A sports sedan (also known as sports saloon in British English) is a subjective term for a sedan car that is designed to have sporting performance or handling characteristics.
History
The term was originally introduced in the 1930s and early examples include the Sports Saloon versions of the Rover 14 and Rover 16.
From the 1960s, the term sports sedan was increasingly applied by manufacturers to special versions of their vehicles that allowed them to enter production cars in motor races. These cars contained modifications not normally permitted by the regulations which therefore required cars to be homologated typically by selling them in minimum numbers to the public. Some of the earlier examples were the Alfa Romeo 1900, Renault R8 Gordini, Triumph Dolomite, and Lotus Cortina.
In the twentieth century, sports sedans used a manual transmission and rear-wheel drive. However as other transmission types and drivetrain layouts have become more widespread for sedans in general, these have also been used by sports sedans. While many sports sedans use notchback designs, fastback and liftback variations are not unheard of, with rarely a smaller hot hatch with three-box/liftback design crossing into this territory compared to large liftbacks.
North American usage
The term "sport sedan" was initially used in North America for luxury import sedans (i.e. BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz). These cars gave higher priority to handling than the domestic luxury sedans (i.e. Cadillac and Lincoln), which were more focused on comfort. However, since the 2000s, the domestic brands have begun producing sports sedan models such as the Cadillac CTS and Lincoln LS.
Another term sometimes used is to describe sports sedans in the US is muscle car, but that normally relates to V8-powered two-door coupe American cars.
Examples
Acura CL Type-S
Acura TL Type-S
Acura CSX Type-S
Acura TLX Type-S
Alfa Romeo 1900
Alfa Romeo Giulia Nuova Super 1600 (1974) Alfa Romeo Giulietta Turbodelta (1977) Alfa Romeo 75 Turbo Evoluzione Alfa Romeo 164 Quadrifoglio Alfa Romeo 155 Quadrifoglio Alfa Romeo 146 ti Alfa Romeo 156 GTA Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio (2017) Audi 100 S4 Audi RS 4 Audi RS 5 Audi RS 6 Audi RS 7 Audi S8 Austin Montego Turbo Aston Martin Rapide Bentley Turbo R Bentley Arnage Bentley Mulsanne Bentley Flying Spur BMW M2 Gran Coupé BMW M3 BMW M4 Gran Coupé BMW i4 M50 BMW M5 BMW M6 Gran Coupé BMW i7 M70 BMW M8 Gran Coupé Buick Regal Turbo Cadillac STS-V Cadillac CTS-V Cadillac ATS-V Cadillac CT4-V Cadillac CT5-V Citroën DS Citroën XM Citroën C6 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Chrysler 300M Chrysler 300 SRT-8 Chrysler 200S De Tomaso Deauville Dodge Spirit R/T Dodge Intrepid R/T Dodge Neon SRT-4 Dodge Avenger R/T Dodge Charger SRT-8 (2006) Dodge Dart GT (2016) Fiat Croma Turbo Fiat Tempra Turbo Ford Escort RS Ford Granada V6 (Europe) Ford Scorpio V6 Ford Sierra RS Ford Taurus SHO Ford Contour SVT Ford Mondeo ST Ford Falcon GT Ford Fusion Sport FPV F6 FPV GS Holden Monaro GTS (1976) Honda Accord Type R HSV Grange HSV ClubSport HSV GTS Hyundai Ioniq 6 77 kWh AWD Hyundai Elantra N Infiniti M S Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 Infiniti Q70 Jaguar S-Type Jaguar XE Jaguar XF Jaguar XJ Kia Stinger Lancia Thema V8 Lexus IS F Lexus GS F Lincoln LS V8 Lotus Cortina Lotus Carlton Lotus Emeya Maserati Biturbo Maserati Ghibli (2013) Maserati Quattroporte Maybach 57 S Maybach 62 S Mazda Cosmo Turbo Sedan (1981) Mazdaspeed Protegé Mazdaspeed 6 Mercedes-Benz 190 E Evolution Mercedes-Benz C AMG Mercedes-Benz E AMG Mercedes-Benz S AMG Mercedes-Benz CLA AMG Mercedes-Benz CLS AMG Mercury Marauder Merkur Scorpio MG ZS 180 MG ZT 260 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Mitsubishi Debonair V3000 Royal AMG Mitsubishi Diamante 30R-SE Mitsubishi Magna Ralliart Nissan Bluebird SSS Nissan Leopard Type X (1992) Nissan Primera eGT Nissan Cima VIP (2012) Opel Vectra OPC Opel Insignia OPC Porsche Panamera Porsche Taycan Peugeot 405 T16 Peugeot 508 PSE Polestar 5 Pontiac Bonneville GXP Pontiac Grand Prix GXP Prince Grand Gloria (1964) Renault 8 Gordini Renault 12 Gordini Renault Safrane Biturbo Rover 200 (1984) Saturn Aura XR Subaru Impreza WRX STI Subaru WRX STI Subaru Legacy STI Triumph Dolomite Volkswagen Vento VR6 Volkswagen Phaeton Volkswagen Passat R36 Volkswagen CC VR6 Volkswagen Arteon R Volvo 850 R Volvo S40 Volvo S60 Volvo S70 Volvo S80 Volvo S90