I hadn't given the term "sports car" much thought until a year or two ago. I guess in retrospect, I did own a "real" sports car about 5 years ago.....a Datsun 280Z. I bought my 2nd one this year, the Miata. I really like the Mini and Mustang that we own, but contrary to what a lot of people who own both think, neither are sports cars. It isn't really a measure of performance as my Mini and Mustang will out-handle and/or out-accelerate many true sports cars, it is a matter more of purpose and intent. Sports cars have two doors, two seats, and are RWD. They generally aren't practical cars, and in many parts of the country can't really be driven year round. They are typically cramped with little interior room and luggage capacity. Having owned the Miata for awhile now, I really can't imagine not owning at least one sports car at any time in the future.

-Keith

 

more of a random thought for me, but a sports car has 2 doors, 2 seats and a hard top.

 

Thanks alot guys, I wasted half a football game looking for every photo in the world of a TR3. Someday.....

 

So a Karmann Ghia is a sports car but an M3 is not?

 

nit picking will not help you.


btw, M3 is a sports touring car imho although it has attributes of a
sports car.


just random thoughts.

 

I'm not nitpicking - so if you were to install the rear seat delete kit in an MCS - it would then fit all the requirements of being a sports car.

In other words the GP is a sportscar but a JCW isn't.

 

Should weigth to power ratio be one of the defining factors? If so, what p/w ratio defines a sports car? If the stock MINI doesn't qualify based on its p/w can Fireballing it with a twincharged kit bringing it to a weight-to-power ratio of close to 8:1?

What of rear-wheel-drive being a deciding factor? Should a sports car have to drive the rear wheels? If so, can an AWD or 4wd car qualify as a sports car?

questions questions questions definitions definitions definitions


Anywho, I most certainly thought of HPYMTRN as a sports car once I Fireballed it. Before then I thought of it as a great little car with good handling and a cool sounding engine. After twincharging, it became a beast that could only be described as a sports car. It shall forever more be remembered by me as one.

 

The only non-RWD cars that would generally be accepted as sports cars would be AWD cars that were derived from a RWD platform like the Porsche AWD cars.

Power to weight ratio has nothing to do with it. I had one of my Neons down to 1980 lbs and it was putting out nearly 200 hp. It was quick, handled very well, but in no way was it a sports car. Many "real" sportscars weigh well over 3000 lbs (and some weigh less than 2000 lbs), weight isn't a factor.

 

Gregor Grant (notorious early moto-journo - he of Autosport- and chain smoker) said it best,

"A sports car is any vehicle that I lose my desire for a cigarette whilst driving."

Substituting one addiction for another. Yeah, that'll qualify.

How many of us have removed the ashtrays from our MINIs?

 

good grief, skiploader- get your vitamins.

 

I think your trying to make a MINI fit into a round hole

Power to weight ratio means squat. A Midget was a sports car and probably had as much HP as my lawnmower.

FWD is never a sportscars. AWD is neither (unless, as someone said, its derived from a RWD platform)

JCW GP is not and never will be ... FWD

M3, M5 are sports sedans, M6 is a sports coupe.

 

I consider my Mini a sports car but my insurance company doesn't so I get the best of both worlds. If you don't consider your Mini a sports car that's cool, it's your perogative You say tomato I say tomaato

 

And there is nothing wrong with that. Everyone's perception is their reality. The definitions are as to what has traditionally been called a sports car. For example, a major auto mag that does comparison tests (e.g., road and track) when discussing sports car would never put a MINI in there because its a "hot hatch" Instead they compare it against other hatches (like the GTI).

Power has nothing to do with it either nor how fast you can go, etc.

 

MINIs definitely aren't sports cars - hot hatches or GTs, but not sports cars. I like motorbruce's definition of a sports car and would consider old Brit stuff like MGs, Triumphs, and the Austin Healy as sport cars and for something newer, I'd add the Miata to the list. It's got to be small, 2 door, tossable, convertible and it has nothing to do with raw horsepower. Corvettes, BMWs, and modern Porsches are more GTs or sport sedans.

If it makes you happy to call your MINI a sports car, by all means, go ahead.

 

Allicin Supplement - Check.

Flax Seed Oil - Check.

Probiotics - Check.

Viagara - Check.

We all know what, by definition a mammal is, or a reptile, or a planet. Why is this one so hard?

 

Chows, they ought to include your new P-Car. I mean, it has a rear hatch - right?

Think it could do better than the MCS against the Civ-roid and the GTI?

 

lol TMI!

 

Skip ... I got some bad news for you ... Viagra, last time I checked, was NOT a vitamin.

Going back to Wiki, hot hatches are usually front engined, FWD family cars with improved suspension and engine. Exactly the definition of a MCS.

Didnt you just get an Evo. Car & Driver or someone like that just did a comparison test between the two. Evo did well.

Actually, I believe "some" ppl in the 997 fold consider the traditional 997 and all its common derivations (including the TT) as Sports GTs because the have gotten to big. Meanwhile the die-hards insist no. They are the definitive definition of a sports car. However, nobody doubts the GT2 or GT3 variations.

 

Alas, Chows, according to the sages of NAM I have a four-door sedan and you have a hot hatch. My neighbor has a two wheel drive two door regular cab Isuzu pick-up. He apparently has the definitive sports car.

I was at the track two weeks ago and had a good bit of tag with a lovely black Cayman S. The gentleman who owned the car was a heck of a driver and could really carry speed in the corners. We had a nice chat comparing the handling of both cars. He also has an older 996 GT3 which he showed me some pictures of............sigh.........

BTW: I stand corrected - Viagara is not a Vitamin. It is classified as a performance enhancing drug.

A couple of years ago I was helping my father (who is 60+ years old) remodel my parent master bathroom. While we were emptying out all of the drawers and cabinets, I came across his Viagara.

I held up the bottle and said, "Hey Pop, do you really need this stuff?"

He says, "Only if I want to have sex with your mother."

Ba dum dum ching!

 

hehe. Watch out for when it gets "stuck" for more than four hours and you head to the hospital

I read a lot now about the p owners doing track days. Very few actually do them. Two camps who do: Posuers with lots of money and time, usually older, the guys the MINIs blow by. No way they want to take any chances. The second group are serious. Go every chance they can ... usally own GT2s and GT3s Been doing it for years. BTW, P (official) DE class is $3K for two days (a bit of out my range).

BTW, Evo ring times are excellent. Evo 10 ought to be better.

 

Aren't the Evo and Cayman S times the same at the Ring?

We'll see on the X. The Evo-nistas are up in arms that it is sharing a platform with the Caliber. They are also moaning the demise of the 4G63. In their eyes, the current car, really shares little with the current lancer. It is one of nly two production cars that is seam welded and it shares virtually no mechanical parts or body panels with the lancer. Until the details of the X become more fully fleshed out, the debates rage - much like the R56 vs. R53 debate going on here..........

I'm pretty amazed at what this ugly little car can do at the track once you get used to it's handling characteristics and the hyper-quick steering. It's taken me a couple of sessions to really dial it in...........

 

For the "official" recorded times yes. 8' 11". However, it was the P factory driver done 8/05. Unofficial word is that when he came in 4 secs quicker than the 997 (base) they made no more runs. The 997S time used PASM. I do not think it had PASM (stiffer suspension nor the 19" wheels ... I'm not sure because he supposed to have made some comment that 18" were better for normal street driving).

In any case, there is a stink in the community over the younger sibling whomping big brother so no LSD and I dont think they want the factory driver approaching the 997S Ring times or they got big problems.

This whole mid-engined/rear engined thing is driving many ppl crazy because they are begging for the 997 engine ... no way although some ppl are doing conversions now. But never from the factory until 997 power is upped or 998 comes out (which "might" be mid-engined).

This is somewhat the case (but opposite) of the Z06. When the Vette Sr. Engineer drove it, they thought it to slow so they hired a former F1 driver and times were 15 secs quicker. You will see two (2) Z06 times in the official listings.

 

Priapism-vocabulary word for the day (I really do watch too much TV )

 

Sports cars, hot hatches okay, here's the original hot hatch:

MGB-GT



MGB-GTV8



MGC-GT



As I've said before MGs are sports cars.

MINIs are Urban Assault Vehicles.

 

My definition is any car that I will just go out and drive for sheer fun...

No destination in mind, no utilitarian purpose, no posing... just driving around in big circles wasting gas. The only other vehicle in my garage that beats the Mini wasting gas is my motorcycle. Poor S4 is being neglected .