In my view, Alistair raises a point that is a good addition to Simon's eloquent descrition of criteria. To simplify things, let's take the difference between the MX5 and a modern Ferrari. And in addition to all the important points mentioned, from social reactions to exclusivity of performance and exceptional aesthetics, there is also the driving experience factor. Just as Alistair describes the difference between an AMG E Class and the Audi RS (I know these are not super sports cars but tuned passenger transporters, so what Alistair says can also apply to sports cars) in terms of feedback, authenticity, the immediacy of a powerful driving experience and personal involvement in driving control, I wonder if the super sports cars are outsmarting themselves as they get „better and better“...and the road becomes more and more boring for themselves (if they could feel) and their driver due to the increasingly better chassis in combination with ever higher performance, which then absurdly has to be "slowed down" again by all kinds of digital helpers because otherwise the consumer cannot handle his 650 hp in a controlled manner. The nice thing is that we (still) have the choice. Perhaps the sports cars of 20 to 25 years ago have a value that we are only slowly realising. In a quasi "natural" way, the performance was more in tune with the chassis and the controllability by the driver in good relation to the normal road. Today's supercars have perhaps somewhat overstimulated this interplay of all factors. It could happen that the fun of cornering and the lower weight are rediscovered when sports cars are freed from the "duty" of being faster than everything else. Today, every electric SUV is faster in acceleration than my Elise from 2007...but that's exactly what I don't care about.
Now we're back to the MX5, but also to the Morgan in terms of the above criteria. On the other hand, I don't want to introduce any new constraints here. Not everyone likes this immediate driving experience and the feeling of happiness of personal performance when driving in a sporty way. There are people who enjoy a lot of power simply to enjoy it in a more relaxed way because they have the power of the machine but don't necessarily have to prove it all the time. They are perhaps a good target group for the super cars of today because real driving is only possible on the track and not the road. They enjoy exclusivity as a main driver of their choice when just cruising such a super sports car.. On the other end of the spectrum sadly the breed of affordable relatively lightweight sports cars seems to be getting smaller.
