What makes a car a sports car?
What makes a car a sports car?
Sorry for a stupid question...
Is it the power, drivetrain, or the number of doors?
My insurance company told me my Mustang has a high insurace rate because
its a 2 door and is a sports car. But how about a 4 door performence car
like Neon SRT? Is that considered a sports car too? This car actually had a
lower rate than my V6 Muastang...
ed_7702I think 2 doors wil have a higher rate. and number of cylinders too.
CarEXPERTNot necessarily. Imagine, a Subaru WRX is gonna cost A LOT more than a
Hyundai Accent 2 door. It doesn't matter how many doors it has, it really
depends on the performance of the vehicle, or the image it portrays, for
example, Mustangs aren't exactly very fast cars, but they cost a bunch of
money to insure. Just the car's styling and powertrains make people wanna
drive it fast.
Also, to answer the original question, I have previously talked about MY
definition of sports cars, and i will state my opinion again.
A sports car is one that combines low weight and moderate or high power to
get very good performance. Examples: Nissan 350Z and Chevrolet Corvette.
A SPORTY car is one that uses sports car characteristics to enhance the
driving dynamics and experience. Most people are satisfied with sporty
cars. Examples: VW GTi and Audi A4.
An exotic car is one that is carefully engineered to get the best
performance it can. Usually these cars are extremely expensive and state of
the art. Examples: Ferrari Enzo, Porsche Carrera GT, and Bentley's.
(Although not straightforward performance cars, Rolls Royce's and Bentley's
are still considered exotics because of their rare status and expensive
price tags.)
There's my definition of Sports Cars, SportY Cars, and Exotics. Feel free
to comment.
moostang104314i kinda consider a RWD or AWD car more a sports car than a FWD car... like, i civic is not a sports car, but an S2000 is... just my opinion
mazda6manAs of right now, I agree, but lets say in the future, comes a light weight, 300 horsepower FWD car, it would be a Sports Car to me.
moostang104314i sill wouldnt think so... like, most cars now have a sporty look, but theyre still not sports cars...
mazda6manI can see what you mean though.
moostang104314But a ae86 is a sports car, but a srt-4 or a prelude isn't? Not picking a
fight, just pointing stuff out.
insurance companies don't base their rates on how powerful the car is, it's
the likelyhood that the person will get into an accident with it. That's
why the 3000gt SL's rates are the same as a VR-4 (gay, if you ask me). The
take the percentage of X car's owners that crash/get into the accidents and
base the insurance rate off it that precentage. A camry has something like
a 2%, whereas a saleen mustang has like a 15%. That's the way the insurance
companies work, but personal opinion differs, as moostang stated, which I
mostly agree with.
Godlausso by your definition, my mustang v6 woudn't be a sports car but is really
a sporty car with characteristics of a sports car?
Yeah the base Eclipse and gs-t version had almost the same insurance rate
too, although the convertibles were more expensive, I think it's due to
higher theft rates since they are easier to break into.
ed_7702MGs, Fiat 124s and X1/9, Toyota S600 and MR2, Porsche Boxter, 911s, 912s,
914s, 356s, Honda S600s and S2000s, Datsun Fairladys, RX7s (1st and 3rd
gen), Jag XKE, Lotus Super 7, Elan, Europa, 206 and 246 Dino, Austin Healy
3000, Miata, Alfa Guilia and Duetto, Lancia Stratos and Scorpion, Renault
Sport Spider and A110 Alpine...
These are but a few of the world of sports cars. Not a damn one of them
defined by 0-60 or 1/4 mile accelleration. Many are slower than hell in a
straight line. Many don't handle as well as good family sedans. But all are
considered to be sports cars by the people who should know: The ruling
bodies with the authority to name them as such, the racers and journalists
and engineers who have designed, built, driven, written about, and
experienced them since cars began.
The magazine, "Sports Cars International" asked 12 of the top authorities
on the subject to narrow down the "quintissential" sports car. Not just the
definition of sports car, but the cars that best defined the breed. This
panel included Chuck Jordan (retired GM design chief), race drivers Dan
Gurney and Phill Hill, and others you may not know (engineer Norm Garrett,
head of Mazda's Miata development team), and they came up with cars like
the MGTC, Lotus Seven, and Miata.
Whenever magazines get people in the industry together to pick the best
sports cars, these are the kinds of cars that come up. Once upon a time,
when American cars were big and wallowy, sports cars were easy to spot. But
because of advances in sports car design carried over to the rest of the
production lines, that distinction has gone away. It used to be that it
meant being able to be driven to the track, extraneous equipment removed,
raced, and then driven home. But Alfa and Ford Cortina sedans in the early
'60s started to blur that definition (and BMW's 2002 completely shattered
it). GT cars used to be, by the rules, basically closed coupe versions of
the open sports cars. When a roof was installed on a sports car, it
automatically
*became* a GT, because that's what the rules said. But roadworthy
mid-engined cars tended to be very hard to design conventional folding tops
for, so they tended to be closed (or "targa" topped).
So, early on, "sports car" came to be defined as a 2 seat car, relatively
lightweight, primarily useful for road course competition (hence the
"sport" part of the name), but designed to be driven on the road. A GT car
was a similar design (2 seat, or 2+2), with a bit more comfort features,
designed to be driven long distances (hence the "touring" part of the
name). After the '50s, however, with the advent of roll-up side windows on
the sports cars of the day, street driveability was a bigger part of what
the average sports car buyer wanted. And with top professional racing (and
even top club racing) rarely resembling production cars anymore, the
traditional sports car can't exist in production form. But, the spirit of
the original sports cars lives on in cars like the Miata, Mr2, Fiat
Barchetta (which we don't see over here), Lotus Elise, and the like.
Super exotics haven't been true sports cars since they first came about in
the mid '60s with the advent of the Lamborghini Miura. Actually, most
exotics are more pure GT cars, but super pricetags and hyper performance
has always been a small niche in the sports/GT world. Super accelleration
and hyper top speeds are not what the sports car needs to be a sports car.
Some sports cars were absolutely abysmal in their accelleration AND
handling, even though they were capable of winning their classes with a
good driver. And, as people got better at modding their cars, how the
factory made them mattered less and less to competition use. The Fiero was
introduced alongside a factory racing program that included everything from
adjustible struts to complete tube frames. The Mr2 was a light, nimble
little car with exceptional handling and braking capability, and a
wonderfully
willing DOHC engine. X1/9s don't have much power to speak of, but get them
in a twisty track, and they were the closest thing to a streetable formula
car in their day (and very competetive still).
In the end, a production Sports Car stands for a 2 seat, lightweight,
preferrably open top, reasonably nimble, reasonably affordable car designed
less for practicality than for fun and style. Add luxury features, a fixed
roof, and the desire to sustain higher speeds or go longer distances, and
you have a GT car. Add a true back seat and more upright styling, and you
have a Sports Sedan. Add a few zeros to the price and you have an exoticar.
Add horsepower to an American GT, and you have a pony car. Add more
horsepower and remove some handling, and you have a musclecar.
A lot of people have a problem with the traditional definition of a sports
cr, becaeu they feel it's an insult to cal their performance GT a GT
instead of a sports car. But it isn't an insult for a car to BE a GT or a
Sport Sedan, any more than it's an insult to call an F150 a pickup
truck.
THIS is what sports cars were all about:
http://dega.cs.unc.edu/~nick/new/vir/65-jul/67-10-010.JPG
http://dega.cs.unc.edu/~nick/new/vir/65-jul/67-10-006.JPG
ChrisVThanks for your reply! That explained it all.
ed_7702AE-86 is FR
ToCkSTwo part question after all: What do drivers consider a sports car, and
what do insurance companies consider a sports car.
Second part is easier to answer .... the insurance companies typically use
some judgement, but really let the driving records and accident rates of
the vehicles decide. If you have the type of car that appeals to thrill
seeking teenagers that wrap them around telephone poles on a nearly regular
basis .... your screwed on insurance rates. By a grandma mobile that doesnt
have enough power to jump the curb to hit the telephone pole no matter how
hard you try to stomp the pedal through the paper-mache floorboard ....
your pretty safe.
Driver's definition of sports cars are another story. I dont believe there
are any set standards ... but personally weigh power, performance, styling
into the equation. By the way, based on that, a V6 Mustang is not a sports
car in my book.
TopshelfAnother major factor in the insurance of cars is the vehicle. If the vehicle is a very high demand and very prestigous your insurance will be higher becuase of the stolen car rate. A hummer you may think to be cheap insuracnce becuase of the saftey of it. But the stolen car rate is high. Sorry for the bad typing im drunk as a cat on cocaine.
StemI didn't know hummers had high theft rates... that's crazy how people can steal that big ass SUV. What do you think they do after stealing them? keep them and drive...or take them apart in pieces and sell them?
ed_7702yah here in hawaii roughly 1 in every 27 hummers get stolen, and they take em apart and sell them.
Stemhttp://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/insurance/top_100_vehicle_thefts.pdf
Doesn't show percentages of how many stolen and how many produced
though..........
GodlausRight. A Hyundai Tiburon (sp?) V6 has 6 cyl. but is not going to cost more than a STi with 4 cyl. The Tiburon does have 2 more cyl and 2 fewer doors, but that doesnt matter in insurance because it has like 200 hp compared to a STi with 300 hp. :thumbs:
StiManWell the most general definition of what is sports and what isn't is by looking at it. The title doesn't entail racing, but does signify a sporty look. So to me a sportscar would be more of a Mustang, Eclipse, Tiburon, S2000, 240sx, CRX, GTO, Cobalt, M3, that one 3 door car, etc. They are sporty looking cars, not so fast but good accel., nimble is the right word, and lightweight. Power isn't as important as accel in defining sports car. A sport sedan is like a Galant or a Grand Prix. And basically anything that even looks like it might be fast will be expensive when it comes to insurance. Cause anything that looks like it might be fast will be driven fast by us kids...then crashed into other fast looking cars driven by other kids at the only time where fast looking cars driven by drunk kids prevail 1 in the friggin morning.
VMJYogiSo we can redefine any car any way we want to? Just because we have our own
definitions? I can call a GTi a station wagon, or an Eclipse a minivan,
'cause they are to me? (not really but making a point).
The category of car came about DUE TO road racing. And it was a specific
category of road racing cars. Formula cars were another. GTs were yet
another.
Definitions came about so one person could talk to another person and know
what they are talking about. Having different definitions of the same thing
for differnt people makes communication difficult, when one person says one
thing and the other thinks they mean something else.
ChrisVsorry im late on this... but, no i dont really consider the srt4 a sports car... why? its a neon thats been better equipted... the prelude, a larg-er engined and heavier econo car
mazda6man[QUOTE=ed_7702]so by your definition, my mustang v6 woudn't be a sports car
but is really a sporty car with characteristics of a sports car?[QUOTE]
and last i knew, all mustangs are RWD so a mustang considered a ponie car
actually... id say its just a bigger ended sports car...
mazda6man