Sports Cars Vs Kilts

[greenman11]

Ok, I will throw my 2 cents on this one. Qualifications are 17 years auto repair on English and German autos 1968-1985, Certified Journeyman rated mechanic.
A sports car is a two seat fixed or drop head coupe. In america that woud be a two seat hard top or convertable.
Examples: not inclusive

MG Midget, MGA, MGB, MGC
Triumph TR6, TR4, TR3, Spitfire, Stag
Austin/Healy 3000, sprite
Sunbeam Tiger
Morgan +4
Jaguar E-type
Porsche 356,911,912
Volkswagen 914-4, 914-6
Chevrolete Corvette
Ford, early Thunderbird
Any vehicle with more then 2 real seats, could be a sports sedan whether two doors or four. An example of this would be the Mini Cooper or MG 1100 and the Triumph 2000. SCCA classes not withstanding, this would be a general laymans clasification.

Oh for the days long gone of real sports cars,

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Oh for the days long gone of real sports cars,

Couldn't agree more-- I think it is this lack of "real" sports cars that has made the component car industry really take off in the last 10-15 years. What is interesting is that 70% of all "kit cars" sold are copies of the, now ubiquitous, Cobra.

An open car with two seats, and one which, when new, could be driven from the showroom to the track and win races.

[Dan R Porter]

WRX STI will take all of those in a real race: dirt, gravel, tarmac, bumps...

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

WRX STI will take all of those in a real race: dirt, gravel, tarmac, bumps...

A pretty fast car, with the right driver. It autocrosses in class A Stock (A/S) and runs against some pretty stiff competition: Audi S4 V8; Honda S2000; the AMG M-BZ SLKs; Mitusbishi EVO SD; Porsche 911; Toyota Supra Turbo, just to name a few...

So what it comes down to is that racing is like wearing white socks with kilts. Is all about a matter of opinion!

[BruceK]

Ok, I will throw my 2 cents on this one. Qualifications are 17 years auto repair on English and German autos 1968-1985, Certified Journeyman rated mechanic.
A sports car is a two seat fixed or drop head coupe. In america that woud be a two seat hard top or convertable.
Examples: not inclusive

Triumph TR6, TR4, TR3, Spitfire, Stag

Any vehicle with more then 2 real seats, could be a sports sedan whether two doors or four.

Oh for the days long gone of real sports cars,

Minor correction to the above. The Stag has four real seats and can easily carry four adults (so long as the ones in back are short if the soft top is up... ). On a good day I guess I'd call it a sports sedan, though tourer is more accurate IMHO. I like my wife's Stag, but I have much more fun driving my TR6.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Minor correction to the above. The Stag has four real seats and can easily carry four adults (so long as the ones in back are short if the soft top is up... ). On a good day I guess I'd call it a sports sedan, though tourer is more accurate IMHO. I like my wife's Stag, but I have much more fun driving my TR6.

The Stag could have been a great car, but at the time it was being developed BMC/BLMH/BL was jointly owned by the British government and the unions. Top executive management left the company (for higher paying jobs elsewhere) and the result was the stake through the heart of not only the Stag, but the entire British motor industry. What should have been a terrific British sport car in the vein of the Mercedes-Benz 350SL ended up being a less than reliable, over-weight tourer.

I agree with you about sports cars having only two seats. Morgan, the last 100% British owned car maker, refers to their traditional 2-seaters as sports cars, and calls their 4-seater a tourer. Owning one of each, I'd tend to agree-- although I prefer the 4-seaters. Perhaps it has to do with the ability to to take my dog with me!

The recent Greenville Highland Games hosted a "British Car Day" as part of the event. Tucked in amongst the Rolls-Royces and Jaguar XJ6s were a healthy number of proper sports cars, mostly driven by... you guessed it... men in kilts.

[Zardoz]

A sports car is a two seat fixed or drop head coupe. In america that woud be a two seat hard top or convertable.


Oh for the days long gone of real sports cars,

Not completely gone; In 1962 I came home from the maternity ward in a Austin Healy 3000, and over the years my Dad and I have owned various MGA's, MGB's, a VW/Porsche 914, and a TR6. My Dad loves MG's and always lamented that there were not any 'real' (meaning English) Sportscars anymore, at least affordable ones, but now we both have Miatas. They are everything a classic English sportscar could be and more, without the less desireable "personality" quirks most of them had.

My daily driver: 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata. Two seat drop head coupe, Lightweight body, double wishbone suspension at all four corners, 1.8 litre turbocharged 4 banger, 6 speed manual, rear drive, stone reliable, and more fun to drive than anything I've ever owned!