Sports car: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

There is no exact definition of a sports car, but it is typically a two-seater two-door automobile designed for performance—either speed, maneuverability, or acceleration, with great emphasis placed on handling, the "driver experience". In other words, a sports car is a car that is designed to be sporting, rather than practical in terms of comfort, payload, or economy. In fact, many of the early British sports cars lacked a powerful engine and did not accelerate very quickly, but were known for having handling characteristics described as "tossable".

A sports car may be convertible (open topped) but this is not a requirement. Some sports cars have small emergency back seats that are really only suitable for luggage. Although the original sports cars, typified by British open-top two-seat, two-door coupes, lacked four doors or a full back seat, many modern performance automobiles such as the BMW M5 and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution are four-door sedans (saloons).

Layout

The layout of drive train and engine influences the handling characteristics of a car and is the focus of more attention in a sports car.

Most modern cars use the FF where the engine is in the front and it drives the front wheels. Some sports cars have this layout, but due to the limitations of front wheel drive, it is not typical in higher-performance models.

Previously FR, front engine driving rear wheels, was common. This form has survived longer in sports cars than in the mainstream and is declared by some to be the "classic" layout for sports cars. The lighter rear-end and rear drive increases the ability of a car to "drift" around corners.

In search of improved handling and weight distribution other formats have been tried. MR is a layout commonly found only in sports cars—the engine is mounted towards the centre of the chassis, close behind the driver, and powers the rear wheels.

Porsche are the sole users of the RR layout, a rear engine driving the rear wheels. The qualities of their cars are sometimes said to have come about despite rather than because of this layout. The weight distribution across the wheels in a Porsche cannot be seen as ideal.

The final form used is all wheel drive or AWD. This was frowned on as a utility-oriented drive layout by purists but has found acceptance since the 1980s. Audi's stunning rally racing success with their Quattro in the early 1980s legitimized this layout for sports cars. Since then, many of the top-performing cars from marques like Porsche and Lamborghini, as well as many new upstarts from Mitsubishi and Subaru, have used AWD.

Well known specialist brands or marques, new and old, are:

• AC
• Alfa Romeo
• Alpine
• Aston Martin
• Austin-Healey
• Bricklin
• Bugatti
• Caterham
• De Lorean
• Donkervoort
• Ferrari
• HKT
• Jaguar
• Lamborghini
• Lotus
• McLaren
• Maserati
• MG
• Morgan
• Porsche
• Triumph
• TVR

Almost all major car manufacturers also make some form of high performance car, sometimes very successfully such as Ford with the GT40, Mazda with the MX-5/Miata, and Nissan with the Z-car.

See also: Roadster, Sports car racing and Muscle car