, some are much worse than others.
But it's not just bad cars that end up as flops, and this list will showcase 10 sports cars that were actually cool with no major issues but still failed to capture a share of the market.
10 Plymouth Prowler
Does anybody remember this one? Well, if not, you're excused, since this car was unlike anything Plymouth had made prior. We're talking about none other than the infamous Plymouth Prowler roadster.
Plymouth had been on the decline for a while before they produced the Prowler. It was, for lack of a better term, a 'Hail Mary' to keep the company up and running. And, to their credit, the Prowler wasn't a bad car. Actually, it was quite unique, just not what Plymouth needed at that moment.
9 Cadillac XLR-V
In a strange move, Cadillac started to shift a bit further away from their standard luxury cruisers in the mid-2000s. One car to come out of this subtle transition was the Cadillac XLR-V.
There were two reasons that the XLR-V failed. Firstly, it wasn't like other Cadillacs, thus dividing their consumer base, and secondly, the limited-run nature of the XLR-V (as well as other 'V' models). Sadly, it wasn't meant to be.
8 Lotus Evora
Similar to Plymouth, Lotus was feeling the heat from their failing car sales. To diversify their lineup, Lotus went away from the standard Elise. The result? The Lotus Evora.
Even before leaving Formula 1, Lotus knew they'd need to shake things up to stay relevant. So, in 2009, they released their new Evora sports car. At first, it was well-received for being something different. However, as time went on, the Evora began to show cracks in its reliability, performance, and resale value.
Though, that's not the Evora's end. Contrary to other carmakers, Lotus actually learned a bit from their mistakes; creating the new-age Evora that's far superior to its first-gen. alternative.
7 Alfa Romeo 4C
When Alfa Romeo announced that they'd be making another sports car (after the 8C Competizione), we were excited to see what they'd make. However, we were also skeptical given Alfa's troublesome past.
The car in question was the Alfa Romeo 4C: a smaller, lightweight take on the 8C's design. Though they sold well at first, the 4C's sales figures dropped like a rock. In the entirety of 2019, Alfa only sold 144 4C's. Not great for such a large manufacturer.
6 Mercedes-Benz SL (R231)
It's not often that a huge monolith of a carmaker fails so spectacularly. Nevertheless, it does happen. And what better example than the Mercedes-Benz with their latest SL-Class (R231)?
As you may have guessed by now, the reason behind the SL-Class' failure are below-average sales. Well, that and the typical reliability issues characteristic of Mercedes. Still, the SL's have only done worse and worse. For example, what once sold over 10,000 units in 2005 has become less than 3,000 units by 2018. If that's any indication, the SL might not last much longer.
5 Pontiac GTO
In a situation mirroring Plymouth's past failures, Pontiac was in a lot of financial trouble during the early-to-mid-2000's. Though many of their cars were a disgrace at the time (i.e. the Aztek), one stood out above the rest: the Pontiac GTO.
No, this isn't the classic GTO, but a remake of the old muscle car. Because of their position in G.M., Pontiac had a lot of material to work with, namely the Chevrolet Corvette's LS-engines.
With the Corvette's rock-solid engine and abundance of resources, the GTO proved to be a wonderful muscle car. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to save Pontiac.
4 Dodge Viper (VX)
In 2013, we saw the return of one of America's coolest, yet dangerous, sports cars to come out in the past few decades: the fifth-generation Dodge Viper.
Upon release, the Viper was all over the car community. On the cover of Forza Horizon, in commercials, and on-track were just a few of the places the new Viper could be spotted. However, where people once fawned over the Dodge Viper suddenly dropped interest. By 2017, the Viper has discontinued yet again.
3 Fisker Karma
Before Tesla, Lucid Motors, and others, there was one company that sought to corner and overtake the all-electric car industry. That company was Fisker and their first car: the Fisker Karma.
Even though Fisker was way ahead of the rest, they lacked much of the funding to keep both themselves and their cars in order. The Fisker brand lasted from 2007 to 2014 before they filed for bankruptcy, but that wouldn't be its end.
The Fisker Karma, although now no longer 'technically' a Fisker, would live on with Karma Automotive - Those who would pick up where Fisker left off.
2 Acura NSX (2nd Gen.)
We would be lying if we said we weren't hyped for the second generation Honda/Acura NSX when it was unveiled. Clearly, we weren't alone, either, since the NSX soared in popularity after its announcement.
Yet, as is the trend with many of these sports cars, the 'hype train' swiftly derailed. According to Dispatch's report in 2019, "After roaring out of the gate in its first two years, the Acura NSX is starting to sputter down the road. The high-performance and high-priced supercar [...] has seen sales plummet since it was relaunched in 2016. Acura sold 581 NSXs in 2017, the first full year the new vehicle was sold."
Those numbers have only declined since then...
1 Vector W8
Last, and technically 'least', is one of the biggest missed opportunities to the performance driving and supercar world: the Vector W8. A supercar that would barely last long enough to be noticed.
Vector had already made a supercar prior to the W8, the W2 (though it was only a concept). The W8 would be the official flagship car for Vector; producing seventeen consumer models and two pre-production prototypes. With so few cars made, they'd eventually go defunct just four-years after the W8 launched.