Is the BRZ/FR-S/86 a sports car?

[Poodles]

Originally Posted by Dream20b

Low cost of ownership means non sports car. Lol.

Miata called...

Originally Posted by cdrazic93

My insurance definitely label it as a sports car.....

Mine doesn't... They didn't label my Supra as one either. It's classified as a "2 door sedan" because of the back seats.

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I have been struggling with this since I bought the car and have decided to remain completely, positively and without a doubt, on the fence. Without one single iron clad definition of what constitutes a "sports car" we can debate the pros and cons all day and never reach a consensus. This has been hotly debated many times and I must admit I have argued the case for both sides depending upon what my particular thought was at that given time.
By the available classification definitions alone it is a sports car, grand touring car or even (gasp) a "pony" car. In it's stock form I think it is a hybrid of all three and really can't be slotted in any one group with 100% certainty but just a few mods could push individual cars into one of those three categories.
Just another page in the poor thing's identity crisis.

It's right in the name... it's a GT car

Originally Posted by juliog

Spoon president made up his mind:

Complete bullshit. Spoon has always been Honda fanboys so I frankly don't give a shit what they think. They're dying because Honda doesn't make anything sporty.

[strat61caster]

Strictly speaking: No.

Strictly speaking: Sports Cars are lightweight, RWD, 2 seaters with open tops that prioritize handling capabilities.

By volume, sports cars are affordable: MGB, Midget, TR6, Spitfire, even the Lotus Elan at ~$4k in the 60's was only a few hundred more than a fully loaded Mustang and 2/3 the price of a 911.

In a modern context where the term applies to large, fat, heavy, sort-of practical cars like Mustangs, Corvettes, GTRs and 911s the 86 100% a sports car, I'd argue more so than any of the ones I just mentioned.

Edit: I'd argue that strictly speaking the 86 is a Gran Tourer like the 911 (2+2, capable of being an 'all around' one size fits all car)

[reni]

The terms sports car, GT car, muscle car, pony car, etc are all pretty well-defined.

Sure, a lot of people seem to throw around these words without knowing what they actually mean, but that doesn't change the definitions.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by reni

The terms sports car, GT car, muscle car, pony car, etc are all pretty well-defined.

Sure, a lot of people seem to throw around these words without knowing what they actually mean, but that doesn't change the definitions.

And that is my problem. Ours check several of the boxes for at least 3 of the categories but don't check all the boxes of any one.

[NWFRS]

I don't care what Wikipedia says. In fact, I'm not even going to read it. According to the NWFRS AUTOMOTIVE HANDBOOK: "A "sports car" must look pretty, have excellent suspension and two doors". See? The 86 absolutely IS a sports car.

Having said that, I never describe my own car as a sports car. The hype is greater than anything I could ever say, and it LOOKS fast. I don't want to risk calling it a sports car in front of someone who actually knows that it takes seven seconds to get to sixty, calling me out, and hurting my last remaining feeling.

[cdrazic93]

Originally Posted by Poodles

Mine doesn't... They didn't label my Supra as one either. It's classified as a "2 door sedan" because of the back seats.

Complete bullshit. Spoon has always been Honda fanboys so I frankly don't give a shit what they think. They're dying because Honda doesn't make anything sporty.

I guess its cause im 21.

You dont need 3-4 times the cost to dump into an 86 to compete with an s2k?? Wtf lol a turbo, some aero, driver mod and tires would be good enough. Thats like 10 grand.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by NWFRS

I don't care what Wikipedia says. In fact, I'm not even going to read it. According to the NWFRS AUTOMOTIVE HANDBOOK: "A "sports car" must look pretty, have excellent suspension and two doors". See? The 86 absolutely IS a sports car.

Having said that, I never describe my own car as a sports car. The hype is greater than anything I could ever say, and it LOOKS fast. I don't want to risk calling it a sports car in front of someone who actually knows that it takes seven seconds to get to sixty, calling me out, and hurting my last remaining feeling.

Some of the greatest sports cars ever made were way slower than ours. Rapid acceleration is not a requirement for a sports car.

[bcj]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

with open tops

Don't agree at all.

MGB GT.
Jaguar E type coupe.
Alfa GTV.
BMW 2002.
among others.

( VW Golf is a back-assward beetle replacement - sorry - not )

Early Corvettes, T-birds and Mustangs failed direly with the cheesy suspension.
AC Cobra only qualifies because they bought a real sports car,
then shoe-horned an American motor into it.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by cdrazic93

You dont need 3-4 times the cost to dump into an 86 to compete with an s2k?? Wtf lol a turbo, some aero, driver mod and tires would be good enough. Thats like 10 grand.

I think it has to come down to the suspension and the strength of the chassis, design details that 99.999% of people will never delve into and 99.99% of people will never comprehend, less 1% of people on this board will deconstruct a car to the level that a racing team will.

Honda is known for their Type-R's to be like the homologation specials of old (Subaru 22B, Lancia Stratos, Ford RS200, etc.) whereas the 86 was not designed from the ground up to be a racecar, but a profitable fun consumer car.

It comes down to how do you define "sports" if it is "Professional competitive careers, money and livelihood" on the line "sports" then I don't think you could contradict the Spoon people. If it's "Hey mates lets go kick a ball around outback" (read: 'track day bro') then the 86 certainly fits.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by bcj

Don't agree at all.

MGB GT.
Jaguar E type coupe.
Alfa GTV.
BMW 2002.
among others.

( VW Golf is a back-assward beetle replacement - sorry - not )

Early Corvettes, T-birds and Mustangs failed direly with the cheesy suspension.
AC Cobra only qualifies because they bought a real sports car,
then shoe-horned an American motor into it.

That doesn't make me wrong and you right. Those are wonderful cars, and by strict definition in my book, not sports cars (except the E-Type convertible). It's all semantics hence the topic at hand. Edit: With most of those classified as Sports Coupes or even Gran Tourers (GTV, E-Type both being oriented more upmarket than the rest)

There are millions of people who would flay you alive for not calling a Corvette a "Sports Car"

Edit: I supremely like this article and I think it's relevant to the topic

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...dgets-and-men/

[wbradley]

Sports car- small, light (by todays standard), corners well when driven aggressively.. Where does this car fall short? No convertible?? C'mon...

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by wbradley

Sports car- small, light (by todays standard), corners well when driven aggressively.. Where does this car fall short? No convertible?? C'mon...

Let me add some shades of gray, I will list the cars that are most like a sports car (according to my personal definition) available for sale today in North America in order:

Mazda MX-5 Miata > Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ > > > All the other crap.

[computeruser]

I see nothing wrong with looking at it as a GT more than a sports car. My MG Midget was a sports car. This is really a GT with sports car potential, should someone elect to go that route.

Now with another 50# of sound deadening material, it would be an honest GT car.

Or with another 50# of sound deadening and another 50hp and another 50lb/ft and both without having to add a blower, then it would be about perfect!

[bcj]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

That doesn't make me wrong and you right.

Right and wrong don't apply.
I only said I disagreed with that single aspect.
If you can't believe a difference in opinion is possible in (any|this) universe, you may become despondant eventually.

I said *early* model Corvettes, T-birds and Mustangs.
Corvette C1 models (53-62) suspension was dire.
T-bird (55-57) was two seat with poor suspension. Later models became barges.

Mustang only got around to fixing the live axle this year, so, yeah pretty much *all* of them.
You can buy aftermarket suspension components, but they didn't come that way.

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Let me add some shades of gray, I will list the cars that are most like a sports car (according to my personal definition) available for sale today in North America in order:

I'm being obstreperous here:
In order to be a sports car, it has to be available new today?