Well if we are going to compare volume drivers for companies... How many 911s in a single generation of any variant does Porsche produce compared with the amount of Integra produced during it's DC2 run?
Price points should be considered here. Part of owning a sports car is exclusivity. While a 911 GT3 and GT3 RS are both derivatives of a base model 911 Carrera, in total i doubt Porsche would have sold as many as Honda.
Honda Integra DC2 301,103 were sold from 1994 to 2001.
Nope. The Mazda MX5 has sold nearly a million copies. Exclusivity is part of owning an
exotic, a
luxury car, or a
supercar... though the last two are debatable.
Does the fact that the Porsche Boxster is a volume model (one that basically saved Porsche's behind) make it any less of a sports car? No. Does it make it less exclusive and/or less of a premium car? Maybe.
Say for example we have a base model Integra LS B18B engine no VTEC nothing, squat, nada, kaput. We take it apart cram it full of VTEC parts performing an LS/VTEC conversion, we paint Championship White, we give it 16 inch 5 lug PCD 114.3 rims a la 98 spec Type R, and we put Type R badges all over it, will it then be considered a sports car same as a Type R? I really don't think so.
What i'm trying to say in this post is that, sure you can take whatever car you want retrofit them with go fast parts from AMG, M division, Mugen, Spoon, "Type R" it, but it won't change the fact that the car started out life with meager intentions - saloon cars turned gangbusters.
Only the Integra isn't a saloon. It's a coupe that's built on a platform shared with a sedan. Again: 350Z and G35. Not really that much difference (though the 350Z has a shorter wheelbase).
When i say Porsche builds cars with no compromise they do so with the intention of selling exhilaration and acceleration (power, handling, prestige etc etc). Sure the car comes with some added luxuries, and sometimes adorns the GT, or a GT3, or a GT2, or a GT3 RS badge, but that doesn't make it less of a sports car. Because that's what it was intended to be - a sports car.
A Porsche 911 is built to make money. That's the long and short of it. And to make money, it's offered with "selling points" like interior leather, a glass roof, a turbo-charged engine, PASM and all-wheel drive.
If a 911
weren't built to make money, and were built surely for the sole intention of providing thrills, profit-be-damned, they wouldn't be Porsche 911s. They'd be Nissan GT-Rs (Nissan doesn't make any money on the GT-R)... or better yet... Honda NSXs (they don't make much money on them, either, even after fifteen years of sales... which is why they're being cancelled). You don't see AWD or turbocharged versions of the NSX. Nothing is therein included (besides the wonderfully ergonomic interior) to cater to those wanting more luxury, more seats, more safety, etcetera.
There is no GT-R convertible (though I wouldn't put it past Nissan to do that), there is no "base model" as there was with the R32-R34 GT-Rs. It's a bespoke model. Of course, it's incredibly porky, but so are many so-called sports cars nowadays.
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The only cars being sold nowadays with "no compromise" in mind are the Ariel Atom, various Super Seven clones and assorted track-specials.
Of coruse, there's no "prestige" in these, but "prestige" is
not a requirement for sports cars. Exotics, yes, premium cars, mostly yes. Sports cars: No.
So to answer a question that might be lurking in your minds - what the heck is an AMG, M, Type R, blah blah car?
A retuned and often
rebuilt version of a more meager car. An M3 shares nearly no body panels with the base 3-series, has a different suspension (and even a different track width, which is why it can't use the regular body panels), and a bespoke engine (hand built). Again... does the fact that the GT3 is based on the base 911 make it any less of a sports racer?
An LEV - Limited Edition Vehicle. Anomalies that grace us every so often because everyone wants that little bit extra exclusivity. That age old attitude of "mine is better than yours" stands true here.
But again, in the grand scheme of things it shouldn't be ignored, the fact that yes some LEVs deliver mind blowing performance and generally do deliver in terms of excitement. Perhaps the reason why there are so many different opinions is because we look at all cars with an emotive connotation - how it makes us feel...
On a personal level, I
consider such cars sports cars. But that is my
opinion. The
facts are that if the body-style and parameters is correct (low, small, one or two seater or two-plus-two), and the vehicle is built to be driven quickly, it's a sports car by definition. If it's of the wrong body type, it isn't.
Again, personal opinion: body style doesn't count. But that's opinion only.
I may have lost the plot already, a thousand apologies.
No problem... this question naturally sparks long posts.
PS - I think the RX8 is a sports car, it ticks all the right boxes but has a nice party trick - suicide doors, flashy.
As do I.
