Sports cars are automobiles characterized by sleek body lines, low body height, excellent handling, and powerful engines.

They represent a category of vehicles with high performance, originally referring solely to high-performance cars in racing, but nowadays more commonly denoting types of cars with outstanding performance among passenger cars.

Many times, sports cars are the pinnacle models under a car brand, and therefore, sports cars produced by a car manufacturer are often used to assess the technical development level of that manufacturer.

In 1902, Daimler introduced the first mass-produced car: the Mercedes Simplex 40 HP, which initially appeared to replace the two-seat layout of the Simplex 35 HP in racing. This demonstrates the enduring concept of sports or racing cars throughout the history of automobiles. However, at that time, cars were still the playthings of the aristocracy, so descriptions and classifications of cars generally only distinguished between Touring Cars and Roadsters.

The former had a roof and were suitable for multiple passengers, while the latter had no roof or required manual installation of a roof and were mainly used for racing. Therefore, the concept of "sportscar" did not exist at that time.

The first model to be dubbed a "sports car" can be traced back to 1912 with Vauxhall's Prince Henry and 1913 with the Hispano-Suiza 3.5L, among others. Concurrently, there were models like the Bugatti Type 13, which began production in 1910 and gained widespread recognition. In 1916, the Society of Automotive Engineers in the United States defined a sports car as "an open car with two or three seats."

The term "Sports Car" first appeared in the media in 1919 in a report by The Times of London, marking the beginning of the distinction and definition of the field of sports cars.

It should be noted that the earliest models described as "Sports Car" were all Roadsters, primarily used for racing, with the term "Sports Racing" applied to these models for racing purposes, while the civilian versions or street versions were referred to as "Sports Car." Thus, the term "sports car" is closely related to racing cars, and it can be understood that without racing, there would be no sports cars.

In the 1920s, "sports cars" began to appear as a subdivision in the product catalogs of major automobile manufacturers. By the 1930s, European countries began to abolish "horsepower taxes," and engine power entered into a period of arms race, leading to significant improvements in car performance, thereby making powerful cars an independent kingdom. The term "sports car" gradually became synonymous with "high performance."

Soon, with the acceleration of Europe's economic recovery, sports cars began to regain popularity in the automotive market, especially as racing gradually resumed and several influential new car manufacturers were established, such as Ferrari in 1939 and Porsche in 1948, along with Lotus and Maserati, which started producing sports cars. Of course, there were also established car manufacturers dominating the racing world, such as Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo.

However, with the occurrence of the Le Mans disaster in 1955, Daimler AG announced its withdrawal from all racing activities, breaking the monopoly and allowing a new generation of sports car manufacturers to emerge, including Lamborghini established in 1963. Many iconic sports cars were introduced during this period and have since become part of automotive history.