Over the years, we've had some truly spectacular sports cars built like the Miata and Porsche's 911 range. These cars were worthy of the hype surrounding them and they were exactly what was promised to the community. Sometimes manufacturers' newest announcements sound a tad mediocre or on the other hand too good to be true like the Tesla Model 3 or Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, but once they leave the drawing board and reach public roads, they turn out to be excellent.
Carmakers like to overhype their newest reveals to make buyers' mouths water, but more often than not, they turn out to be much, much worse.'' Let's address one thing before the list starts; not all of these sports cars were necessarily bad, but they overpromised and fell short when they hit the streets.'
10 2002 Ford Thunderbird
The original Thunderbird was a classic American muscle legend, and with fans pressuring Ford to revive the name, the company did not have much of a choice. And the revival of the Thunderbird destroyed any chance of it keeping its royal reputation.
It might be powered by an adequate 250-hp V8, but it struggles to put that power to use since it is such a big heavy bird, despite the size it still had quite a cramped interior. The only thing the 2002 Thunderbird had going for it was its retro styling, although it might have looked a bit goofy.
9 DeLorean DMC-12
If we could go back in time with the DeLorean, we'd go back to the '80s and prevent the DMC-12 from ever existing, or at least make sure it gets the power it deserved. The only reason it wasn't a complete failure was because of its feature in the blockbuster movie, Back to the Future. Inside of the DeLorean was a feeble 130-hp Peugeot-Renault-Volvo 2.85-liter V6 which dragged the DMC to 60 mph in more than 10 seconds.
But the ultimate demise to the DeLorean's lifespan was quality issues since the project was rushed and the car went from creation to full-on production model within just 28 months - the average production car is developed in 72.
8 Fisker Karma
Henrik Fisker, the man who was behind the design of the breathtaking Aston Martin DB9, founded the Fisker Automotive company and soon after its establishment revealed their revolutionary plug-in-sports sedan, the Karma, and it looked much better than it actually was.
Two eclectic motors which generated a total of 403 hp powered the handsome hybrid, with that huge power figure, it was bound to be fast, but it turns out, weighing 2.4 tons really slows you down. With a top speed of 125 mph and 0-60 time of 6 seconds, suddenly the groundbreaking solar panel roof vehicle suddenly seemed irrelevant since buyers were expecting much more for its $100,000 sticker price.
7 Jensen SV8
Designed by Design Q, the Jensen SV8 was a stunner sporting a hefty Ford Mustang Cobra 4.6-liter V8 engine, and boasting a 0-60 time of 4.8 seconds and a 160-mph top speed, so what caused it to end up on our list? Investors even spent a huge lump sum of £10 million to fund Jensen's project, but they only got about 20 working cars leaving the production floor in return, and almost 20 left incomplete.
That meant each car had to sell for £500,000 to break even, but they were far underpriced... at £38,070 to be exact. And on top of that huge scam, despite the SV8's impressive performance numbers, it still gave buyers an indifferent driving experience.
6 Hyundai Tiburon
Before Hyundai found its feet amongst the other car manufacturers, it dipped its toes in different pools of water, and the Tiburon was its first attempt at scoring a seat in the sports car market. Sure, the Tiburon was not a horrible car, but it had some sturdy competition on its hands like the Nissan 300SX, Honda S2000, and Toyota Celica.
In the early 2000s, the 172-hp 2.7-liter V6 powered Tiburon only reached 60 mph once 8 seconds went past, this meant the RWD Hyundai was utterly underwhelming and couldn't keep up with its rivals.
5 Plymouth Prowler
Even if we were to overlook the wacky hot rod styling of the Prowler, its heart does not correspond with the exterior. Some features like the lack of fenders covering the wheels and roof not too far from the ground resembled a hot rod, however others like the V6 motor and automatic gearbox deemed it an imposter.
Upon its first initial release, the market was surely not ready for something so... different. Nowadays, the public is more accepting of Plymouth's eccentric sports car with celebrities like The Rock already adding one to their personal collection.
4 Chrysler Crossfire
The Crossfire was like an extremely confused teenager, not sure what it was destined to be. The exterior was rather appealing but looked like it still had a few fine tweaks that were unfinished, the interior was an absolute mess with hormones flying all over the place.
The Crossfire was co-built by Mercedes-Benz so it cruised rather comfortably, but the rowdy V6 or even supercharged V6 in the 330-hp SRT-6 model made the tear-drop coupe act like a muscle car. But above all the SRT-6 Crossfire was overpriced at $45,000, meaning it punched above its weight class.
3 Porsche 914
The 914 was a teeny weeny German sports car powered by a Volkswagen engine and had a very quirky design. This odd-ball Porsche came with either a 1.7-, 1.8-, or a 2.0-liter four- or six-cylinder engine. The six-banger had a short run on the market due to its hefty price tag, inability to compete with its rivals resulting in a lack of demand.
Porsche's attempt to dominate the entry-level sports car market was an unfortunate flop by only emitting 100 hp to the rear wheels, and slouching to 60 mph in more than 10 seconds. In those years, a gorgeous Volkswagen Karmann Ghia would have been a better buy, to be honest.
2 Ford Mustang II
The original Mustang released to the public in the '60s was an absolute masterpiece of a muscle car, but its successor, the Mustang II, missed the mark completely. Circumstances in the '70s really limited what the Mustang could evolve to since it was in the heat of the oil crisis.
The deflated muscle car abandoned the first-generation's defining V8 engine, and replaced it with a dispiriting 100-hp 6-cylinder motor. Combining the bland styling and the weak engine makes the Mustang II the absolute worst running horse ever, but we still appreciate it keeping the Mustang name alive when it was supposed to die out.
1 Jaguar XJ220
Holding the world record for fastest production car from 1992 to 1993 with a top speed of 212.3 mph, the Jaguar XJ220 surely must be misplaced on this list, right? This long and wide British supercar might have turned out to be a record-breaking car, but it was far from what was promised. When this Jaguar's first concept was first unveiled, it was said to have a mid-mounted 6.2-liter V12 sending 500 hp to all 4 wheels.
With a limited production number of fewer than 300 models, if you wanted to secure one you'd have to put a $50,000 deposit down. Now imagine paying $50,000 for an AWD 12-cylinder supercar and receiving one with half the cylinders and only half of the wheels gaining power. Well, at least you still have a record-beating sleek supercar.