I participated in an auto focus group that compared the 370Z, BRZ, Cayman, and etc.

Chuck33079

There's a lot of 911 owners who would disagree with that statement.

shadoquad

The 911 only has two seats that fit an actual adult human

Chuck33079

True, but the back seat in any 2+2 is pretty brutal for a normal sized adult. I just wouldn't go so far as to say that any vehicle with more than two seats is automatically not a sports car.

Red__Zed

Drivetrain is irrelevant, number of seats is not?

You've got your priorities in the wrong place.

shadoquad

FWD, seats 7 is really what I consider a sports car. If you can't beat a Mustang with a Honda Odyssey, then imo, you have no business on a race track.

Red__Zed

I think of that as more of a sporty GT, unless you get the convertible.

Mt Tam I am

The entire reason for this confusion over sports car definition is that we older folks grew up with a dictionary definition, not a marketing definition.

1992 American Heritage Dictionary: Sports car: An automobile equipped for racing, especially an aerodynamically shaped one or two passenger vehicle having a low center of gravity and steering and suspension designed for precise control at high speeds.


Additionally, Men and women were defined by their reproductive organs at birth, not by mutilated genitalia later in life. Ask Mr. Garrison

I am not confused as to what a man, woman or car is.


.

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shadoquad

Well then you, sir, have not spent a lot of time at bars in Miami!!!

FairladyZ

Lamborghini aventador awd

Red__Zed

I like this one better:

Main Entry: sports car
Function: noun
Date: 1928
: a low small usually 2-passenger automobile designed for quick response, easy maneuverability, and high-speed driving

shadoquad

Nissan GTR AWD and 4 seats

bigdog1250

The only sports cars I saw in that comparison were the Z, Porsche, and BRZ.

Like you all have said, the others are just "sporty" cars (aside from the TC).
Seats/Drivetrain/etc. don't warrant a sports car - I define it as built with intention for driving, not for being a people mover.

However I do feel RWD, 2 seater coupes are generally the purest defintion. And 911 backseats aren't real, children have a hard time fitting in there. I think they only do it for insurance purposes which is brilliant, as a 4 seater generally insures for less - thank you Porsche!

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cossie1600

You guys get way too caught up with the names and configuration. Who cares if it drives good?

370Z Purist

Same logic as the GTR! Except that fits actual people in the backseats a bit easier than a 911 might.

Since high horsepower engines became the norm, having a heavier car isn't the biggest issue anymore. Not all that long ago, super high displacement V8s had trouble making 400 horsepower. Sure, a lot (like, a LOT) for the time, but times have also changed... having an extra 200 pounds can be sort of made up for now, a bit easier than in the past.

Sitting in the backseat of a G35 coupe = impossible.

Mustangs are more so pony cars unless you get the 5.0 V8. Sure, fast, but is it really a sports car? Wikipedia's definition of a pony car makes perfect sense:

Pony car is an American class of automobile launched and inspired by the Ford Mustang in 1964. The term describes an affordable, compact, highly styled car with a sporty or performance-oriented image.

I don't see the American revival of the muscle car so much a muscle car as it is a sporty car with a MASSIVE engine. But isn't that basically a muscle car? I suppose so.

Then we have grand tourers, or GT cars. Again, Wikipedia (yes, yes, not reliable, whatever):

A grand tourer (Italian: gran turismo) (GT) is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement.

e.g. G35, G37. Pretty much exactly a GT car.

By that logic, I suppose the Z is a perfect definition of a sports car, such as people hail the Miata for being the ideal sports car: lightweight, two seats, 50/50 weight distribution.

At the same time I don't think anyone really cares about the "technical" terms for cars anymore. Now it's just minivan, sports car/coupe, sedan/saloon, truck, etc. Well, no one cares except for fools like me who try to classify EVERYTHING.

Well. If it drives well.

For that reason, read above. The ultimatum, however, still stands... a car is better if it is a bit lighter, so having fewer seats and less weight makes for a faster, more responsive car. If your Dodge Caravan (one of the heaviest passenger vehicles in the world) still weighs 6500 pounds but makes 1000 horsepower, does it really matter since you can barely turn the thing? Even as a drag racer, less weight = more power (sort of).

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Red__Zed

A sports car is defined by how it drives, not how many seats it has.