With the popularity of SUVs and crossovers taking over the automotive industry, it’s become more difficult than ever to find sports cars. As a result of this trend, people have become a little loose with the term “sports car.” Just to clarify, a Subaru WRX isn’t one, and neither is a Porsche 911. In order to clear up the dust, we put together this list of our top six best sports cars.
The only vehicles considered for this list feature two seats. They can carve up the road or track, and were built primarily for performance, with comfort and convenience as secondary designs. Climb behind the wheel of any of these modern sports cars and you’ll quickly realize what you’ve been missing.
The old saying is that the answer is always Miata. Well, in this case it isn’t. You may or may not be aware that this little Italian roadster isn’t actually Italian, but is actually Japanese. More specifically, it’s a rebadged Mazda Miata. Surprised? You should be. The 124 Spider looks better and has a nicer interior, without losing the sporting spirit of the Miata, which is why it made our list of one of the best sports cars.
Speaking of sporting, Mazda engineers obsessed over its handling dynamics. The car has a nearly-perfect 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution. The suspension is stiff without being punishing. The Fiat 124 Spider Abarth has a Bilstein Performance Suspension, and a front tower brace and rear stabilizer bar to stiffen everything up further, if you really want to flog your ride.
Fiat didn’t stick with the Mazda Skyactiv-G engine, but instead put in one from the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles lineup. The 1.4-liter MultiAir Turbo is more powerful, pumping out 160 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque. All that goes to the rear wheels, making for a proper sports car experience. If you opt for the Abarth version of the car, the engine mates up to a six-speed manual transmission for even more fun. If not, the six-speed automatic is okay, for an automatic.
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Italians know how to make a nice vehicle interior, and you can get plenty of nice touches in the 124 Spider. Some of the smallest details ooze quality, like the stitching on the parking brake lever. Abarth models come with heated leather and microfiber sports seats, plus red accent stitching for good measure. The Abarth also adds appropriate aluminum accents to the pedals. If you’re an audiophile, you’ll appreciate the Bose sound system. It features nine speakers crammed in a small space, including two in each headrest, so you can still listen to tunes with the top down on the freeway.
Chevrolet’s only sports car line is the Corvette, because the Camaro has a backseat. Some refer to this as “America’s Sports Car” and for the most part the ‘Vette has lived up to that reputation. While the new ZR1 is impressive, it’s a little pricey with a starting MSRP of $121,000. You can pick up a regular Stingray for $55,495, but the ZO6 offers so much more for $89,495 that has arguably the best value in the lineup. Admittedly, the Grand Sport is a close second, so if you can’t swing the ZO6’s price, go for that.
In case you didn’t see all the fanfare when the C7 ZO6 launched, it was developed alongside the C7.R race car, a fact that shows throughout its design. One of the big highlights is the supercharged 6.2-liter V-8. It squeezes out a mighty 650 horsepower and 650 lb.0ft. of torque. It’s acceleration goes from 0 to 60 is under three seconds. Like any proper racer, the car also has a dry-sump oil system, because you’re going to be whipping around turns in a fury.
With so much power comes great aero, at least with the Corvette ZO6. There are three aero packages, the first including the carbon fiber hood and vent, front splitter, and a rear spoiler. Upgrade to the Carbon Fiber Aero Package and the various aero parts are made of, you guessed it, carbon fiber. The front splitter gains end plates, while the rear spoiler is bigger and has a fixed wickerbill for more downforce. If you really want to get crazy, the ZO7 Performance Package slaps bigger end plates on the front splitter, plus it adds an adjustable and transparent wickerbill to the rear spoiler.
Even more performance chops come with the Michelin Pilot Super Sport ZP tires, or the upgraded Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. You can also add Brembo carbon ceramic brake rotors for greater control. Magnetic Selective Ride Control is available for damping response every millisecond, which works quite well.
You can get the ZO6 as a convertible, if you like the topless experience. It doesn’t compromise aerodynamics, plus the top if fully electronic.
If you still think of Chevrolet interiors as cut-rate, you really need to take a look at the ZO6’s cabin. It’s nice but not over-the-top, with clean designs and quality materials throughout. The instrumentation isn’t overly complex, so you can concentrate on keeping control of this beast. You and your passenger will love the seats, making this one of the best sports cars you could take on a road trip.
To be clear, the Alfa Romeo 4C isn’t one of the best sports cars for casual automotive fans. This is a hardcore performance model, with air conditioning only available as an option. You won’t be enjoying some plush, comfortable ride. There’s also no real cargo area, so taking this car to the grocery store would be stupid. But, what you are getting is a relatively affordable, exotic, and downright amazing Italian sports car.
It all starts with a carbon fiber monocoque chassis. It weighs less than steel and is stronger. That’s good for handling and acceleration; the mid-mounted 1.8-liter inline four-cylinder turbocharged engine helps here, too. You get to hear it singing a melody right behind your head that most wouldn’t associate with a four-banger. The turbo combines with a pulse converter exhaust manifold for improved torque and greater responsiveness. Peak output is impressive at 237 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. of torque. While it’s not as fun as a stick, the six-speed twin clutch transmission is precise and quick. Of course, the 4C uses rear-wheel drive.
Driving the Alfa Romeo 4C is great fun, but one of the perks of owning one is the amazing design. It doesn’t look like anything else on the road today, and that’s great. The large triangular grille does make it clear to people in the know that it’s an Alfa Romeo, but more others might mistake this for a Ferrari. You can get the car as a Spider convertible. Dual center-mounted exhaust pipes add to the exotic flavor of the vehicle.
To be fair, the interior is Spartan. You won’t find super comfortable seats or large cupholders. The air vents look as if they were added later in the design process. Road noise is going to be high because Alfa Romeo left out anything extra as a way to save on weight. The result is a small car with a small engine that can blast from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.1 seconds. It handles as if it’s glued to the road, so suffering a little to experience that can be totally worth it. Just don’t make this your everyday driver.
Yes, the Viper is dead, but if you can pick up a gently used one, it’s a worthwhile investment. The Corvette may be America’s Sports Car, but the Viper is America’s answer to Ferrari. It may not have all the panache of the Italians, but it certainly can match the ferocity.
Every Dodge Viper was made by hand. That means a level of craftsmanship you don’t get with other American models. This explains why the Viper was so expensive, and is probably why it didn’t sell as well as the more affordable Corvette.
The final generation of the Dodge Viper thumped hard with an 8.4-liter V-10 engine. It squeezed out 645 horsepower without any forced induction, which was a sky-high figure when the car first debuted. Torque peaked at 600 lb.-ft. Even better, you had to drive stick, because a manual six-speed was the only transmission offered.
Perhaps the greatest Viper ever was the 2016 ACR. I know I’m making enemies saying that, because people get quite emotional about the many Viper models produced over the past few decades. Anyway, the ultimate ACR put into play big aero and suspension upgrades that really made a difference at high speeds. It was street legal, but unabashedly made for track use first and foremost. To keep the car in check while it set many, many track records, the Viper ACR used carbon ceramic brake discs and six-piston calipers. If you really wanted to get crazy, Dodge offered the ACR Extreme Aero Package, which kept the car grounded with almost one ton of peak downforce. The Viper ACR could pull 1.5 g in turns, which easily makes it one of the best sports cars.
Even as the Viper fades into automotive history, its legacy as one of the best American sports cars ever made will live on.
First off, naming a sports car after a predatory amphibian is a bold move. Fortunately, Porsche has made both generations of this vehicle quite potent, backing up all that bravado without problems.
If you’re concerned with performance, the 718 Cayman S is the current model you should consider. Regardless of what you choose, the car features a mid-mounted engine, which provides superior handling compared to the wildly popular 911. The 718 Cayman S packs a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that’s turbocharged. Max output is 350 horsepower, which isn’t monstrous, but, you can push the car to a top speed of 177 mph, if you go to a track.
While Porsche does offer a PDK transmission, you can still get a manual. This is a sports car that caters to modern purists, if you don’t consider that to be a contradiction.
Just remember that Porsche didn’t design the 718 Cayman to be a monster. Instead, it’s a super-balanced car you’ll fully appreciate when pushing it to the limit on a track. The car features MacPherson struts at both ends, plus sizable anti-roll bars. Driving it, you’ll get a sense for the countless hours Porsche engineers spent tuning even the smallest details of how this sports car behaves.
The sports car market is a little thin these days, thanks to people not really buying them. That explains why Nissan’s current Z is getting long in the tooth and is well overdue for a redesign. Rumors keep swirling around that Nissan is going to either completely redo or annihilate the Z, but for now neither is happening.
People get down on the 370Z for being old, but it’s one of the purest cars on the market today. Instead of ripping on it, they should try driving one with an open mind. Try it out; you’ll have some fun, if not a lot.
While the regular versions of the 370Z are fun, if you can swing the NISMO model it’s worth every penny. The V-6 gets turned up to 350 horsepower, which for an “old” car is pretty impressive. Engineers designed a dual-exhaust system with an H-pipe for reduced back pressure. To balance that out, the car comes with four-piston front calipers and 14-inch brake discs. High-rigidity brake hoses and performance brake fluid provide higher levels of force, too. Cutting down on unsprung weight are 19-inch RAYS forged alloy wheels. Add to that revised aerodynamics, thanks to lots of wind tunnel and track testing, and you have a well-balanced machine.
Adding to the fun of the 370Z NISMO is the interior. It has the requisite black leather upholstery, plus red Alcantara wrapped around the Recaro seats. That black and red design theme carries into the gauges. What’s more, the controls are simple, ditching the ridiculous designs like touchscreens or touchpads you get in too many modern vehicles. If you’re having a blast flogging a car around, you don’t want to mess with finnicky electronic controls for the air.
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