If you like cars, you probably like sports cars. Sports cars are designed based on unique aesthetics and philosophy, pursuing speed and pure pleasure of driving. And, there once was a category of cars that had not only the charm of sports cars but also moderate practicality. They were called “sporty cars.”

With sports car charm, without sports car defects

Sports cars are cars with high functionalities, pursuing fast speed and joy of driving. There is no fixed form in sports cars, however, many sports cars have a sharp and flat shape to reduce air resistance, or a massive body that houses a big engine that demonstrates an overwhelming power.

Such qualities of sports cars make them very attractive and they fascinate a lot of people. In a sense, they are totally different from normal practical cars for the general public. Only a handful of people can actually purchase sports cars, partially because sports cars sacrifice many practicalities to achieve their high driving potency. For instance, driving operation is difficult, it lacks comfortableness, and you cannot load much luggage nor carry many people. In addition, manufacturers have no prospect of selling this type of car in large quantities, so the price is inevitably set very high. In short, sports cars are expensive but not very practical; their value as a “tool for moving” is not always evaluated high.

Nevertheless, beyond generations, sports cars have been widely worshiped by people as icon of success. Then, what if we start selling cars which have enough practicality while maintaining an impressive enough styling like a sports car?  It was natural for manufacturers to think so. Thus a new category of cars were created, which was eventually called a “sporty car.”

 Born in US, spread to the world

Sporty cars are normally designed using chassis of normal 4-door sedans or mass-produced cars, which enables them to reduce development costs. Some manufacturers titled the cars of this category “sports specialty cars” to emphasize their excellence.

This category first witnessed an increasing popularity at the United States in the 1960s. That was the same timing as when the baby boomers, born just after the WWⅡ, were becoming old enough to get driver’s licenses. The “Ford Mustang” debuted in 1964, which is often cited as a prominent example of early-day sporty cars.

Other manufacturers immediately followed, inspired by the Mustang’s big hit. The “Chevrolet Camaro” and the “Dodge Challenger” appeared in market during the 60’s. In this way, sporty cars, which have a different nature from authentic sports cars, became an indispensable part of the product lineup to grasp the heart of young customers. This US movement spread to European and Japanese manufacturers, and it eventually came to fruition in Japan’s first mass-produced sporty car the “Toyota Celica.”

Decline of “sports car quality” of sporty cars

Soon people realized that sporty cars had suitability as racing cars. With additional advanced tuning, they were able to compete equally with authentic sports cars and they even beat them in some cases. For car producers, the fact that their cars demonstrate equal speed as authentic sports cars despite their fundamental orientation as a normal car for the general public, functioned as an ideal billboard for showcasing their high technical capabilities to consumers.

However, unexpected drastic changes of the world challenged the value of sporty cars: in the 1970s and after, the entire car industry faced a number of serious challenges. Oil shocks. Exhaust gas regulations. Stricter requirements for safety equipment. All of these shook the basis of both sports cars and sporty cars.

As the society began putting more safety requirements on cars including low-end cars targeting the general public, it became increasingly difficult for car producers to impart sporty cars with high driving performance comparable to sports cars. In addition, the burden of excessively strict environmental regulations had brought a situation where even authentic sports cars had to accept significant performance cuts. Engines compliant with such regulations could no longer be called sporty, and carmakers had to create and bestow a new value on sporty cars. As a result, US carmakers took a “luxury strategy.” They shifted the special element from “high driving performance” to “luxury,” seeking a way not to give up this category of cars.

Meanwhile, Japan in the 1980s enjoyed the prosperity of the over-matured bubble economy. There, many young people longed for a sporty and stylish 2 door coupe. However, one after another, sporty cars designed based on mass-produced cars were turned into front wheel drives. They still featured their high-speed, but adopting this new structure was synonymous to giving up full-fledged driving functions comparable to sports cars. As a result, except for a few specific models, the appeal of sportiness came to rely on stylish design and appearance.

So then, did carmakers totally give up their pursuit for real sportiness in performance? The answer was “No.” In response to consumers’ desire to enjoy high-spec driving at affordable prices, carmakers all over the world began to add a mass-production model with higher driving potency to their standard lineups. Today, we can find only a small number of models in their original “sporty car” category. However, many “de facto sporty cars” still exist and will survive in various lineups of carmakers around the world.

Ford Mustang released in 1964. ”Mustang” means a small wild horse, but the coupe was given the nickname “Pony car”, expressing precisely the position of sporty cars in comparison to sports cars. (which was originally an entry model for young baby-boomers.)

Three years after the Mustang, GM introduced Chevrolet Camaro to the market. The massive body easily carried a high-power engine, which made the Camaro a representative example of a “muscle car.”

Alfa Romeo Spider (1966) was an elegant two-seat convertible, utilizing the chassis of “Julia.”

Toyota Celica (1970) was developed ultimately targeting the American market, which also was a great hit in Japan as a stylish compact sporty car.

While Honda Prelude (1982) was front wheel drive, its sharp bodyline and retractable headlights gained high popularity, bringing a huge hit, grabbed the heart of many customers in the Japanese market. However, it was sometimes cynically called a “date car,” so perhaps many people purchased it with another objective than to enjoy sporty driving.