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View Poll Results: Do you consider your Z4 a Sportscar?
It's a Driver's Car 19 33.33%
It's an Atari Car 1 1.75%
It's a Sportscar 37 64.91%
Voters: 57. You may not vote on this poll

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      05-19-2007, 02:05 AM   #1
Rick Hunter
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Do you consider your Z4 a "Sports Car?"

So.. I was surfing through some automobile review sites tonight and I stumbled upon a review of the 2008 Audi TT (don't worry... I'm not interested in a TT). Anyway, the journalist went on about what he thought the definition of "sportscar" was. He goes on to say that the Z4 is not a sportscar (and neither is the TT) but the Porsche Boxster/Coxster is.

The more times I read through the article, the more convinced I was at thinking that maybe I don't actually own a "sportscar" (per definition).

Am I absolutely daft to my own definition of "sportscar," or is this journalist too strict with his definitions? Or maybe I'm just sleepy?

Do you consider your Z4 a Sports Car?

Here's the article: Click
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      05-19-2007, 08:46 AM   #2
enfield
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I do not think that the Z4M is a sports car because it lacks the punch of an 'atari' car. It is a great drivers car. The 0-100kph at around 5 seconds is slow for a sports car. Now if you Supercharge the bugger
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      05-19-2007, 08:55 AM   #3
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i thought 5 seconds was good for a sports car...i would say anything in mid-sub 4's a super car and under 4 is a hyper car.

my my 2 pence

edit

Quote:
VW launched the less attractive-and less popular-second generation, and when the third iteration arrived seven years later, it took the name Corrado. Especially in VR6 guise, the Corrado was a proper sports car with fine handling and strong performance, but dwindling sales and financial constraints meant no new version replaced it when its term expired in 1994.

Jason Cammisa
and a z4mcoupe aint a sports car
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      05-19-2007, 09:07 AM   #4
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Well...I guess the real question is what do you consider a sports car? I think any car that can lap the Nurburgring under 8:30 should be considered a sports car...hell the F1 car that recently lapped it had 8:30 as his fastest lap...Z4M is also faster than a 911 Carrera around the track.

So...hell yeah it's a sports car, and a damn good one too.
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      05-19-2007, 09:16 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dammmittt View Post
Well...I guess the real question is what do you consider a sports car? I think any car that can lap the Nurburgring under 8:30 should be considered a sports car...hell the F1 car that recently lapped it had 8:30 as his fastest lap...Z4M is also faster than a 911 Carrera around the track.

So...hell yeah it's a sports car, and a damn good one too.
Exactly!

anyways the dude dont kno what hes talking about in 1 review the "porshe boxter and cayman achieves MAGICAL sports cars status" but in the porsche boxter review he says...

" The base 245-horsepower, 3.2-liter flat-six isn't lightning fast, but it sings the 911's song and, combined with legendary Porsche handling and brakes, easily outpaces other sports cars."

now if a car is built as a sports car and out paces other sports cars... doesnt that make it a sports car?

the guy prob drives a hyundai coupe and thinks thats a sports car lol infact i put money on it that his neighbours either side of his house drive a z4m and a porsche lmao they aint real sports cars!!!!
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      05-19-2007, 09:48 AM   #6
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We used to go on like this about motorcycles.
My Honda Hurricane 600 was a sport bike, but not a superbike
The GSXr 750s were superbikes, not sport bikes

My response was shut up and drive. Well, ride in the old case, drive in the new one.

I've spent my life defying definition.
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      05-19-2007, 10:32 AM   #7
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I found his definitions to be somewhat curious although there certainly are distinctions that can be made for what he describes as "Drivers" vs "Atari" cars. Most writers would combine the whole lot into "Sports" cars and simply recognize that there are a lot of variants within the genre.

I have been a DE instructor for the last 5 years and have spent lots of time working with drivers of all skill levels in a lot of different "Atari" cars as well as "Drivers" cars and they are remarkably different cars that really aren't trying to be the same in the first place. I would personally place modern Porsches in the Atari car category given that they are now almost overloaded with traction control aids but they have a cult following that excels in marketing the brand at a higher level than is likely warranted.

I owned several different Audis including 2 S4's that I spent a lot of time on the track with. I would definitely lump those cars as Atari type cars although as sedans they really aren't part of this discussion. Audis are by definition nose heavy cars that use a lot of suspension tweaks to make them feel not quite as out of balance. Audis are quite fast on a track, but the tweaks that make up for the car's imbalance on the scales also bury a lot of the road feel to the driver and the quattro drivetrain makes almost anyone look good when they actually have no clue what they are doing behind the wheel in the first place. It's hard to teach Audi drivers on the track when so many of the subtle things that distinguish a really good driver from the intermediate ones can't really be felt by the driver in the first place. I have had the same problem at Porsche Club events too.

I moved from those to a Honda S2000 which is firmly in the group called "Drivers" cars. That car was incredible for communicating absolutely everything to the driver and left you with no doubt at all as to what it was going to do on the roadway. The S2000 was the opposite of an Atari car - any wrong moves you made behind the wheel would translate directly to what the car was doing and leave little doubt that you didn't do it right. In comparison, my Z4 Coupe is a much faster car that will outcorner the S2000 but is a little numb feeling compared to the S2000. The Z4 is much more forgiving of driver input errors than the S2000 but not the extent that it could be called an Atari car. The Z4 is heads and shoulders above the Audis for communicating with the driver - especially when it comes to balance.

Consider the variation within the Z4 family alone - a 3.0i with no sports package is less lively than a 3.0si with the Sports package and both of these have a different road feel compared to the ///M. The Coupes have a stiffer chassis than the roadsters so they are a little different yet. The writer made no effort to distinguish these variations and painted the Z4 with a broad brush.

I am not sure I would really try to read a lot into the writer's distinctions under the circumstances and to be honest I like the fact that the Zed is more of a Driver's car than an Atari car. The Driver's cars are a lot more fun and that's what I bought mine for.....
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      05-19-2007, 01:41 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by enfield View Post
I do not think that the Z4M is a sports car because it lacks the punch of an 'atari' car. It is a great drivers car. The 0-100kph at around 5 seconds is slow for a sports car. Now if you Supercharge the bugger
Hmmm, still thinking about the '08 M3, eh?
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Great discussion, so far, people. Keep it comin'!

Maybe I should have also asked a corollary question: Would you consider the Z4M models "Sports Cars" and not the Z4 non-Ms? Would you consider the Coupés more of a "Driver's Car" vs. the Roadsters?
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      05-19-2007, 02:54 PM   #9
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On the defn of sports car, to me the requirement is light weight relative to its size, superior handling/braking/acceleration, and the ability to communicate what the car is doing to the driver.

This defn includes cars like the Z4 and even the Miata (although recently it really has fallen down on its promise of superior performance relative to its class...but when it was first marketed, it was most definitely a sports car). Cars that lack some of those virtues are cars like the larger sedans (eg. M5, S- or CL-class AMG models, Bentley Continental GT, Chrysler 300 SRT-8, etc.).
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      05-19-2007, 05:17 PM   #10
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The Z4 definately is a sports car. IMHO, a sports car is any car that is designed primarily with fun and road performance in mind. As was said earlier, there is a lot of room variation within this genre.
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      05-19-2007, 07:12 PM   #11
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automobile magazine sucks
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      05-19-2007, 07:22 PM   #12
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nonono, this is an atari car:

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      05-19-2007, 10:24 PM   #13
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I don't think of mine as a sports car - I think it's a very poorly designed SUV.
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      05-20-2007, 11:41 AM   #14
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Nobody thinks of the Z as an "atari car" eh? (thusfar)
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      05-20-2007, 11:57 AM   #15
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Nope! BMW builds cars for drivers!
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      05-20-2007, 12:39 PM   #16
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I rather like the "shut up and drive" option.
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      05-20-2007, 03:23 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ward View Post
automobile magazine sucks
This fellow gets it.

And I drive a ROADSTER. Thanks for the poll.
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      05-20-2007, 03:44 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vroomer View Post
And I drive a ROADSTER.
That's the best response yet - wish I posted it
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      05-20-2007, 04:02 PM   #19
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Everyone sees it as a sports car, so there's no argument from me there.
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      05-20-2007, 04:33 PM   #20
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I still recall richard Hammond calling the Z4 a "proper sports car."
but that video is getting hard to find...

Found this on Youtube:
Fifth Gear - Audi TT Mk2 3.2 VS BMW Z4 3.0


And this:
Porsche Boxter and BMW Z4
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      05-20-2007, 05:40 PM   #21
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I think it is a sports car made for the true drivers!
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      05-20-2007, 05:46 PM   #22
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Ah, yes... the Hamster knows best.
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