5 Sports Cars With High Ground Clearance (With Pictures)

Sports cars are popular for their top speed and acceleration, however, they do not come with high ground clearance.

Owing to their low ground clearance, most of them aren’t used for undertaking off-road trips.

This is because such drives can easily damage their underbody. Let’s explore some sports cars with a little extra ground clearance. You can also check out some electric cars with high ground clearance.

1. Lamborghini Huracán

The 2022 Huracán offers the capabilities for stunning performance with a sound from the V10 engine that owners will find alluring. It also offers an exceptionally comfortable ride on all road types owing to its electronically adjustable suspension.

It offers a ground clearance of just 135mm (5.3 inches) which is not too high. However, owners can increase the ground clearance to as high as 175mm (6.9 inches) using the front lift.

The Huracán offers 602 horsepower on most rear-drive models and has a top speed of 202 mph. However, the 2022 Huracan’s ‘0-60-mph’ acceleration varies, depending on the model.

However, one of the fastest trims is the all-wheel drive Evo, which goes from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. The 2022 Evo RWD may be the slowest, as it achieves the same feat in 3.4 seconds.

The Huracán is quite popular, as it is one of Lamborghini’s best-selling cars. It has reached over 20,000 units of sales so far.

Also, read our article about compact SUVs with the highest ground clearance. However, SUVs don’t always have the best ground clearance, so we’ve also compiled some SUVs with the lowest ground clearance.

2. Porsche 911 Dakar

The 911 Dakar is a limited-edition model with only 2,500 units available.

The most prominent feature of the Dakar is its high ground clearance, which is approximately 50mm (1.97 inches) higher than that of the 911 Carrera with a sport suspension.

While Porsche didn’t state the ground clearance of the 911 Carrera with sport suspension officially, car experts have reported this model offers 4.9 inches of ground clearance as standard.

Though the 911 Dakar comes with 6.3 inches of ground clearance as standard, owners can access more with the lift system.

The system increases the ground clearance by approximately 1.2 inches (30 mm) when active. Giving the Dakar a total of 7.5 inches of ground clearance where necessary.

The feature is standard with a suspension lift system to raise the front and rear ends.

With this high ground clearance that comes with the high-level settings at 7.5 inches, the 2022 911 Dakar’s underbody is safe to drive on uneven trails, though at a slow speed.

Note that two new driving modes are exclusive to the 911 Dakar. They include the Rallye and off-road mode.

The off-road mode automatically activates the high ground clearance position and configures the driveline for maximum traction on critical terrains, including sand.

The Rallye otherwise, is for loose, uneven surfaces and deploys rear-biased torque distribution for the AWD system.

To enhance the Dakar off-road performance, the 911 Dakar also comes with All Terrain Plus Tyres, which makes it ideal for all terrains including challenging ones.

The 2022 911 Dakar delivers 473 horsepower and attains 60 mph in 3.2 seconds. It also comes with a top speed of 106 mph and has the potential for high adoption with time owing to its off-road capabilities.

3. Audi R8

The Audi R8 comes with an exotic appearance that will attract sports car lovers. Its interior feels quite luxurious despite its minimal and simple adornment. There’s also the smooth ride it provides when driving on bumps.

The R8 is another sports car that comes with high-ground clearance on our list. Owners get 160mm (6.3 inches) of ground clearance from this sports car.

Though a few sports cars offer more than this, most offer way lower.

So far, the 2022 Audi R8 has proven roadworthy with this ground clearance. However, the trails don’t include critically uneven roads, but mud, several potholes, and sludge pathways.

We recommend not driving the R8 off-road on critically uneven and rocky trails. So, light off-road tracks should be the limit.

The Audi R8 offers a base 5.2-liter V-10 engine, which goes from 0 to 50 mph in 3.5 seconds. It delivers 562 horsepower and a torque of 406 lb-ft.

4. Ferrari 488 GTB

The 488 GTB delivers unmatched performance and also makes the incredible power it produces controllable, even for less experienced drivers.

Ferrari designed the interior of the 488 GTB to exhibit great sportiness while ensuring occupant comfort is not affected.

It also comes with a high ground clearance for a sports car. It measures 155mm (6.1 inches), which is heightened compared to what competitors offer.

Note that this ground clearance is insufficient to take your 488 GTB on critical off-road drives.

Also, the Ferrari 488 GTB comes with a lift system to increase the ground clearance of your vehicle and protect the underbody from scratching.

Its ground clearance increases by 40mm (1.6 inches) by activating the lift system using the designated button.

The 2022 488 GTB goes from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.0 seconds and comes with a top speed of 205 mph. It offers 661 horsepower and 561 lb-ft of torque.

If you insist that all sports cars must have extremely low ground clearance, you may want to know some problems with lowered cars.

5. Ariel Nomad

The Ariel Nomad comes with a unique design that is peculiar to its identity. Though it came from a simple idea of making a model of the Ariel Atom that can handle all-terrain, this Sports car only maintained a few of the Ariel features.

So far, the Nomad offers a ground clearance of 12 inches, which is not popular with most Sports cars. This car offers the highest on our list.

The ground clearance makes the 2022 Ariel Nomad one of the best Sports cars for off-road drives without damage to the underbody parts. In fact, we may very well call it an off-road sports car.

With 12 inches of ground clearance, owners can go on serious off-road drives, such as rocky and uneven trails without issues.

The Nomad offers 221 lb-ft of torque and attains 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. It also has a top speed of 126 mph which is fast enough for a sports car.

While this is not a vehicle that is federalized, some states allow owners to register their Ariel for road use, depending on the road law.

Sources

Top Gear’s Top 9: off-roads sports cars | Top Gear