So - people who say a sports car has to have a "manual", as in a clutch pedal and a stick.
Are you saying that a Corvette with a manual transmission is a sports car, but putting an automatic in transforms it to a non-sports car?
If so, I think tin top versus convertible top is a much bigger change to the driving experience. The shifting thing applies to a very small percentage of drive time, the top thing is 100% of the time when the top is down. It's the true "sports car" experience to me. My opinion is a Corvette convertible, top down, with an automatic, on a twisty mountain road on a nice day delivers way more of a "sports car" experience than a hardtop with a manual.
Then there's whether high end Ferraris and Lambos and Porsches, etc. all magically cease to be sports cars when fitted with paddle shifters and no clutch. Even moreso than the Corvette, the top down experience with a Ferrari 458 with paddle shifters on a twisty mountain road versus a clutch and a stick on a 458 hardtop? Not that you can get one.
"The only transmission available on the 458 is a dual-clutch 7-speed GETRAG gearbox" So the mid engine two seat Ferrari 458 is not a sports car? Ridiculous. If the "manual" folks consider that setup to be manual, hey, my Steptronic has a manual shift mode.
A final counter example. If this isn't a sports car nothing is. Utterly pure car, one seat, no trunk space. Nothing unessential, no windscreen, no AC, no heat. Can be had street legal in some places.
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1...00-v-8-preview
"A Sadev six-speed sequential race gearbox with an adjustable limited slip differential and customizable gearsets conducts power transmission to the rear wheels. Shifting is actuated by a paddle airshift system capable of firing off 40-millisecond upshifts and 50-millisecond downshifts. You can get the transmission down to first gear from sixth in less than a second. Automatic shifting is supported as well. The transmission also permits no-lift shifts. This, when coupled with that 500-bhp V-8—well—just make sure you’re pointed where you want to go when you hit it hard pal."
Nostalgia is great, but serious performance car people have moved on.