What Makes the Perfect Sports Car?

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story by norman garrett

When Grassroots Motorsports came on the scene 30 years ago–back when it was called Auto-X magazine–the sports car world was facing sorry times. Famed brands like MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey had long …

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Yes. That's definitively it. My '66 MGB weighs 2075 lbs., soft top on, one 12v battery in place of the 2 6v batteries, with factory wires and 185/70 x 14 tires. Otherwise dead-stock. Not sure where your 2310 number came from. I'm on my 5th B. I've also had a mildly-zinged-up Miata, and just knew it had to weigh more than the B. I do heartily agree with the MGB parallel. Nice article. Thanks!

The Staff of Motorsport Marketing said:

Q: What Makes the Perfect Sports Car?

A: The factory at Hethel.

II think the plan with the Miata was to emulate not the MGB but to build a reliable version of the Lotus Elan (saying Chapman and reliable in the same sentence elicits guffaws from anyone that has ever owned a Lotus).  And that's what they did  It didn't look as nice but it didn't break much and it handled well and still does in all the ensuing iterations.

I'll take issue with the assertion that  a good sports car has to be a convertible though. The very example chosen to illustrate that does exactly the opposite - many people beleive that the early XKE coupe was the best looking car extant.  My personal equipe is made up almost entirely of sports coupes - Solstice GXP coupe, BMW Z4MC, Jensen Interceptor, 62 MGA coupe, Jamaican bodied MGA.  To me they seem more elegant designs with enough insulation from the elements that you can get out after a day's drive and feel relaxed rather than exhausted.

One that is paid for. Very rare.

One that keeps you out of trouble otherwise. In other words, a healthy vice, if such a thing isn't a bit of an oxymoron.

Plus, while the old adage that a sports car is cheaper than therapy may or may not be true in all cases, you can't share therapy. You CAN bring a passenger along for the ride though! =)

Both the Miata and the MGB take after the Datsun roadster - very similar dimensions, except the Miata is 6 inches wider than the earlier cars.. (:

wspohn said:

II think the plan with the Miata was to emulate not the MGB but to build a reliable version of the Lotus Elan (saying Chapman and reliable in the same sentence elicits guffaws from anyone that has ever owned a Lotus).  And that's what they did  It didn't look as nice but it didn't break much and it handled well and still does in all the ensuing iterations.

I'll take issue with the assertion that  agood sports car has to be a convertible though. The very example chosen to illustrate that does exactly the opposite - many people beleive that the early XKE coupe was the best looking car extant.  My personal equipe is made up almost entirely of sports coupes - Solstice GXP coupe, BMW Z4MC, Jensen Interceptor, 62 MGA coupe, Jamaican bodied MGA.  To me they seem more elegant designs with enough insulation from the elements that you can get out after a day's drive and feel relaxed rather than exhausted.

Had never heard of, nor seen pictures of, a Jamaican bodied MGA, but a quick Google search brought yours up first.  Gorgeous lines, neat project.

stylngle2003 wrote:

Had never heard of, nor seen pictures of, a Jamaican bodied MGA, but a quick Google search brought yours up first.  Gorgeous lines, neat project.

Thanks - one of the very few rebody jobs that actually looks like a real car, largely due to sensible glass choices - rear = 911, windshield = Corvette, side windows = Karmann Ghia.

"I've also had a mildly-zinged-up Miata, and just knew it had to weigh more than the B."  Not much, if at all. Take a no options 1.6 Miata, (no power steering or AC, no power windows, or cruise control, no radio, cloth seats, replace the air bag steering wheel...) get the Miata just about as basic as an MGB. Take the spare and jack out,  and your MGB's  2,075 lb weight is within spitting distance...but with 30% more HP, and mch  better brakes and suspension.

The early Miatas got loaded with options, and the later ones got even more  bloated, but a stock MGB drives like a truck in comparison to a Miata *built as it was designed to be* .One would hope so, there's something like 25 years between their design birthdays.

I think all ten points are excellent, but I can recognize that there are going to be exceptions.   I would like to recognize one of my personal favorite exceptions:  Despite being front-wheel-drive, the Lotus Elan M100 is still an outstanding sports car in every sense of the word.  Since only about 546 came to the States in 1991, not many people have the opportunity to drive and appreciate this car, but as the only front-wheel-drive Lotus, its handling is remarkable. 

Taber

I have several cars including an E46 M3. If I had to keep one, it would be the 2000 Miata SE. The most fun of all. Slow car fast and parts at NAPA.

Dr. Hess said:

The Staff of Motorsport Marketing said:

Q: What Makes the Perfect Sports Car?

 

A: The factory at Hethel.

Simplify, then add lightness.  - ACBC

As I read that article I felt like it was the sales pitch that ran through my head just four months ago when I bought my Lotus Elise.  I can't think of a car that checks all the boxes like this one does and my only regret is that I waited so long to buy one.  

I don't know the answer, but I do know the plate for my NB will say "ANSWER" when it arrives.  I was pretty surprised it was available at the tax office.

In reply to The Staff of Motorsport Marketing :

Your heart is clearly in the right place. However,   You did forget tradition.  
     An MGTC is the peak of sports cars. Those flashing wire wheels, cutaway doors, and yes flexibility. 
     Sure the cooling of brakes can be achieved with modern aluminum spoked  wheels. But simply do not demand the attention and maintenance that wire wheels do.  
     Part of the attraction and yes loyalty, comes from involvement  and commitment. Polishing chrome wire wheels  while tedious is also tremendously satisfying.  You see the sparkle reflecting off store windows and shiny cars and then other wheels are just ordinary. 

 Being able to reach down and touch the ground  because of cutaway doors is all that's required to convince a person this car is special.  Different, low!  
    Wood is a marvelous material to build a car out off.  I'll remind you of it's potential strength.  The British Mosquito of WW2 was among the fastest of all planes.  It was made of wood.   400 mph and able to handle two 2000 horsepower motors. 
  Wood can be flexible ( by the way the frame of a Morgan is steel, the bodywork support is wood).  If stiffness in a wooden car is your desire I suggest you drive a Marcos.  

No mention of the Pontiac Solstice GXP? 260 hp, plenty of torque, convertible and gorgeous!

wspohn said:

II think the plan with the Miata was to emulate not the MGB but to build a reliable version of the Lotus Elan (saying Chapman and reliable in the same sentence elicits guffaws from anyone that has ever owned a Lotus).  And that's what they did  It didn't look as nice but it didn't break much and it handled well and still does in all the ensuing iterations.

I'll take issue with the assertion that  a good sports car has to be a convertible though. The very example chosen to illustrate that does exactly the opposite - many people beleive that the early XKE coupe was the best looking car extant.  My personal equipe is made up almost entirely of sports coupes - Solstice GXP coupe, BMW Z4MC, Jensen Interceptor, 62 MGA coupe, Jamaican bodied MGA.  To me they seem more elegant designs with enough insulation from the elements that you can get out after a day's drive and feel relaxed rather than exhausted.

Here we disagree.  I'll put up with poor weather protection ( even up here in the arctic tundra )   For the freedom and escape of top down cruising.  
 That turns it from transportation to a toy.  And frankly that's what a sports car is.  A Toy to enjoy.  

Well the Miata might be considered a toy, but it is also a very practical car.

I found that although all of my sports cars were pretty much convertibles, with the tonsorial reductions of age, I was less desirous of driving around top down and trying to keep a hat on, plus it was nice to be able to drive a long trip cross country and not arrive exhausted and weather beaten by the constant wind.  Almost all of my sports cars after I stopped racing have been coupes - last roadster I owned was an MGC.

The Solstice actually attracted more attention to the Ferrari next to it, probably because people don't expect nice shapes in American cars like they do with Italian super cars.

 

The Solstice actually attracted more attention to the Ferrari next to it, probably because people don't expect nice shapes in American cars like they do with Italian super cars.

That also happens to be a particularly boring looking Ferrari. I presume there's some angle that looks good, but there is nothing sexy, gorgeous, or exciting about that car. It even manages to make a long hood look boring. It looks like a long-nose 2001 Sebring or something. The Pontiac, on the other hand, despite being less attractive than its Saturn Sky cousin, is at least exciting looking.

<<EDITED because I rudely put my foot in my mouth>>

P3PPY said:

That also happens to be a particularly boring looking Ferrari. I presume there's some angle that looks good, but there is nothing sexy, gorgeous, or exciting about that car. It even manages to make a long hood look boring. It looks like a long-nose 2001 Sebring or something. The Pontiac, on the other hand, despite being uglier than its Saturn Sky cousin, is at least exciting looking.

Have to disagree on the Saturn Sky vs. Pontiac Solstice. The body of the Solstice is pretty clean, while Saturn seemed to think that sticking on (literally) fake bits of chrome - vents that go nowhere and such would endear the cars to the buying public.  They were wrong (in terms of sales).

One of the old MG magazines had a motto that was something like, "MG -  goes where pointed, stops when bidden, and goes like hell the rest of the time"

About sums it up

wspohn said:

P3PPY said:

That also happens to be a particularly boring looking Ferrari. I presume there's some angle that looks good, but there is nothing sexy, gorgeous, or exciting about that car. It even manages to make a long hood look boring. It looks like a long-nose 2001 Sebring or something. The Pontiac, on the other hand, despite being uglier than its Saturn Sky cousin, is at least exciting looking.

Have to disagree on the Saturn Sky vs. Pontiac Solstice. The body of the Solstice is pretty clean, while Saturn seemed to think that sticking on (literally) fake bits of chrome - vents that go nowhere and such would endear the cars to the buying public.  They were wrong (in terms of sales).

Oh sheesh, that was rude of me. I can't believe I just insulted your car to your [virtual] face. My apologies. I have rephrased 

The one that gives you that feeling. Yep, that one.

I have felt that feeling in a 100hp 914 and a 375hp 987 Cayman S on the same roads.

You know it when you feel it.

I don't know if I've ever experienced a 'perfect' sports car. I mean, I've driven a bunch, and owned a smaller number, but 'perfect' is a pretty high bar.