Seeing as how we seem to have stalled on what is a sports car,I declare my MC a sports carI drive it with 2 seats 99% of the time,it handles unlike anything else I get to drive,power is good,fun factor is high,comfy,and nicely fitted out.The fact it is not a soft top means nothing.
It may not be a MGB or a Spitfire,but it sure is fun,and it won,t haul 2x4s

 

Sports Car All this time I thought it was a Slot Car

 

 

I have always considered a sports cars to be two seaters but that is obviously not ALWAYS true.

Even if the power in the MINI is anemic when compared to some of the more obvious sports cars, it is still by design a sports car. MINI can market it as a sport sedan or sport hatch but the nature of its engineering gives away its true spirit. By design it is a Sports Car. Can a sport hatch be considered a sports car? I don't know...and I don't care.

The way I drive my MINI and the amount of Fun I have doing it will always make the MINI a Sports Car to me. Period.

 

I agree 110%,do we have to keep this thread going

 

A couple years ago, early 2002 to be exact, “Road & Track” ran their new car issue where they talked about all the 2002 year models by category. The MINI was listed under sports cars. I guess if “Road & Track” thinks of it as a sports car, it works for me.

 

No, the Mini is NOT a sports car. I may not agree that a sports car needs to be RWD, but the rear seats throw it out of the sports car realm.

 

MGTC
MGTD
MGA
MGB
MGBGT
MGMIDGET
TR2
TR3
TR4
TR5
TR6
SPITFIRE
XKE
AUSTIN HEALEY:SPRITE,3000
DAIMLER BENZ
ALPHA ROMEO
FIAT 124 SPIDER
MORGAN
SUNBEAM ALPINE/TIGER
These are what I think of when I think sports cars.Mini/MINI? pocket rocket!

 

You forgot a few good ones

GT6
Elise
Caterham R500
Europa
Super 7

 

WE BOTH FORGOT PORCHE! I should have said these are a FEW of the cars....................

 

What back seat... is there back seats? I thought they were just a suggestion of a back seat or something that resembles one. Anyways back seats doesn't take it out of being a sports car. The MINI is a sport car. The setup reminds of an Opel GT. And that was a sports car for sure even if there were back seats.
Larry

 

Ok I'm a former S owner. Traded in my S for a 04 350z last month, and for every person who asked me about the two cars, the mini handled like it's on rails and it was fast enough to do plenty of damage. I think most people would consider the new 350Z a sports car, and by every seat of the pant's measurement the S was to. I went around some corners as scary speeds in my S and I'd think twice about doing that in the Z. And I do miss the scream of the supercharger. So my opinion, although I'm no longer an official S owner is that the S was and is a sports car, sorry I can't comment on the regular mini, never drove one.

Oh and just so everyone doesn't hate me for switching cars, I owned a 280z for one week when I was sixteen, and I just always wanted a Z car again. I didn't wreck it, just a family financial issue, so I ended up driving a 70 hp tiny old honda civic instead for 4 years. And I'm still going to lurk around here because the mini is an amazing car.

 

now we are talking, I drove one of these super hot chick magnets for 425,000 miles, and toward the end with a top speed of about 47 miles per hour, it was ok, because it was rattling so much it felt like i was doing 230mph, rock on metros rock on!!!!!!

this must prove that sports cars can be FWD right? right!?

 

I think FWD is more of a factor than the anemic power for my not categorizing the Mini as a "sports car". FWD cars lack the road feel and precise steering control under acceleration that I think are important in a true "sports car". Plus, it's much harder to induce and exploit oversteer in a FWD car.

Not that any of this matters. I still like the Mini for what it is -- a great little sporty car that's lots of fun to drive. After all, that's why I bought it!

But a "sports car" it's not (JMO, of course)!

 

MGTC
MGTD
MGA
MGB
MGBGT
MGMIDGET
TR2
TR3
TR4
TR5
TR6
SPITFIRE
XKE
AUSTIN HEALEY:SPRITE,3000
DAIMLER BENZ
ALPHA ROMEO
FIAT 124 SPIDER
MORGAN
SUNBEAM ALPINE/TIGER
'03 MINI Cooper CVT Jet Black/Black #23 FSP
GT6
Elise
Caterham R500
Europa
Super 7

^^^I thoroughly agree.^^^

 

Of course a FWD car can be a sports car, remember the new Lotus Elan circa 1990? How about the Miller FWD Indy 500 racers of the 1920s and 1930s, but as for being a "true" sports car, I'd have to say that anything without a transmission tunnel separating the two folks inside (are you listening Porsche? ) isn't really a sports car.

See how definitions are just plain silly? My MCS runs rings around both my MGC and MGA, but of the three it is really only the MGA that I consider to be a "sports car"; the MGC is definately a Grand Touring car, while the MCS, particularly with its modifications, is more of an urban assault vehicle than anything currently describable from a Madison Avenue Ad-man's lexicon.

As Greggor Grant once said, "a Sports Car is one in which I lose the urge to smoke a cigarette while behind the wheel."

 

ROFL... I like that! "URBAN ASSAULT VEHICLE" yeah! I think we have found what the Mini is.
Larry

 

Ok,since my last post here,the thread kept going.Even if the MINI is not a sports car,folks tell me I look pretty darn sporty motoring around in it

 

My idea of sports car is more about driving than it is about hauling stuff or ppl or comfort. MC with sports package and MCS fits this well for me. Minivan would be the compleat opposite of a sports car. A Lotus Elise would be more sports car than anything. Even the pasangers seat has a bar in the way in some configurations.

 

I agree, Larry! It's a great term for MINIs! Our little UAV beasts are infiltrating the psyche of America....we shall overcome! LMAO!!!!

Clover

 

MINI=sports car

First, I do think the MINI is a sports car. It can take turns with the best cars out there, and there have already been MINIs running in motorsports. So it has back seats, so does the Porsche Carrera witch is considered a sports car. Now, yes what is considered in most books to be a true sports car has alot more power two seats and also carries a large price tag. With todays cars it draws a fine line between all these vehicles. There have also been people saying that sedans can't be considered a true sports car, I disagree with that. The new 507hp BMW M5 will probably out do some of these exotic sports cars, yet seats four comfortably. It will also handle the turns amazingly. Now to continue with the question that started it all. The MINI has a decent amount of power with an amazing suspension, witch puts it in the sports car category along with many other cars. Todays generations sports car could have many definitions, and in my opinion the MINI is one of them.


Danny

 

When I think of the term "sports car". I think of something like my MGA, no roll up windows, no door handles, light weight and good handling. That being said, my MCS absolutley blows it off. Of couse there is a difference of 42 years. I think true "sports cars" died when the motoring public decided they needed amenities like window glass, heat and a/c.
Nowadays I think you have sporty cars like the Mini, Miata, RX8 etc

 

[QUOTE=greatgro]How could one of the fastest cars in the slalom and hair-pin turns NOT be a sports car? QUOTE]

word

and from one of the great lines of "The Gumball Rally": what is behind me does not matter!

 

Amen to that Danny!!!!

 

Good question and an interesting thread to read. I think most of the posts here are right on target. Resmini (you might just be my new hero) addressed the "lost souls" accurately when he stated:

"If the Miata isn't a sportscar I'd say sportscars don't exist."

I saw an interesting statement by one of the editors of Motor Trend in the latest issue that said something to the effect that "if you think the Miata is a 'secretaries' car, you haven't driven one hard".

When I hear folks comment on a certain vehicle being a "girl's" car, or a "gay" car, or not a "real sports car", I have found that it really says more about the person making the statement than the car itself. This goes double for the first two politically incorrect statements! Having driven a Miata for 13 years and counting, I find that more than 90% of the people making such a statement only look at the surface of the car. Things such as "double unequal length a-arms", "camber gain", "cross-weighting", and "polar moment of inertia", would make their eyes glaze over. I've also found almost 100% of those folks also drive vehicles with automatic transmissions. (Just an observation, don't get upset )

Maybe the best qualifier is that a "real car" consistently wins road races. Too simple? Maybe, but I've yet to find a car that doesn't fit this example. I just don't think there will ever be a spec Echo class in the SCCA.

The MINI far exceeds my expectations, and I love it! Sports car? I'm having too much fun with it to care.

John

my stable:
'04 MCS - An absolute blast! as MSFITOY said; my slot car.
'91 Miata - The classic Sports Car revived.
'05 Lotus Elise - On order.