My Lego Technic experience started with sets 855 and 857. The Car Chassis 853 was the premier Lego set and well beyond my reach. The Car Chassis was one of Lego's original big wheels sets and still remains the largest car chassis released by Lego. It is sought after as a collectors item.

The wheels in this set are the largest rubber wheel in the Lego system.

Only having three of these big wheels in my 857 Motor Cycle Side Car meant having to adapt using the smaller wheels from my 855 Mobile Crane set. This meant that my cars always looked like custom hot rods.

I improvised by making my pistons from 2x2 tiles and 2x1 technic brick. This meant that the con-rods were not central to the cylinder but at least they worked and could make a V engine. The tiles have sufficiently rounded edges to run smoothly in the square cylinders.

8860 Car Chassis came out in 1980 but I always felt that the flat four engine looked odd. It was another big wheels set. It did improve on set 853 by having a differential which was an oversight in the first chassis car. It also had rear suspension. The springs from Bic pens can be adapted to make home made shock absorbers as they easily slide over axles.

The 8865 was the last of the big wheels sets and came out in 1988.

8880 was a master of engineering with 4WS and 4WD. Both the 8865 and 8880 introduced Ackermann steering geometry.

All of these models were constructed using studded beams and look quite boxy

The 8448 Super Street Sensation is the first Lego super car to incorporate studless construction.

Box/Instructions

The photo rendering of the super car on the box sitting on a Lego workshop or showroom turntable looks impressive.

Parts

This model is the first Lego super car to incorporate panels, soft hoses and corrugated pipes to give the model a real organic super car look.

If you took all of the above mentioned parts off the model, you would be left with a bare chassis. It is the flexible parts which define the sports car lines of this model.

The steering for this model is the most accurate steering in any Lego set. The steering pivot point in the three spoke swirl wheels are almost central. This means the wheels rotate around their centres when steered.

The model comes as either Gull Wing or Convertible modes. These are activated by pressing a door handle and air dampers open the respective door. These broke early on but were replaced free of charge by Lego. These replacements have survived 14 years.

The stickers have peeled in places.

The build

The instructions show several options for building different models and is innovative in that build options are created around a central chassis design.

The completed model

The car is easy to play with, has five speed gear box with one reverse gear and looks great. It looks like it is a real sports car. It has the right red colour.

Overall opinion

I have kept this model on display since it was first built and it really looks like a super car.

In my opinion, the 8448 Super Street Sensation is the premier Lego super car.

I've been working my way through the Technic supercars, 853, 8860, 8865, 8880 and then 8448. I've had 8448 on display for a year or two. I've enjoyed witnessing and understanding the evolution of Lego technic over time, and I think my building has improved because of this... I've now come full circle and am a studdless fan :)

8448 when it came out nearly caused me to end my Dark ages... but that honor actually went to to the Robotics Invention System (RCX)

8448 is an interesting model, as the chassis is a traditional studful design, whereas the body/styling uses the newer style liftarms/flexibeams. Its the first supercar which really valued looks, and this is key. This is the model I keep on display in my living room, and just this weekend it elicited another "oh wow, cool!" comment from a friend who hadn't seen it before.

Like 8880 this car features the compact technic V8 engine, and full shocks etc, but loses the 4WS and 4WD which were showpiece features of 8880. I miss the popup headlights which 8865 and 8880 both had. So its the first supercar which went backwards in some features, but at the end of the day its a much more realistic car than 8880 was.

The 5S+R synchronized gearbox is great, but I do prefer the action with the H shifter on 8880

The dampened pneumatic/springs are possibly my favourite parts, that and the mag wheels :)

I first built the convertable with the hard roof, and then converted that to the gull-wing doors. Because two gullwing doors are better than one convertible roof ;)

This is my favourite supercar for display, and another critical milestone in Lego Technic history.

The manual is a very important component, The first book provides the instructions for the chassis, and the second book, in choose-your-own-adventure style, provides a number of different alternate models which can be built. Its fun to undo a few steps then take a different path and end up with a very different car.

Must own for any long-time lego technic fan, especially someone who bridges the studful/studless building eras

This was my first big technic set ever and it's definitely a must have for any Lego Technic fan!
It has great features such as a working 5 speed gearbox (with reverse) which is linked to a V8 engine. It also has independent suspension on front and real wheels.
The nicest part of this set is the way you build the car. First you have to make the chassis on which you build the front and rear suspension. Then you have to place the engine and gearbox and link them together. Than you have to add the interior (dashboard, steering wheel and seats). Now you have a rolling chassis and than you can choose whether you want to build the convertible with working hardtop or the car with working wing doors.
With this way of building you actually can see how a real car is set up in a simplified way.
Concluding, this car has nice technical features and is also looks great thanks to the new body parts and flexible tubes.
One thing that is disappointing are the stickers, they begin to peel of after a few years....

I bought this when it came out and I'm amazed by how much these things are now going for on eBay.

However, when you look at it you can understand why.

8448 has not got the same level of functions as its 1994 prequel, but looks miles better thanks to the flex tubing. This also means it's light, and therefore cheaper to make, so the Lego Corporation can get a bit more margin from it.

I built the gull-wing door model, but the convertible is just as good. Even more impressive considering it has a folding hardtop, which is now commonplace, but back then only the Mercedes SLK had such a thing. Lego had foresight!

The gearbox has reverse (a step up from the 1994 version), it has independent suspension all round, although this is not as good as the 1994 effort (and way too soft), and it has the usual V8 engine.

The stickers look great but aren't particularly high quality; the old see-through types lasted much better, and the gass struts for the doors are not very durable, both minde broke but were replace by Lego free of charge. I now leave the doors open to reduce the pressure on them.

Overall, a great set. Evidence of penny-pinching here and there but still a 5/5 model. One of the best Lego sets ever made1

I did a full review with photos here:

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=30566&hl=

Here is the closing from that review:

Features
Interesting idea. They have a frame for the car that you build. From that, you have a choice of "shells" or "bodies" that you can add on it. I like the convertible. But there is a body that has gull-wing doors. Which is why I guess they included a "Trans-Clear Technic, Shock Absorber 10L Damped, Complete Assembly" that you don't even use for the "main" design. So it's nice that Lego gave some "rare" parts. As for what works, you have steering that works, suspension, and a working gearbox which I find so interesting. One of these times, I'll try hooking up a motor to it so you can see the engine move at different gear speeds.

My rating:
Playability: 4/5. When compared to other Technic sets, I'll put this one level below my 8880 Super Car. The 8448 can't hold up to all the technical wizardry that Lego put into that set.
Design: 5/5. Like the 8880 Super Car, this is a show car at heart. Much more sportier than the Super Car. Maybe. Maybe because it looks so much like a Ferrari before Lego got that license.
Build experience: 4/5. Comparing it to other Technic sets, this is hard, but not as hard as the 8880. They actually put the parts into numbered boxes in this set. Makes building easier. Then again, since I was rebuilding it, all my parts was in one large pile. And I could still do it with relative ease. I guess all Lego is meant to be "easy" considering it's a model. Not like you have to "build" actual Lego pieces to make the set.
Overall: 5/5. Well worth buying. Not sure if it's worth paying the going price for it new. Heck, I've seen the stickers on Bricklink selling for over $70! Sheesh! I bet that's the reason why Lego didn't have any spare stickers when I asked them about it. Lol!