[Orangeman13]

What is the modern Camaro considered?

What IS the difference between a sports car and a muscle car?

[Doc]

It seems to be considered several different things, but it's actually a high performance sports GT. Traditionally, a sports car was a two-seater with an emphasis on handling as much as power. In fact, the early sports cars were mostly from Europe so they had smaller displacement engines; typically a 4 or a 6, although some of the more expensive ones had 12 cylinder engines. Sports cars had better brakes, better steering, and usually manual transmissions with more gears; 4 or 5 speeds compared to most American cars which had 3 speed automatics.

Muscle cars came about as a result of putting large displacement V8 engines in standard passenger cars. Those engines had lots of power and torque, so they literally "muscled" the car down the road. Those cars didn't have anything special for brakes or handling; they just went fast in a straight line. This is why straight-line performance became the standard of measuring power and performance in American cars. V8 engines were plentiful and cheap to produce, and gas was cheap at the time, so they became very popular with the hot rod crowd. They were easy to work on, and easy to increase power by adding on aftermarket items.

Those cars were also quite affordable, as they were basically passenger cars with big engines. Sports cars from Europe were generally more expensive, unless you got one of the small sports cars (which were a blast by the way) from Austin Healey, MG, Triumph, etc.

What the Camaro is today is something that I don't think anyone then would have even dreamed of. We always saw cars as mechanical devices; we never dreamed of cars becoming digital electronic devices. Today the Camaro can do everything; go fast in a straight line, around corners, and stop with incredible stopping power. And it can do it all with a fuel economy that nobody would have imagined 50 years ago.

A ZL1 1SE today can outperform flat-out racing cars from the 60's, and do it with air-conditioning and a full factory warranty. As far as performance cars go, these are the "good old days".

[metros11]

Personal opinion here... A muscle car to me exemplifies big power made to go in a straight line. A sports car, is car that's made to go fast around a road course. The Camaro is sports car. If it weren't one, I wouldn't be in it.

[cbr1100xx]

I just call it a V8 Beast.

[Smokin19]

Originally Posted by Doc

It seems to be considered several different things, but it's actually a high performance sports GT. Traditionally, a sports car was a two-seater with an emphasis on handling as much as power. In fact, the early sports cars were mostly from Europe so they had smaller displacement engines; typically a 4 or a 6, although some of the more expensive ones had 12 cylinder engines. Sports cars had better brakes, better steering, and usually manual transmissions with more gears; 4 or 5 speeds compared to most American cars which had 3 speed automatics.

Muscle cars came about as a result of putting large displacement V8 engines in standard passenger cars. Those engines had lots of power and torque, so they literally "muscled" the car down the road. Those cars didn't have anything special for brakes or handling; they just went fast in a straight line. This is why straight-line performance became the standard of measuring power and performance in American cars. V8 engines were plentiful and cheap to produce, and gas was cheap at the time, so they became very popular with the hot rod crowd. They were easy to work on, and easy to increase power by adding on aftermarket items.

Those cars were also quite affordable, as they were basically passenger cars with big engines. Sports cars from Europe were generally more expensive, unless you got one of the small sports cars (which were a blast by the way) from Austin Healey, MG, Triumph, etc.

What the Camaro is today is something that I don't think anyone then would have even dreamed of. We always saw cars as mechanical devices; we never dreamed of cars becoming digital electronic devices. Today the Camaro can do everything; go fast in a straight line, around corners, and stop with incredible stopping power. And it can do it all with a fuel economy that nobody would have imagined 50 years ago.

A ZL1 1SE today can outperform flat-out racing cars from the 60's, and do it with air-conditioning and a full factory warranty. As far as performance cars go, these are the "good old days".

Exactly right.

[HDRDTD]

Are we going to start this debate AGAIN ???

[LT4Greg]

Agree! Here we go again

[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by Orangeman13

What is the modern Camaro considered?

What IS the difference between a sports car and a muscle car?

Is Dak Prescott a football player or a quarterback?

He’s a quarterback AND a football player.

Wait a minute. I know that Antonio Bryant is a football player. But he’s definitely not a quarterback. So which one is a football player. Dak or Antonio?

Both. Antonio’s a wide receiver. And a football player. Dak is a quarterback. And a football player

But Antonio’s not a quarterback?

Not a quarterback.

So how can they both be football players?

They play different positions. So, even though they don’t compete directly against each other and aren’t on the field at the same time, they are both football players.

So what about Aaron Donald? Football player or not? And is he a quarterback or a wide receiver?

Football player. But not a quarterback or a wide receiver. He’s a defensive lineman

But they’re all football players?

Yup

Replace “football player” with “sports car”.
Replace “quarterback” with “roadster”, replace “Dak Prescott” with “Porsche 718 Boxster”
Replace “wide receiver” with “exotic”, replace “Antonio Bryant” with “Audi R8”
Replace “defensive lineman” with “muscle car”, replace “Aaron Donald” with “Camaro” and repeat the entire conversation.

Sometimes the answer is AND not OR.

[Number 3]

Historically, it's why this class of car was called a "pony" car.

First, Muscle Car in it's way back class was taking a pedestrian level car and putting a large V8 under the hood. They got very little to improve other performance attributes. Think Nova, Chevelle.

The base Camaro is meant out of the box to brake, corner and drive. So putting a V8 in the Camaro maybe makes it a Muscle Car, but not in the historical (1960s early 70s) definition.

Second, Sports car? Nope. It's just not. Corvette is GM's Sports Car.

Sporty Coupe? Performance Coupe? GT? All fit the Camaro better.

And I'm not sure why so many haters for this conversation. It's like "my car is a Muscle Car and I don't want to hear anyone say otherwise".

Basically there is no wrong answer. But it's fun conversation as it pulls in historical reference against modern perceptions.

You can call it a Muscle Sports Car if it describes how you feel about the Camaro.

[Zack46]

OP,

This topic was covered 3 years ago when the car first came out. Just do a search on this site. Several threads will pop up.

[Gen6_1Le]

It is definitely not a muscle car , sports car or GT yes .

[Number 3]

Originally Posted by Zack46

OP,

This topic was covered 3 years ago when the car first came out. Just do a search on this site. Several threads will pop up.

Why are you angry, Zack. If you don't like the thread don't open it and comment. You do know that's an option, right? This want' covered just 3 years ago this was covered in Camaro5 when the Gen5 came out.

[ac-427]

All factors, such as power, handling etc. being at least nominally equal, the main distinction is back seat or no back seat.

[Mgsouthwest2001]

The Camaro is a sports car. The only modern day car that fits the muscle car genre 100% is the Challenger. Some would say the Charger also, but others would disqualify it due to its having 4 doors.