Vintage Images Of Sports Cars

Brass Era Cars

One of the earliest official prints of 'The Sports Car' was witnessed in The Times newspaper in 1919, London, England, then years later, the term was used in America in 1928. The term 'Sports Car' is reported to have originated from professional sporting events for speed car races, which began across Europe from around 1895. In the early 20th century, the original touring cars (open four-seater cars) and roadsters (open two-seater cars) were the basis from which the sports car quickly developed and changed over the generations, to evolve into the sophisticated, aerodynamic, and awe-inspiring mechanical technology that it is today. The definition of modern sports cars currently encompasses a much wider range of automobiles when compared to past decades. Moreover, consumer demand for the modern sports car is eternally high, as current automobile companies unrelentingly compete in the quest to produce ever more powerful and advanced cars for the future.

Brass Era cars, or Edwardian era cars, referred to cars built between 1895 and 1915, and they were largely manufactured with brass parts. During the Brass Era, sports cars developed rapidly, as many automobile manufacturing organisations across the world began to invest heavily in the latest products and technologies that were available. The early cars were often termed as 'horseless carriages', and some of the earliest sports cars, which had set the standards, were the Mercedes Simplex, 60 hp (hp - horsepower), which was designed by German engineer Wilhelm Maybach, and manufactured by Mercedes-Benz between 1903 and 1904. Meanwhile, the Vauxhall Prince Henry, 60 hp (bhp - brake horsepower) was designed by British engineer Laurence Henry Pomeroy and manufactured by Vauxhall between 1911 and 1914.

Grand Tourer Sports Cars

Grand tourers (GT) originated in the 1950s in Italy, during the Golden Age of sports cars. Grand tourers were one of the earliest types of sports cars designed for high speed and long-distance driving with cargo space. The most common format for this type of vehicle is a front engine, rear-wheel drive, and two-door coupé with a two-seat arrangement. The original Grand tourers were also termed luxury saloons because they were elite cars designed with lavish interiors and state-of-the-art facilities. In brief, Grand tourers were designed to showcase luxurious attributes as well as exhibit high speed, superior vehicle braking, and agility systems. Some examples of vintage and modern luxury saloons are the Lancia Aurelia B20, Rivolta GT IR 300, Jaguar XJ, Cadillac CT6, Genesis G90, Audi A8, and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Muscle Sports Cars

Muscle cars are a style of classic American sports cars that were invented in the 1960s and early 1970s. They were typically rear-wheel-drive, two-door American cars that were equipped with a powerful V8 engine (a V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine, arranged in a V configuration), with large, robust tires, flared fenders, wide bonnets, and large hood scoops. Muscle sports cars were designed for high-performance driving with a smooth braking system. The use of the term 'muscle car' was originally applied to 1960s and early 1970s special editions of mass-production cars, some of which were originally designed for drag car racing. Some examples of muscle cars are Chrysler 70x, Dodge Charger, and the Ford Mustang.

Modern Sports Cars

Sports cars today are called high-performance cars, in other words, they encompass excellent acceleration, high speed, and immense power and control. Therefore, the location of the engine and wheel drive greatly affects the overall performance, as well as the size and centre of gravity of those vehicles. Originally, most sports cars were equipped with rear-wheel drives, and with the engine based at the front or middle of the car. However, since the 1990s, many sports cars have been designed with an all-wheel drive capability; meaning, modern hypercars have a powertrain engine system that distributes power to all four wheels, resulting in an all-round much-improved greater performance. Some examples of modern sports cars are the Porsche 718 Cayman GTS, Ford Shelby Mustang GT500, Chevrolet Corvette C8, Toyota GT86, and Subaru BRZ.

Poetically, the sports car is sometimes compared to the great predatory feline creatures of the wild that exude natural beauty and grace, as well as an unmistakable sense of danger, while at the same time, demonstrating exceptional power, speed, and agility. On the other hand, the sports car is considered by numerous people to be a status symbol, an embodiment that denotes the highly ambitious and successful individual, or a lofty exaltation of a person's prestige. Nonetheless, for many car enthusiasts as well as the uneducated audiences, the magnificent engineering craftsmanship of the vintage models that were produced in bygone eras, and once reigned supreme upon the streets of many cities across the world, eternally possess the power to capture the imagination and spellbound countless admirers, moreover, sports cars are forever the classic collectors' items, that will never lose their awe-inspiring qualities of entrancement.

1968 Dodge Charger