which sports car do people love driving?
1980 nissan 280zx
My favorite “sports” car is one that can go off road and carry a lot of sporting equipment. But, I enjoyed my brother’s old Triumph TR3 for real.
The Honda S2000, for sure.
Now that it is in its last year of production, they will be a scarce item in years to come.
I loved my RX-7 but frankly I would have really really loved the idea of a smaller rotary engine in a Miata.
Austin Healy 3000 MKIII circa mid 60’s. Early Jag XKE’s too.
I have a '98 Porsche Boxster.
Mid engine, rear wheel drive, slightly tail happy if you sudden lift off the throttle in the middle of a decreasing radius corner, while zipping around a racetrack.
You really, really, really don’t want to do that in a Boxster. Just keep your foot in the throttle, and everything will be fine. If you lift off, and try to hit the brakes, the rear end will just slide right out on you.
So the car will reward you if you are aggressive, and will punish you if you lose faith mid corner. I love it!
BC.
In terms of sports cars, of the ones I’ve driven, I can say that the one that impressed/frightened me the most was a Cobra replica that I got to drive around VIR. It had a warmed over 351 with “about 450 HP”. The car is incredibly light so the acceleration was incredible. Steering was very quick, there was no dead area in the steering, and if you so much as coughed or flinched the car would change direction. You had to be careful, if you were overaggressive with throttle or the steering wheel the car would react violently. I can only imagine what driving a real 427 Cobra would be like. All I know is I want one.
It was a religous experience.
I always liked the Camaro, the basic V8 model with standard suspension. It was a civilized car (with air of course) you could actually drive all day without getting tired or have your teeth rattled.
The most exciting sports car I ever drove was a mid 60s British Jensen Interceptor. This car had the tweaked Chrysler 383 hemi engine in it. It was a bear to park (no power steering), but on a twisty road it really performed. Fastest I went in it was 125 mph on a 2 lane asphalt road.
A '57 TR-3 and a '79 RX-7 Both these cars did what a “Sports Car” was meant to do, get your drivers license suspended in a matter of weeks…
I’ve owned a '66 Sunbeam Alpine and a '86 Mazda RX-7, both of which were very enjoyable in their own way, but when I think “fun-to-drive” the first thing that pops into my mind is my '63 Sunbeam Imp.
It wasn’t very powerful, and it certainly wasn’t fast, but it sure was fun. I could drive it flat out most of the time, and I did. I’ve never owned another car that could be thrown into corners with abandon the way that Imp could.
Friends of mine had Fiat 850s, in both Coupe and Spyder configuration. They were the same kind of fun cars. Floor it and don’t let up. Try that on public roads with a Porsche.
It’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slow.
Are eyes rolling when I say I would list the 2.0L 914 as a very fun car to drive?
Classic – 1967 Jaguar E-type series 1
Current – BMW 3 Series sedan, manual transmission, sport pack
Twotone
Would this qualify as a sports car?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/bscar/1967-Shelby-GT500-428-2.jpg
Not really, as it has a back seat. True sports cars don’t have back seats, with the 911 being the lone exception. It’s nice car, and a car that I would (and am currently) drool over, but it’s not sports car. Pony car? yes, Grand Touring car? yes, muscle car? yes, sports car? no
yeah, it is.
my definition of sports car is vague: RWD with a performance engine.
GT500 (plural) are both.
So you’re saying you’d hot lap a Lincoln Towncar with the optional dual exhaust/handling package around Laguna Seca? 
sure, why not? better yet, a crown vic interceptor.
I really liked the 1961 and earlier Austin Healy Sprite–the model with the headlights that looked like “bug eyes”. I’ve driven the MG Midgets of that time period and really like the handling. These cars aren’t powerful, but if one works the shift correctly, it is easy to keep up with traffic.
I also like the fact these cars have side curtains, and no frills.
when I think “fun-to-drive” the first thing that pops into my mind is my '63 Sunbeam Imp.
I had one, I think it was a 1965 model. Great fun, and great mileage. Yea I spent a lot of time driving flat out, but with that 850cc engine, you could often drive flat out without braking the speed limit.