RE: Porsche 718 Boxster - full details
Discussion
anonymous said:
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To say Caterhams and the like are not cars is ridiculous.To say Caterhams and the like are not cars that I'd have any interest in owning is perfectly fine.
One is objective, one is subjective. Objectively, Caterhams are cars. Subjectively, Caterhams may not be cars I'd consider owning.
Some Caterham owners use them year round, and put far more miles on them than more "mainstream" cars.
anonymous said:
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In what way does a Caterham / 7 type vehicle stretch the concept of them being a `car' to the limit? They have 4 wheels, engine and drive train, lights, a boot, albeit a small one, a hood / roof, even a heater. They are often described as being the purest sports car money can buy. They are not encumbered by cup holders, A/C, electronic driving aids, space for push chairs and kids, ICE, ash trays, electric seat adjusters, and all the other clap trap that some seem to believe are what makes a `true' sports car.
As others have said it just some peoples `idea' of what a sports car is that varies, with some of them being quite odd in terms of what a true sports car should have.
anonymous said:
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You're getting 'car' confused with 'soul'. 'Car' is a defined noun in the English language.The Ford Model A is (was) a car, whether it bears little resemblance to current cars (or the "concept" of cars) or not; there is no point in its history where it stopped being a car and became another, different noun.
DonkeyApple said:
DavidJG said:
The Caterham Lotus seven is one of the cars that defined the sports car concept. It's not practical enough for me as a second car, but I'd consider one as a third car 
The only thing it lacks is a boot and sensible hood.
It's only become less practical as our expectation of creature comforts has grown. The only thing it lacks is a boot and sensible hood. Which makes for an interesting question as to when something that spans so many decades and cultural changes makes the switch from being a sports car to an impractical, specialist track day car?
It kind of then suggests that a car requires a certain level of modern luxuries to be a sports car, so where do you stop with that?
DavidJG said:
For me when driving in the UK, any road car requires two things: a reasonable boot to put stuff in when there are two of us in the car, and a hood that will keep the occupants dry when it rains. If it doesn't meet these two criteria, then even as a sportscar it will be too impractical. Can live without heated seats / powered windows etc, but 'boot' and 'dry' are important.
so for you a Caterham probably qualifies then.Though we may need to define the term 'dry'? After all, in a literal sense nothing is completely dry in normal life and that'll certainly be true with a Caterham roof!
Guvernator said:
Yep I'm going to have to agree with some other posters, fun as the Caterham type cars are, they aren't really cars in the true sense of the word, more like bikes with 4 wheels to the point that they never even figure into my equation when I think about what sports car I'd like to buy next.
But I wouldn't think of something like a Z4, TT or even Boxster as being a proper sports car which remotely figure in my sports car equation.DonkeyApple said:
SidewaysSi said:
But I wouldn't think of something like a Z4, TT or even Boxster as being a proper sports car which remotely figure in my sports car equation.
Really? Not even if your wife asked for a sports car for her birthday? 
. But she does love the Elise and can see how stuff like the above is for the "average enthusiast"!SidewaysSi said:
DonkeyApple said:
SidewaysSi said:
But I wouldn't think of something like a Z4, TT or even Boxster as being a proper sports car which remotely figure in my sports car equation.
Really? Not even if your wife asked for a sports car for her birthday? . But she does love the Elise and can see how stuff like the above is for the "average enthusiast"!
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Maybe PH should have a section called "Readers Ideas", I might suggest that as a new sub forum..
80sMatchbox said:
SidewaysSi said:
DonkeyApple said:
SidewaysSi said:
But I wouldn't think of something like a Z4, TT or even Boxster as being a proper sports car which remotely figure in my sports car equation.
Really? Not even if your wife asked for a sports car for her birthday? . But she does love the Elise and can see how stuff like the above is for the "average enthusiast"!_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Maybe PH should have a section called "Readers Ideas", I might suggest that as a new sub forum..
Personally I am not really interested in those cars either. I bit too heavy and compromised, particularly on track.
The TTRS talk is surely a joke?!
The wife's Z4M is not really my cup of tea either, though I like it much better than her old 350Z. It's still definitely a proper sports car, just not the type I prefer. Could probably get a lot closer to my preferences with the aid of a toolkit, some lightweight parts and a skip, but that would not do much good for the resale value, my marriage or my life expectancy.
Ozzie Osmond said:
SidewaysSi said:
But I wouldn't think of something like a .... Boxster as being a proper sports car
That's as stupid as pointing at Bradley Wiggins preferred mode of transportation and saying "that's not a proper bicycle". I tend to err towards Sideway's view as the mass produced sports cars don't appeal as they have too many creature comforts and are just too practical. For me, if you can happily commute in a car without any inconvenience then it just isn't 'sporting'.
I can look around the market place and see that my view is not exactly the norm by a long shot but when someone is talking about sports cars I simply don't think of TT's, Boxsters, SLKs etc even though they are obviously sports cars.
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