Sales of sports cars in the US are down 4% in 2021, in an overall market up 3%. Sports cars now account for 1.5% of the total US car market with just over 221,000 deliveries, of which 73.1% were one of the four American muscle cars Mustang, Challenger, Camaro and Corvette, up from 71.5%. 
These first three of those have been in a continuous battle for the title of America’s best selling sports car and the Mustang has been in the lead since 2016 while the Challenger knocked down the Camaro to grab the #2 spot in 2018 and it stormed to the top of the class in 2021 for the first time ever, knocking down the Mustang from its throne. The Dodge is up 3% for the year, while the Ford is down 14%. Both sell more than double the volume of the Chevy which is down by more than a quarter to the lowest annual volume since its relaunch in 2009.
Best of the rest is the Mazda MX-5 Miata, up 20% to top 10,000 deliveries for the first time since 2008 despite a 56% decline in Q4 when Mazda delivered less than 1,000 Miatas. Sales are up 16% for the Toyota Supra, another record for the current generation, also despite a 52% drop in Q4. The Porsche 718 is up 25% to jump ahead of the BMW Z4 which sees stable sales. The new generation Subaru BRZ has arrived in showrooms in Q4 of 2021, when it was the #4 seller of the class. As a result, the BRZ’s full-year sales are up 2%. Its sibling Toyota 86 hadn’t started deliveries just year, as it was down 79% in Q4 and -53% for the year. The Hyundai Veloster does even worse at -72% in 2021. Sales of the Audi TT are up 19% but it remains a niche player in the class with fewer than 1,000 sales last year.
US compact sports car sales 2021
| Compact sports car segment | 2021 | 2020 | Change | 2021 Share | 2020 Share | 2021-Q4 | 2020-Q4 | Change | |
| 1 | Dodge Challenger | 54.314 | 52.955 | 3% | 33,8% | 28,9% | 10.172 | 14.605 | -30% |
| 2 | Ford Mustang | 52.414 | 61.090 | -14% | 32,7% | 33,3% | 11.349 | 13.453 | -16% |
| 3 | Chevrolet Camaro | 21.893 | 29.775 | -26% | 13,6% | 16,2% | 6.809 | 7.549 | -10% |
| 4 | Mazda MX-5 Miata | 10.547 | 8.807 | 20% | 6,6% | 4,8% | 939 | 2.155 | -56% |
| 5 | Toyota Supra | 6.830 | 5.887 | 16% | 4,3% | 3,2% | 1.005 | 2.089 | -52% |
| 6 | Porsche 718 | 4.292 | 3.447 | 25% | 2,7% | 1,9% | 1.127 | 1.491 | -24% |
| 7 | BMW Z4 | 2.367 | 2.371 | 0% | 1,5% | 1,3% | 643 | 196 | 228% |
| 8 | Subaru BRZ | 2.320 | 2.267 | 2% | 1,4% | 1,2% | 1.598 | 521 | 207% |
| 9 | Hyundai Veloster | 2.112 | 7.591 | -72% | 1,3% | 4,1% | 372 | 1.006 | -63% |
| 10 | Toyota 86 | 1.153 | 2.476 | -53% | 0,7% | 1,4% | 109 | 508 | -79% |
| 11 | Audi TT | 986 | 830 | 19% | 0,6% | 0,5% | 161 | 168 | -4% |
| 12 | Fiat 124 Spider | 952 | 1.711 | -44% | 0,6% | 0,9% | 20 | 326 | -94% |
| 13 | Mercedes-Benz SLC | 229 | 2.122 | -89% | 0,1% | 1,2% | 1 | 474 | -100% |
| 14 | Alfa Romeo 4C | 77 | 99 | -22% | 0,0% | 0,1% | 1 | 7 | -86% |
| 15 | Nissan 370Z | 36 | 1.954 | -98% | 0,0% | 1,1% | 0 | 135 | -100% |
| Segment total | 160.522 | 183.382 | -12% | 34.306 | 44.683 | -23% |
In the large sports car segment, which accounts for just 27.4% of total US sports car sales (up from 20.7% in 2020), is the fastest growing segment in the USA in 2021 with sales up 27%. The Corvette is still king with a 54.6% share, thanks to a 53% jump in deliveries. That means the ‘Vette even outsells its smaller sibling Camaro. Thanks to a 36% jump in Q4, the Porsche 911 tops 10,000 deliveries for the first time since 2014 with sales up 14% on 2020. That leaves the BMW 8-Series in third place with stable sales, ahead of the Mercedes-AMG GT with sales down 11%. The GT was down by two thirds in the final quarter as the convertible version is going to be relaunched as the next generation Mercedes-Benz SL. Meanwhile, the current SL is down to 8th place with sales down 74% (and down to just 4 deliveries in Q4). Sales of the Lexus LC more than double to hit a new annual sales record thanks to the addition of the convertible, while the Jaguar F-Type is up 30% thanks to its facelift. The Nissan GT-R is down 25% to a new record low since its launch in 2008, while the Acura NSX is down 3%, also to a new record low since its launch in 2016.
US large sports car sales 2021
| Large sports car segment | 2021 | 2020 | Change | 2021 Share | 2020 Share | 2021-Q4 | 2020-Q4 | Change | |
| 1 | Chevrolet Corvette | 33.041 | 21.626 | 53% | 54,6% | 45,2% | 8.293 | 8.992 | -8% |
| 2 | Porsche 911 | 10.042 | 8.840 | 14% | 16,6% | 18,5% | 3.313 | 2.438 | 36% |
| 3 | BMW 8-series | 7.760 | 7.737 | 0% | 12,8% | 16,2% | 2.159 | 2.177 | -1% |
| 4 | Mercedes-AMG GT | 3.110 | 3.491 | -11% | 5,1% | 7,3% | 303 | 924 | -67% |
| 5 | Lexus LC | 2.782 | 1.324 | 110% | 4,6% | 2,8% | 410 | 582 | -30% |
| 6 | Jaguar F-Type | 2.212 | 1.700 | 30% | 3,7% | 3,6% | 700 | 500 | 40% |
| 7 | Audi R8 | 649 | 581 | 12% | 1,1% | 1,2% | 153 | 186 | -18% |
| 8 | Mercedes-Benz SL | 462 | 1.782 | -74% | 0,8% | 3,7% | 4 | 432 | -99% |
| 9 | Nissan GT-R | 227 | 304 | -25% | 0,4% | 0,6% | 60 | 63 | -5% |
| 10 | Ford GT | 143 | 175 | -18% | 0,2% | 0,4% | 40 | 28 | 43% |
| 11 | Acura NSX | 124 | 128 | -3% | 0,2% | 0,3% | 6 | 45 | -87% |
| 12 | BMW i8 | 18 | 191 | -91% | 0,0% | 0,4% | 6 | 28 | -79% |
| Segment total | 60.570 | 47.879 | 27% | 15.447 | 16.395 | -6% |
Source: Manufacturers.