In reply to wspohn :
I remember when the Miata came out there was an add campaign that said at great length the pains Mazda went through to make it look, sound, handle like an Elan, even when you opened the hood, the engine looked like the Elan engine.
In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) (Forum Supporter) :
I agree with Wheelsmithy, while the author does an excellent over all job on the article, he waffles some what on most points, then holds fast that they can't be FWD. My 3 SAAB Sonetts and my CRX would disagree. It's not that I have anything against RWD as my SAH Triumph GT6+ and my Lotus 7 will attest to.
The only glaring mistake is the comment on Morgan's "wooden" frame. Morgan's use wood to frame the body (then wrap it with aluminum), but the chassis that the suspension and drivetrain are mounted to is of course steel. Thanks for writing the article, I really enjoyed it
I wonder what the "words evolve" people will think the first time some bulbous SUV or a dually pickup is called a "sports car".
Smitty54 said:The only glaring mistake is the comment on Morgan's "wooden" frame. Morgan's use wood to frame the body (then wrap it with aluminum), but the chassis that the suspension and drivetrain are mounted to is of course steel. Thanks for writing the article, I really enjoyed it
Correct, Morgan's do not have wooden frames, they used wood (ash) in the body structure.
But there is no 'of course' to it. I raced against cars that had zero steel frame - Lotus Elites glassed the suspension mounting points into the fiberglass monocoque body and early Marcos use a plywood tub with suspension bolted to it (while the rest of us worried about rust, anyone who owned an early Marcos, worried about dry rot).
In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) (Forum Supporter) :
I put those two examples in the hot hatch category, regardless of the presence of a hatch. It is a very different feeling to a RWD sports car, though I would argue they are just as fun and capable on a track. Somehow, a FWD sporty car doesn't stir my soul the same way a sports car does.
Loved reading the original article and all of the responses in this thread. For me, a sports car is basically something that would be used in motorsports, or my personal definition:
1) Driver engagement, visceral feeling and minimal electronic aids (hard to come by these days, but at least you can turn some off)
2) Manual (automatics are practical, can be faster obviously, but for a sports car, I'd feel its about the driving experience and keeping it analog as much as possible)
3) FWD, AWD, RWD, 2 or 4 doors is fine. Obviously I think in its purest form, 2 doors and 2 seats is "ideal" but not really realistic and also leaves out a lot of great cars. Lots of great FWD sport compacts/hot hatches and legendary rally cars like the STi and EVO which are AWD.
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