The first sport sedan

BMW owners will probably tell you that the 2002
was the first real sport sedan but that's not so.
--The Jaguar 3.4 Mk.I was introduced ca. 1955 and eventually morphed into the beloved 3.8 Mk.II, a formidable factor in sedan racing during the 60's.
--Another candidate would be the Alfa Giulietta
Berline. I'm not sure what year it was introduced but it and it's descendants definitely
did well in racing.
--The MiniCooper S was tearing up the racetracks of Europe and America well before the introduction of the 2002.
Any other candidates?
was the first real sport sedan but that's not so.
--The Jaguar 3.4 Mk.I was introduced ca. 1955 and eventually morphed into the beloved 3.8 Mk.II, a formidable factor in sedan racing during the 60's.
--Another candidate would be the Alfa Giulietta
Berline. I'm not sure what year it was introduced but it and it's descendants definitely
did well in racing.
--The MiniCooper S was tearing up the racetracks of Europe and America well before the introduction of the 2002.
Any other candidates?
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
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didn't come along until '68 or so and had (as I heard from an owner)more power than a 2002 even before it was turboed in the mid-70s.
The Audi Fox which came along in about '73 wasn't really very sporty
although it's architecture became the basis for an entire generation
of fwd VWs and Audis.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
OK, wasn't the first sports sedan any Chevy four-door made in '61-62 with a 409? Just kidding, sorta.
-Ghulet you could make a case for those early muscle cars like the Chevy 409s, Ford 406s and 390s and Plymouth/Dodge 426s. These could all be ordered w. heavy-duty suspensions and brakes. When so equipped they were decent handlers by standards of the day.
-If we take this line of reasoning the first sports sedan may have been
The 1955 Chrysler 300!
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
That's from a March 1960 road test written by Roger Huntington for Motor Life.
The car he tested had 348/305, HD Powerglide, 3.55 Posi, HD springs and shocks. This wasn't actually the police package since that was only available on the Biscayne, Belair or Brookwood four-door wagon. The police package consisted of stiffer springs and shocks, hard bushings, HD steering knuckles and wheel hubs, HD roller wheel bearings, sintered metallic brake linings and 15" wheels. Not available with OD, Posi or wheel discs. LPO 1108, $49.50.
The Audi 100LS might be called one of the first "eurosedans", which is a good handling, 4--door GT type car, but again it didn't much have the look and feel of anything "sporty". But I agree, it was a lot more car than the Audi Fox, which I recall as a modest and kind of boring little car.
The Saab Monte Carlo was a fun, fun car. I wish I had one.
the earliest were quite sporty for their time and did rather well in sedan racing and rallying.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Alfa Romeo made a very fierce little sedan in 1963 called the Guilia TI super. It looked just like a regular Alfa 4-door "Berlina" but had thinner sheet metal, no sound-deadening and plexiglass door glass that didn't work, a 5-speed floor shift, Campagnolo wheels, light weight bucket seats. With a bumped-up engine and 200 lbs less weight, it looked like an Alfa sedan but it was significantly more fun. It would slaughter a PV544 I think, with 130+HP and a weight advantage.
As for being sport sedan because it shared the Fox platform and the 302 with the Mustang, well....no!
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I suppose one could reach way back but the 30s and 40s concept of "sport" doesn't usually sit well with the modern enthusiast, as the performance seems, in hindsight, a bit off the mark.
But surely the British have always placed a high regard on the "sporting" car, but not all that many of their closed cars were thrilling to drive. I suppose for a postwar offering the Bentley Continental might be good candidate for an early sport sedan.
Another car that pops into my mind is the 3.8 Jaguar Mark IIs.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
One would expect, I hope, that anything called a "sport sedan" could be thrown around without embarassment.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
ca.1955? I'm interested in the specifics.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
1300 was introduced?
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
A year later, I bought a 69 1750 Berlina. Very nice car, much less controversial looking, but devoid of some of the TI's insane personality. That one had the Spica fuel injection. Didn't want to run out of gas in that car, or you got to play with the injection system -- it didn't like to run on empty.
Whaddya think?
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I'm fairly sure it would have been lithe com-
pared with the Mk 7.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
The hot ticket inthe small Jag saloons though was the 3.8 "S-Type" as it had the IRS setup. They handle quite well for what they are and for the time. Much better than a Mk2, But worth much less.
Go figure... But a 356B is more civilized than a 356A and worth less....
Bill
As an example, price an A coupe against a C coupe and you'll see a big difference. So sophistication is working toward higher value, IMO.
However, this does not imply that A values are dropping or anything. Just not climbing as fast as the later cars.
Now Pre-A coupes seem to be lagging much more, so I see a pattern here. The newer the 356 coupe the more valuable is what I'm betting on.
Looks to me, from what I am seeing (I was just discussing this today with the guys at Klasse 356 in PA) that the As are heating up. If anything, they're selling quicker.
T5s will always be a bit soft.
Pre-As? (And I dont mean 54-55s...) those are in their own little world. They're just rare cars... I am, as we speak, Pursuing a '51 Cabriolet.
It needs a lot of work (But isnt very rusty.. thankfully) and is worth as much as a nice driver C Cabrio.
Bill