My definition: any car that performs at a level higher than an average car. Not necessarily small production, not necessarily high power, just a great performer on the road.
Minimalist performance
Stark interiors with great _______ (insert atribute here)
Sports car - cars that were over looked due to the muscle car movement. Fine british roadsters, four cylinder porches and others come to mind.
That being said an NA MR2 is more of a sports car than a fucking pig of a Z32 will ever be. Any car weighing over 3000 lbs should never be accompanied by the word “sport”. :bloated:
the actual definition is two-seat, two door car designed for spirited driving.
the classic sports car example is the corvette, but cars like the MG, Sprite, and MX-5 are also sports cars.
2-door cars with back seats are pony cars, coupes, or grand tourers.
you hate on heavy cars so much. But the truth of the matter is that my z32 DOES handle well for driving on the road. It would be more then stupid to say that my car doesnt handle well. Maybe its not a race track car, but for everyday driving, it handles better then most. I can think of a few cars that fall into this category. Theres nothing wrong with a little luxury in a sports car.
Disclaimer: All of what you will read here is my take on a “sports car.” This is not to offend anyone, just simply my view.
[QUOTE=90NA300ZX]the mr2 turbo could be…and the mid engine layout works to its advantage as a sports car…but i just dont see how it can be considered a sports car…]QUOTE]
This is why you failed to understand 100% of our conversation.
Because a car has a TURBO it “could” be a sports car? Haha. The N/A MR2 is more of a sports car than the Turbo.
A Fiat Bertone X1/9 was a sports car. It was N/A, and in the range of ~75 hp when it came out.
Any year Miata is a sports car.
Z cars starting with the Fairlady were sports cars. To me, as the years and models progressed, they became less and less of a sports car, and more of a GT car. This is not an insult which I think Andy thought I was saying.
And since he referred to the 80’s and 90’s, I’ll stick to what I said. Back then I would call the Supra a GT car. As well as the Z. RX-7’s have always been sports cars to me. I’m sure a lot of people may be able to see where I’m coming from. If not, that’s fine. Opinions are like assholes, we all have one.
There is a difference between sports cars and Grand Tourers (and any toher type of car while we’re on the subject. Both/all can be awesome. That was my point, nothing more nothing less.
While Jeremy didn’t hold back, I COMPLETELY agree. That was where I was heading with our conversation. The Z32 is a GT car. It IS more luxury, it IS more comfort, it IS heavier, it IS a more easy driver. Again these are not bad things we’re talking. Just differences. That is why I said cars like MR2’s, RX-7’s, Miata’s, and the like are “sports cars.”
meh… I just get mifffed everytime I think about the cars of the 50’s and early 60’s and how their fate was doomed by Detroit iron.
Yeah, i agree. Though I think there are some AWD cars that have a little more weight to them that make the list. enter exceptions…
Sports car is such an 80’s term. The industry has changed so much that the lines blur between sports cars and non sports cars.
Pretty much every car coming out on the market, with the exception of economy and green cars, are pretty quick compared to 10 years ago.
I say it is what you drive it as. Is a Z06 that a rich old man buys just to cruise and be seen in really a sports car? Is a Protege that someone with skill hustles around an auto-x course really an economy sedan? In my mind, sometimes my Jetta is a cruiser when I’m just out for a drive to clear my head, sometimes it’s a sports car when I’m tossing it through twisties challenging my own skills and balls, and most of the time it’s a luxury sedan taking me to and from work with the heated leather seats easing away my stress and the monsoon audio drowning out my worries.
I.e. if someone with skill and a civic embarasses a n00b in a vette on a road course, who’s really got the sportscar??
It is what you drive it as.
when i think of a sports car i think of a car that will give the driver everything they ask of the car. it will always put a smile on your face and be truly enjoyable to drive. It must be above and beyond your everyday cars on the street performance wise. Also sexy styling is a plus.
I used to tell people I liked performance cars not sports cars.
A sports car could be a Yugo if Yugo decides to put a “sport” badge on it.
Think of all of the cars that say “sport” or “rally sport” or “super sport”.
Most of these (99.9999%) cars are not worthy of any kind of performance recognition.
Everyone has different view, I tend to agree with this one. Expect for the n00b 16 year olds with grand-ams and 17 seconds civic that think they are hot shit. :lol:
So by this belief my taurus is a race car, because it’s used at the track only. 
the first sports cars were late 40’s / early 50’s inventions, and they were definitely british.
there’s really no debate here, it’s an actual classification of cars. :gotme:
the corvette driver. :gotme:
the hatch pilot is the sports driver.
:wstupid:
I’ll give examples of my theory.
Sports car - Miata
Muscle car - Camaro
GT car - Supra
so i know exotics were not to be included…but you made a very wide open statement there…
so if they aren’t qualified enough in your eyes to be considered sports cars, then what WOULD you call the enzo, carrera gt, ford gt, most lambo’s, etc…all of which i believe are over 3000 lbs…
but everybody is entitled to his/her own opinion, and if you want to think an mr2 is more of a sports car than a ferrari enzo, then that’s totally cool…i just have a different opinion i guess
Who said anything about a hatch? 
Funny how fast civics are always assumed to be hatches on this board. So maybe civic hatches are sports cars because they have a fast reputation, whereas civic coups and sedans are economy cars because that’s what they’re known as…