Quote:
Originally Posted by Year's_End
That's why we have more terms to use. It doesn't have to come down to "is it a sportscar or not."
The sports car term doesn't have to be watered down. We just need to understand that there are better terms out there that shit the different types of cars available today.
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I guess it depends on how one thinks of the term sports car. What I am seeing in this thread is that for some of us it is a broad term, while for others it is more specific.
Since a sedan is a type of car, it makes sense that a sport sedan is a type of sports car. I would argue that a supercar or hypercar would be a subset of sports cars. Maybe the term is too broad due to the many choices of cars out there today and no longer useful as it once was.
It's the same thing with motorcycles. In the 70s there were no sport bikes. The Japanese bikes of the era are referred to as UJM, Universal Japanese Motorcycle. But the were GP races, etc. As technology progressed, bikes started to branch out and you had tourers, cruisers, nakeds, sportbikes, superbikes, etc.
Cars have gone in a similar direction. Many more "raw" and "visceral" cars of yesteryear have become easier to live with and daily drive, more luxury and more convenient; at the same time, many more luxury, larger, heavier cars have become more nimble and better at handling and other performance aspects. Some of the lines have blurred.
Even some GT cars can be said to be sports cars. Think SLS AMG - it's a GT car, but AMG races them, so they definitely qualify as sports cars. This is where it gets even more subjective, though; for example, I don't think of a Bentley Continental GT as a sports car, but they race them as well so that goes to show my own thoughts on the subject are not entirely concise.
I do agree though that the SL is not a sports car. Never thought of it as one. It's a GT for sure. There is lots of overlap these days of the different types of cars especially when you think of fast, powerful, 2 door variety high end cars.
Interestingly enough, for me, if you were to ask me what is the first image that pops into my head when someone says sports car, I think of the Corvette. That's the first thing that came up when I read the thread title yesterday.