Say classic sports car, and people are ready to lay down an arm or leg for a good classic ride. The kind that could give them all the thrills they ever wanted from a sports car in looks, speed, and power. And they are plenty of amazing classic sports cars out there that the collectors covet because they are the best and the rarest of the lot.
On the flip side, there are also some classic sports cars collectors steer clear of because they come with less than stellar reputations, are rather boring to boot, or were simply the worst made example of a sports car ever. Some of these did not live up to their legacy while the others did not match up to the power expected from a sports car. So, if you find any of these on a classic car bazaar and feel that the price is peanuts, get to know the classic sports car and its foibles first before you decide to adopt it for your garage.
10 1969-76 Porsche 914: Not A Boxer
Porsche and Volkswagen had agreed to share the platform to give birth to 914 but it turned out to be a blooper. It came with Porsche badges but was never sharp on acceleration like its other siblings. With just about 100 ponies on board, the 914 did a 0-60 mph time in an excruciating 13 seconds.
Despite being an affordable classic sports car, the Porsche 914 gets little respect from car collectors. Prices have fallen significantly over the years and it’s easy to find one in mint condition for $10,000-15,000 if you’re still interested in buying. Though we don’t know why.
9 1984-88 Pontiac Fiero: Temperamental Sports Car
Known as America’s first mass-produced mid-engine sports car, the Pontiac Fiero ruled for a couple of years after debuting in 1983. After that, the buyers realized, much to their embarrassment that these classic sports cars were a tad temperamental.
That’s a polite way of saying it had many issues with its suspension, cooling system, and maintenance. At about the same time, the Honda CRZ came to play, denting Fiero sales with good reason. Around 370,000 Fieros were sold in a production run of five years and they’re hardly sought after in the classic car market.
8 1981-94 Maserati Biturbo: Worst Classic Sports Car
Maserati is an acclaimed name in the auto world today but in the late 1980s, the Biturbo had almost ruined it. The Biturbo classic sports cars came with a lower price tag so that it could take the other more popular rivals head-on.
But things backfired as the quality was compromised and in a couple of years, buyers started coming back to Maserati with several issues. It may be a Maserati but nobody cares that it’s selling cheap on the classic car bazaar considering the measly 196 horses from the V6.
7 1975-81 Triumph TR7: Puts Brit Roadsters To Shame
The TR7 can be best described as a door-stop-shaped shame on the name of classic sports cars from Britain. This was the last Triumph on US soil before they left in 1984. Why? The TR7s had poor quality and reliability issues as more than just a few mechanisms didn’t work properly.
From its stumbling carburetors to its fragile timing chains, weak oil and water pumps, leaking sunroof, and not-so-concealable headlights, nothing worked well for the TR7. That’s why car collectors steer clear of the TR7s and they are dirt cheap on the classic car market.
6 1956-74 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia: Beetle-Based Sports Car
The voluptuous Karmann Ghia borrowed most of its underpinnings from the love bug Beetle. It was more advanced and offered plenty of style at the time. Around 450,000 Karmann Ghias were built in total, including the convertible trims. So there are plenty of them around to buy.
However, this fancy-looking classic sports car hid a flat-4 engine under its curvy hood that could cough up only 34-50 horses, depending on the model year. A mint condition 1969 Karmann Ghia was sold for just about $20,000 this year at Barrett-Jackson.
5 1962-81 MG MGB: A Minor Morris Hit
With over half a million sold in its lifespan, the MG MGB was one of the most successful British roadsters in the 60s, but one of the most unreliable ones too. Yet, it was a commercial success back then as the cute little car offered plenty of fun for people who liked some wind in their hair.
Yet, its value has gone down over the last few years in the classic car market as classic car collectors have steered clear of it. It's temperamental and coughs up all of 70-95 horses, making for a not-so-thrilling ride.
4 1974-76 Bricklin SV-1: Problem Sports Car
A gull-winged wedge-shaped coupe, the Bricklin SV-1 was short-lived. Mostly because it went through many quality control issues just after its release. To make things worse the company doubled the price of the car, even though it had a penchant for catching fire. This and more reasons soon helped the car reach its death door.
Less than 3,000 Bricklins were sold between 1974 and 1975. It’s a rare collectible classic sports car but the classic market looks sad for it and some of them sell for as low as $25,000.
3 1976-88 Porsche 924: Another Porsche Let Down
The Porsche 924 was the next in line after the 914 and was a water-cooled (gasp), front-engine (swoon) “sports car” built out of leftover VW and Audi parts. For Porsche purists, it’s was a betrayal of the worst sort. For the simple sports cars enthusiasts, it was watered-down making all of 95 witheringly limp horses from a 2.0-liter four-pot.
That said; it did handle great but since it looked like a VW-dressed up as a Porsche, it was not given much thought. Then, or now.
2 1960-69 Chevrolet Corvair Coupe: “Unsafe At Any Speed”
Once Ralph Nader called the rear-engined, rear-suspension chevy Corvair, “unsafe”, it sort of stuck with the buyers. Even though later, it was proven that the Corvair was no more unsafe than any other car of its given temperament.
Later, no one could even figure out if the Corvair was more unsafe than any other car of its time, no matter the build. But it was called a death trap and the moniker stuck. Luckily, Corvair’s unsavory reputation led to the making of the NHTSA so some good came out of Chevy’s misery. But that also means there are no takers for this classic sports car.
1 1958-71 Austin Healey Sprite: Underpowered British Roadster
A small, open sports car, the Austin Healey Sprite was a typical Brit roadster and one that later became a rebadged MG Midget as well. It was tiny, had bug-like features and proportions and despite its vintage-classic appeal, it remains an underperformer on the classic car bazaar. One sold for about $20,000 at Barrett-Jackson, for a mint-condition model.
It was light and underpowered and may have been enough for thrills back in the day, but it's slow even by classic sports car standards today. No one wants this bug-eye classic anymore.
Sources: Motor1, Classic.con, BringaTrailer, Hagerty, Barrett-Jackson