What is a true sports car ?

[Alex Baumann]

What makes a true sports car ?

Post your comments.

[nate]

Very tough to define:

I suppose something that is fun and rewarding to drive in a sporting manner or in a track environment :dunno:

[ALEX325i]

IMO, the GT2 is a good start... :D :thumb: Gosh it must be good to have lots of cash to blow... :( :D

[KP]

A true sports car for me would be a compromise between a racing spec car and a limited edition car. One that would not compromise comfort to bare minimum, yet have some features to keep me alive. For me, the CSL would be fine, but I would drop the a/c unit on that car, and move to Canada to avoid hot weather. Or a Zanardi NSX wouldn't be too shabby either... only thing I request is airbags, and gauges:thumb:

[The HACK]

Originally posted by Alex Baumann
What makes a true sports car ?

Post your comments.

Must fit the following criteria:

1) Suspension designed to handle high G forces.

2) Engine designed to push the suspension past its limits.

3) A manual transmission, or a SMG variant.

4) RWD.

5) Balanced Cd and Cg.

6) Weigh less than 3,500 lbs.

[nate]

Originally posted by The HACK

2) Engine designed to push the suspension past its limits.


I disagree here :confused:

that is never a good thing

[johnlew]

This...


http://home.wi.rr.com/bmw330cic/Cars_files/image009.jpg

[KP]

Originally posted by nate328Ci


I disagree here :confused:

that is never a good thing

He just wants some oversteer, that's all:lmao:

[ALEX325i]

Originally posted by nate328Ci


I disagree here :confused:

that is never a good thing

LOL. My thoughts exactly! That would be suicide IMO...

[DougDogs]

Originally posted by The HACK


Must fit the following criteria:

1) Suspension designed to handle high G forces.

2) Engine designed to push the suspension past its limits.

3) A manual transmission, or a SMG variant.

4) RWD.

5) Balanced Cd and Cg.

6) Weigh less than 3,500 lbs.

And NO usable rear seat!!!

[nate]

I may not be able to define one, but we all know a sports car when we see one

These are sports cars

http://www.jag-lovers.org/xk8/cdreunion.htm

http://www.jag-lovers.org/xk8/cdreunion/cdr20s.jpg

Damn, I love C-Types http://forums.off-topic.net/images/smilies/bowdown.gif

[ALEX325i]

Originally posted by KP


He just wants some oversteer, that's all:lmao:

It's never too hard to induce oversteer on RWD cars...

[nate]

Originally posted by ALEX325i


It's never too hard to induce oversteer on RWD cars...

Even if you don't have the power to do it, lift off at the apex :lmao:

[nate]

Originally posted by ALEX325i


LOL. My thoughts exactly! That would be suicide IMO...

I suppose we should put 8" drum brakes on the M3 for the "challenge" of dealing with fade :lmao:

[The HACK]

Originally posted by nate328Ci


I suppose we should put 8" drum brakes on the M3 for the "challenge" of dealing with fade :lmao:

Hey don't knock drum brakes. If it's good enough for F1 it's good enough for the rest of us.

[Kaz]

Its too bad there are hardly any on the market anymore. But a TRUE sports car is a no-compromise car that is made ONLY as a driving device. Its not a 'daily driver' or a GT cruiser. It gives 1, maybe 2 persons the ability to interface with the road and the driving 'experience' as intimately as possible. It doesn't even necessarily have to haul ass or pull 1.5G.

I think the quasi-race cars of olde (D-type, certain Ferraris, etc.) fall into this category.

The only thing I've seen lately that seems to embody that exactly is the Lotus 340R. The Elise seems to come pretty close.

[The HACK]

Originally posted by Kaz
Its too bad there are hardly any on the market anymore. But a TRUE sports car is a no-compromise car that is made ONLY as a driving device. Its not a 'daily driver' or a GT cruiser. It gives 1, maybe 2 persons the ability to interface with the road and the driving 'experience' as intimately as possible. It doesn't even necessarily have to haul ass or pull 1.5G.

I think the quasi-race cars of olde (D-type, certain Ferraris, etc.) fall into this category.

The only thing I've seen lately that seems to embody that exactly is the Lotus 340R. The Elise seems to come pretty close.

McLaren F1.

[ALEX325i]

Originally posted by The HACK


Hey don't knock drum brakes. If it's good enough for F1 it's good enough for the rest of us.

What??? Ok, THAT I didn't know... Any particular reason why they're still using drum brakes?

[The HACK]

Originally posted by ALEX325i


What??? Ok, THAT I didn't know... Any particular reason why they're still using drum brakes?

Well, their drum brakes look NOTHING like our drum brakes. All I know is it's got something to do with more effective HEATING and COOLING as well as to accomodate the quick wheel change. Since the wheels are mounted on a central hub, the drum design will accomodate a much LARGER drum than will a disc with calipers.

Also, I don't remember where I read/saw this, but supposedly it's a dual system, drum on the outside and disc brake inside the drum brakes or something like that.

[Clem]

A bare bones car.

No radio, ACS, power anything except for maybe 4 wheel disc brakes and power ASSISTED steering.

Frame, drivetrain, powertrain and a seat for the driver that's it..

[KP]

Originally posted by The HACK


McLaren F1.

Mclaren F1-GTR:D

[cenotaph]

Originally posted by KP


Mclaren F1-GTR:D

If you mean the McLaren F1s that they raced at LeManns and other tracks, they had to be de-tuned to conform with the rules.

[fuselier]

A "sports car" is a car that's designed for the primary purpose of going fast in a particular situation.

I was going to say that it has to be a two-seater, but that's not really true (Porsche 911).

I was going to say it has to be SOLELY for the purpose of going fast, but that's not true (practically every single car has a trunk of some sort, and thus has the potential of staisfying some basic practicality.

It doesn't have to be about "driving experience" (which, to me, roughly equates with sharp, go-cart-like handling). A big-ass muscle car, an IROC, or Cobra, or any Pontian from the 1970's, is a sports car. But they are designed to go fast in a straight line.

I was going to say it should have high horsepower, but that's not true. The MGB and the Miata are sports cars, but they aren't very fast in a straight line. They are, however, made to go fast through twisty back roads.

Perhaps a more succinct way of saying it is this: if the car was designed with the PRIMARY purpose of being fun, it's a sports car, even if it was built with some practicality (4 seats, a decent trunk, creature comforts) as a bonus. If it was designed with some sort of practicality in as the PRIMARY purpose (4 doors, any wagon, any pickup truck), it's not a "sports car" no matter how much fun has been built in as a bonus.

The gray area is 2-door coupes. Many are sports cars (I think all 3-Series coupes would qualify, as does the aforementioned 911), but many are not (Chrysler Sebring or the MB CLK 320). That's a tougher class to judge.

All two-seat cars are sports cars, even if you don't personally like a particular model. The designers may or may not have succeeded in making the car fun, but that was clearly the goal. Thus it is a sports car.

No 4-door sedan is a sports car, in the truest sense. But that's why the term "sports sedan" exists.

[KP]

Originally posted by cenotaph


If you mean the McLaren F1s that they raced at LeManns and other tracks, they had to be de-tuned to conform with the rules.

I mean the ones that were road legal. There are around 10 of them in the world I believe. Orange color only.

[johnlew]

Here's another sports car...back when I was in my 20's.


http://home.wi.rr.com/bmw330cic/Cars_files/image012.jpg

Examples of sporty, but not sports cars.

Lexus SC430
MB SL500
BMW M3 ???
MB SLK

Somehow, the older "sports" cars, Healys, Jaguars, MGs ... seemed to be truer examples. The newer stuff, Porsche Boxter, Porsche Carrera, etc. seem a bit less genuine. While old sports cars used some fine materials the newer sports cars with their luxury and convenience seem to contradict, to a point, the authenticity of a true sports car.

[blackdawg]

hee hee hee.

just a little ribbing.

wouldn't it be easier to base it on cars we consider currently sports cars? i would argue that it has to be built on a single purpose chassis (out go the econoboxes), lightweight, manual, RWD or AWD......i guess it should be able to keep up with track-prepped cars out of the box with little/no modifications.

F360?
GT2?
GT3 (don't get this one here)?
Z06?

[scottn2retro]

I think the fact that most of us here own and drive BMWs says something about what we consider to be a sports car that can't be so easily defined by how many seats, how many doors, hardtop or convertible, number of cylinders, etc.

Even for the guys with BMW wagons, it has to be something(s) about the way the car drives that goes into whether someone feels like they have a sports car.

A TRUE sports car? A car that is enjoyed by it's owner in autosport? :dunno:

[AF]

Reviving a thread with a post of mine that should really be in this thread ...

In my opinion some of the current sports cars I could think of off the top of my head would be:

350Z
RX8
911
Miata
S2000
Z4
Boxster
Both current Lambo's
Ferrari's (except for that one with the backseat)
MR2 Spyder
Corvette (though on the muscle car side)
Lotus Elise

Before anyone argues this let me point out that these are the modern sports cars (I'm sure I left some out) and although they differ from what the old school thinks a sports car is doesn't make them any less of a sports car.

[Pvt. Joker]

Also, I don't remember where I read/saw this, but supposedly it's a dual system, drum on the outside and disc brake inside the drum brakes or something like that.

My friend's 74 XKE has inboard brake rotors next to the differential. I couldn't believe it when I saw them. I still have a hard time thinking the half-shaft can withstand the brake torque.

[Alamo]

What makes a true sports car ?

Post your comments.

Two seat with some ponies

[jw]

Two seat with some ponies
I didn't know you were from Dr. Phil's neck of the woods. :amish:

[·clyde·]

Reviving a thread with a post of mine that should really be in this thread ...

In my opinion some of the current sports cars I could think of off the top of my head would be:

350Z
RX8
911
Miata
S2000
Z4
Boxster
Both current Lambo's
Ferrari's (except for that one with the backseat)
MR2 Spyder
Corvette (though on the muscle car side)
Lotus Elise

Before anyone argues this let me point out that these are the modern sports cars (I'm sure I left some out) and although they differ from what the old school thinks a sports car is doesn't make them any less of a sports car.

I think 6 of your suggestions are, but not the rest. :p

Old or new...open, small and lightweight...anything else and they're something else.

[rogue38]

Per Webster's:

A small High powered automobile with long, low lines, usually seating two persons.

Still a little unclear.

By my rules 2 seats, decently powered, well handling machine.

IE: Corvette, 240/60/90 Zcars (not the 2+2), 914, BMW Z1/2/3/4/8, 507, X1/9, XKE, ETC.

M3, M6, 330ZHP, Mustangs, GM F-Bodys, etc do not qualify in my book. They are either GT's or sports sedans or coupes.

IMO

[·clyde·]

Even if we can't agree on the definition of "sports car" I'd be willing to go out on a limb and say that Alan and I can probably agree that the definition isn't going to be found in a dictionary. I could be wrong, though.

[TXE39]

Any of these would do for me...