Generally speaking, yes, it could be argued that sports cars have lost popularity in recent years, and some reports say that sales are down.
Sports cars, it is argued, are losing ground because they can’t take the family to Costco, are surrounded by massive SUVs, and have no use in an Uber-dominated world.
But hold on a minute. Before we go writing the obituary for the high-performance sports car, let’s remember a few things.
I think the argument in favor of sports cars can be summed up with this one text from my dad yesterday. He said,
A brand-new cherry red Ford Shelby GT350 is on the top rack of a car carrier as I follow it up the highway. I couldn’t see much of the upper body work, but I could see the undercarriage. To put it simply, it was beautiful. The suspension, the exhaust, the driveline… it was spotless, and it looked so well-designed. Sometimes I think people forget to look underneath where everything happens. I wanted to drive that car just looking at the undercarriage. The problem is that unlike any other type of vehicle, sports cars elicit emotions and excitement in their owners. That kind of text message regarding a 4Runner would never be sent by anyone. Sports cars today have nothing to do with practicality or Costco runs. They exist for the pure pleasure of driving something that was engineered for the sole purpose of delivering performance.
Sports cars are still around. The Porsche 911 continues to be perhaps the most advanced sports car ever produced into 2017. The Chevy Camaro has evolved into a true sports car. Ford has the extraordinary GT350. Toyota will sell the 86. The MX-5 Miata from Mazda remains popular. There’s the Boxster. Cayman. Z4. F-TYPE. Should I continue? Sports cars aren’t going anywhere. They will evolve and shift over the coming years, and some will even forgo their petrol power in favor of amp hours, but they won’t ever die.
No other car will result in a skipped heartbeat and a lust for driving like a sports car. Even if you only catch a glimpse of the undercarriage.