What Exactly is a Sports Car?
What do you think a sports car is? Everybody has different thoughts on the matter, but I’d be willing to bet that if I asked ten people what a sports car is, they’d all give me a different answer. Rightfully so. Even a brief Google search doesn’t shed too much light on the matter at hand. Even car insurance companies differ on what classifies as a sports car and what doesn’t.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “sports car” as: a low, small, usually 2-passenger automobile designed for quick response, easy maneuverability, and high-speed driving. This is certainly a solid definition, and I believe it almost completely nails it on the head. Let’s start here as it’s the most accessible definition to everyone and because it’s probably the most basic definition there is that’s set in stone. The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) does have standards as to what classifies as a sports car, and you can find them on their website if you’re curious, but we’ll keep it simple.
I agree completely with the description of low, small, and usually 2-passenger automobile. I also happen to love how the definition throws in the fact that the car would be designed for quick response, easy maneuverability, and high-speed driving. That last little bit might be the most controversial part of the definition. There are very few people that would say the Subaru BRZ is fast or even meant for “high-speed” driving. My response to that would be that the BRZ isn’t fast, but it is designed to handle sharper than the average car, and therefore can be driven at higher speeds in places at which the average car would not. There is a difference between “fast” and “high-speed”. Most people would also consider the BRZ to be a true sports car.
While we’re on the subject of the BRZ, let’s tackle the “usually 2-passenger” statement. It’s a good one. That leaves wiggle room for cars like the BRZ. Again, there would be few people that would argue against the BRZ being a true sports car, yet it does have two back seats. Everything else in the definition covers Subaru’s only rear-wheel-drive automobile to a “T”.
Rear-wheel-drive is a component that is sadly missing from the definition. I believe it’s difficult to say that a true sports car is one that’s only powered by the front wheels or all the wheels. Front wheel drive cars just don’t have the handling capability that a rear-wheel-drive setup is able to achieve. All-wheel-drive usually adds a large amount of weight, taking away at least some of the most desirable handling characteristics that a true sports car should have.
Something that isn’t missing from the definition we have is the purpose of a sports car. It’s designed specifically to accomplish the purpose of being more maneuverable, more nimble, and more responsive than your everyday, best-selling family sedan. The Mazda MX-5 Miata is a good example. The car is purpose built to provide you with an experience by out-handling just about every other car on the road. The Miata can make you feel like you’re going faster and driving better than you are because it’s so nimble and capable.
This is also what makes a true sports car so much fun to drive. A sports car will impart a real sense of joy and confidence. While joy is very subjective and can’t be physically measured, every true sports car accomplishes the hardest and most sought after goal of any car manufacturer: Enjoyment at any speed.
The Mustangs, Challengers, and Corvettes of the world surely provide immense amounts of joy, happiness, and exhilaration for any owner or driver. They can provide the same experience of a true sports car for the right person. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Aston Martins can provide the same experience along with the additional, slightly different experience that comes with owning an exotic car. Not all of them can claim that they provide the purest driving experience that a true sports car can offer all the time.
A sports car can be defined, and it will continue to be defined by many different people in many different ways. That can be both good and bad. What defines a sports the best however, is that which can’t truly be defined: sheer enjoyment. A sports car is a small, nimble, usually two-passenger automobile designed for quick response, easy maneuverability, and high-speed maneuverability, all while putting the biggest smile on the face of the driver… bigger than anybody else on the road.
–SWF
