It came up in another thread, that the Mini was described as a "sports car." I maintain that a sports car is two-doors, and two seats. MGB, Corvette, Miata, etc. A Mini might be considered a Sports GT, like an MGB-GT, XKE Coupe, 240Z 2+2, and so on. More than two doors (a hatch is considered a door).

Comments?

 

Oh, not again!

This horse has been beaten to death many times, grommit.

I suggest you do a search on old threads discussing this same subject.

I am not a "taliban" when it comes to what a "sports" car "should be". To me the MINI well qualifies in this context and I think the car has the reflexes, performance and smiles per mile factor that make it truly a sports car.

To me the term "sports" is liberally used on anything and everything these days. If you care to expand the conversation, what is so "sporty" about a frame laden SUV truck? How about a "sports sedan"?

 

As per the old rule for insurance rates, a sports car has two doors adn two seats. The MINI is a 'sporty' car.

 

I go by the old school definition of a sports car.

If you are sitting in the driver's seat of a true sports car, you should be able to do the following:
1) Touch the rear tire with your left hand
2) Touch the ground with your fingers (in a true old school sports car you could do this with the door closed, I'm a bit more lax and think that it is acceptable to open the door to achieve this) while sitting in a normal position - no stretching, leaning, or straining
3) Touch the front tire with your left foot (assuming that the body of the car isn't in your way)

That is the measure of a true sports car I have always lived by. I used to have a Triumph Spitfire that fit this definition.

In all honesty, there aren't too many true sports cars on the market. There are a lot of hot hatches, GTs, and other sorts, but not too many true sports cars.

Cheers,
Bruce
motorbruce

 

You know, I never thought of the MINI as a sports car until I came to this forum, and I still have difficulty imagining it as a sports car. I tend to think of sports cars as weekend vehicles, to be taken out of the garage with great care. Which conflicts with my view of the MINI as a practical, but very fun to drive, urban vehicle. It is my day-to-day vehicle, whether commuting to work or going on a road trip. I tend to think of it more as luxury hatchback (and yes, I'll use that word). Of course the fact that I live in the city where its small size comes in handy more than its performance influences that view.

 

You'll be surprised to find out how many people treat these cars as "Garage Queens" and some of them get trailered to long distance events and even don't get driven in the rain

I actually know some people here locally that bought a MINI just to have it as an ornament in the garage. They FREAK out if they have to take the car out around the corner and the windshield wipers have yet to wipe a single drop of water off the windshield.

Crazy but true...

 

Not by any traditonal standards or definitions

From Wiki

"While opinions differ as to the exact definition, most sports cars are rear-wheel drive, have two seats and two doors and are designed to provide excellent handling, acceleration, and good looks. A sports car can be described as a car whose dominant design consideration is driving performance. A sports car's main emphasis is on performance by superior road holding, braking, maneuverability, low weight and power rather than comfort, passenger space, and economy."

MINIs are "hot hatches"

A hot hatch is an informal or slang term for a performance derivative of a European hatchback (in the US, Asian sports hatches are sometimes called Sport Compacts). Vehicles of this class are typically based on a budget, family-oriented automobile, and equipped with improved suspension and a more powerful engine. Front mounted engines and front wheel drive is the most common layout.

This is exactly what a MINI is ... budget oriented, family, improved suspension, front mounted engine, front wheel drive ... a perfect example of a hot hatch. By no means does it have "superior road handling, brakes (otherwise so many people wouldnt mod it to get better handling/brakes)

You will never see R&T or any other major auto rag do a comparison test between sports cars and include a MINI. It cant even beat a GTI (you can look up the stats in R&T in the test between the cars).

Gromit, I can agree MINI might be a Gran Turismo A GT "Combines excellent road handling qualities with relative comfort. Made in two and four seaters with the rear seats always cramped."

 

How about the slalom test where the MCS beat the 911? I believe this was a few years back in Car & Driver.

 

Sorry you don't like the resurection of dead horses. It happens. Feel free to ignore such threads. Perhaps old threads ought to be purged from the system. New people come into NAM everyday, and certain topics will be brought out time and time again. It happens with ALL forums no matter what the topic.

BTW, it's Gromit, one "M"

 

 

Alternatively, 'reviving the dead horse' by posting to an existing thread can provide both older AND newer perspectives.

Shouldn't this be in 'Off Topic - Autos'?

 

Do you really want to go there? Numbers will talk for themselves

http://www.roadandtrack.com/assets/d...data_panel.pdf
06 JCW skidpad .86 slalom speed 66.4 GTI .88 67.2 (no excuses about RF, any car can change the OEM tires)

Do you really want to compare it against a 997

http://www.roadandtrack.com/assets/d...data_panel.pdf

997S .98g 71.7mph
Boxster S 1.00g 73.9mph

 

This subject has also been beaten to death and other have suggested the same thing. Eric has it right. Last time it came up, Clo said it was fine to ask the same questions ... new people ... new opinions ... that's cool

 

any car that makes...... YOU..... feel "sporty" while driving it...geeeez

 

NAM veterans, please! When newer members bring up a topic that has been discussed, let's be gracious and either a) PM them the link to other such threads, or b) post the link in the new thread to older discussion threads.

The moderators view such previous threads, and when appropriate, merge them.

 

MINIs are Urban Assault Vehicles.

MGs are Sports Cars.

All others are irrelevant.


MGC-Anglophile

Here's an old link:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ini+sports+car

 

Wasn't it MotorTrend that showed that the MCS could pull more g's than an F16 Fighting Falcon, accelerate to 60 mph faster than a 911 turbo, run the 1/4 mile faster than a Z06 while getting better gas mileage than a Prius?

Are you telling me they were wrong?

BTW Chows, the Mini that R&T tested had 18" (heavy rims) plus run flats. Everyone on NAM knows that if you put on 17" Volks plus Toyo RA1s the Mini will do the slalom at 105 mph.

I call BS..........

 

I think the question is a good one,..... it is the answers that I have a problem with..... are we a bit rigid in our thinking...I think yes.

I think the M3 is a sports car.... but that is just me...... convince the guy at the track racing an M3 ....that what he is driving is not a "sports car" ....... I doubt you could find an M3 driver that gave a poop what you thought of his car

 

Yeah, a TR6 runs zero to sixty in about 10 seconds and is a sports car. An MG will actually lose speed going down hill, with the pedal pressed to the floor and with a hurricane at its back but is considered a sports car.

But an M3 is a sedan. An M5 has four doors so it doesn't count. An MCS is a hatchback and the STi and Evo are 4 door econoboxes.

Is it clear now?

 

loud and clear..... I am totally with you my friend

 

Your going to burst somebodies illusions

 

Sorry, M3 = Sports sedan.

Midget = sports car in its time (with or without hurricane force winds).

I doubt you could find an M3 driver that gave a poop what you thought of his car

Funny you should mention that because I think they really do. Read the M3 forums sometimes and watch them show up in the hot, exotic car forums trolling. Its so funny that even fellow M3 owners get embarrased. If its possible, they are just as enamored with their cars as the most enthusiastic of MINI drivers.

Check them out sometimes, its pretty funny. Of course their immediate answer is that they "mod" the M3 ... supercharging or whatever because they can't compete with just what BMW brings to the table. But that works two way, so can't the high end performance cars "mod" them and so on forever

There is never enuff HP in the quest for the Holy Grail

 

I know both types with M3s

I go back to my original premise.... it's whatever car that makes you feel sporty.....

 

Exactly. Being hung up on semantics sucks the fun right out of you!

 

A completely unscientific bit of data:

The first time my husband drove my new MINI S, the first thing he said was, "This isn't a sports car! Your Integra was a sports car. This is a race car!"

I still grin about it.