Grassroots Motorsports
Issue link: http://grassrootsmotorsports.epubxp.com/i/397024
Grassroots Motorsports 49 5. A Stick Shift Sports cars must have manual transmissions. Note that many of the new "shiftable automatics" actually function as automatic clutches, so there may be an argument for their inclusion. (They do shift faster.) However, in my mind, automatics (and auto-clutches) are unnecessary and expensive complications. I want to double-clutch, heel-and-toe, and rev-match myself, thank you very much. ECU-controlled transmission shifting for a driver is like Auto-Tune for a singer: If you don't have the talent, you shouldn't have the microphone (or steering wheel) in your hand in the frst place. The fnal argument: Automatic transmissions can't predict the future, and they never will. Case in point: When I'm bar- reling toward my favorite apex and need to bang against the rev limiter for three short cycles before I lift and hit the brakes, I don't want the automatic shifting me into fourth. And it will, because it's dumb and doesn't read my mind. I've seen automatics come a long, long way from the sad slushboxes of the '60s, but they still don't belong in a sports car. So, sports cars must have a stick with which to row the gears. 6. Less Weight Sports cars must be lightweight. Dead weight not only taxes the engine, but more importantly the cornering ability of a car. It's pure physics: It takes much more dynamic ability for a chassis–from the tires to the structure–to resist the centrifugal force of 1.5 tons of mass versus 1.0 ton of mass. Lotus founder Colin Chapman knew this better than anyone. His famous recipe for speed was "Simplify, then add lightness." The Miata project, from the beginning, was known as our Light Weight Sports project. Simpler and lighter makes for better handling and cornering–surprisingly different traits. Along these lines, sports cars must have good weight distri- bution. They have to be designed with handling in mind from the beginning. A 50/50 front-to-rear and left-to-right weight distribution is one of the holy grails of sports car design, and the packaging engineer makes the decisions that affect this outcome at the start of any project–long before the stylists start slinging clay. A sports car's powertrain, passengers and fuel tank–plus a host of other 20-pound parts–must be laid out carefully. Put these in the wrong places, and you'll never make a vehicle work as a sports car. You can't tune out poor weight distribution. Again, the Porsche 911 is the exception–years of development plus giant rear tires have trumped its poor balance. The second-generation Lotus Elan is a different stoy. One of the most memorable quotes from Road & Track magazine was written in their review of the car, a nose-heavy, front-wheel- drive misft from the very early '90s "Lotus may have taught this pig to dance, but at the end of the day, they've left you dancing with a pig." It handled poorly because there's only so much you can do once you put parts in the wrong place. Balance is king. 7. Stunning Looks Sports cars should be attractive–the more beautiful the better. Humans are shallow and fnd it easier to have passion for something beautiful. Italy has always known this. Others, not so much. However, there is an honest, functional beauty even to the simplest of sports cars, including the Lotus 7 and MG Midget. Some machines have played this the wrong way. We all know well-styled "sports" cars that don't really live up to their promises. Sorry, but I put early Corvettes, the dearly departed Solstice, and its pimpy cousin, the Saturn Sky, in this group. Beauty breeds passion at some very basic levels, but it doesn't offset core faults. Brings to mind my home state's motto: "Esse quam videri." Look it up.