20 Of the Slowest and Most Disappointing Sports Cars in History

Why do people buy sports cars? For speed and performance. The looks; the design—those fancy front and rear, spoilers, shiny rims, carbon finish; do matter when one intends to buy a sports car. But what matters the most is how fast and swift that car is—that adrenaline rush felt by the drivers is what the buyers want at first place.

Our website has published a list of the most expensive cars—they are fast; most beautiful cars—they are fast too; and also the ugliest ones—surprisingly the are swift too. What we have not shown yet is a list of the slowest and most disappointing cars ever produced in the history of the mankind. So, sit back, and have a look at the 20 slowest cars that are disappointing enough to spoil a sports enthusiast’s mood.  

Matra Bagheera

Matra Bagheera is the first on the list of the slowest and the most disappointing cars in history. Built by the French car manufacturer in collaboration with another automobile company Simca, the Bagheera was a three-seater that was supposed to defy the odds with its speed—it did not. The compact-sized car was developed in early 1970s, still it had just a mere 1.2/1.4L engine that was unable to produce much speed and power to make Bagheera a “sports car”. Only good thing about Bagheera was its out-of-the-box three-seat design that gave the company a face-saving.

ASA 1000 GT

ASA 1000 GT, also known as the Ferrarini i.e. Little Ferrari, was supposed to be fast in its movement as it sported a light body, and was designed by one of the engineers who worked at Ferrari. The car was not the fastest ones at the time when it was unveiled (1962)—the reason was simple: it had a mere 1.03L engine that was capable to produce just 93 horsepower. It could touch 190 km/h at max. As the 1000 GT could not live up to its expectations, the company stopped the manufacturing after 5 years—they did not even produce a 100 of these cars.

Bricklin SV-1

Another of those hyped sports car which could not live up to the expectations. The SV-1 was designed by Malcolm Bricklin, who was an engineer, and was supposed to be the safest sports car in the US. That is why it was named Safe Vehicle One (SV-1).

SV-1 had strong bumpers, a range of sensors, Gullwing doors and other safety measures. All of these had come at a cost: speed. SV-1, at first, bolstered a 360 AMC V8 engine which was later replaced by a another one from Ford. Still, it could not produce much power and speed. At max, SV-1 could reach mere 111 mph.  

Volkswagen SP2

When SP2 made its way to market, Volkswagen was the largest operating automobile company in Brazil. Air-cooling and durability coupled with low price tags, all of these accounted for this feat for the company. By that time, Volkswagen could not showcase any sports car in the region. So, in 1970s, they unveiled SP2 to make an entry to the sports industry in that part of Latin America.

With a design inspired by the legendary Beetle, and an engine with a capacity of 1.7 liters that was able to produce 75 horsepower, Volkswagen, thus, unveiled its first-ever sports car in Brazil.

Thanks to the advertisement and hype that surrounded SP2, every sports enthusiast tried to get his hands on the car—it backfired. SP2 was not that much of a sports car. It could only reach 100 mph at full capacity. Thus, it went out of the production line just four years later.

Marcos GT

Marcos GT was one of those few cars that entered into market twice: first during 1964-1971, secondly during 1981-1990. Built by Marcos, the car came with a lot of customization: there was a choice for the chassis, and of engines too. Marcos GT did not have a hefty price tag too.

Aggressive and lightweight, Marcos GT came with either four-cylindered 1.5L or 1.6L engine at first. There was even a time when it was offered with a Six-cylinder engine. All of it went into vain as it could not attract much customers—because when it came to speed, it was a disappointment.

SAAB Sonett

SAAB was an automobile company that was popularly known for its sedans and convertible cars. In the 1960/70s, the tried something new: They produced Sonnett, a sports car. The experiment did not turn out well as people were disappointed by its design as well as by its performance.

At first, Sonett came with a three-cylinder engine that could produce a mere 60 horsepower. Disappointing. To save the sinking ship, SAAB installed a new V4 engine with a capacity of 1.7 liters. It was not enough as well. The lineup died a natural and expected death in 1974.

Porsche 914

Porsche 914—another disappointment. Even though it was manufactured by the collaboration of the two giants in the automobile industry i.e. Volkswagen and Porsche, the 914 was not exactly for the tracks which it was supposed to be.

The 914 came with a rear-mounted V4 engine that could produce only a 100 HP. That limited its speed to just 118 mph. And, it disappointed every sports fan.

Toyota Celica

Celica is another lineup from the famous car-manufacturer Toyota. The company manufactured the coupe, Celica, that was easily available to middle-income buyers. It was supposed to be a sports car—yet it lagged behind even Corolla and Camry in terms of speed and performance.

As for the design of the car, it was a decent one. The body was low and aerodynamic that made the impression that it would be fast. Yet, it could only reach 126 miles per hour, with an acceleration of 0-60 mph in TEN seconds. Definitely not a sports car!

Hyundai Tiburon

This apparently fast car is Hyundai Tiburon. The car was produced keeping the price tag at moderate level. At its face value, Tiburon seemed like a beast that could race past in the blink of an eye. Sorry to disappoint you, but it was nothing like that.

Sporting a 2.0L engine that could produce 140/172 HP, the car could touch only 129 mph at its full capacity. 129 miles per hour. It was a disappointment for those who bought this apparently fast car.

1980 Chevrolet Corvette C3

When the Chevrolet Corvette C3 touched the floors of the showroom, it hid a massive 435 HP engine under the hood—that was insane keeping in mind it was 1970. Ten years later, the beast had turned into a goat as it had a mere 180-HP engine. In Canada, it was 170. What went wrong?

Well, the oil crisis of 1978/79, the recession, the movements that called for environment-friendly automobiles, all made the company to install less powerful engines. So, by 1980, the Corvette was a very slow “sports” car the speed of which was limited to just 125 mph.

Porsche 912

The next on the list of the 20 slowest and most disappointing sports car is the successor of Porsche 365: the 912. By the looks of it, the 912 was another 911—except, it sported a 2.0L engine that produced 90 horsepower. Moreover, the elder brother of 911 was affordable and also very efficient when it came to the mileage.

At first, when the car was unveiled, it elevated the revenues for the company as over 32,000 units were produced. In spite of all that, the 912 was a disappointment when it came to its performance: it could only reach a conservative 116 mph at max.

Skoda 110 R

Skoda was popular in 1960s because of its sedans—one of which was 110 which gave the industry a hit. In the Eastern part of the Europe that was under Soviet control, sports car did not even exist. That is why Skoda came up with a plan: they introduced their sports coupe that was named 110 R.

In 1970, the Skoda 110 R made its debut. As a result of this experiment, the Skoda 110 R became an apple of every eye in Eastern Europe as it was something unique: a sports car. Even though its engine could produce only 62 HP, the car was very much desired by the people in that region.

Well, as for the performance, with that engine, its top speed was only 90 miles per hour.

Opel GT

Opel’s GT is next on the list. The car looked very fancy when the design was considered: pop-up headlight, perfectly rounded taillights, a fine curvy body. It was first of the sports coupe from Opel, and they did very decent so far as the design was considered. As for the performance, it was not up to the mark.

The Opel GT was inspired by Chevrolet’s Corvette—even it hit the floors of the showrooms at the same time. But it could not compete with the monster that was Corvette. GT was a disappointment when it came to its speed: it had a small 1.3/1.9L V4 engine that could accelerate the car to no more than 113 mph.

Ferrari Mondial

Surprisingly, Ferrari is on the list too! One of their disappointing cars was Mondial that made its way to market in 1980. The car’s design was that of a Grand Turismo racer. Moreover, contrary to its predecessor that was 308, the Mondial was more spacious as it came with a 2+2 seating option.

What made Mondial a disappointment was its performance that was aggravated by the design that was particularly not aerodynamic. Though it was relatively inexpensive, the car was not convincing if the statistics were concerned: It had a top speed of 140 mph and an acceleration of 0-60mph in sluggish more-than-seven seconds.

Lancia Scorpion

Lancia unveiled its sports car in 1976 that was named Beta Montecarlo—but they could not use this name in the US as the Chevrolet already had used it for one of their lineups, so they went with Scorpio.

At the face value, the name, Scorpio, seemed convincing. Disappointing is that it could not live up to its name. If the performance of the car was in question, the Scorpio could not convince a real sports fan because the engine could produce just 81 HP and a top of speed of 110 mph. That is why the lineup was discontinued just after two years in production.

Pontiac Fiero

When Pontiac Fiero was showcased, the company claimed that it was a very advanced sports car. So, the hype around that car was tremendous. More so, when it was unveiled, the people were delighted to see a car that had a fancy, sporty look. Thus, it seemed a promising entry for the company. As the time went on, the Fiero’s performance spoilt the moods of everyone who looked forward to buying it.

What made Fiero a masterpiece was its design: it came with a decent aerodynamic body, a rear-mounted engine, a 5-speed transmission and a glossy finish. What made the car a disappointment was its performance: it could only produce 93 HP, and the time it took to reach 60mph from zero was well above 10 seconds. To say that, the car was disastrously slow.

Fiat 128 3P

The Fiat 128 3P was a coupe version of the sedan, 128. The Fiat 128 gave the company a boost, so they manufactured a coupe version—only it backfired.

The 128 3P made its way into the sports car market in 1971. The coupe came with a front-mounted, 1.1/1.3L V4 engine. The “sports” coupe could only produce 60-67 HP. Because of its underperformance, the Fiat 128 3P did well to spoil the image of the company.

Melkus RS 1000

This fancy-looking coupe was a sheer disappointment. The car was manufactured by Heinz Melkus who hailed from East Germany. At that time, the only sports car people of that region had seen was Skoda 110 R. So, people looked toward it with a glint of hope—only to be disappointed later.

Bolstering an independent couple of suspensions on the front and back, with Gullwing doors, the Melkus RS 1000 looked beautiful to the beholder. To the drivers, it was a disappointingly slow ride as the car was capable to produce only 68 HP. Top speed was 102 mph, and a 0-60mph sprint took more than 12 seconds.

Toyota Sports 800

Debuting in 1962, the Toyota Sports 800 was the first ever sports car produced by the company. To be honest, it was not exactly a “sports” car—it had an engine that could produce only—only—45 HP!

What saved Sports 800 was its lightweight body that possessed considerable agility. That is why it managed, somehow, to reach 96 mph. Since the car was not convincing when it came to its performance, the company had to discontinue it seven years later.

Fiat X 1/9

You are now looking at the most affordable car of 1970s. Manufactured by Fiat, the X 1/9 came with a two-seat design and with a retraceable roof. Moreover, the engine was mounted in the middle, so both the front and the rear trunks could be used. By the looks of it, the designers deserve an applause for coming up with a nice design of the car. As for the technicians and engineers, they could have done better.

If the performance was concerned, the Fiat X 1/9 did not do really well. Its 1.4L engine was capable to produce 60 HP at max. That is why people customized their X 1/9s to add more power and speed to their rides.  

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