Is the s550 platform considered a muscle car or sportcar??

[frank s]

Used to be a Pony car. Now I'd call it a Ground Touring Sports Coupe.

Is the s550 platform considered a muscle car or sportcar??

As one who was present very early in the advent of little furrin cars into the USA, I'll advise y'all that the
proper term is sports car. Note the second "s" in "sports". Pages and pages of contemporary enthusiasts' magazines were dedicated to the assertion that there had to be a plural sport to qualify as what was a raceable little furrin car. If your sport was one of many popular in the day, sport was appropriate. If your preoccupation was all that, a bag of chips, and included some car-racing activity on a track of some kind, and your car could handle it, then you had a sports car. With a bit of a stretch, an S550 Mustang qualifies, but...

The world has long known what it is, a "muscle car": mid-size sedan of two doors with an oversize engine

stuffed in the front. Simple.

"Pony car" isn't serious enough to describe the current Mustang. We could spend some time trying to come up

with a suitable designation, but that wasn't the question.

S550 is neither fish nor fowl, in this context. So what?


Let's say today is the base sample. Name a true Muscle Car of today. Now, a Sports Car. Now, a Pony Car. For my part, I can't do it. But I don't care. Everyone understands what I have, when I say "2018 Mustang GT".

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[VenomousSVT]

Let's say today is the base sample. Name a true Muscle Car of today. Now, a Sports Car. Now, a Pony Car. For my part, I can't do it. But I don't care. Everyone understands what I have, when I say "2018 Mustang GT".

I say Sports car, BMW 3 series cars Pony car, mustang (why? because it does it better than anyone else) muscle car, RedEye (why? because its big and beefy and comfortable but gets on down because they just threw power at it)..LOL

 

[Johnnybee]

This is really a moving target. Consider that a lot of compact economy sedans are more powerful, stop and steer better, and have superior creature comforts than the cars which gave us the monikers you are looking to apply to the S550, it becomes a bit confusing.

I've had an MG Midget and a Triumph TR8 in the past, both of which I consider "sports cars". Lightweight (the TR8 being 1000 lbs, and the Midget nearly a ton, lighter than the Mustang), not all powerful, fun to throw around, two seats and a drop top. Neither very good for drag racing. Neither had much creature comfort.

For me the Mustang is a grand tourer. Wholly suitable for long distances, comfortable, plenty of power to cruise at elevated speeds easily, with handling and braking to match.

I think the moniker that you choose depends on your use. The Mustang can be many different things to many different people, one of the things the originals were.

 

[Armageddon Turbo]

I feel like it is still a Muscle car, but also a world class sports car.

 

[Bikeman315]

I say Sports car, BMW 3 series cars Pony car, mustang (why? because it does it better than anyone else) muscle car, RedEye (why? because its big and beefy and comfortable but gets on down because they just threw power at it)..LOL

Just MHO but the "3" series is considered a sports sedan. The "Z" series would be considered a sports car.

 

[martinjlm]

Just MHO but the "3" series is considered a sports sedan. The "Z" series would be considered a sports car.

So where would that slot the 4-Series (3-series minus a couple doors)?

 

[Bikeman315]

So where would that slot the 4-Series (3-series minus a couple doors)?

A two door sports coupe. Kinda like our Mustang.

 

[SVTchris]

I thought this was pretty interesting as it relates to this thread.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a28225/sports-car-definition/

 

[Rocket403]

Mustang is a GT car with the Camaro and the Challenger is the last Muscle Car

 

[martinjlm]

Just MHO but the "3" series is considered a sports sedan. The "Z" series would be considered a sports car.

Within the vehicle forecasting world, there is a large over-arching category called “Sports Car” that has a lot of little sub-categories. Sorta like my earlier “all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares” comment, everything in the sub-categories are considered “Sports Cars”, but then you can slice the categories even more specifically.

So, for example, if Sports Cars is the rectangle, it covers everything from say Miata to Chiron. But then in that rectangle, there are squares for different types and price points of sports cars. So a pony car is a sports car that fits certain sorta specific parameters. A muscle car fits a different set of parameters. A GT fits a different set of parameters. In some ways, though, they overlap. I think 4-cylinder Mustangs are a great example of a pony car. But the 2.3T with PP is definitely closer to the original definition of a sports car, and the GT500 is a Sports Car, a Muscle Car, GT Car all rolled into one. It’s all in how the company wants to market it. Personally, I prefer the term Performance Car for Mustangs, Camaros, Challengers, Chargers, etc.

I took a look at RL Polk Registration data. Mustang, Camaro, Challenger all fall under the category “Non-Luxury Sport Mid-size”. Cars like Corvette, 911, BMW Z-series, BMW M-Series, and Supra fall under Luxury Sport. McLaren 720s, Ferrari 812, Lamborghini Aventador, and of course Bugatti Veyron / Chiron and similar exotica would fall under Exotic Sports Car.

 

[OldPhart]

Mustang is a GT car with the Camaro and the Challenger is the last Muscle Car

Hi - I agree that the Challenger is definitely an excellent modern version of the old muscle car and that’s coming from an old muscle car guy. Maybe it’s the only one? I was actively part of that ‘60s car era and it was definitely an American car only term. Actually the term muscle car wasn’t widely used early on. It was more ex-post facto established. Classification terms are really a lot of semantics. What was the little Chevy II V8 from the mid ‘60s? A case could be made for the modern Charger as well - think mid-‘60s big block Chevy Impala and Pontiac 421 2+2 Catalina? I seem to recall the Mustang, Camaro and Firebird as the 3 major pony cars(not intended to offend AMC fans) and they didn’t necessarily have to have big engines. It wasn’t until they put bigger V8s in them that the pony/muscle terms began to merge. The Barracuda was the Plymouth version of the Challenger. Egads, this could go on forever, but it’s interesting from a nostalgic perspective. I guess that’s part of the fun aspect of this forum as long as the disagreements don’t result in insults and arguments... Bruce

P.S. Talking about the ‘60s cars with someone like me is akin to talking to WWII veterans about the depression and war years - we were there. A lot of my peers are Korean and Vietnam era veterans as well.

 

[frank s]

I thought this was pretty interesting as it relates to this thread.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a28225/sports-car-definition/

Nice. That guy speaks my language.

Thank you.

 

[Bullitt0819]

So me and a friend of mine was having a debate about the s550 platform, whether it’s a considered a muscle car or a sport car. I would love to hear you guys take on this

It's a 'proper old school' sports car:

 

[Johnnybee]

I agree that the Challenger is definitely an excellent modern version of the old muscle car and that’s coming from an old muscle car guy.

For sure, particularly when one considers that the Challenger is sedan based (off the LX architecture), like the originals.

 

[The_Phantom]

Muscle car.

Not refined enough to be a sports car (Porsche 911, Corvette, etc.) and there's nothing "World Class" about it IMO. Just a good ol' fun car to drive.

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