Philip
Free Style
Effective Writing Sr.
Sports Cars
A Unique Blend of Style and Performance
Sports cars are small, low cars with a high-powered engine, which usually seat
two people. They have two main criteria: style and performance. Car designers use style
as a mode of expression geared toward their target market. Performance is a very high
and superior quality of driving with emphasis on power and handling. Together these
criteria define a unique automotive class that ultimately promises speed over utility.
Sports cars have some unique body style characteristics that separate them from
other vehicles. All but few sports cars fall into the coupe category. The Society of
Automotive Engineers (SAE) distinguishes between sedans and coupes by one simple
rule. Sedans have more than 33 cubic feet of interior space and coupes have less than 33
cubic feet of interior space. Sports cars are small but aerodynamic vehicles. An author at
Wisegeek.com said that “Examples of vehicles based primarily on car aerodynamics are
those that lie low to the ground, are sleek in design, and have rounded lines with reclining
windshields that allow the air to easily flow over and around, rather than „butt up‟ against
flat or vertical surfaces.” This unique, sleek aerodynamic design does not come cheap;
however, there is a variety of price points to accommodate a wide range of buyers. Here
is a current list of best selling sports cars from consumersearch.com:
$30 to 40 thousand: 2009 Nissan 370Z
$50 to 60 thousand: 2009 Porsche Cayman
$80 to 85 thousand: 2010 Nissan GT-R
$100 thousand: 2010 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
$1 million and up: Koenigsegg CCX and the Pagani Zonda F.
2010 Pagani Zonda F spy photos
http://www.caradvice.com.au/15514/2010-pagani-zonda-f-spy-photos/
Another way to judge a sports car is its handling. Handling is a description of the
way wheeled vehicles perform transverse to their direction of motion, particularly during
cornering and swerving. It also includes their stability when moving in a straight line.
Because these cars have a low center of gravity, handling is greatly improved. This
means that the weight is better distributed throughout the car. That is not all that can
contribute to handling, there is also the suspension. When in a sports car, bumps in the
road are more pronounced because of its low center of gravity. So car designers
compensate for that by stiffer springs also known as suspension.
The second aspect of a sports car‟s performance is its power. One way power is
measured is with horsepower and torque. In his book, “the Physics of NASCAR”,
Diandra Leslie-Pelecky explained that torque makes the car accelerate faster but leaves
the top speed not quite up to par. Horsepower is the exact opposite. It raises the top
speed but leaves something to be desired when it comes to accelerating. When designing
a sports car, engineers strive to get the perfect balance of horsepower and torque making
the car quick to accelerate and able to sustain high speeds for long periods of time.
Power is also affected and enhanced by the number of cylinders in the engine.
Consumerreports.org states that most sports cars have six cylinders inside which fuel
burns. Power comes from the pistons moving inside the cylinders. Each piston has four
jobs. They are crucial to performance. The first job is intake. From its upward position,
the piston moves down sucking in the fuel. It then moves back up compressing the gas.
The spark plug ignites the compressed fuel creating power. The excess heat is expelled
via exhaust. These are the four jobs necessary to an engine. Though that is necessary to
all engines there is another special trick that divides sports car engines from others. It is
fuel injection. This gets more air and gas into the cylinder. This mixture is much richer
and combusts better giving the engine more power.
Even though these cars are small, big things come in little packages. These little
packages are the most aerodynamic cars on the market. With their low center of gravity
and even weight distribution, their handling is quick and responsive. Their six cylinder
engine, which is the heart of all sports cars, provides the foundation for power. In
scientific terms a car is an energy converter that converts gasoline into kinetic energy. It
is clear that a sports car is more than just a car.