is that too much. Those are classic definitions os cars. Sports cars, Grand touring cars, muscle cars, luxury cars, economy cars....

But yes, you got it right. Ford GT = sports car, Dodge Viper = sports car, Saleen S7 = sports car, Ferrari Enzo = sports car (understatement right there). Aston Martin Vanquish = GT car, Bugatti EB16-4 Veyron = GT car, Ferrari 575M = GT car.

There are certain cars that are hard to place though, a Corvette is one of them, as is a Porsche 911 although I personally place both of those more toward GT than sports. They have to much emphasis on certain luxury aspects such as climate controls, stereos, and other creature comforts to be considered a real sports car to me.

 

Id say there is a line between Sports car and GT car. The Ferrari 575 is a GT car. The ford GT is, you guessed it, a GT car. The Dodge Viper is a GT car. The Vette (z06 or otherwise) is a Sports car. The Elise, S2000, Old MR2 Turbo, Boxter are sports cars. The miata and the MR-Spyder i dont consider sports cars because while they may be roadsters that handle like go carts, they lack the power to keep them competitive with a sports car (such as the s2000 or the lotus elise or even the boxter). I might put the miata and MR-Spyder into the Bottom rung of the sports car ladder, but they dont get sports car status from me. A LS1 F body will outrun a miata on a road course with long sweepers, but a miata will destroy one on an autoX course.

 

the bitterness and jealousy towards more expensive cars shines through!

and a good post by shawn

 

ha ha... some of these comments i just have to laugh at.

There is a big difference between talking about cars you have seen or read about and actually owning/driving/racing one.

For those that said the ford gt was a sports car but the vette wasn't... definitely need to get on some medication. The vette is winning road course races all over the world... beating tons of exotic cars. And with a good driver and good tires it will whoop most cars at the strip.. stock, N/A with all the creature comforts.
And i know for sure that any stock Ls1 6-speed will destroy a mustang GT in handling.... as well as ET. The factory torque arm and panhard bar do wonders.. plus the center of gravity is lower and the footprint is wider.

I have respect for anything quick/fast.... but what you guys need to realize is the foundation you have to start with when comparing some of these v-tech/<8 cylinder cars to a Z06/Ls1/Ls6/etc.. Mod for mod you can't touch them.

And sure on a tight auto-X track, a miata might beat a vette/camaro/firebird.... but at the end of the day, you still have a miata....

 

Spoken like a true F-body owner. I'm gonna let you in on something here bub....There has never been an F-body produced that is a sports car. You are just another guy in a long long list that quantifies a car to sportscar status just by the performance numbers on paper. It's about driving experiance too. A Bugatti Veyron is without a doubt the grandest GT car ever made...and it will beat an Elise in EVERY performance catagory (slalom perhaps not withstanding). But the Elise is one of the most hardcore sports cars ever built. The Ford GT IS a sports car. It is raw, barebones, not user friendly...It's a tool made simply to bring the driver pleasure. The vette is not. I wouldn't even call the vette a GT really. It's a very well built musclecar that Chevy has finally learned how to make handle with some authority. I know they do very well on racetracks...and the bigger the track the better. Why? Because it's not the most nimble car...It has high limits of adhesion and a big V8 for the straight aways. IMHO one way to judge a sports car is to compare its performance to the sum of it's parts. I'll use a vette and an S2000 for instance. These two cars are closer in performance than you'd think. There are a few guys on this site who have seen me beat an automatic C5 vette in my S2000 pretty handily out at the Pungo AutoX track a while ago. And that was a drag race. The G force limits on the vette and S2000 are almost identical and the S2000 does it with 225 and 205 tires, whereas the vette needs monster tires to keep up, 275 or bigger I believe. Why can an S2000 keep up so well with a vette when it's down so much hp, torque, and rubber? Because it was better engineered form the get go and was designed as a purpose built sports car. A vette is more comfortable then an S2000. It rides nice, is quieter, has climate control, a nice stereo....It's a more livable car and for 90% of people a better choice. It is NOT however, a sportscar in the grander sceme of things.

And for the previous poster.....A Ford GT is a GT in name only. It is very much a sports car.

You people need to realize that being a GT isn't a step down form a sports car. In fact for 99% of the population it's a step up.

 

While i agree that the F Body isnt a sports car (Its a pony car, just like the Mustang), It does perform in the same class as MANY sports cars. In the SCCA Touring II class i believe it is, the F Body is in it, as well as the Nissan 350Z, and the Porsche Boxster, the Toyota Supra, the Mustang Cobra, the BMW M3, and the Honda Prelude. Its a limited mod class and guess who regularly comes out on top. Ill give you a hint, its made in Canada

 

Exactly

 

In handling too????? Wow, news to me! The F-body is a great car and all, but sometimes you all get a little carried away. The GT Mustang actually handles slightly better than the F-body, but I know that trying to tell an F-body owner otherwise is like trying to do the impossible, so......... let the flood gates open and flame away....

 

I think it's funny how some people will swear up and down their car is a sports car and then when they go to get insurance its a Mid size sedan or what not. So far everyone i think has amde a good point to what a true sports car is and what isnt a true sports car.
Like somone said a true sports car is a RWD coupe, but keep in mind some sports cars come AWD. Now i dont know if you wanna throw the Skyline in their or some Lambo's but i see some of them as being sports cars as well.
Wasnt it said by someone in a magizine that a sports car is designed to be the best all around???
I think they went on saying that it may not be the fastest car at the track or the quickest out of the corner but has an all around equal balance. For example, has good hp, torque #'s, performs well at road course, and is still able to run good times at a track.

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

i agree with rice etr

and again, i will say, the bitterness and jealousy towards more expensive cars DEFINITELY shines through in this thread

if you can't have the best, pretend yours is better! brainwash yourself!