While you may not think of Aixam when you think of unique supercars, this small, French automaker may hold the top spot. If your mind went straight to Ferrari, Bugatti, and Lamborghini, you may have overlooked the icon that is the Aixam Mega.
This quirky French supercar was designed in the early '90s and released in 1992. Known as the Mega Track, this unique supercar launched the performance line of Aixam. This first supercar was developed to stand out and make a name for the brand. This allowed Aixam to expand its range with the Mega Monte Carlo in 1996. While the Mega Track was officially listed as an all-terrain GT Coupe, the V12 engine and supercar styling suggested otherwise.
Interested in learning more about this strange French super GT? Here are 10 things gearheads forgot about the legendary Aixam Mega Track.
10 Aixam’s Performance Line
Aixam is known for making compact French cars. While this was not anything special, they did have to make a few significant purchases in the late 80s and early 90s to expand the brand. This is because the cars they were making were incredibly profitable, and the French automaker had ambitions to grow as big as its German rivals.
The German automakers were investing heavily into motorsport and performance cars at the time. This was evident in BMW’s motorsport dominance and Audi’s rally ambitions. This allowed the traditional carmakers to expand their lineups and bring in more revenue. Aixam wanted to follow suit with the Mega line.
9 Technically A Supercar
The Mega Track was designed to be a powerful sports car to launch a new line of vehicles for Aixam. The Mega Track has a ground clearance of around 8 inches. However, this can go up to 13 inches due to air suspension.
This makes the Mega Track capable of entering the Peking to Paris Rally. This was done specifically to set the Mega Track apart from the competition. Out of all the supercars released in the '90s, the Mega Track was the only car that would allow you to experience performance off-track as well.
8 Heaviest Supercar Ever Made
The Mega Track is quite a bit larger than most supercars. This supercar measured 200 inches long, making it even longer than the S Class. This French supercar is also wide, making it even wider than the Hummer H1.
This made the Mega Track the tallest, widest, and longest supercar on the market. This also translated to it being the heaviest supercar in the world. Now that the rest of the market is developing new technology to cut down on weight, the French supercar may always be known as the heaviest supercar in the world.
7 Mercedes Engine
Despite the French brand wanting to expand into the performance space, the first Mega Track model did not include a unique powertrain. Instead of spending money on developing a single V12 engine for a single car, they decided to purchase a V12 engine from Mercedes.
This Mercedes partnership allowed Aixam to spend more time on the rest of the car. This is not uncommon within the industry, especially when releasing an entirely new line of vehicles. Aixam decided to purchase another automaker a few years later before releasing its next model. This allowed them to purchase the intellectual property and facilities needed to build their own cars from scratch.
6 Practicality
The size of the Mega Track makes it a very practical supercar. Despite being a two-door coupe, the supercar featured a spacious backseat that could comfortably seat two additional people. The interior was spacious for the front passengers as well, making it perfect to live with every day.
This was particular because the fact that the supercar featured a large V12 engine. The rear of the car also featured an active aero design to help cool the V12. The storage space is still limited to the front trunk but is still more than you can expect from a Ferrari.
5 Performance
This French supercar was built to be a crossover. However, it was by no means slow. The Mega Track included a 389 HP Mercedes engine that could produce 420 lb-ft of torque. This impressive powertrain managed to accelerate the car from 0 to 60 in just 5.8 seconds.
The impressive Mega Track could reach an electronically limited top speed of around 155 mph. While the true top speed is not known, some have speculated that it could reach up to around 170 mph.
4 Rear-Wheel-Drive Only
Rear-wheel-drive cars were known to be powerful off the line and provide for a fun drive. This configuration was used throughout motorsport at the time until the four-wheel-drive Audi’s entered the Rally Championship.
This managed to convince all the big-named supercars to develop their own all-wheel-drive systems. While it took longer for the legends to take up AWD, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes were quick to take advantage of the added grip. This meant that by the time the Mega Track hit the market, it was one of the few rear-wheel-drive supercars you could get.
3 German Parts
The engine was not the only part of the Mega Track that was taken from a German manufacturer. The rear taillights were taken directly from a German sedan. This helped cut down the development costs of the Mega Track but also diminished its supercar appeal.
The lights and electronic components of the Mega Track were taken from Audi. While Audi did sell some of its earlier 80s technology to the brand, the taillights are identical to the lights you would get on the B3 and B4 compact sedans.
2 Modern Styling
The Mega Track was designed to stand out. Despite being a GT coupe, the car did feature a sleek exterior that mimicked the design language of other supercars at the time. The front end of the Mega Track looked similar to McLaren while the rear was more squared off like a sedan.
This supercar did feature a unique rear wing that ran parallel to the rear of the car. This rear wing was raised but did not have any angle to this. This made it less effective than some other aero wings at the time. While the Mega Track was released a while ago, the aero technology from Ferrari, Lamborghini, and even BMW was more effective.
1 Limited-Edition Supercar
Whether you believe it to be a supercar or not, the Mega Track is one of the rarest coupes in the world. Unlike Ferrari and Lamborghini which limited production from the start, the rarity of the Mega Track was due to poor sales.
While the French automaker did keep the car around for a few years, there are only a few dozen on the roads today. This eventually led to Aixam releasing the Monte Carlo version in 1996. This model did a lot better than the Mega Track but was not enough to sustain the Mega performance line for Aixam.