21337R

Yes, I am sure "for" that.

XtC-604

This is the definition i think a sports car should have:

2 or 4 seats.
Engine that is designed for speed in mind.
Limited Slip Differential
RWD or AWD
Can reach 0-100km/h reasonably fast
Does not understeer into every ****** corner
Make Epic Engine sounds
Manual only or Autos with an actual clutch

This is the definition i think a sport sedan should have:
5 seater, possibly 6
RWD or AWD
Engine that is designed for speed in mind
Limited Slip Differentials
Can reach 0-100km/h reasonably fast
Does not understeer every corner
make epic engine sounds.
Be comfortable to drive around daily
Automatic or Manual



Back to the subject though, i don't think the eclipses that were FWD should be counted as a sports car... that thing is a sad excuse for one. Got one to drive as a rental car, it nose dived every turn, and torque steered coming out. Car felt like it was floating at speed. Steering was vague and not communicative. Gear box was notchy as ****. And felt cheap in general. (when i say cheap, i mean worse than miata, the new ones of course) And this was the V6

Bboy AJ

LOL

Your two cents are wrong.

tarheel91

RWD is a really big advantage the Miata has on the Eclipse in this regard. From a vehicle dynamics standpoint, the Eclipse is massively inferior. FWD simply doesn't balance rotating and gripping the road well (in engineering terms, it has issues getting a good yaw momentum vs. lateral acceleration relationship).

If we're talking about the sport of driving, going as fast as you can, FWD really is antithetical to the idea.

vertwhore

that is all very true. The biggest factor keeping the eclipse from being considered a sports car is the lack of AWD/RWD. Now they were in the makes of an eclipse ralliart. Never happend :/ but google it. would have been a decent car, instead they created the lancer ralliart. Oh well...

KingVen

Ford isn't Japanese though.

rockville

I don't recall saying otherwise. It was simply a point of reference.

TheDonEffect

Sportscars- pretty much any car that has performance capabilities beyond the basics. To elaborate a little, cars designed to inject a certain level of recreational enjoyment geared towards an aggressive driving style into the driving experience (because some people find things like hypermiling or trying to achieve the best mpg in priuses fun).
Luxurycars- pretty much any car that has amenities beyond what's considered basic for its time (like ac these days aren't considered luxuries whereas in the 60s it was).
My two cents.
In that sense, the eclipse is a sportscar, and in 1g and 2g turbo awd form were, imo, successful. The 3g and 4g eclipses are technically sportscars, just, again imo, not successful ones.
The miata is a sportscar, although most would consider it more of a confection than a racer (I buy into it being a sportscar for the record) since alot of the owners just enjoy it's ease to own, droptop, relatively guilt free driving experience vs. its autocross capabilities.

PJCC

You beat me to it ...

PJCC

What if the sport is drag racing? Or maybe a desert rally?

IMO, that definition is very deficient.