Unfortunately, This Is True

No One Knows What "Sports Car" Actually Means Anymore 

Remember when names used to mean something?​ 

When did the definition of  "sports car" change? Well, here's the thing: It never did. What happened was that the cars themselves changed. Fear about prospective DOT rollover regulations in the 70s caused an entire generation of cars, from the Jaguar XJ-S to the C3 Corvette, to be conceived and sold primarily as hard-top Grand Tourers. In many cases, this led to the "sports car" name following the marque or badge, even if it no longer applied. An XK120 was a sports car; an E-Type Mk1 was a sports car; therefore, the Jaguar XJ-S must be a sports car despite being the size of the HMS Hood and sporting a 12-cylinder engine. If the original 1953 Corvette was a sports car, and it most assuredly was, then certainly a 2016 Corvette Z06 hardtop is a sports car, right?

In some cases, the "sports car" name was used for something that was meant to be an antidote or alternative to traditional sports cars—see "911, Porsche" and "240Z, Datsun." This depresses me; a Porsche 911 is certainly not a sports car. I know. I own one. A Boxster, which I also own, is definitely a sports car. That's why the Boxster, er, 718, and the 911 can co-exist. That, and the fact that the 911 is basically the same car as the Boxster for much more money, and no manufacturer with its head on straight would permit such a thing to disappear. 

With all that said, however, there are cars out there that should not be referred to as "sports cars" by anybody who considers himself or herself to be a member of the sainted automotive cognoscenti. The list of such cars includes:

• SUVs, CUVs, or anything else that doesn't require the use of a floor jack to change the oil and is not a Porsche 959 Dakar. Which is also not a sports car. So leave that in.
• Fast sedans, like the BMW M5, or their two-door variants, like the BMW M6, or the four-door variants of the two-door variants, like the M6 Gran Coupe, or the crossover variants of the four-door variants of the two-door variants of the four-door, like the X6M. 
• Hot hatches, like the GTI.
• Rally-reps, like the Mitsubishi Evo or Subaru WRX.
• Big-money cruiser droptops, like the Bentley Azure, recent-generation Mercedes SL, or Lexus SC430.
• The Honda CRX or anything else that was meant to be a copy of the Honda CRX.
• The Mustang, Camaro, Firebird, Challenger, Cougar, Javelin, Barracuda, Genesis Coupe, Accord Coupe, Mazda RX-8, or Mercedes-Benz CLK63 Black Series.

That last one seems to be where most of the confusion occurs. The Mustang is a sedan. Don't like it? Take it up with the Sports Car Club of America, which classifies the Mustang in the "American Sedan" class. The Mustang was always a sedan. It has always been a sedan. It always will be a sedan, unless it changes significantly. If the word "sedan" offends you, then choose the term "pony car," which is also fine and respects the Mustang's unique role in history as a sporting sedan variant of a non-sporting sedan, in this case the Ford Falcon. 

Don't call a Mustang a sports car. It's not a sports car. The word "sports car" doesn't mean "car that I like and think is really cool." Were that the case, then I would call the Rolls-Royce Wraith a "sports car," because I really like the Rolls-Royce Wraith and I think it's just the bee's knees, old boy. Come to think of it, I also like the Phantom Drophead, which is also not a sports car by any sane estimation.

(Road&Track.com)