[AWD]

Apart form the other reasons mentioned in the thread, all of which are right, most Indians follow "Big Is Beautiful"! Supercars seem puny in front of the massive SUV's that Indians are so keen on. Mostly Indians idealise Politicos who plonk huge SUVs, hence there's not much aspirational value attached to supercars. Maybe we need more icons driving around in supercars to ignite the passions!

Then there's no way one can exploit the potential of a supercar on Indian roads. Hence its mostly a useless buy. Same with superbikes, simply not suited to infrastructure & conditions.

[landcruiser123]

Another reason: Indians love for SUVs.

Badi gaadi (SUVs)always gets the right of way in India. Nobody will mess with you if you if you have an SUV. You'd rather splurge your money on a SUV for those occasions.

[Dusk Tiger]

I believe that India is the best place to experience super cars after Autobahn if you are rich enough and don't care about safety.(street driving point of view)

In western countries all you can do is have short bursts of acceleration before you reach the speed limit and you have to brake to avoid a ticket or losing your license. However in India, if you have the cash and connections to back you, you can actually push the machine to its limits and that too in a thrilling environment(I mean unpredictable traffic and road conditions) which you seldom get in western countries.

I know that this post exposes corruption and inhumanity in our country, but that is the hard truth. That is why we see many accidents where super cars are driven rashly and unsuspecting public or pedestrians pay with their lives.

[AMG Power]

Reason #29

Pricing is around 3X of other developed countries:

These pics were taken in Porsche's London showroom last week. This is a direct factory showroom - not a dealer

This Cayman GTS was going for around Rs.55 lakhs. It was a Porsche Approved (Preowned) and run a few hundred kms. Had a 2 year warranty just as a new car. In contrast the Cayman GTS if brought to India would cost at least around 1.4 crores.





There was also a Porsche Approved GT3 - similar - a couple of 100 kms with a 2 year warranty. This was going for around Rs.1.2 crores. The price in India, is around 3.2 crores.



Given that the average income levels are higher and the price of these cars are far lower, buying one is relatively easier.


Reason #10 isn't applicable to India alone - Cops abroad are equally strict too.

Saw this Bugatti Veyron being given a parking ticket in London's Mayfair area. Very seldom does one see a Veyron - even rarer is seeing one being issued a parking ticket.

[GeeTee TSI]

While expensive cars in general are not an uncommon sight in India, I agree that Supercars are. I have always felt that the average Indian customer places performance and more importantly, handling way down the list of priorities (what with the number of diesel Porsches sighted )

Lack of local motor sport events, track days and sheer lack of exposure to sporty machines (come on, barely two generations have had world class cars back home) resulting in high-performance engineering attributes being superceded by convenience/luxury features.

From a global automaker's point of view, India does not demand sporty machines and from a prospective (petrol head) owner's point of view there aren't enough specialist garages to work on special machines

[giri1.8]

I can think of few points too,

• Wrong kind of attention is always number 1 on my list
• Stress of scraping on poorly built roads/ramps
• Percentage of middle class can't even dream of owning one, strictly for uber rich.

Most of the first gen millionaires will avoid such luxuries as such, till they reach certain heights of wealth! They know 1.Cr today invested is probably 10 down the line, in few years. Even abroad, its usually people with extraordinary wealth feel comfortable enough to get the most expensive ones.

Finally, Income tax department doesn't need any explanation.

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

I can think of few points too,

• Wrong kind of attention is always number 1 on my list
• Stress of scrapping on poorly built roads/ramps
• Percentage of middle class can't even dream of owning one, strictly for uber rich.

Most of the first gen millionaires will avoid such luxuries as such, till they reach certain heights of wealth! They know 1.Cr today invested is probably 10 down the line, in few years. Even abroad, its usually people with extraordinary wealth feel comfortable enough to get the most expensive ones.

Finally, Income tax department doesn't need any explanation.

I agree to all the points and especially the last one. If someone is able to spare a crore for such extravagances , he surely has something stashed abroad.

Now going i was wondering if ( and why ) any of our own companies ( TATA , Mahindra ) has ever gave a thought to developing our own sports car. By that i mean 2 seater with a bit more power than the usual. I feel Like John Lennon :

" You may say i'm a dreamer .....but i'm not the only one".

[AMG Power]

Originally Posted by srini1785

I feel Like John Lennon :

It must be difficult to think you're John Lennon because Mahindra and Tata aren't building super cars so check if this helps.

[racer_ash]

Commodities like Super Cars are priced on a much higher side compared to similar versions sold abroad. Most of it due to exorbitant taxes and import duties levied by the GOI (I am not blaming them). We may have Billionaires and Millionaires who can afford them but these guys are Indian at heart. And Indians still care for their money, however large their wallet size is.

Another reason I think of is because of the Cultural Differences between most western countries and India. At the end of the day, we give much more value to the concept of marriage, family, kids and relatives than the west. How many of our friends in their late 30's are single and how many of those married do not have kids? (Assuming late 30's is the Goldilocks zone between youthful aspirations and disposable wealth)

This trend is bound to change as our thoughts and lifestyle tend to that of the Western Countries. Maybe in a generation or so, when we have more singles or just couples, our propensity to spend on Supercars might increase.

Originally Posted by adithya.kp

I think this is one of the reasons.

We are at 4th place when it comes to GDP using PPP. This assuming that the whole European Union is a country, else we are at at 3rd place.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...es_by_GDP_(PPP)

Also the article quotes verbatim that GDP comparisons using PPP are arguably more useful than those using nominal GDP when assessing a nation's domestic market because PPP takes into account the relative cost of local goods, services and inflation rates of the country, rather than using international market exchange rates which may distort the real differences in per capita income.

[GTO]

Come to think of it, the sports car segment itself is very fragile worldwide. Not just India. At best, it is a weekend toy or trophy for its owners.

Every sports car brand has been through trouble. Ferrari was saved by Fiat, and Porsche by the Boxster / Cayenne, and finally VW. Lamborghini went through a multitude of owners (including Chrysler) before finally ending up under the VW umbrella. An unspoken number of makers have gone bankrupt & dead (especially in the UK). Maserati is a shadow of its former self, as is Aston Martin. Bugatti was pretty much dead, until Piech resurrected it.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by GTO

Here's reason #20

Reason #21 = everyone wants to race you, even if you are in a calm cruising mood. From Fortuners to Duke 390s, and C220s to modified Swifts. It gets terribly annoying. People will want to race you, they'll come too close to you, they'll tailgate you.

I remember Sanjay Dutt saying he sold his Harley Davidson because he could never go out for a ride in peace.

[Shreyxas]

I have come across Youtube channels from the United States as well as the UK where a good amount of people in their 20's can afford a supercar. This is due to easy finance as well as the liberal system of education prevalent there. In India, supercar customers end up paying 300% of what the initial cost of the car is, without proper roads or infrastructure. This high tax is a huge barrier for first time premium car buyers as well as supercar customers(main reason of low sales). Moreover, this high tax system forces companies to cut features which are available from the international versions of the car in India (JLR) purely to make the car affordable for the customer. If the government could only stop milking out the 3% tax payers and instead bring the tax paying population upto 10,15% there would be no need for high taxes on cars. I still don't believe the fact that 97% of the population has a per capita income of less than the income tax payers bracket. Cheers

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by Shreyxas

I have come across Youtube channels from the United States as well as the UK where a good amount of people in their 20's can afford a supercar. This is due to easy finance as well as the liberal system of education prevalent there.
...
If the government could only stop milking out the 3% tax payers and instead bring the tax paying population upto 10,15% there would be no need for high taxes on cars. I still don't believe the fact that 97% of the population has a per capita income of less than the income tax payers bracket. Cheers

A handful of youtube celebrities buying used supercars isn't a reflection of any country. What is this liberal education you speak of? In the US, educational debt cannot be discharged even in bankruptcy, leasing is not the same as buying.

This silly assertion has been done to death in this forum. Here's an article with actual numbers to refute your beliefs.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/analy...lt09BSXnN.html

[KingKong]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_15QfsCLRM&t=141s

Great Video talking about Supercar ownership and Road-tripping in India with a supercar.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by KingKong

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=Z_15QfsCLRM&t=141s

Great Video talking about Supercar ownership and Road-tripping in India with a supercar.

Fun video to watch but very low on details. To do road trips, the biggest risks are fuel availability and pot holes.

My Porsche 997 which is a tech developed in pre 2010 has this to say in the car manual (you can be sure that the modern cars would be even more demanding):

The engine is designed to provide optimum performance and fuel consumption if unleaded premium fuel with 98 RON/88 MON is used. If unleaded premium fuels with octane numbers of at least 95 RON/85 MON are used, the engine's knock control automatically adapts the ignition timing. If fuels of less than 95 RON/85 MON are used, this could reduce performance and increase fuel consumption.
> Avoid driving at full throttle.

If the recommended fuel is not available, you can also use unleaded regular fuel (91 RON/82.5 MON) in an emergency.
However, this could reduce performance and increase fuel consumption.
> Avoid driving at full throttle when using unleaded regular fuel (91 RON/82.5 MON).

In some countries the available fuel quality may not meet requirements, and this can lead to
coking in the area of the intake valve. In this case, the fuel may be mixed with the additive sold and recommended by Porsche after consulting a Porsche partner.
Porsche part number 000 043 206 89.
Observe the instructions and mixture ratios provided on the container.

Driving a sports car for fuel efficiency, or avoiding full throttle is fine for making youtube videos but it is near impossible for a regular person which means real-world FE would be very low ;-)

Pot holes are another serious problem. Bent rims, damaged tires (there is no spare tire) are common even for regular BMW cars, so you can only imagine how bad things would be for a sports car. HYD-BLR is thankfully a very good road without any potholes and these folks are very familiar with this road. Just one dip into a pothole and you could be stranded for the day.