A sports car is designed to emphasise handling, performance or thrill of driving. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by many manufacturers around the world.
The Fiat X1/9 is a two-seater mid-engined sports car designed by Bertone and manufactured by Fiat from 1972–1982 and subsequently by Bertone from 1982–1989.
The Fiat 127 is a supermini car produced by Italian car manufacturer FIAT from 1971 to 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850. Production of the 127 in Italy ended in 1983 following the introduction of its replacement, the Fiat Uno.
The Metro is a city car that was produced by British Leyland (BL) and, later, the Rover Group from 1980 to 1998. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin Mini Metro. It was intended to complement and eventually replace the Mini, and was developed under the codename LC8. The Metro was named by What Car? as Car of The Year in 1983 as an MG, and again as a Rover in 1991.
The Fiat Palio is a supermini car which was produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat since 1996 until 2017. It is a world car, developed by Fiat Automóveis and aimed at developing countries. It has been produced in various countries worldwide, and its platform was also used in the Siena sedan, the Palio Weekend station wagon, the Palio Adventure crossover and the Strada light pick-up truck.
The Fiat Tempra is a small family car produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1990 to 1996. The Tempra was intended as a replacement for the Fiat Regata. The original project was called Tipo 3, being a mid size car between the Fiat Tipo and the bigger Fiat Croma. The Tempra shares its Type Three platform with the Lancia Dedra and Alfa Romeo 155.
Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel drive vehicles.
In automotive design, an RR, or rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout places both the engine and drive wheels at the rear of the vehicle. In contrast to the RMR layout, the center of mass of the engine is between the rear axle and the rear bumper. Although very common in transit buses and coaches due to the elimination of the drive shaft with low-floor bus, this layout has become increasingly rare in passenger cars.
In automotive design, a RMR or Rear Mid-engine, Rear-wheel-drive layout is one in which the rear wheels are driven by an engine placed just in front of them, behind the passenger compartment. In contrast to the rear-engined RR layout, the center of mass of the engine is in front of the rear axle. This layout is typically chosen for its low moment of inertia and relatively favorable weight distribution. The layout has a tendency toward being heavier in the rear than the front, which allows for best balance to be achieved under braking. However, since there is little weight over the front wheels, under acceleration, the front of the car is prone to lift and cause understeer. Most rear-engine layouts have historically been used in smaller vehicles, because the weight of the engine at the rear has an adverse effect on a larger car's handling, making it 'tail-heavy'. It is felt that the low polar inertia is crucial in selection of this layout. The mid-engined layout also uses up central space, making it impractical for any but two-seater sports cars. However, some microvans use this layout, with a small, low engine beneath the loading area. This makes it possible to move the driver right to the front of the vehicle, thus increasing the loading area at the expense of slightly reduced load depth.
Nota Sports and Racing Cars is an automobile manufacturer in Australia. The company was founded by Guy Buckingham in 1952. He was an aircraft engineer and used his expertise to build triangulated spaceframed sportscars. Possibly Australia's first space-framed cars. In 1958 the company built a series of all-enveloping aluminium streamlined sports cars. First called "Streamliners", and later called "Mazengarbs". Up to 1960 eleven of those were made. In the late 1950s the company produced Formula Junior cars in both front and mid-engined formats. Nota also made a series of specialist monoposto racing cars for the track and hill climbing events. In 1963 the company made a series of Mini powered sports cars. In 1964 they started production of the Nota Sapphire, an alloy bodied sports and coupe designs with Ford Fiat and Coventry Climax engines. In 1965 Nota started producing Formula Vee cars for Warrick Farm race track making 34 in the first year. In the 1960s the company formulated their "Sportsman", a Lotus 7 lookalike, which they still build today and are now building in a mid-engined version for the modern day transverse engines which the major car manufacturers produce. In 1968 came the Nota Fang Chris Buckinghams first real design, a midengined sports car using a Cooper S engine power plant behind the driver but in front of the rear wheels, their most successful model with over 100 being made. Later the Fang was equipped with Lancia engines, then Toyota engines, finally being fitted with Toyota's V6 Quad cam supercharged engines with over 400BHP. In 1973 Nota started with their Marauder range of cars using the same mechanicals as the Nota Fang. At the same time they were making the Nota Levanti front engine twin cam coupe. In 1975 the supply of Leyland 1275 GT engines started to run out so Nota contacted FIAT and both Marauders and Fangs were made with the 2-litre twin cam FIAT/Lancia engine. Leyland were then approached and the P76 engine was fitted to the Marauders using a Nota made gearbox trans-axle with the gear box next to the driver and the engine behind. In the late 1970s Nota had started on 4WD 351 V8 mid-engined Marauders, but in the 1980s Ford stopped export of the 351 engine to Australia. After a trip to England Chris Buckingham assembled a design team to design a Fang with Fl 3 litre V6 quad cam engine as well as a fully enclosed, similarly specified Chimera. In 2003 Nota developed the Nota Le Mans, powered by either a Suzuki GTi 1300 cc or 1100 cc motor cycle engine. For road use it could also use a Toyota 1800 cc VVTi 6-speed or the 3.5-litre V6 quad cam. By 2012 Nota had decided that due to the lack of front engine rear wheel drive 4 cylinder engine being available they would use an existing front-engined Nota clubman chassis and move the seats forward by 150mm and fit a transverse engine behind the driver. It looks just like their front-engined clubmans but with the advantage of a mid-engined design.
The Fiat Seicento was a city car produced by the Italian company Fiat, introduced at the end of 1997 as a replacement for the Fiat Cinquecento, although it was also based on the Cinquecento. The Seicento did not differ much from its predecessor, retaining the same engines, chassis and general dimensions, although it did gain a minor 90 mm in length.
The FSO Polonez was a Polish motor vehicle that was produced from 1978 to 2002. The car's name comes from the Polish dance, polonaise.
The ERA Mini Turbo is a modified Mini city car that was produced by Engineering Research & Application Ltd. under the ERA brand name from 1989 to 1991 at Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. The fastest-ever version of the original Mini to be sold through official dealers, it has been described as "the spiritual successor to the Cooper and the 1275 GT".
The Fiat Turbina was a gas turbine-powered concept car built by Italian car manufacturer Fiat in 1954.
Sylva Autokits is a kit car manufacturer based in Lincolnshire, England. Sylva was founded in 1981 by Jeremy Phillips and has developed and produced a number of small and lightweight sports cars. Sylva cars have won a number of 750 Motor Club Kit Car championships.
Moretti Motor Company is a former Italian automobile manufacturer. It was founded in 1925 and ceased automobile production in 1989. Today, many of its sports car models can still be found at various European auto shows. Moretti Motors produced a variety of models at various times including motorcycles, microcars, and several commercial vehicles.
Mills Extreme Vehicles (MEV) is a kit car design and manufacturing company based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, founded in 2003. As of January, 2016 they manufacture the Exocet, an exoskeletal design and the Replicar, a full-body design inspired by the 1950s Aston Martin DBR1. Both cars use donor parts from the Mazda MX5 Mk1 sports car. An enhanced version of the Exocet, the MX150R, can participate in UK race series regulated by the 750 Motor Club and the MSA.
The Dax Rush is a lightweight two-seater sports car. It is offered as a kit, and is a popular choice among Kit Car builders. It has a multi-tube triangulated steel space frame chassis, front engine and rear wheel or four wheel drive. The body is constructed in Glass-Reinforced Polymer (GRP) with optional aluminium side panels and bonnet. It complies with the Single Vehicle Approval (SVA) scheme. Two optional rear suspension technologies are offered; De Dion and the IRS. The car is known for its 0–100 km/h performance of close to 3 second runs.
