Peter Palmer: The Evolution of 5 Notable Performance Cars (Graphic)

Performance cars are in a world by themselves.

Obviously, they are some of the fastest things on wheels, but more importantly, they represent a lifestyle: wealth, class, elegance, and so on. Many of them have unique histories from the world of racing, while some of their designs are taken from aircrafts. Some reflect an inherent boldness.

“Aerodynamics are for people who can’t build engines,” Enzo Ferrari once said.

Some thrive on competition so much, they create their own cars.

“I liked my Ferraris, but I was sick and tired of spending so much of my time burning out their clutches,” came the words of Ferruccio Lamborghini.

These super cars changed the world, but in doing so, have seen a fair share of their own changes. Our friends at Stoneacre Motor Group put together the wonderful graphic below, comparing earlier versions of notable performance cars to today’s equivalents.

“Although the nature and purpose of these cars remain relatively the same since the first true performance cars of the early ‘60s, the manner in which they are developed and built has altered massively,” writes Sam Bisby of Stoneacre Motor Group on the company’s blog.

I remember, as a kid, being fond of both the Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari Testarossa. While neither of these are on the graphic below, I would still settle for the 1971 Lamborghini Miura SV.

*Carl Anthony is Managing Editor of Automoblog and resides in Detroit, Michigan.