"Speed" and "car" are two words that can never be said separately. When a lot of people talk about a car, they focus on how fast the car goes. People's pursuit of speed is endless, and the existence of sports cars is a good example.


"Speed" has always been the focus of millions of car enthusiasts, and the "fastest sports car" name has changed hands almost every year since the invention of the sports car.


There are interesting reasons behind the human pursuit of car speed, let's take a look.


1.Hidden hankering for speed


Well, to be frank, humans aren’t quite rational as we assume. We want to conquer mountains, send spaceships to the stars, and explore the deepest oceans.


Then we write poetry, scripts, and direct movies with the same themes. We fall for a person and sometimes get lucky enough to marry him/her. We have children, we nurture our progeny, and do our best to ensure that they are capable humans. Then the cycle repeats.


So, for the majority of us out here, our lives pass by under some level of restraint. We stick to our jobs even if we aren’t really happy with them, because there are bills to be paid and lives to be lived. Most of us prefer to “play it safe”.


However, deep within us, we often yearn to trespass the prohibited territories. We have suppressed, but very real desires to take risks and forge our own path. We secretly crave speed, height and adventure. This probably explains why videos on social media of wing-suit fliers whizzing past rock walls at 100 mph get so many views!


2.Physiology of speed


As you ‘floor’ the pedal, there is a sudden spurt of adrenaline through your body, which has many effects: your blood pressure rises instantly, your heartbeat races, your body temperature rises, and you can feel a slight tingling in your limbs.


These effects are seen in both males and females, but are decidedly more pronounced in males. This is why the obsession with speed is commonly associated with testosterone. This is also why men are generally considered to be hastier and less cautious behind the wheel.


3.Speed gives you wings!


Another rationale psychologists note to buttress our obsession with speed is that speed metamorphically serves as wings. When you climb onto a bike or step into a car, there is an immediate change in your psyche. The vehicle you are driving becomes an extension of your personality—tantamount to having wings.


Making the vehicle at your disposal run faster boosts the ego and tends to become a habit. This behavior is much more pronounced in men, which is why men are more likely to purchase sports cars than women, as it literally boosts the male ego.


The pursuit of speed is the product of human's instinct for progress. If human beings no longer pursue the limit, the pursuit of perfection, and the adventure, then life will lose a lot of meaning.


Science is constantly progressing, how can the ancients who were still running on the ground two thousand years ago imagine that their descendants have successfully opened the era of 400km/h cars. Humanity's pursuit of speed has never stopped and will not stop.