Whither the supercar?; Think the battered economy might shelve your favorite high-end car? Think again.(Brief Article)

Just a few weeks ago at the Frankfurt motor show, all was right with the world-at least the world at the high end of the automotive spectrum.

As Lamborghini's sharp-edged Diablo replacement Murcielago was making its worldwide debut, other car builders were also strutting their stuff for a seemingly insatiable supercar market: Aston Martin with its $228,000 V12 Vanquish, Maserati and its new Spyder, Bugatti's near-1000-hp Veyron, to name a few.

High-end car builders say the pall that fell over the global economy in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, driving car sales down by 20 percent and investment portfolios down even further, won't derail their plans.

Their confidence is a reflection of the fact that, while no one is immune to a global recession or terrorism, folks who do their tire-kicking at the Ferrari store are clearly better able to weather the gathering storm than most.

``The super rich are always rich,'' said one industry observer who asked not to be identified.

``It hasn't deterred our direction,'' said Jack McCormack, chief executive officer of Cunningham Motor Co., which is moving ahead with plans to market a $200,000 American-made luxury cruiser by 2004. The fact that one of Cunningham's key investors, Robert Lutz, recently signed on

as General Motors' vice chairman of product development has only added impetus to Cunningham's endeavor. The company has settled on its powerplant for the future Cunningham: a Cosworth-designed, American-built, all-aluminum 7.5-liter V12 capable of producing 750 horsepower.