New 350Z - old 240Z story !

[Alfadog]

If heavy and complicated means it's not a sports car, then no new car is a sports car, save the Elise.

The meaning of sports car, IMO, has changed. The name GT is usually reserved for expensive cars nowdays it seems.

[TKR514]

Well, such words as "heavy" and "too complicated" and "luxury" were thrown at the 280ZX so that it's refered to as a GT rather than a sports car. I assume that since the 350Z that takes the "Z" idea even further into the heavy, luxury,hi-tech area that it is logically not a sports car and even less of a "Z".

Just curious as to the psychology of marketing and enthusiasts....

[owenk]

Originally posted by Alfadog

The meaning of sports car, IMO, has changed. The name GT is usually reserved for expensive cars now days it seems.

Dam right it has! While we are on the subject has anyone seen the Lexus ads calling their car a Muscle Car !! :stupid: BULL S..t !!Muscle cars were big, gasoline drinking, raw power, mine is bigger than yours type car. That rattled, smoked tires, and had vinyl seats, not some pu..y leather seats like some old guy had in his Cadillac! They will never be made again and any one claming that his Lexus is a Muscle Car, ask him to name a Muscle Car from the 60's and when he gives you the deer in the headlights look, grab his cell phone and palm pilot shove them up his a..

Oh speaking of palm pilots . . . how many guy remember when a palm pilot was someone in high school that was being accused of pleasuring himself.

[Leeroy]

The way that I look at it, the world has changed...no-one bar ppl like us really want a 'real' sports car...my brother has a 97' Supra TT, its bloody fast (320hp at the wheels!), but its got climate control, big stereo, big heavy(!) wheels, cruise control, electric mirror, seats, windows, heated seats and mirrors (to defog them) etc etc...so its a luxury car with nice suspension and a f'ing powerful engine!! But 1 look at my Z, lightweight, no power steering, no air conditioning and realise what I love...don't get me wrong, I like to be comfortable (I'm gonna retrim the interior in leather), but there is no way that I'm gonna put a huge subwoofer in the car and rice it up!! I like it the way that it is, albeit with an interior! I like the car for the car and a few nicities...as opposed to a moving theater! Besides, you can't hear his muffled turbo engine, but if you jump in the Z, you can hear everything (especially the intake roar, gotta love it!!!

In summary, I think the 350z is a fast Magna...with Audi TT styling, nice sure, but not a real drivers car...by any stretch of the imagination!

My 1/50th of $1

Cheers ppl!!

[Victor Laury]

Originally posted by Alfadog

If heavy and complicated means it's not a sports car, then no new car is a sports car, save the Elise.

You are wise beyond your years, sir. I don't know if you can make a "Sports car" with the couple of thousand (if not more) safety and environ requirements tacked on. There are some that are close. That stripped down, sports package Corvette maybe? (Z06?)

[ardKore]

ah the elise. they're bringing the elise to the US next year. i'd love one, but 40,000 is toooooo much. you can get an audi S4 avant for that much.

[Sean Dezart]

Back again !

Are there real sports cars still ? GTs yes.

There are real sports cars, you mentioned the Elise and then TVRs, Morgans but these are all low production high cost jobs - there are no mass produced (light) sports-cars !

Miatas/MX-5s: who said that ?

And then again, what about the old school who say a real sports-car has to be a convertable ?

It says something that an Elise is compared to an A4 - safety/comfort and new laws abiding costs weight and money !

In my youth, a palm pilot was someone who used a five finger shuffle !

[ardKore]

i hear they're adding weight the the elise. an S4 is no audi A4. the new one's going to have the new V8, 4.3 liters methinks. the car weighs like a million pounds, but damn, its so nice!!! lotus advertises the elise as an affordable car, but i don't find it affordable. costs as much as a TT roadster. yeah, the tt weighs a million pounds too, but its so nice!!! hehe, sitting in an audi is so satisfying, it strikes one so much as to disregard sport quality. though the S4's are quite sporty.

damn the uk, what about the caterham 7's?

[Alfadog]

The TT couldn't be any more different to the Elise. The price bracket they are in is about the only thing they have in common...

As for Audi S4... mmmmm

[Sean Dezart]

Caterhams, yeah - Dutch Donkervoort has less pedigree but is a better car. Both are not what I'd call comfortable sportscars - I mean would you trade your Z for one in order to drive 300 miles ?

I know Audis are nice, my companion Cathy has an A3 in off-white - you gas guzzlers will laugh - it's a 1.9 turbo diesel but at a constant 90 mph with the airconditioning on, I get 48 mpg !

The only fault is that the suspension is too firm with not a lot of feedback through the steering. These two faults I believe are homogenous to Audis !

My colleague has a 180 BHP TT and his only complaint is that it eats front tyres - REAL sportscars are rear wheel drive and strictly two seats !

[ardKore]

definitely. a "true" sports car doesn't seem to go well with front wheel drive. unfortunately, lots of people can't handle RWD, so yeah. yup, the TT's quite different from the elise. depends what you want i guess. a comfortable sporty car, or a car that would own the street, not to mention the track (providing the driver bears the skill).