from -- http://www.car-forums.com/s7/t10182.html

MGs, Fiat 124s and X1/9, Toyota S600 and MR2, Porsche Boxter, 911s, 912s, 914s, 356s, Honda S600s and S2000s, Datsun Fairladys, RX7s (1st and 3rd gen), Jag XKE, Lotus Super 7, Elan, Europa, 206 and 246 Dino, Austin Healy 3000, Miata, Alfa Guilia and Duetto, Lancia Stratos and Scorpion, Renault Sport Spider and A110 Alpine...

These are but a few of the world of sports cars. Not a damn one of them defined by 0-60 or 1/4 mile accelleration. Many are slower than hell in a straight line. Many don't handle as well as good family sedans. But all are considered to be sports cars by the people who should know: The ruling bodies with the authority to name them as such, the racers and journalists and engineers who have designed, built, driven, written about, and experienced them since cars began.

The magazine, "Sports Cars International" asked 12 of the top authorities on the subject to narrow down the "quintissential" sports car. Not just the definition of sports car, but the cars that best defined the breed. This panel included Chuck Jordan (retired GM design chief), race drivers Dan Gurney and Phill Hill, and others you may not know (engineer Norm Garrett, head of Mazda's Miata development team), and they came up with cars like the MGTC, Lotus Seven, and Miata.

Whenever magazines get people in the industry together to pick the best sports cars, these are the kinds of cars that come up. Once upon a time, when American cars were big and wallowy, sports cars were easy to spot. But because of advances in sports car design carried over to the rest of the production lines, that distinction has gone away. It used to be that it meant being able to be driven to the track, extraneous equipment removed, raced, and then driven home. But Alfa and Ford Cortina sedans in the early '60s started to blur that definition (and BMW's 2002 completely shattered it). GT cars used to be, by the rules, basically closed coupe versions of the open sports cars. When a roof was installed on a sports car, it automatically *became* a GT, because that's what the rules said. But roadworthy mid-engined cars tended to be very hard to design conventional folding tops for, so they tended to be closed (or "targa" topped).

So, early on, "sports car" came to be defined as a 2 seat car, relatively lightweight, primarily useful for road course competition (hence the "sport" part of the name), but designed to be driven on the road. A GT car was a similar design (2 seat, or 2+2), with a bit more comfort features, designed to be driven long distances (hence the "touring" part of the name). After the '50s, however, with the advent of roll-up side windows on the sports cars of the day, street driveability was a bigger part of what the average sports car buyer wanted. And with top professional racing (and even top club racing) rarely resembling production cars anymore, the traditional sports car can't exist in production form. But, the spirit of the original sports cars lives on in cars like the Miata, Mr2, Fiat Barchetta (which we don't see over here), Lotus Elise, and the like.

Super exotics haven't been true sports cars since they first came about in the mid '60s with the advent of the Lamborghini Miura. Actually, most exotics are more pure GT cars, but super pricetags and hyper performance has always been a small niche in the sports/GT world. Super accelleration and hyper top speeds are not what the sports car needs to be a sports car. Some sports cars were absolutely abysmal in their accelleration AND handling, even though they were capable of winning their classes with a good driver. And, as people got better at modding their cars, how the factory made them mattered less and less to competition use. The Fiero was introduced alongside a factory racing program that included everything from adjustible struts to complete tube frames. The Mr2 was a light, nimble little car with exceptional handling and braking capability, and a wonderfully willing DOHC engine. X1/9s don't have much power to speak of, but get them in a twisty track, and they were the closest thing to a streetable formula car in their day (and very competetive still).

In the end, a production Sports Car stands for a 2 seat, lightweight, preferrably open top, reasonably nimble, reasonably affordable car designed less for practicality than for fun and style. Add luxury features, a fixed roof, and the desire to sustain higher speeds or go longer distances, and you have a GT car. Add a true back seat and more upright styling, and you have a Sports Sedan. Add a few zeros to the price and you have an exoticar. Add horsepower to an American GT, and you have a pony car. Add more horsepower and remove some handling, and you have a musclecar.

A lot of people have a problem with the traditional definition of a sports cr, becaeu they feel it's an insult to cal their performance GT a GT instead of a sports car. But it isn't an insult for a car to BE a GT or a Sport Sedan, any more than it's an insult to call an F150 a pickup truck.

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: Once upon a time, I heard an interesting definiton of a
: "sports car". While some have constructed a technical
: definition based on the number of seats, and where the drive
: wheels are situated, this definition suggested that a sports car
: is a car in which "everything about the car makes it go
: fast". Hardly a precise technical definition, but there is
: something fun and simple about it.

: In trying to find this definition via Google, I came across this
: discussion about whether or not the Honda Prelude is or is not a
: true sports car --
: http://www.preludeonline.com/f28/prelude-true-sports-car-24146/
: No . . . I didn't find the definiton that I was hoping to find,
: but I thought that the discussion was interesting.

: So does anyone have a favorite definition of a "sports
: car"?

: Which leads to the question of what is a "sports watch"?
: I will stick with my favorite definition, that everything about
: a sports watch should make it go fast. 1970s Autavia? No . . .
: too much case and bezel. Monaco? No . . . too much steel.
: Montreal or Silverstone? No way!! What about the 1964 Carrera?
: Well, yes . . . that would be a sports watch!!

: Jeff