ralper

Did you always want a sports car? Just about the time that I got my driver’s license, muscle cars were the hot topic. GTOs, 442s, Camaro Super Sports, Firebirds, Shelby Mustangs, Corvettes and the like. All everyone wanted was American muscle. But not me. All I ever wanted was a British sports car. It had to be a convertible, had to have a manual transmission and had to come from Britian.

A few years earlier, when I was about 12 or 13 years old, one of my older sister’s boyfriends got a brand new Triumph TR-3. It was beautiful. White and small and as handsome a car as I had ever seen. One day he took me for a ride. When I got in, I felt as if I was sitting on the floor. I couldn’t see over the dashboard but it was very exciting. The wind, the gauges, the shifting, the noise, the motion and everything else was intoxicating. From that moment on I knew I had to have a British sports car.

When I got my license I inherited a 9 year old Chevy Impala that was one step away from the junkyard. It had a straight six engine, a two speed powerglide transmission that slipped as often as not, an oil pan with a leak that dripped about 1 quart of oil every 300 miles, and a universal joint that had to be replaced. The body was in reasonably good shape except for the rust through on the front fender where it had been hit a few years earlier and two radios. The oem radio didn’t play well so I put in another one from a junkyard Chevy suspended under the dash. The car was a piece of junk, but it was mine (actually I shared it with my sister) and it got me through high school and a year in college.
After the Chevy, being a poor college student, I bought a motorcycle. That didn’t end so well, but it was a Honda and was the beginning of my lifelong love of Hondas.

Still, I wanted a British sports cars. After college, and after a year of working and saving some money I bought myself a brand new, beautiful British Racing Green MGB. I loved that car and think of it often. I wish it hadn’t been vandalized and I wish I still had it. After that a Triumph TR-6, a 1952 MG-TD and a Fiat X-1/9.

After the X-1/9 came a long line of Honda Accords and Civics but I longed for another sports car. I was very temped to buy a Miata in the late 1990s but something held me back. When the S2000 came out I could no longer resist. In 2002 I bought mine as it was coming off of the car carrier at local Honda dealer. Now, 14 years later I still own my S2000. It’s not British, but it’s a great sports car. It starts every morning and gets me home every night. Had British Leyland not screwed up, I’m convinced that the MG would have evolved into a Miata and the Austin Healy would have become an S2000.
Thinking back now over the 55 years since my sister’s boyfriend gave me that ride, I’m amazed at how addicted to sport cars I am, and how addictive that ride was. I hope to own my S2000 forever, or at least for as long as I can enjoy the wind in my hair and the fun of going through the gears.

How about you, did you always want a sports car?

Emil St-Hilaire

Quite the opposite,here Rob.
Started with muscle cars;Mustang ,Charger,Camaro,Corvette,then a dd Sciroco,Porsche,more dd,Acura,Crx SI,then OMG S2000...wich I plan to keep forever.

MAGGIEMAE

Growing up in the 60's in the suburbs of Montreal British/cars/motorcycles and Japanese motorcycles were the norm American muscle cars were pretty rare around our area mostly hotrods with a few 57 Chevies I learned to drive on a Peugot 403 and then my father bought a Ford Cortina but looked at a Bugeye Sprite in January A lot of friends had MG's, TR's and Austin Healey's and Mini's but the most prevalent were motorcycles of various lineage.The first sportscar I owned was a new Triumph GT6+ in 1970 followed by a Cooper S a couple more GT6's and Minis through the years till I got the S in 2003 Now we have the Sprite as well

Legal Bill

"Always?" No. First, frequently and currently? Yes.

Kyras

I always had the feel and sound in my blood but I didn't realize it until I saw the Honda S2000 in 2001. When I was 5 or before then, my dad had a black and white Corvette that I rode in. It looked just like this one.





Later, his brother bought a blue Corvette Stingray that I rode in. I remember asking him what the RPM gauge meant while we were driving. He told me it was how many times the engine was rolling over. I've always been very literal and couldn't understand how the engine was rolling over under the hood. I don't know the year but I remember it as this.




When I was in 5th grade, I would ride my bike with my friend, Lisa, on the bike, too, somehow. I would make revving and shifting sounds as I zoomed around imaginary cars. I didn't know where it came from but it would make her laugh.



Oh, I can't forget this photo of me in my dad's go kart!

Conedodger

I was a pony car guy growing up. My Dad had a '67 Mustang fastback, and later a '73 convertible. My first car was a '69 Mustang coupe, followed by my dad's '73, and then a '78 Camaro with a 350 4 bbl and 4-speed. I was always more interested in back road driving than drag racing though. My first new vehicle purchase was a motorcycle which further emphasized my interest in vehicles that were more about turning than straight line speed. A friend got me into autocross with the SCCA and that is when I switched to sports cars. I went through a string of 4 X1/9s before buying the S. I will own a sports car until I'm too old to climb in and out of it.

The Raptor

My first car was a 62 Corvair Monza. When that fell apart I got a 53 Ford flathead 8, then a 56 Chevy Bel Air convertible. Then a used 67 Mustang. After seeing Bullett with Steve McQueen, I got a red fastback 69 Mustang that I built into a hot rod. Then I got a 72 Ford Econoline van that I converted into a camper. Then a 79 BMW 320i that I kept for 14 years. After 93 and 97 Honda Preludes, I got an 00 S2000, right after they first came out. I was hooked on sports cars! I replaced it with an 06 S2000 (see my sig). Then I got my 14 C7 Vette vert (see my sig).

Chuck S

Mix of sports and muscle. And an economy car or two.

These are the cars I remember!:
Alfa Romero Guiletta Sypder -- engine rod bearings went
Mustang 2+2 289 HiPo -- wrecked, fixed and went to my sister
Chevelle SS-396 4-speed. 411 gears
Triumph TR4A IRS -- another engine seizure -- complete melt down at full oil pressure
Olds 442 traded on
Another Olds 442 -- rusted out
MGB -- ex-wife wanted it
A couple of Pintos -- Hey, they had manual 4-speed gearboxes!
VW Scirocco -- such a horrible car my memory has defensively blanked it
A series of Civics and Accords -- Apexi exhaust, AEM intakes (posers)
CRX -- slow, of course, but I drove it like it was fast and few knew it wasn't! Totaled by getting rear ended.
Merkur XR4Ti -- I still don't trust turbo charged cars.
Another Accord.
Ford Explorer -- to pull camping trailer
Ford Expedition -- to pull bigger camping trailer (still have this 160K truck for trailer duty).

Honda S2000 -- summer car! Completely useless otherwise.

-- Chuck

sam_spider

My first car was an 80 Scirocco, it had issues, but I loved it. I've got a 78 Scirocco still.


I've always had a "sporty" car since I started driving, my first sedan was a 99 Lexus GS400 that was also my first automatic, but it was still sporty-ish.

I still want a British sports car, I came close to buying a bugeye Sprite 20 years ago, part of me wishes I did, but I think I'm more capable of dealing with it now than I would've been then.

Legal Bill

Cars owned from my current memory:

1. 1963 Sprite
2. 1963 E-Type, coupe
3. 1966 Mustang Coupe
4. 1967 Plymouth Fury 383 4 speed
5. 1966 Ford Galaxy 500 convertible
6. 1958 Jaguar XK-150 coupe
7. 1964 Alfa Gulia (x2, came as a two car package traded for my XK-150 with cash)
8. 1966 Alfa Duetto boat tail roadster
9. 1958, '59, and '60 MGAs. Three roadsters and one coupe. I restored and modified the coupe with fiberglass fenders and fitted it with an MGB engine which I rebuilt top to bottom and tranny.
10. 1959 and 1960 Bugeye Sprites (five in total over a period of many years. I raced two of them at autocrosses and restored two of them. Rebuilt many engines and swapped out many trannys, clutches and differentials.
11. 1958 Austin Healey 100-6
12. 1966 MG-B roadster
13. 1967 MG-B GT
14. 1952 Facel (One-off car. Unique body, probably produced by an independent designer. Found it at a garage. Researched it a bit. Learned it had come with a six cylinder engine and had been modified with the 283 Chevy and powerglide two speed tranny and the seats had been recovered. I don't even have a picture today.)
15. 1979 Mustang Cobra
16. 1974 Porsche 914 2.0 litre
17. 1977 Datsun 280Z
18. 1976 Datsun B210
19. 198? Ford fiest
20. 1977 Ford Pinto
21. 1975 Mercury Capri
22. 196? Vandenplas Princess (I even raced it!)
23. 1962? Renault Dauphine
24. 1986 VW Sirrocco (my first new car)
25. 1989 VW Golf
26. 1965 Austin Healey 3000 MKIII
27. 1991 Ford Mustang GT
28. 1989 Ford Mustang GT
29. 1994 Chevrolet Z28
30. 1995 Cadillac STS
31. Out of order but just remembered my 1971 Cadillac Eldorado
32. 2000 Jaguar S Type
33. 2002 Honda S2000
34. 2006 BMW 330i
35. Out of order. Just remembered 197? BMW 2002
36. Out of order. Just remembered 1970 Volvo P1800
37. Out of order. Just remembered 1979 or so Volvo 242 DL
38. 2016 BMW M235i
39. Out of order. 1965 Ford Cortina GT
40. 1968 VW Beetle with auto stick shift tranny
41. 1969 Dodge Challenger with slant six and auto tranny