A sports car (sportscar) is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for spirited performance and nimble handling. Sports cars may be spartan or luxurious but high maneuverability and minimum weight are requisite.
The basis for the sports car is traced to the early 20th century touring cars and roadsters. These raced in early rallys, such as the Herkomer Cup, Prinz Heinrich Fahrt, and Monte Carlo.
Though the term sports car would not be coined until after World War One, the first sports cars are considered to be the 3 litre 1910 Prince Henry (Prinz Heinrich) Vauxhall 20 hp (tax rating) and the 27/80PS Austro-Daimler designed by Ferdinand Porsche.
These would shortly be joined by the French DFP (which became sporters after tuning by H.M. and W. O. Bentley) and the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. In the U.S., where the type was variously called roadster, speedster, runabout, or raceabout, there was Apperson, Kissel, Marion, Midland, National, Overland, Stoddard-Dayton, and Thomas among small models, while Chadwick, Mercer, Stutz, and Simplex were among large models.
In 1921, Ballot premiered its 2LS, with a remarkable 75 hp (56 kW) DOHC two liter, designed by Ernest Henry (formerly of Peugeot's Grand Prix program), capable of 150 km/h (93 mph); at most, one hundred were built in four years. This was followed by the SOHC 2LT and 2LTS. The same year, Benz built a supercharged 28/95PS four for the Coppa Florio; Max Sailer won.
Simson in 1924 offered a Paul Henze-designed 60 hp (45 kW) DOHC 2 liter four, the Simson Supra Type S, in a long-wheelbase 120 km/h (75 mph) tourer and 115 km/h (71 mph) twin-carburettor sporter; only thirty were sold, against around three hundred of the SOHC model and 750 of the pushrod-six Type R. Duerkopp's Zoller-blown two liter in 1924, as well.
There was a clear cleavage by 1925. As four-seaters were more profitable, two-seaters increasingly turned over to specialist manufacturers, led by Alvis, Aston-Martin, and Frazer-Nash, with shoestring budgets, fanatic followers, and limited sales (today exemplified by Aston and Morgan): between 1921 and 1939, 350 Astons were built; 323 Frazer-Nashes in the period 1924–39.
By the end of the 1920s, AC produced a 2 liter six, the 3.5 liter Nazzaro had a three-valve OHC (only until 1922), while French makers Amilcar, Bignan, Hispano-Suiza, and Samson had the typical small four-cylinder sporters and Delage, Hotchkiss, and Chenard-Walcker the large tourers. Benz introduced the powerful SS and SSK, and Alfa Romeo, the Vittorio Jano-designed 6C.
Two companies would offer the first really reliable sports cars: Austin with the Seven and Morris Garages (MG) with the Midget.[citation needed] The Seven would quickly be "rodded" by numerous companies (as the Type 1 would be a generation later), including Bassett and Dingle (Hammersmith, London); in 1928, a Cozette blower was fitted to the Seven Super Sports, while Cecil Kimber fitted an 847 cc Minor engine, and sold more Midgets in the first year than MG's entire previous production.
The drive train and engine layout significantly influences the handling characteristics of an automobile, and is crucially important in the design of a sports car.
The front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR) is common to sports cars of any era and has survived longer in sports cars than in mainstream automobiles. Examples include the Caterham 7, Mazda MX-5, and the Chevrolet Corvette. More specifically, many such sports cars have a FMR layout, with the centre of mass of the engine between the front axle and the firewall.
In search of improved handling and weight distribution, other layouts are sometimes used. The RMR layout is commonly found only in sports cars—the motor is centre-mounted in the chassis (closer to and behind the driver), and powers only the rear wheels. Some high-performance sports car manufacturers, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini have preferred this layout.
Porsche is one of the few remaining manufacturers using the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (RR). The motor's distributed weight across the wheels, in a Porsche 911, provides excellent traction, but the significant mass behind the rear wheels makes it more prone to oversteer in some situations. Porsche has continuously refined the design and in recent years added electronic driving aids (i.e. computerised traction-stability control) to counteract these inherent design shortcomings.[5]
The front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout (FF) layout which is the most common in sport compacts and hot hatches, and cars in general, is not generally used for sports cars. This layout is advantageous for small, light, lower power sports cars, as it avoids the extra weight, increased transmission power loss, and packaging problems of a long driveshaft and longitudinal engine of FR vehicles. However, its conservative handling effect, particularly understeer, and the fact that many drivers believe rear wheel drive is a more desirable layout for a sports car count against it. The Fiat Barchetta, Saab Sonett and Berkeley cars are sports cars with this layout.
Before the 1980s few sports cars used four-wheel drive, which had traditionally added a lot of weight. Although not a sports car, the Audi Quattro proved its worth in rallying. With its improvement in traction, particularly in adverse weather conditions, four-wheel drive is no longer uncommon in high-powered sports cars, e.g. Porsche, Lamborghini, and the Bugatti Veyron.
A car may be a sporting automobile without being a sports car. Performance modifications of regular, production cars, such as sport compacts, sports sedans, muscle cars, hot hatches and the like, generally are not considered sports cars, yet share traits common to sports cars. They are sometimes called "sports cars" for marketing purposes for increased advertising and promotional purposes.[7] Performance cars of various configurations are grouped as Sports and Grand tourer cars or, occasionally, as performance cars.
10 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
#9 2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe
#8 2014 Subaru BRZ
The standard features of the Subaru BRZ Premium include 2.0L H-4 200hp engine, 6-speed manual transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), integrated navigation system, side seat mounted airbags, curtain 1st and 2nd row overhead airbags, airbag occupancy sensor, air conditioning, 17" aluminum wheels, cruise control, and an ABS and driveline traction control.
#7 2014 Cadillac CTS-V
#6 2013 Ford Shelby GT500
#5 2014 Audi RS 7
The standard features of the Audi RS 7 4.0T Prestige include 4.0L V-8 560hp engine twin turbo, 8-speed automatic transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), integrated navigation system, side seat mounted airbags, SIDEGUARD curtain 1st and 2nd row overhead airbags, driver and passenger knee airbag, airbag occupancy sensor, automatic air conditioning, 20" forged aluminum wheels, cruise control, and an ABS and driveline traction control.
#4 2014 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
#3 2014 Porsche Cayman
The standard features of the Porsche Cayman S include 3.4L H-6 325hp engine, 6-speed manual transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), side seat mounted airbags, curtain 1st row overhead airbag, airbag occupancy sensor, air conditioning, 19" aluminum wheels, cruise control, ABS and driveline traction control, and an electronic stability
#2 2014 Jaguar F-TYPE
#1 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
The basis for the sports car is traced to the early 20th century touring cars and roadsters. These raced in early rallys, such as the Herkomer Cup, Prinz Heinrich Fahrt, and Monte Carlo.
Though the term sports car would not be coined until after World War One, the first sports cars are considered to be the 3 litre 1910 Prince Henry (Prinz Heinrich) Vauxhall 20 hp (tax rating) and the 27/80PS Austro-Daimler designed by Ferdinand Porsche.
These would shortly be joined by the French DFP (which became sporters after tuning by H.M. and W. O. Bentley) and the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. In the U.S., where the type was variously called roadster, speedster, runabout, or raceabout, there was Apperson, Kissel, Marion, Midland, National, Overland, Stoddard-Dayton, and Thomas among small models, while Chadwick, Mercer, Stutz, and Simplex were among large models.
In 1921, Ballot premiered its 2LS, with a remarkable 75 hp (56 kW) DOHC two liter, designed by Ernest Henry (formerly of Peugeot's Grand Prix program), capable of 150 km/h (93 mph); at most, one hundred were built in four years. This was followed by the SOHC 2LT and 2LTS. The same year, Benz built a supercharged 28/95PS four for the Coppa Florio; Max Sailer won.
Simson in 1924 offered a Paul Henze-designed 60 hp (45 kW) DOHC 2 liter four, the Simson Supra Type S, in a long-wheelbase 120 km/h (75 mph) tourer and 115 km/h (71 mph) twin-carburettor sporter; only thirty were sold, against around three hundred of the SOHC model and 750 of the pushrod-six Type R. Duerkopp's Zoller-blown two liter in 1924, as well.
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| VAXHALL 3litres |
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| 1900 NW Rennzweier (The Double Racer) |
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| Austro-Daimler—5.7-litres |
CONSTRUCTION
The drive train and engine layout significantly influences the handling characteristics of an automobile, and is crucially important in the design of a sports car.
The front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR) is common to sports cars of any era and has survived longer in sports cars than in mainstream automobiles. Examples include the Caterham 7, Mazda MX-5, and the Chevrolet Corvette. More specifically, many such sports cars have a FMR layout, with the centre of mass of the engine between the front axle and the firewall.
In search of improved handling and weight distribution, other layouts are sometimes used. The RMR layout is commonly found only in sports cars—the motor is centre-mounted in the chassis (closer to and behind the driver), and powers only the rear wheels. Some high-performance sports car manufacturers, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini have preferred this layout.
Porsche is one of the few remaining manufacturers using the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (RR). The motor's distributed weight across the wheels, in a Porsche 911, provides excellent traction, but the significant mass behind the rear wheels makes it more prone to oversteer in some situations. Porsche has continuously refined the design and in recent years added electronic driving aids (i.e. computerised traction-stability control) to counteract these inherent design shortcomings.[5]
The front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout (FF) layout which is the most common in sport compacts and hot hatches, and cars in general, is not generally used for sports cars. This layout is advantageous for small, light, lower power sports cars, as it avoids the extra weight, increased transmission power loss, and packaging problems of a long driveshaft and longitudinal engine of FR vehicles. However, its conservative handling effect, particularly understeer, and the fact that many drivers believe rear wheel drive is a more desirable layout for a sports car count against it. The Fiat Barchetta, Saab Sonett and Berkeley cars are sports cars with this layout.
Before the 1980s few sports cars used four-wheel drive, which had traditionally added a lot of weight. Although not a sports car, the Audi Quattro proved its worth in rallying. With its improvement in traction, particularly in adverse weather conditions, four-wheel drive is no longer uncommon in high-powered sports cars, e.g. Porsche, Lamborghini, and the Bugatti Veyron.
Terminology
TOP TEN SPORTS CARS
10 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
The standard features of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT include AMG 6.2L V-8 583hp engine, 7-speed auto-shift manual transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), integrated navigation system, side seat mounted airbags, curtain 1st row overhead airbag, driver and passenger knee airbag, airbag occupancy sensor, automatic air conditioning, 19" AMG forged aluminum wheels, cruise control, and an ABS and driveline traction control.
#9 2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe
The standard features of the BMW M6 Gran Coupe Base include 4.4L V-8 560hp engine twin turbo, 7-speed auto-shift manual transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), integrated navigation system, side seat mounted airbags, curtain 1st and 2nd row overhead airbags, driver and passenger knee airbag, airbag occupancy sensor, automatic air conditioning, 20" forged aluminum wheels, cruise control, and an ABS and driveline traction control.
#8 2014 Subaru BRZ
The standard features of the Subaru BRZ Premium include 2.0L H-4 200hp engine, 6-speed manual transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), integrated navigation system, side seat mounted airbags, curtain 1st and 2nd row overhead airbags, airbag occupancy sensor, air conditioning, 17" aluminum wheels, cruise control, and an ABS and driveline traction control.#7 2014 Cadillac CTS-V
The standard features of the Cadillac CTS-V Base include 6.2L V-8 556hp engine intercooled supercharger, 6-speed manual transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), integrated navigation system, side seat mounted airbags, curtain 1st and 2nd row overhead airbags, airbag occupancy sensor, automatic air conditioning, 19" aluminum wheels, cruise control, and an ABS and driveline traction control.
#6 2013 Ford Shelby GT500
The standard features of the Ford Shelby GT500 Base include 5.8L V-8 662hp engine intercooled supercharger, 6-speed manual transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), side seat mounted airbags, driver and passenger side airbag head extension, airbag occupancy sensor, air conditioning, 19" forged aluminum wheels, cruise control, ABS and driveline traction control, and an electronic stability
#5 2014 Audi RS 7
The standard features of the Audi RS 7 4.0T Prestige include 4.0L V-8 560hp engine twin turbo, 8-speed automatic transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), integrated navigation system, side seat mounted airbags, SIDEGUARD curtain 1st and 2nd row overhead airbags, driver and passenger knee airbag, airbag occupancy sensor, automatic air conditioning, 20" forged aluminum wheels, cruise control, and an ABS and driveline traction control.#4 2014 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
The standard features of the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Base include AMG 6.2L V-8 451hp engine, 7-speed automatic transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), side seat mounted airbags, curtain 1st and 2nd row overhead airbags, driver knee airbag, airbag occupancy sensor, BabySmart airbag childseat sensor, automatic air conditioning, 18" AMG aluminum wheels, cruise control, ABS and driveline traction control, and an electronic stability
#3 2014 Porsche Cayman
The standard features of the Porsche Cayman S include 3.4L H-6 325hp engine, 6-speed manual transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), side seat mounted airbags, curtain 1st row overhead airbag, airbag occupancy sensor, air conditioning, 19" aluminum wheels, cruise control, ABS and driveline traction control, and an electronic stability#2 2014 Jaguar F-TYPE
The standard features of the Jaguar F-TYPE Base include 3.0L V-6 340hp engine intercooled supercharger, 8-speed automatic transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), integrated navigation system, side seat mounted airbags, driver and passenger side airbag head extension, airbag occupancy sensor, automatic air conditioning, 18" aluminum wheels, cruise control, and an ABS and driveline traction control.
#1 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
The standard features of the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Base include 6.2L V-8 455hp engine, 7-speed manual transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), side seat mounted airbags, airbag occupancy sensor, automatic air conditioning, 18" aluminum wheels, cruise control, ABS and driveline traction control, Active Handling electronic stability, and a 6 way power driver seat.
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