Buying A New Car? Why?

[Pericles]

Yup, I am. I'm not talking of final results, just the launches

And I dunno if they can take on the Subaru's, but I was talking in terms of RWD vs FWD as per your post prefering the Honda's. U don't need to ask for rolling then

My typical concept of a proper sports car is a coupe with a big engine up front and RWD. A big engine in the back and RWD is good too. Acknowledge, the more power a car has, the better AWD sounds, but it aint quite the same classic formula.

Stuff like the Zs, Supras, RX-7, Vipers, Astons .... Thats what holds me.

Thats also why I like Miatas, and alone out the the Honda range, the S2k, Even tho they don't have the pre-requisite Big Engine

Interesting article on the concept of a sports car

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_car

Specifically this bit, The FR layout is my prefered layout too. Yes I have a FF at the moment, but lets see what the future brings

Layout

The layout of drive train and engine influences the handling characteristics of a car and is the focus of more attention in the design of a sports car.

The front-engine, rear wheel drive layout (FR layout for short) is common among sports cars of any era. This form has survived longer in sports cars than in the mainstream, due to the unique handling characteristics, cost, and packaging considerations. Current examples include the BMW M3, Mazda Miata and the Ford Mustang.

In search of improved handling and weight distribution, other formats have been tried. The MR layout is commonly found only in sports cars—the engine is mounted towards the centre of the chassis, which is close behind the driver, and powers the rear wheels only. This layout is preferred by high performance sports car and supercar manufacturers, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini. Many modern cars also use a front-mid layout "FM", where the engine sits between the front axle and the firewall.

Porsche is one of the few remaining manufacturers which uses the rear-engine, rear wheel drive layout (RR layout), a rear engine driving the rear wheels. The weight distribution across the wheels in a Porsche 911 provides excellent traction, but cannot be seen as ideal as the weight of the engine is not between the two axles. This causes poor vehicle balance and many early Porsches did suffered from twitchy handling. However, Porsche have continuously refined the design and, in the recent years, combined their modifications with electronic driving aids like computerized traction and stability control that do much to counteract the inherent characteristics of the design.

Some sport cars have used use a front-engine, front wheel drive layout (FF). Examples include Lotus Elan M100, Fiat Coupé, Fiat Barchetta, Saab Sonett and many Berkeley cars... The layout has some advantages in small, light sports cars since they don't have the extra weight of propshaft and differential, and not having the driveshaft tunnel or rear differential taking up space. But due to its conservative effect on handling, it is not typical in higher-performance models. However, the FF layout is quite common in sport compacts and hot hatches, like the Honda Civic Si and Type-R, the Volkswagen Golf GTi and the Peugeot 205 GTi.

One option for transferring the power from the engine to the car's wheels is all wheel drive (AWD). Examples include sports cars manufactured by Porsche and Lamborghini as well as the supercar Bugatti Veyron.