A sports car is a car that is built with the sole intention on being driven hard all the time....the closer a car is to a purpose built race car...the more of a sports car it is. The less compromises a car makes straying from performance...the more of a sports car it is. The Ferrari 575M is one of the greatest Grand touring cars ever made....but not sports car. A lotus Elise is without a doubt in my mind the most hardcore sports car you can buy today.