What Is A Sports Car?

Others might define a sports car differently, but to me, first and foremost it must be fun to drive. It also can only have two seats and must have a roof that goes down. Creature comforts must be kept to a minimum and every part of the car must be designed to enhance the driving experience. Be sure to read the special announcement at the end of this post concerning the debut of the next generation of a very popular sports car!

1903 Mercer Raceabout 
If you look back in time, the first sports cars had fenders and seats and not much more. The perfect example would be this 1903 Mercer Raceabout. Although it's hard to see in this picture, the car did have a "windshield" for the driver – just a circle of glass big enough to cover your face. Almost all Mercers were painted yellow (not quite as bright a tone as on most modern restorations). For its time, this car was brutally fast, but alas, it did not steer, brake or turn any better than other cars of the era. Decades would pass before there was any improvement in handling, but if you drove a Mercer back then, you were likely rich, young and famous. Not unlike those who'd drive a Lamborghini today.

1920 Stutz Bearcat 
The name says it all! This was a performance car. Big engine, lightweight body and stylish lines. Talk about minimalist design, this car had no opening doors, both driver and passenger had to "step over" to get in. The cockpit was so narrow there was not room to have a central gear shift – it was mounted outside on the right. List price $3900.00 – in 2014 dollars that would be about $50,000.00. Not bad for a car with no doors!

1930 Alfa Romeo 
6C 1750 Spider
This car is in the traditional Italian racing colour, which is much darker than the red that Ferrari uses on its race cars. A DOHC inline six moved this car smartly along. Tires and brakes were much improved over the last decade – this car was very fast in a straight, but it also could stop and turn quite well.

1948 MG TC
This little British car came home with the American GI's after World War Two. This spindly little car created the post-was sports car craze almost single-handed. This car and the subsequent MG models that followed, put North Americans back in touch with the actual driving experience. This is one of my digital paintings.

1950 Jaguar XK 120
We saw this car at the start of the 2009 Mille Miglia rally. The British were always fond of sports cars and many marques came from England: Morgan, Aston Martin, MG, Triumph, et al. Incidentally, the number in the name indicated the top speed in miles per hour. This is one of my digital paintings.

1968 Fiat 124
This lovely little car had a double overhead cam engine with a five speed transmission. The roof was by far one of the easiest to lower. It had a simple latch in the centre of the windshield, a simple flip unlocked it and then you just tossed the roof back over you head. Top down, in ten seconds – the Miata's roof was likely patterned after this car's roof. Compare that to one of the early British sports cars where it might take a half hour to stow the roof.

2014 Corvette Stingray
When the first Stingray came out in 1963 I was completely blown away by it. Never had I seen a car that looked fast just standing still. When the new C7 Stingray coupe was introduced I was disappointed. The overall shape of the car is OK, but there's just too many distracting details for my liking – GM needs to be reminded that "Less is more." I must admit the convertible is better, but it still looks like a Camaro from the back!

Mazda Miata
Credit this car with the revival of the classic light and nimble small sports car! Before the Miata came along in 1989, nearly every other sports car had just about disappeared! Many sports car manufacturers were trying to make their current models meet emission and crash requirements with disastrous results. Mazda created a car that modernized the two seat, drop top formula. When this car first came out, I took it for a drive and loved it! If only my baritone sax would've fit in the trunk, I'd have bought one. The Miata, as it's called in North America (in the rest of the world it's the MX-5), was an instant hit and remains one of the most popular sports cars of all time. There has been three generations of this car since the original 1989 version.

Fourth Generation Miata
Tomorrow at 6:00 pm Pacific time, Mazda, with the help of Duran Duran is debuting the all new fourth generation Miata. Here's a link to the broadcast if you want to watch it live. The 2016 Miata  I can't wait to see what they come up with!