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Sport compact is a United States marketingclassification for a high-performance version of acompact or asubcompact car. There is no precise definition, and the description is applied to various models for promotional purposes.
Cars began to be marketed as sport compacts in the mid-1980s to describe the option packages on American-built coupes. Since then, it has also been used for standalone sports car models and cars imported fromEurope andAsia.
The European equivalent is ahot hatch. However, sport compacts are not limited to hatchback body styles.[citation needed]
A sports compact should "fulfill the multiple duties of a family car, plaything, and daily driver".[1] Many sports compacts have coupe, sedan, or hatchback body styles built on mass-production platforms. Other common (but not essential) characteristics includefront-wheel orall-wheel drive, a four-cylinder internal-combustion engine, suspension tuned forhandling, and bodywork designed to improve aerodynamics or allow for larger wheels.[citation needed]
"Econosport" is a rarely used term for a sports version of a small economy car.[2]
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An early sport compact was the 1968Ford Capri, a European coupe built on the platform of the second-generation Ford Cortina sedans.[3]
The early American-built sport compact models contained optional performance or sporting packages for mass-produced compact coupes in the 1980s. Examples include the 1986Chevrolet Cavalier Z24, the 1986Ford EXP Sport Coupe, the 1987Renault Alliance GTA, and the 1988Plymouth Sundance.[4][5] These models achieved moderate sales. Sport compact models gained greater prominence by the mid-1990s, sold in significant numbers in models such as the 1993Ford Probe (based on the Mazda MX-6 platform), and the 1995Chevrolet Cavalier/Pontiac Sunfire badge-engineered twins.[6]
Sports compacts of the 2000s include the 2001-2003Ford ZX2, the 2004-2007Saturn Ion Red Line, the 2005-2010Chevrolet Cobalt SS, and the 2003-2005Dodge Neon SRT-4.[7]
Europeanhot hatches are considered 'sport compact' cars in the North American market. Examples include the 1976-presentVolkswagen Golf GTI and the 2000-presentMini Cooper.[citation needed] Similarly, most Japanese hot hatches and sports coupes are classified as 'sport compact' cars when sold in North America, for example, the 1984-presentHonda Civic Si, 2007-2013Mazdaspeed3, and the 2012-presentToyota 86.[citation needed]
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Sport compact cars are often used in motorsport events because they are relatively lightweight.[8] They are used to compete in various types of motorsport, includingautocross,rallying,rallycross,touring car racing,drifting, anddrag racing.
From 2005 through 2012, the International Sport Compact Auto Racing Series was an Americanstock car racing series for sports compacts that mostly raced on paved oval racetracks.[9]
The Dodge Neon SRT-4, second only to the Viper in quickness, takes compact sport sedans to a whole new level.