Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Sports cars are about way more than top speed or acceleration. They are about responsiveness in all areas, and that responsiveness can be felt and used at legal (or slightly higher than legal ) speeds all across the country. There are MANY fun backroads were the responsiveness, acceleration and cornering ability can be felt and enjoyed, even without putting anyone in danger. The fact that you have to ask shows that you have never even TRIED to experience driving in a true sports car. And I'm talking classics like MGs and Triumphs as well as sporty cars like Mustangs and BMWs all the way up to modern sports cars like Miatas and Corvettes.
And then, as many have said, there are track days, autocrosses, and things like that that sports car owners can participate in weekly if they want to, to explore the limits of handling and acceleration in a safe environment.
This was me on a typical weekend with my modified V8 RX7 sports car:
But one thing I have always wondered is speedometers that go up to 160-180mph and the car tops out at 110-130mph
If it's an analog gauge, it's so that the gauge is accurate in teh range in which it is most likely going to be used. Analog gauges are notoriously inacurate at the upper and lower limits of the range, so making the range much farther makes it accurate in the center of it's range, which coincides with the speeds the car can go.
Well can have the best of both world with a late 2009-2014 SVT Raptor F150 or 2003-2005 Chevy Silverado SS AWD
Hard to get sports car handling when driving high up like a truck/SUV...
In my mind performance is not acceleration alone but more on how a car leans when changing direction (most non sport cars are boats), how it brakes, how the chair hugs you, response, engine sound, etc.
Speed is not the attractive factor for me, there is nothing preventing idiot drivers of speeding in Yaris, F150, Caravan, etc...
For driving higher yet still get a close to sporty performance, only ones that come to mind are: Cayenne Turbo, BMW X5 M, Range Rover Sport SVR, and Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG.
What the point of buying a sport car in the US when you can't drive faster than 65-75MPH on the highway?
There's states that you'll get a ticket for peeling off or speeding up too fast
So what's the point of spending $100,000 on a sport car that can do 200MPH but you can't go pass 75MPH?
This stands out to me because I grew up in a country that doesn't have speed limits (ok... they have them, but nobody obeys them)
A sports car or high performance non-sports car compared to a basic appliance type commuter vehicle has wider tires, larger brakes, better back and forth steering, is able to handle corners better, have better wet weather characteristics, and more controllable when subjected to immediate changes in steering, braking and acceleration all of which might one day save your miserable life or that of a loved one. The End.
Bingo - That's why I have a Miata. Even a grocery run is entertaining!
Until its time to load the groceries into that Matchbox car, right? I remembering having to jump start a Miata once, and we had to pop the trunk to get to the battery, and we just laughed at how the trunk was.
I have a race car for the track, but still find ways to have plenty of fun on interstate on-ramps and country roads in my GT-R, even if I never exceed 60mph.
Hard to get sports car handling when driving high up like a truck/SUV...
In my mind performance is not acceleration alone but more on how a car leans when changing direction (most non sport cars are boats), how it brakes, how the chair hugs you, response, engine sound, etc.
Speed is not the attractive factor for me, there is nothing preventing idiot drivers of speeding in Yaris, F150, Caravan, etc...
For driving higher yet still get a close to sporty performance, only ones that come to mind are: Cayenne Turbo, BMW X5 M, Range Rover Sport SVR, and Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG.
none of those come close the SVT Raptors Baja Trophy Truck like performance off-road though
I think a lot of people that make arguments such as the OP's are missing the point of what a sports car is intended for.
It isn't the ability of a car to go 65mph (or whatever) in a straight line that makes it "sporty". It's the cars ability to go 65mph (or whatever) around a corner or set of corners that denotes it.
Else it's whatever other form of descriptive for a type of motor vehicle you wish to use... or possibly a train.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) speeds all across the country. There are MANY fun backroads were the responsiveness, acceleration and cornering ability can be felt and enjoyed, even without putting anyone in danger. The fact that you have to ask shows that you have never even TRIED to experience driving in a true sports car. And I'm talking classics like MGs and Triumphs as well as sporty cars like Mustangs and BMWs all the way up to modern sports cars like Miatas and Corvettes.
I remembering having to jump start a Miata once, and we had to pop the trunk to get to the battery, and we just laughed at how the trunk was.
