1/ 2 seats and open top with eception made for 911 on basis that its rear seats arent useable.
2/ no ecu or turbo
3/ small volume production appreciated as something special in its day
4/ manual gearbox
5/ capable of a club sprint or hillclimb without modification
Easy question to answer if you first begin by determining what a sport is. As posed, the question is analogous to defining a sport by which racket, bat or ball is used.
2. If you look to all sports, one cannot eliminate the need of a full interaction between the items used and the athlete/team that use them. Turbo or ECUs are unimportant as long as they can be interacted with by the driver and/or his team. To say that their presence these preclude a sport is short-sighted. ALL current professional sports cars have constantly tweak their ECUs for performance, depending on ambient conditions and track conditions..just like the carb'ed version used to constantly teak those devices for better competition. Like waxing skis (many waxes!) or sharpening skates. In fact, earlier ECU types (L-Jets) are eminently owner friendly.
However, the plummet in sports car sales in the 1970s pushed manufacturers to broaden that market. They did so by removing the need for driver skill. Then the government ended the ability to interact with engines, which did not bother the unskilled a single bit. Since then the ability to interact with most of the offerings labelled "sports cars" ended..aside from very obscure marques like Morgan who also succumbed to the general current trend.
Sports cars don't need sportsmen anymore. The cars drive themselves and that is how they market ballooned again. Skill and mechanical acumen became unnecessary. Where we once excitedly changed stories of valiant repairs, wonderful skill and maneuvers (remember WW2 pictures of pilots describing how they got the best of the next guy with their hands), we now brag about the only two areas we can;
a. what new technology we bought and don't understand
b. how fast our car can go (in an environment we are not permitted to go very fast!)
c. how much we spent on the thing
Group interaction has become about velcro'ed spring gaiters and polished metal addons. We buy hopelessly expensive nonsense to replace the areas and components we cannot properly maintain.
How far from grace we have fallen!
1. I agree with the 1-2 seats, but open tops is merely a touring feature. Closed tops are faster.
2. (above)
3. Irrelevant.
4. manual gearbox ---sorta agree, unless the autobox is adjustable.
5. Makes no sense unless that is the sport variation that one desires.
Before I am pillared, I agree that a small modern open air touring car is much fun..but it is NOT a sport or a sports car. Let us not fool ourselves.
Yes. Current Porches usually lead the pack in cars that don't need driver input on any level. Similar to a set of golf clubs that can start playing your round without you. Very much like cars that have two available tuning or cars that come with a single or even 2 engine tunings, both chosen by others and untouchable by owners. Exactly where is the sport?
