Aston, Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren all risk extinction if they continue on their current paths
Last weekend, while surrounded by a jaw-dropping display of supercars at Brands Hatch with the Drivers Union crew – Lambos, Ferraris, McLarens, Astons, all gleaming in the sun – someone asked me a question that got me thinking: “What do you think is going to happen to these brands in the future?”
And I had to be brutally honest in my response – I didn’t think they had a high chance of survival, quite frankly. Not unless they drastically change direction. Too pessimistic? Maybe. Hear me out. This isn’t doom-mongering. It’s a realistic, passionate plea to the manufacturers that once built the machines of our octane-fuelled wet dreams. Based on the trajectory of the car industry, legislation, and economic policy, they’re on a path to obsolescence – or worse.
What’s the Problem?
Between EV mandates, emissions regulations, tariffs, inflation, and the relentless pressure for growth at any cost, the foundations of what made these brands iconic are being eroded. Right now, legendary marques like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, and Lotus, are stuck between a rock and a hard place and their options are to 1) sell out their core brand identity or 2… I’ll come back to that.
Worse still, we’ve entered an era of supercar saturation.
These machines – once rare, visceral, poster-worthy works of art – are being mass-produced and softened to meet market expectations. They’ve gone from bedroom dream machines to lease-plan status symbols your nan could take to Tesco’s.
From Exclusive to Excessive
Let’s talk numbers. In the 1970s, Ferrari made just a few thousand cars a year – in 1971, only 1,246 rolled off the line. Even by the end of the decade, they were at around 5,000 units.
By the 2020s?
They’re making 13,600+ cars annually, with a Ferrari SUV in the mix. That’s right – the Purosangue. From a brand that once swore blind they’d never do an SUV.
Lamborghini?
1974: 250 cars.
1987: 470 cars.
2023: Over 10,000 – mostly thanks to the Urus SUV.
Aston Martin, Lotus – same story. Once boutique brands made hundreds of cars a year, now pushing thousands, with growth plans that boggle the mind (Lotus wants to hit 100,000 units by 2028. C’mon! Really?!).
The Soul Has Left the Building
More cars. More variants. More “special” editions that aren’t special. The excitement’s fading. The mystique’s gone.
Remember when seeing a Countach or Esprit was like witnessing a unicorn?
I still vividly recall spotting a De Tomaso Pantera in Jeddah as a teenager, mouth agape, eyes bulging, begging my dad to follow it. That kind of visceral response? It’s rare now. Back then, you could show me just the edge of a spoiler or taillamp and I’d tell you which supercar it was. These days, I can’t even tell the modern McLarens apart, and I’ve gone Ferrari blind after the 488 Spider (my last favourite modern Fezza).
Even the cars themselves – yes, they’re fast, sleek, clever – but where’s the emotion? The noise? The mechanical soul? A Ferrari 296 GTB might be mind-blowingly fast, but it doesn’t make your heart skip like a 430 at full chat. EVs and hybrids are sanitising the experience. Supercars are becoming tech showcases, not emotional instruments.
The Real Disease: Growth Addiction
The real illness, though? It’s the obsession with constant growth. These brands, once artisans crafting machines for passionate drivers, are now caught in the capitalist rat race. They’re chasing shareholder expectations. If you’re not bigger next year, you’re failing. That’s the toxic mindset.
But why? Let’s talk about the corner shop analogy. You open a small store in a village – milk, bread, tea, sugar, etc, you know, just the essentials. Locals come because it’s convenient. You make enough to live well, pay the bills, and go on a holiday now and then. That’s a successful business.
But today’s mentality? Open another branch. Add 200 products. Get investors. Double revenue. Expand or die.
That’s exactly what’s happening to our favourite supercar makers. They’re trying to be Asda instead of staying the corner shop. Wanna be Ford rather than just Ferrari (there’s irony in there!). The result? It’s killing the magic.
The Solution? We MUST go back!
This is what I’d tell Ferrari. Lamborghini. Aston. All of them:
Stop growing. Go backwards. Shrink. Make fewer cars. Build only what your real customers truly want. Charge more. Make them special again. Forget comfort, connectivity, and ease of driving. Make them wild, raw, challenging… truly satisfying. I never want to see an Influencer who’s only recently started shaving, at the wheel of a supercar, recording and uploading a TikTok while doing 200mph on the Autobahn.
Bring back the noise, the soul, the drama. Bring back the danger! Three-pedals, open-gaited gearboxes that clunk hard, steering that’ll make you sweat, an experience that will sharpen your senses, pin your pupils to the horizon, parch your throat, wet your palm, and fizz your fiddlestick.
Bring back the noise, the soul, the drama. Bring back the danger! Three-pedals, open-gaited gearboxes that clunk hard, steering that’ll make you sweat, an experience that will sharpen your senses, pin your pupils to the horizon, parch your throat, wet your palm, and fizz your fiddlestick.
Think natural aspiration. Think metal you can taste, overrun you can smell, noise that resonates so hard in your chest, it’s not the racing beat of your heart ringing in your head, but the rhythm your ribs are beating out on your diaphragm! Let’s swap spec sheets for sensation!
And for those saying “but the environment!” – c’mon, let’s be honest, these cars are made in such low volumes, they barely blip the emissions needle. There will be fuel available for decades. Plus, e-fuels and synthetic petrol are real solutions – Porsche is already leading the way.
Supercars Must Rediscover Their Identity
I’m not saying there’s no room for EVs in the sports car world. They’re genuinely, extraordinarily fast. So there absolutely is – and they’re getting better, more exciting. But supercars should feel like a rebellion, not a conciliation.
They’re not supposed to be practical or efficient or silent. They’re meant to be loud, raw, impractical, exciting, special. We need to bring back the romance. The theatre. The reason why we fall in love with cars in the first place. There is NO NEED for supercars to be electric or even hybrid, apart from attempting to make a political statement. Why should supercar owners fork out hundreds of thousands to pay for a manufacturer’s guilty conscience?
There is NO NEED for supercars to be electric or even hybrid, apart from attempting to make a political statement. Why should supercar owners fork out hundreds of thousands to pay for a manufacturer’s guilty conscience?
Supercars should be loud, raw, impractical, exciting, and intoxicating. They should be romantic. Ridiculous. Uncompromising. Supercar makers – do not compromise. If you’re not bold enough to build it. Then don’t. And shut shop while you’re at it.
Final Thought
Supercar brands will die – not because the world doesn’t want them, but because they’ve lost their true identity. They are desperately trying to be what they were never meant to be – comfy, efficient, easy… even affordable? Well, in the sense that finance deals are for buying a Puma, not a Performante.
Supercar makers take heed – downsizing isn’t failure. It’s survival. It’s logical. Slowing down isn’t weakness. It’s wisdom. Remember how you attack a corner – slow in, fast out. That’s how you punch in the lap times. That’s how you win. That’s success. That’s how you do legendary.
Supercar makers take heed – downsizing isn’t failure. It’s survival. It’s logical. Slowing down isn’t weakness. It’s wisdom. Remember how you attack a corner – slow in, fast out. That’s how you punch in the lap times. That’s how you win. That’s success. That’s how you do legendary.
Now over to you, dear reader. Do you think Ferrari, Lambo and co. need to shrink to survive? Or is there another way forward? Drop your thoughts in the comments.
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