A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, or the thrill of driving. Let’s take a look at our top five American sports cars, flying under most enthusiasts’ radar.
Number 05…Rossion Q1
The Rossion Q1 is based on the chassis of the British-made Noble M400, but its goal was to be a more premium car, featuring luxurious materials inside as opposed to Noble’s no-nonsense cabin. Production began in 2008 and lasted 10 years, although it’s not known exactly how many units were manufactured during this period.
The car’s body was designed with carbon-kevlar and featured several technological improvements over the M400, including power windows, a centrally-mounted touchscreen, and built-in WiFi connectivity. It’s a shame that the car never made much of an impact in the sports car market, as its combination of performance, comfort and a low starting price of just $73,000 seemed like all the right ingredients for success.
Number 04…Mosler Raptor GTR
Mosler’s most famous car was the MT900, a car that gained popularity in the ’00s with several prominent fans including Star Wars mastermind George Lucas. But, before the company hit the mainstream, it was an obscure racing manufacturer, and one of its earliest cars was the Raptor.
The car’s body was designed with carbon-kevlar and featured several technological improvements over the M400, including power windows, a centrally-mounted touchscreen, and built-in WiFi connectivity. It’s a shame that the car never made much of an impact in the sports car market, as its combination of performance, comfort and a low starting price of just $73,000 seemed like all the right ingredients for success.
Based on the successful Consulier GTP, the Raptor refined its predecessor’s winning formula, although unfortunately, it kept its rather unappealing looks. It might not score highly in the beauty department, but the Mosler was very competitive on the track. It won several high-profile national races before being controversially banned from competing for no clear reason other than it was too fast for the rest of the field to catch.
Number 03…Equus Bass 770
The Equus Bass 770 was designed and manufactured in Detroit, combining ’60s Mustang styling with a 640-horsepower LS9 V8 taken from the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. It’s about as American as it’s possible to get, and it debuted in 2013 with an impressive set of claimed performance figures.
The car reportedly has a top speed of over 200 mph and accelerates to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds. It started from $250,000, although it could rise north of $290,000, and that was in 2013, so it’ll probably cost even more today. The car is still listed on Equus’s website, although it’s unclear whether they’re still accepting orders.
Number 02…Panoz Avezzano
Panoz Automotive has created some amazing machines since its inception in 1989. Despite being known only by car enthusiasts, Panoz has established itself as the best track-oriented American carmaker. While most Panoz supercars are a mystery to the average motorist, the street-legal Panoz is a delight to stare at and drive in a sporty manner. The Avezzano is the type of obscure American sports car enthusiasts should love to own.
The new Panoz Avezzano styling cues are designed to pay homage to the 28 years of Panoz history. The sleek lines of the fastback roof offer improved aerodynamics and its large hatch opening offers extra storage to set this American grand tourer apart from its contemporaries.
The Avezzano offers that elusive characteristic of a car that is pure fun to drive, it still offers all of the modern conveniences such as an advanced audio system, navigation, and rear view camera you have come to expect in a modern vehicle. Fun to drive, beautiful to look at, comfortable to sit in, and standard equipped with a 6-speed manual gearbox you are in charge of the fun factor, the way driving was meant to be.
Number 01…GTM Supercar
The Factory Five GTM is a supercar built from the ground up and shares a lot of its components with General Motors. In fact, most of its components are shared with the C5 Corvette and Corvette Z06 from 1997 to 2004. The only part taken off a different car is its transaxle which is a Porsche 911 derivative. This is one of the rarer kit cars that has been built as a chassis kit but comes with the added benefits of a comfortable cabin complete with touch screen infotainment and even airconditioning.
Clearly, the Factory Five GTM has taken much of its design inspiration from Corvette and the venerable Ford GT. The low-slung design language helps the GTM glued to the road, thanks to the clever placement of the engine for a lower center of gravity. It uses a double-wishbone suspension setup straight from the Vette coupled to fully adjustable KONI shocks and Coilover kits that allow you to stiffen or soften the layout as per requirements. Mid-engine layouts are the gold standard for spirited driving experience and the GTM nails it.
Performance Automotive Art. The GTM has pure supercar lines. Low, menacing, and powerful… are the words that come to mind when one sees the GTM in person for the first time. But looks have to support function. No matter how fast a sports car is, it has to look good and the GTM delivers.
