Why are all new sports cars so massive?
 

What i mean is, look at the lexus sc300 vs the new sc400 or what ever it is. The coupe. The new one is just so massive compared to the old. Same with the new 350Z. Look at the Audi TT. The list goes on and on. Sports cars should be small and light. The miata? Now that is a sports car. These other cars are small on the outside, but the overall girth of the vehicle is huge! This is one of the reasons I chose to buy the Mini Cooper S. Small, lightweight and handles like a BIATCH! ;)
Is it a safety thing? Well then buy a 4-door sedan.

doh! can a mod move this to the tilted motors forum...posted in electronics by mistake. :o

I blame Golf. Oh, and society's hysterical obsession with safety.

wider=better :D

my brother used to have a fiat x19. it was extremely light, small and a blast to drive. a real, old school sportscar. inexpensive too. he got his for around $2300 back in 1980.
http://www.koch-klassik.de/BILDER/FiatX19/innen.JPG
http://www.koch-klassik.de/BILDER/FiatX19/site1.JPG

Lovely little motah!

Some more feisty flyweights. Great thread, miko.

http://www.suzuki-cappuccino.com/images/logo_sm.jpg

http://www.carkeys.co.uk/images/cm_i...r/smroa007.jpg

http://www.topgear.com/content/featu...7/image_02.gif

http://www.pistonheads.com/fastcars/...R500-small.jpg

Re: Why are all new sports cars so massive?
 

Sports cars can't be small. With all the modern safety equipment they need, they can't be very light. Which means they need a large engine to haul around all that mass, which means it can't be very small either.

My dad has a '80 Triumph TR7 convertible. Looks quite a bit like that X1/9, but it's front-engine. That little car is a lot of fun. No power at all, but the handling makes up for that. Feels like you're driving a go-kart!

I don't consider the miata to be a sports car but good choice on the Cooper type S, as for why they are so big, i tend to agree with irseg, it is now up to the person who buys the car to figure out where the weight is not needed and get rid of it. good thread choice this will be interesting.