Sports Car vs Muscle Car vs Pony Car vs Supercar vs Hypercar
What’s the difference between a sports car, a muscle car, a pony car, a supercar, and a hypercar?
The meaning of words naturally changes over time, and the same is true with the definitions of high-performance specialty cars, whose names are evolving and whose upper ceiling keeps rising thanks to technical advances. Additionally, as mainstream models evolve into variations of crossover SUVs, boundaries between the definitions of the remaining cars for enthusiasts are blurring, too.
To understand these different car terms, it’s helpful to consider where they started and where they’ve landed today. Here’s what to know about the automotive categories of sports car, muscle car, pony car, supercar, and hypercar.