Categorizing Cars (Discussion)

"Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind) 04/26/2016 at 21:35 • Filed to: Categorizing

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I’m goofing around trying to make up terms to describe vehicle progressions within a segment. Think Sportscar vs. Supercar vs. Hypercar. Perhaps you fine folks would like to help me out? I’m not defining anything, nor am I diving into subdividing each of these classes. I’m just defragmenting my mind. I would like to work on a Taxonomy of Vehicles, but that kind of project is probably better suited to one of you. Here’s where I am at currently for those curious:

Sporty Car - Sportscar - Supercar - Hypercar

Touring - Grand/Sports Touring - Super Touring - Hyper Touring

Sedan - Sports Sedan - Super Sedan - Hyper Sedan

Hatch - Warm Hatch - Hot Hatch - Hyper Hatch

CUV - MUV (Motorsports Utility Vehicle) - HUV (Hypersports Utility Vehicle).

SUV/Truck - AUV/AUT (All-Terrain Utility Vehicle/Truck) - Tank or BEAST (83457)

I’ll give an example what vehicles come to mind for me personally. I was going to qualify these, but we can discuss these in the comments section. I know you will have questions.

Sporty Car

Sportscar

Supercar

Hyper Cars

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Touring

Grand Touring or Sports Touring

Super Touring

Hyper Touring

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Sedan

Sports Sedan

Super Sedan

Hyper Sedan

???

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Hatch

Warm Hatch

Hot Hatch

Hyper Hatch

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

CUV

MUV

HUV

???

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

SUV/Truck

AUV/AUT

Tank or BEAST

This is just a starting point for discussion. I’m not ratifying anything. Also, I think some vehicles blur the lines (obviously). Like most V12 Sedans I would call “Super Touring Sedans.” But this should be plenty of fonder for discussions.

yitznewton > Wobbles the Mind 04/26/2016 at 21:45

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This is the most extreme sedan I’m aware of; not sure if I’d call it hyper though in the same sense as the others above

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Wobbles the Mind 04/26/2016 at 21:46

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I think the sedan class could use a bit of a change up.

So you have the Mazda 6 as the regular sedan. For the Sport Sedan, I would like to suggest either the WRX or WRX STI. Then the Audi A7 S line would be the super sedan. The Audi RS7, S8, ATS - V, M6 Gran Coupe, Charger Hellcat, and there’s some AMG something I’m forgetting could battle it out for the hyper sedan rank.

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Wobbles the Mind 04/26/2016 at 21:49

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I’d argue that this is hyper touring, and the Chiron is a hypercar. Why? Well, the Chiron’s whole mission is speed, whereas this is ridiculous excess in every way, which just so happens to include speed. Also, bump the Rolls and M6 up, and slot the C-class Coupe and M4 in between the regular Challenger and the M6.

Wobbles the Mind > yitznewton 04/26/2016 at 21:50

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My thought too along with the Rapide. Then I remembered that both the CTS-V and Charger Hellcat make more power, have higher top speeds, and similar 0-60s while being RWD. I’m realizing that the sedans are the least diverse segment though they define the term “car.” Interesting.

Wobbles the Mind > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 04/26/2016 at 21:54

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I was thinking convertibles as well for the Touring segment. I think the V12 coupes are all the top end of the Super Touring. I think Hyper requires even more exoticism than even Rolls Royce can offer. The Asterion comes to mind, if they had of built it...

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Wobbles the Mind 04/26/2016 at 21:56

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What about anything performance-oriented with a V12? 8 is good, but 12 is better because it’s more.

traderQAMobileTestAutomationMobileBoostOn > Wobbles the Mind 04/26/2016 at 21:56

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Honestly there’s no one category to group any car without having a category to classify just 1 car. Just like we can be a grandchild and a sibling at the same time.

yitznewton > Wobbles the Mind 04/26/2016 at 21:56

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Oh the Hellcat. I dunno, in my mind’s eye that’s a big, kind-of ordinary sedan with a huge frickin’ drivetrain. “Hyper” to me implies something exotic, which is why the Bugatti stuff makes perfect sense. And the Rapide is new to me. In the comparisons I saw, the Panamera edged out the CTS-V? Although I’m not sure if those were out of date.

Wobbles the Mind > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 04/26/2016 at 21:59

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WRX is definitely a sports sedan, as well as any BMW 3 or 5 series. I just don’t feel like any sedan is a “hyper.” Hatches, I can definitely see hyper levels. The same engines inside of wagons, all kinds of hyper wagon right there. But I guess I need a sedan to do the same thing as the coupes for me to really be impressed. A$70k Dodge is the fastest and most powerful sedan in the world right now and I don’t even think of it as a supercar (yes, super sedan though), and definitely not a hyper for me.

Wobbles the Mind > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 04/26/2016 at 22:04

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Most luxury v12s are made more for the silky smoothness, the nonstop availiblility of power in stupid heavy battleships, and honestly are more comfort focused. Hence why the S63s and V8 Continental GTs are so much sportier and and some cases faster than the V12 versions.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Wobbles the Mind 04/26/2016 at 22:05

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How about a 700HP tuned Mercedes? Would that be hyper?

Wobbles the Mind > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 04/26/2016 at 22:12

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It’s not a production car anymore once tuned. Even if it’s just a chip. Though that would give us access to hyper vans with that Bisimoto Odyssey...

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Wobbles the Mind 04/26/2016 at 22:13

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But they have more cylinders, and are really freaking fast, and more loaded than the V8s, and they’re more powerful. At least in middle school, this stuff counts.

Probenja > yitznewton 04/26/2016 at 22:20

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Hyper Sedan? At least in cost:

chaozbandit > Wobbles the Mind 04/26/2016 at 22:24

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Hyper Sedan could maybe be the Tesla Model S P90D with or without secret sauce? Or if you include the aftermarket, then the Brabus Rocket 900 - but then you’d need alternatives for all the others too :/

Probenja > Wobbles the Mind 04/26/2016 at 22:29

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An example of an HUV:

I’d say the Challenger is a Muscle Car and it deserves it’s own place, the Touring could be something like this:

Wobbles the Mind > chaozbandit 04/26/2016 at 22:32

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I think the Tesla might be the one! The amount of excitement, interest, and technological prowess all scream hypercar. US made all electric hyper sedan, I like it!

Wobbles the Mind > Probenja 04/26/2016 at 22:39

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I don’t know, I feel like muscle car is anything with an engine much larger than its segment. So the fact that the C-class can be had with the same engine as the top AMG sportscar would make it a muscle car. If it’s the fact that the vehicle must be straightline focused, then I would say the Bugatti and the Tesla are muscle cars too. If it’s just the car needs to use the minimum amount of features and comfort while using the largest engine available, then that’s more a track car that’s bad on the track. I think we are at a point where technology has made a muscle car a method rather than a style. Like sticking the largest engine you offer into the smallest car, a la Aston Martin V12 Vantage.

Vicente Esteve > Wobbles the Mind 04/26/2016 at 23:38

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Hyper Sedan? I mean it as an extremely exclusive sedan, not particularly the fastest.

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > Wobbles the Mind 04/27/2016 at 00:08

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So would this classify as a hypercar, a hyper touring, a spaceship or witchcraft?

uofime-2 > Wobbles the Mind 04/27/2016 at 12:14

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Its a brave world where 700hp does’t qualify you for “Hyper”

I think the best way to define the hyper of any class is that is has “useless” power, which is to say so much that it is nearly impossible to use it in almost all circumstance that the vehicle is use for.

I understand why you don’t want to call it that though because by that definition the class has been doing a lot of expanding in recent years, to seemingly pedestrian vehicles, the hellcats being the greatest example

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wobbles the Mind 04/27/2016 at 16:34

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What’s your personal definition of “sports car”?

Some people are very restrictive, some people are very open, just wondering where you fall on the spectrum.

Wobbles the Mind > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 04/27/2016 at 16:48

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Hmm, Ive never thought of it. I guess if the car can, or I should say seems as if it can, do laps consecutively with consistent time and performance figures, I call it a sportscar. In that way, the tires, the brakes, drivetrain, and so on need to be set for very high top end endurance. I think the further away you get from tracking, the less of a sportscar it is. The more focused it gets, the more of a supercar it becomes. Sort of why I have no doubts of the Miata, M2, or EVO as sportscars but don’t necessarily think of an SRT Charger, Golf GTI, or Ferrari California as sportscars. Consistency of consecutive performances. More performances and more consistency bumps it up and up for me.

That’s all I got off the top of my head. If it don’t track, it don’t sportscar!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wobbles the Mind 04/27/2016 at 17:23

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My E90 M3 is definitely capable of hanging all day long at a track, and plenty of teams turn them into racecars, but I understand why many people don’t classify it as a sports car because it’s too practical (has 4 doors, 5 seatbelts and a big trunk) and weighs 3700 lbs. I’m fine with the term sports sedan, fwiw, and think that the term “sports car” is best left with machines more dedicated to sport (or fun), otherwise X6 M owners would try harder to classify their 2.5 ton behemoths as sports cars - ha!

Wikipedia actually has a pretty good definition/article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_ca…