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The Invention of the Gasoline Automobile.
Karl Friedrich Benz is known to have made the first true automobile. It was a gasoline powered automobile with an internal combustion engine and it had three wheels. (Exact date is unknown) http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/auto.html -
The creation of the first "Performance Cars".
The main goal of a performance car was to be maneuverable, light, and aerodynamically designed for racing. The Tatra Rennzweier was one of the first cars designed specifically for racing. (Exact date unknown) http://www.automotivehalloffame.org/blog/the-first-sports-car?page=1 -
Henry Ford Begins Manufacturing Cars at a Large Scale.
Henry Ford starts building cars for the masses, and he starts out with the Model N (pictured above), and then makes the Model T as an even better version of the cheap car for the masses, which he sold for $825 at the time. (Exact date is unknown) http://www.history.com/topics/automobiles -
From Large Scale to Performance
As cars gain popularity, cars move from more than a transport vehicle to a passion, and that happened in the form of racing. Porsche is well known for their refined sports cars, and they set the standard for their sports cars with the Type 64 Racing Coupe.
(Exact date unknown) http://porschevolution.com/ -
People Modify Their Cars To Create More Power, as They Didn't Come With Enough Power.
Performance cars that were fast, loud, and distinctly American started to gain popularity with the Ford Mustang (pictured above) and Chevy Camaro, with it's muscly design, while the Japanese cars had a boxy style.
(Exact date unknown) http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/car-design-throughout-history -
Japanese Cars Take Over The Performance Car Market.
During the 1990's Japanese cars started becoming more powerful and had a large aftermarket, which led to a lot of people tuning their own cars. The Honda NSX is a historical car as it was the first powerful car that was actually fun to drive, and could also handle everyday situations, and were much more reliable than the Italian sports cars.
(Exact date unknown) http://www.bridgewateracura.com/acuras-legendary-nsx.htm -
Luxury Car Brands Take Over The Performance Car Category.
A lot of companies merge into each other, and revived a lot of sports car manufacturers. McLaren takes the lead in the worlds fastest production car with the McLaren F1.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/sports-cars7.htm -
Supercars Take the "Performance Car" to the Next Level.
Porsche, Bugatti, Saleen, and Ferrari take performance cars to the next level with the Porsche Carrera GT, Bugatti Veyron, Saleen S7 (pictured above), and the Ferrari Enzo. The horsepower numbers go above 500, while the weight starts get lower with the introduction of carbon fiber. They battle to be the fastest, most expensive, most powerful, and become more serious about going fast than ever before.
(Exact date unknown) http://www.zeroto60times.com/2013/06/top-10-best-supercars-of-the-2000s/ -
The Next Generation of the Performance Car: The Hypercar.
There are a lot of new companies that are being started that are focused on electrical technologies, and two important ones are Rimac and Tesla, and thanks to the electric motors they are able to put peak power down right when you press the gas, unlike gasoline cars which take a while to reach peak performance and go from 0 - 61 mph in less than 3 seconds. http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10358/1/Mate-Rimac-young-Croatian-inventor-created-the-fastest-electric-car-in-the-world.html
