The Best European Countries for Supercar Enthusiasts

To own a supercar is to live in a rarefied atmosphere, to be a part of an exclusive club that many of us can only aspire to be in. There are, of course, the financial limitations associated with supercar ownership but there are also other barriers that may make it less likely, or even less appealing, depending on where you live.

And while there are barriers to being a supercar owner, your experience as an enthusiast may also be limited depending on which country you live in. So where in Europe should you be jetting off to if you’re a supercar lover? 
 
Looking at figures from across Europe, Group 1 Automotive determined which country has the most official brand supercar dealerships, which has the most supercar events, and which has the liveliest communities on social media. By then giving each of these categories its own values we ranked each of the nations we looked at to give an overall view of what access to all of these areas would be like within a given region.

The countries that did the best in our list all have a strong automotive heritage and are relatively wealthy nations.

Skidding into bronze medal position in third is Italy which, despite being home to a number of active supercar manufacturers like Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Pagani, and a cool 47 dealerships, the online supercar community leaves room for improvement. With just 2,254,240 mentions of country-specific supercar hashtags on TikTok, perhaps having so many manufacturers within the area makes it less exciting when you see one on the roads. However, they did pick up full marks for the number of events they hold with 12 overall held up and down the country. 
 
Beating them out for silver is France, who scored well by having 8 events and 28 dealerships but were pushed forward by their impressive online buzz. Interestingly, France appears to have the most active social media users with a whopping 22,287,000 views on location-specific supercar hashtag views across TikTok. Many of which demonstrate ‘supercars in the wild’ that have been spotted at various locations in France. This could well be because they are a large country, with a population of around 67 million people, that doesn’t have that many events or dealerships and so the communities are a little more spread out and thus turn to the internet to find other like-minded individuals.
 
The United Kingdom was streets ahead of everywhere else when it came to its 121 dealerships getting full marks there. The social presence in Britain also scored strongly with the 16,745,676 mentions pulling in a further score of 22.54 in our weighting, meaning the reasonable amount of 8 events topped off their final score nicely bringing it to a total index score of 79.21, over 15 points clear of France. With almost double the amount of dealerships as the next closest competitor, the UK offers a haven for those interested in purchasing a supercar, or perhaps just browsing. The factors behind this could be down to several things with its own supercar heritage still being culturally ingrained but its car-building industry waning throughout the decades and a greater penchant for purchasing from abroad. Whatever the case may be, no one holds a candle close to the UK in terms of these numbers.

Strikingly, the Principality of Monaco, which has a strong luxury car culture, what with its wealth and world-famous Formula 1 race, lands in a penultimate position. With just the solitary event, seven dealerships, and a fairly reserved social media presence of 2,286,600 mentions, this garners a total point tally of just 8.15 in our rating system seeing them languish behind nations such as Poland and the Netherlands. However, the wealth and social standing that typically comes with living in Monaco, combined with the microstate status and close proximity to other European countries, may well just mean that there’s no need to have so many events or dealerships because they are so common on the streets of Monte Carlo, that there’s little need to host events nor a desire to look them up online.
 
However, they weren’t dead last as Spain could only limp in with 5.94 points due to their complete lack of events, and low engagement on social media, with their 17 dealerships doing most of the heavy lifting. Of the 11 countries we looked at, Switzerland comes bang in the middle with a total score of 23.41 garnered by their three events, 46 dealerships, and 1,488,221 social media mentions.

Supercars are not your average commuter vehicle for getting you from A to B, so seeing them out and about on your daily drive is not too common a thing. So, if you wanted to seek them out and share your passion with others, where would you go? Events, of course. Finding events that display these vehicles and revel in your shared passions is a big part of supercar fandom and ownership. Whilst many will want to see something they are unlikely to ever own up close, some owners are only too happy to parade their powerful motors. After all, what’s the point of having one if you can’t show it off? Across Europe, supercar events are very popular but not everywhere indulges in such ostentatious car craziness as much as others.
 
Italy easily comes in at the pole position here, which is not a shock given the aforementioned amount of supercar manufacturers the country has. Wanting to display what you’re building, and each manufacturer jostling for position, may well play into this alongside preferable weather for outdoor events. Germany, another country with a proud motoring tradition and many active supercar manufacturers has just two fewer events and so slips into second place.
 
Britain, who so overwhelmingly topped the list of dealerships only managed the bronze position of third, and even then, shares it with France, both of whom muster up a respectable 8 events, but given the widespread demand for supercar dealerships across the UK, you’d perhaps expect this to be a little higher. That being said, inclement weather conditions outside of the summer months may curtail the car show calendar as no one wants their Ferrari stuck in the mud. So, whilst events like the Goodwood Revival in England and Le Mans Classics in France are undoubtedly world-famous, there are only a select few to choose from in these countries.
 
Monaco again finds itself languishing near the bottom of the rankings here, matched only by Poland who both just have one event each, but this still doesn’t put them dead last as Spain doesn’t hold any regardless of the fact it holds a reasonable number of 17 dealerships.

Events are all well and good but often only happen once or twice a year and may not necessarily be close to where you are. So how do you interact with the supercar community for the rest of the year? Social media is a great community-building tool for brands and those that just want to share their interest in luxury vehicles with others. By looking at the use of brand hashtags across social media, we can gain insight into how active these communities are. It also offers further insight into the prevalence of supercars in each nation and where they can be spotted, as a lot of social media reactions will be around where they have been seen.
 
Britain comes in second in terms of these numbers but there is a marked difference in the numbers with the drop to 16,745,676 being quite a big one. However, being a smaller country with dense population centres, like London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow, could well play into this but given the sheer number of dealerships in the country, you’d perhaps expect a little more movement on this front.
 
At the other end of the scale, countries like the Netherlands and Austria can’t even muster a million mentions across their socials with the Dutch clocking in 443,476 hashtag uses. Austria is dead last though, with just 8,197 uses of those official hashtags which is especially surprising given they have 16 dealerships and 3 events throughout the year. Perhaps, Austrians are just a little humbler when it comes to talking about their property.

Whether you’re a supercar owner or a supercar lover who one day hopes to be a supercar owner, spotting one of these vehicles can be a rare treat. Italy and Monaco may be among the countries that automatically spring to mind, however, this study by Group 1 Automotive just goes to show that Europe has a lot more to offer by way of dealerships and supercar events, alongside a thriving social presence creating buzz across the continent, with the UK now claiming the title of the ‘Supercar Capital of Europe’.

Methodology

We ranked European countries to visit for supercar enthusiasts by ranking the number of supercar events, the number of official dealerships, and the appearance of country-specific supercar hashtags.