Success on the forecourt is not guaranteed, irrespective of how many thousands of hours are spent undergoing rigorous development and stringent testing. Even the best carmakers get caught out by fickle gearheads, resulting in some surprising automotive flops.
Britain’s car industry is the perfect proving ground for great cars that don’t always sell well. Pricing, appearance, and branding have at one time or another brought a car company to its knees. Overpricing is the big one. Britain’s car industry struggles to compete with the glut of imports. Asia is the main culprit for bringing even the most famous brands to their knees, leaving a trail of cool but defunct car brands as a reminder.
However, the Brits aren’t ready to give up just yet, Gordon Murray Automotive and Lotus Cars both look set to tackle the world’s fastest sports cars with the eagerly anticipated T50 and Lotus’ all-electric Evija, respectively. Each sold out ahead of production, the “hotcakes” are very much in, flops hopefully consigned to history.
9 Lotus M100 – Out Lotus’d By Mazda
A brave, valiant attempt to resurrect the Elan resulted in not a lot really, as the UK carmaker had gotten too clever for its financial good. Trademark Lotus fiberglass bodies completed with a folding roof and cool pop-up headlights couldn’t save this one, faced with stiff opposition from Mazda’s MX-5, which was cheaper and more reliable.
Stonking handling paired with a small 1.6-liter turbocharged Isuzu motor producing 165 hp resulted in a top speed of 137 mph, with 60 mph coming up in 6.5-seconds. Despite some very respectable performance numbers, the Elan died prematurely, poor sales and Lotus’ choice of front heel drive put paid its resurrection.
8 AC 3000 ME – AC Almost Made It Back From The Brink
The success of the Ace/Cobra should have secured AC Cars’ future, unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Its history is littered with different owners and low-volume production cars. However, in 1979, all that was about to change, or at least it should’ve with the arrival of the AC 3000 ME.
A mid-engined two-seater sports car that first broke cover in 1973, developed over the following 6 years until production variants sporting a 138 hp 3-liter Ford V6 motor. Lengthy delays, spiraling costs, and slower than expected performance pretty much killed the AC 3000 ME.
7 Lister Storm – The Fastest Four Seater
A quirky function over form design resulted in one of the more unusual looking supercars of the ’90s, Lister’s Storm, taking a curious mix of 200 mph performance with fur-up seating. Featuring a front-mounted supercharged 7-liter Jaguar-based V12, pushed as far back in the nose as possible, gave rise to the oddly-shaped front end.
Questionable appearances compounded a $300k asking price, and gearheads, unsure of what exactly the Storm was supposed to be, stayed away, sales reaching just four cars. However, Lister, undeterred, continued development into a series of track-focused variants, the GTS and GTL contesting Le Mans 24 hours in 1996-97.
6 TVR V8S – Move Over Ferrari, Porsche, And Lotus
TVR, famed builder of stupendously powerful wedge-shaped supercar slayers of the ’80s, also produced a more traditionally styled S-series that largely went unnoticed. Big mistake, especially if you happened to be a Ferrari Testarossa, Lotus Esprit Turbo, or Porsche 911 Carrera owner in the ’90s. TVR’s V8S model would have left you in its dust, hitting 60 mph in 4.9-seconds.
The secret partially lays in TVR’s tried and tested tubular steel chassis and fiberglass bodyshell, but a huge part of the retro-roadsters blistering performance lays under the hood. A modified 4-liter Rover V8 chucked out 240 hp, which by modern standards doesn’t sound much, but trust us it’s plenty to shame the supercar elite.
5 Jensen-Healey – Best Selling Jensen Of All Time
Fast, agile, and gorgeously styled, the Jensen Healey sold in decent numbers for its time, shifting over 10,000 cars, the majority of which were destined for US gearheads. Sales success or flop? Just how successful the Healey could have been remains unanswered, as the carmaker shut down production in 1976 and went belly up.
We’re counting this one as a flop simply because, despite its all-alloy Lotus type 907 2-liter engine putting out a 140 hp, the biggest issue that led to Jensen’s collapse was rust. Unable to keep up with customer complaints, the simpler financial solution was to close up shop.
4 Jaguar XJ12C – Big Cat, Big Engine
Perhaps one of Jaguar’s prettiest creations, the XJ12C based utilized a shortened SWB XJ removing several inches, two doors, and the associated pillars. Gorgeous to look at and sporting a 5.3-liter V12 engine, surely the perfect luxury coupe? Jaguar struggled a little with this one, wind noise and a labor-intensive “cut and shut” process impacted delivery and sales targets.
At the time, Jag owners wanting the V12 experience faced a choice between the ugly XJ-S and this piece of automotive art. We know which one would get our vote. However, demand was considerably lower than expected, Jaguar pulled the plug after a little over 1800 of the V12 powered XJCs were delivered.
3 Jaguar XJ220 – World Beating Supercar
The Jaguar XJ220 will long be remembered as the fastest production car from the early ’90s with a top speed of 217 mph, and also as the supercar earl adopters abandoned in their droves. In part, the XJ220 promised more than Jaguar could deliver on budget, V12 engines and all-wheel-drive binned for cheaper engineering solutions.
Even so, Jaguar remained confident it could still sell 350 cars, a number that eventually dropped to 275, many of those lingering in dealer showrooms longer than you’d expect. Sure, a 3.5-liter twin-turbo might lack the aural finesse of a naturally aspirated 12-cylinder, but it still delivered 542 hp. By far the XJ220’s biggest downfall was a poorly timed launch, the global financial markets wobbled and buyers abandoned the XJ220 along with their deposits.
2 Aston Martin Virage – DB9, Plus Not Much
Blink and you might have missed this one completely, Aston Martin quietly rolled out the Virage in 2011, and just as quickly canned it the following year after selling 1000 cars, predominantly to European gearheads. Sitting somewhere between the “basic” DB9 and premium DBS, the Virage didn’t have a separate identity.
We can’t help thinking Aston got greedy with the Virage, not different enough to justify its existence, despite coming with Aston Martin’s sublimely vocal 5.9-liter V12 sending 490 hp to the rear axle. Available in two forms, Coupe, and the way cooler Volante convertible.
1 Lotus Europa S – A More Civilized Elise
For many, the Elise is the perfect pocket sports car, light, agile, and uncompromisingly spartan, only the Exige gives you less. Moving in the opposite direction in 2006, Lotus rolled out the Europa, another famous name resurrected with mixed results. Based on Elise’s chassis and suspension, only bigger and softer, with creature comforts Elise owners can only dream off.
Plastic and aluminum construction remained, the Europa S tipping the scales at 2,200 lbs with a GM sourced 2,0-liter turbocharged motor nestled behind the cockpit. Boasting 197 hp, the later SE spec raised the bar to 223 hp with 60 mph taking 5-seconds with Lotus claiming a maximum of 143 mph. The market for a softer, more user-friendly Elise/Exige evaporated, with production pegged at a disappointingly low 456 cars made.
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