6 Of History's Most Dangerous Sports Cars

Show us a TVR Chimaera without damage from falling off the road, and we'll have a good laugh at your naivety. The Chimaera was billed as a larger, softer take on TVR's bananas approach to building two-seater, V8-powered sports cars between 1992 and 2003. By bananas approach to building cars, we mean that the British company built its reputation on shoddy build quality and leaving out safety equipment in favor of shoveling as much power under the hood as possible. The Chimaera had, and still has, a habit of sucking the driver in with its intoxicating sound and sensation of speed, but with its soft suspension and impressive handling, it could get out of shape quickly. It's not the nuttiest TVR to hit the road, but the Chimaera doesn't threaten to spit you off the road from the start. It'll let you feel comfortable and start to relax, then show you what a tank slapper feels like. So, don't drive one on a massive pub crawl like this guy did.

When Carroll Shelby stuck a honking great V8 engine in a tiny British sports car in the 1960s, he created a new legend. It was an unwieldy car that needed to be tamed by an expert right foot. The Cobra would bite the unwary and overconfident, which is why so few of the 348 Shelby Cobra 427 units are left. The most infamous of the Cobra versions built are the two Super Snake models. Shelby designed the Super Snake to be the ultimate street-legal expression of the racing Cobra. The two superchargers added to the engine are the most significant of the modifications made. Reportedly, the Super Snake generated around 800 hp. In the 1960s.

Carroll Shelby kept the first Super Snake for himself, and gave the second to his close friend, then comedian and now shamed sitcom star, Bill Cosby. Cosby couldn't control it and gave it back to Shelby, who sold it via a dealer to a customer named Tony Maxey. Maxey lost control of the car when the throttle stuck when leaving a traffic light and ended up going off a cliff and into the Pacific ocean.

It was known by other names around the world, but the third-generation Toyota MR2 was the MR2 Spyder in the US. The MR2 had become popular as an inexpensive, lightweight sports car that brought mid-engined handling to the masses. Unfortunately, the second generation (1989-1999) had a tendency to exhibit snap oversteer. To experienced race car drivers, like then Top Gear host and fan of driving sideways, Tiff Needell, the second-generation MR2 was a delight to drive on the edge. To less experienced drivers, it was a confidence-inspiring sports car that could, with little to no warning, exit a corner backward and in the direction of its own choosing.

Statistically speaking, the most dangerous car sports car you can buy in the US the Chevrolet Corvette. According to data from the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System for model years 2013-2017, the Corvette is the most dangerous sports car on the road. More likely though, it's the drivers who are to blame as the seventh generation was the most technologically advanced Corvette until the recent mid-engine model. When the Mitsubishi Mirage is the only car that's recorded as more dangerous than the Corvette, it's a healthy reminder that it isn't necessarily speed that kills. When it comes to high performance cars, it's overconfidence in one's own skills and driving too fast for the road and conditions that kills.