German Sports Cars – An Alternative to British Quirkiness
Automobiles come in many varieties. Family cars, luxury cars, sports cars and all purpose cars are a few of the designations placed on cars today. Each type has its benefits. Depending on the needs of a purchaser there is an automotive model to fit the requirements.
The model type with the least utility but most satisfaction is the sports car class. These cars come in several styles and types but one common theme is a quick pace and good road handling capabilities. Sports cars are usually more fun to drive than family and luxury cars and offer more fundamental transportation.
Think of a sports car as a small coupe or convertible body style that creates a driver friendly environment in the cockpit. Many sports cars offer manual transmissions so that drivers can be better connected to the engine and the road through more control over the car. Many sports cars that have been offered over the years could be considered minimalistic. Power steering, now standard on all cars, was only an option on most sports cars until the mid 1980s and early 1990s. Windows, door locks and seats were all manually operated to save weight. The lower a car’s weight the better the handling and the acceleration can be. Sports cars were usually powered by four and six cylinder engines, also to hold down the weight. A smaller engine in a lightweight car can provide just as much acceleration as an eight or twelve cylinder engine in a heavier car.
Although many companies have produced sports cars throughout the history of the automobile, many of the leading examples have been produced by European and especially British companies. The sports car era between 1960 and 1980 provided some truly remarkable offerings from manufacturers in Europe.
German Sports Cars
Porsche and BMW offered many sporting models. The BMW 2002 was produced between 1968 and 1976 and put BMW on the map as one of the leading sports car manufacturers. BMW also offered the 507 in the 1950s. This rare convertible was an alternative to many British roadsters of the era.
Porsche produced its 356, better known as the bathtub, until1966. The 911 was introduced in 1963 and eventually replaced the 356 in all markets. Porsche sports cars are known for their rear engine set up where the engine is placed at the rear of the bar, actually behind the rear drive axle. This creates a car with tendencies to over-steer but also to have great traction and handling abilities when the driving is mastered.
German sports cars do differ from the classic British roadsters in many ways offering an alternative to the quirky British machines.