4 door sports car?

[s_morrison57]

I think not, there is no such thing and 4 door and sports car should not be used in the same sentance. 4 doors are ugly and are family cars or Grand Touring but not sports cars, they might have performance but the look is bad, as an example the scubby do WRX has the get up and go but looks terrible in a 4 door, were as the 2 door is beautiful.
What your call?
I know this will be upsetting to the Panamerica owners but thats the point, why would you think your 4 door is a sports car?
Finn

[gprsh924]

4 door M3

[sketchers356]

What point does the amount of doors have to do with if it is a sports car? M3 is a good example. Do you really mean that it shouldnt have 4 seats. In that case count out all of my Porsches.

[kaisen]

The original 4DSC = Nissan Maxima

[Scott R]

I had a Panamera for a few hours while they were finishing the cleaning on my Cayenne, it was without a doubt "sporty."

[racer]

Many older folks would argue that a sports car MUST have a ragtop.. think Speedster, MG's, TR4s etc. Its always a moving target. Other say a "sportcar" should be light.. say, under 2,000lb? Or maybe 2500lb? or? Maybe a sportscar should only have 2 doors.. but only 2 seats? what about a 911 - its a 2+2?

It used to be you could define a "sportscar" by its performance, but M5s, M3s, Panamera, Rapide are blindingly competant cars and all superior to most previous "sports cars".

[BeyGon]

I love the Panamera but I see Cadillac adds that claim it to be the fastest sedan on the planet, is that true? Faster than the turbo?

[scottmandue]

4 door = sports sedan, grand tourer...

Yes many sedans are faster than lesser "sports cars"

I would propose that a "sports car" is more about the driving experience.

I suspect a Cayenne would be faster around the track than my 944... but I wouldn't classify it as a sports car.

YMMV

[BReif61]

Originally Posted by kaisen

The original 4DSC = Nissan Maxima

Those things drive me nuts.

What about the Maxima makes it a sportscar?

-4 doors
-Transverse FWD layout
-CVT trans

To me, there's three main things to be a sports car

1.) 2 doors, don't care about seat count.
2.) RWD
3.) Manual, or uses actual clutches (aka, automated manuals like DSG, PDK, TC-SST et al)

I hate those damn 4DSC stickers on Maximas. The fact that people buy into that makes it that much worse.

/rant

[zippy_gg]

My chipped Audi A6 2.7t (twin turbo) quattro is a fast 4-door SOB. It is lowered but still would need stiffer sway bars to be real fun in the twisties. A stick tranny is a must though...

[Joe Ricard]

Rx-8

[cbush]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

4 door = sports sedan, grand tourer...

YMMV

I agree- if it has 4 doors it is a sedan. May be a wicked fast, sporty sedan, but I don't see how one could call it a sports car unless you work in a marketing department!

Of course, two doors doesn't make it a sports car either. Would a really fast Yugo be classified as a sports car? How about a slow MG? Kind of hard to define, so number of doors is a good start!

[audiman08]

In appearance, I like 2-door sports cars. However, there are certain 4-door sports cars I still like (the Evo, Ralliart, WRX). When you get into the Cadillacs and European cars, they seem more GT than pure sports car. The new Cadillac CTS-V is crazy fast, with or without 4 doors. I think performance and suspension should draw the line between a sports car and a GT. Ferrari has 2-door GT cars, so number of doors doesn't say much.

[porsche4life]

M3, case closed....

[KaptKaos]

Pointless discussion. There is no way to quantify a sports car. It's an concept that defies explanation. John Bond tried when he started Road & Track 60 years ago and it still can't be done.

We can try to come to a consensus, but it won't happen.

IMO - fun to drive is the only criteria.

Ugly family car

[vash]

4-door WRX STI? those back seats must be awesome to toss a pair of tiny, hoochie mama anime looking chicks. car is fast enough to get the girls back home from the RAVE, before the E wears off.

i love the V caddy.

[lukeh]

I think Top Gear just showed a Panamerica beat a Lambo around their test track. 4 doors or not, that is very impressive.

[mossguy]

There are no more "sports cars" as such. The last ones were made in the late 60's/early 70's.

Best,
Tom

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Joe Ricard

Rx-8

Ha ha... I was thinking the same thing.