TODAY IN PART 2 WE CONTINUE RECOUNTING R&T STAFF opinions about sports cars in 1984, with several new comments reflecting four decades of wisdom (or whatever else one accumulates over time). Here as in Part 1, we continue arranging comments in 1984 Masthead order.
Jonathan Thompson, Associate Editor. Jon wrote, “A sports car should be a direct extension of the driver, a 4-wheel version of a motorcycle or well trained horse.”
Jon Thompson.
“I suppose,” he said, “any car that makes me want to drive it even when I have nowhere to go is a sports car.”
Jon died at age 70 in 2005.
Kim Reynolds, Assistant Engineering Editor. “Yesterday, at twilight,” he said, “I drove the coastal route home in the Morgan 4/4 test car. When I arrived, my hands were cold to the bone, my face windbeaten, my hair crazily woven by a thousand blasts of frozen air.” He then picked up a pal and drove another 25 minutes, “and only on the way back did I realize I was actually smiling.”
Kim Reynolds.
KR, 2024. “It’s tempting to repeat that old picture [Indeed, I have, twice] of me with the Bugeye—a car I once again have—and write, ha! Nothing’s Changed. But alas, almost everything has.”
“Whatever the heck a sports car is,” Kim says, “it unfortunately needs a world around it that’s cooperative. That’s my problem. My life’s calcified in Costa Mesa (near the old R&T building) where traffic is approaching Manhattan’s, and an intersection’s green light is like lights-out at the start of an SUV Grand Prix. My teeny, 68-hp Bugeye still grins, but mainly because its sheet metal is shaped that way.”
“So,” Kim decribes, “the 2024 answer is a local one, informed by realities we’d never have dreamed of in 1984. For right now, and right here—I’d get a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. It’s visually tall with sensors to maneuver amid the modern mayhem—and is CO2 conscionable. Chapman would hate the weight, but its low cg, 641 hp, and right-pedal response are epic driver delights.”
William A. Motta, Art Director. “What is a sports car?” Bill wrote. “In a word, fun!
Wm. A. Motta.
Of the comparo sextet, Bill said, “My personal favorite is the CRX because it is closer to the sports cars of the old days. Small, nimble, inexpensive and fun… too bad it’s not available as a ragtop.”
In fact, Bill’s wish was fulfilled that same year when local coachbuilder extraordinaire Richard Straman worked with R&T to produce the Honda CRX Straman Spyder.
Image from R&T, July 1984.
Bill died at age 85 in 2020.
Richard M. Baron, Associate Art Director. “Above all else,” Richard wrote, “a sports car must have character and be downright fun. It must beckon you to drive down your favorite twisting mountain road on the beautiful spring morning, leaving you with a lasting memory of that journey. It should entertain you with mechanical sounds and burbling exhaust notes. It must be a machine that becomes a part of you, such as a good friendship that must grow so that you can enjoy it to its fullest.”
Richard Baron.
RB, 2024. “Forty years on, I still feel the defining word to describe a sports car is FUN. It should deliver smiles, and make that unique connection between driver and machine that says you belong together. Whether running mundane chores, or carving up your favorite road—you are having a fun time. And after that spirited drive, you are often tempted to turn around for one last admiring glance after parking, as if to say ‘thanks…that was fun!’”
“I still love driving my ‘65 E-Type,” Richard says, “when the weather is nice and the roads are clear. As to whether the sports car still exists today, my answer is to look at the other side of my garage, where lives a 2022 Toyota GR86. A nicely balanced package that loves being pushed hard, and delivers a more than satisfying performance in generating grins. It is happy to drive to the track for a spirited day of lapping, and yet still perfectly happy to be driven home.”
Larry Crane, Assistant Art Director. “I don’t like roadsters! The wind is distracting.… If driving for sport is to be enjoyed to its fullest it is best done in a closed car where concentration is better.”
Larry Crane.
“After 30-plus cars, all used for sporting driving,” Larry concluded, “my perception of a sports car is simply having fun in a car with well rounded performance.”
These days, Larry and Tracy Crane have a potent Ford Mustang.
Conclusions. What with oddities of BEV 0-60 performance, the times they’ve certainly been a’changin’. But consider: Richard is “happy to drive to the track for a spirited day of lapping.” Kim is lusting for an “Ioniq 5 N’s 641 hp and right-foot response.” Peter appreciates “a winding road or track day… leak-free convertible tops… and …this miraculous thing called air conditioning.” I’m still delighted with “8/10s up a freeway onramp.” And there are still Dellows. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024