Sales of sports cars in the US are up 11% in the first quarter of 2021, almost on par with the overall market up 12%. Sports cars still account for 1.6% of the total US car market with just under 67,000 deliveries, of which just about two thirds (63%, down from 66.3% in Q1 of 2020) were one of the three American muscle cars Mustang, Challenger or Camaro. 
These three are 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 has stayed there until so far. In fact, the Challenger is now closing in on the top spot with sales up 24% while the Mustang is down 4%. Just 1,200 sales separate the two, and keep in mind the Dodge already outsold the Ford in the last two quarters of 2020. Meanwhile, the Camaro is a distant third, selling fewer than half the volume of the Challenger thanks to sales down 1%. The Mazda MX-5 Miata is best of the rest in terms of compact sports cars, with sales up 61% while the Toyota Supra is up 70% into 5th place. The Porsche 718 almost quadruples its sales, while the Toyota 86 is up just 9% as it’s due for a redesign. Strangely enough its sibling Subaru BRZ is up 49%. The Hyundai Veloster is one of the big losers of the class at -67%, just like the BMW Z4 also crashes down 69%. The Fiat 124 Spider manages to improve by 23% despite being out of production already.
US compact sports car sales 2021-Q1
| Compact sports car segment | 2021-Q1 | 2020-Q1 | Change | Share | |
| 1 | Ford Mustang | 17.274 | 18.069 | -4% | 35,5% |
| 2 | Dodge Challenger | 15.096 | 12.138 | 24% | 31,0% |
| 3 | Chevrolet Camaro | 7.089 | 7.185 | -1% | 14,6% |
| 4 | Mazda MX-5 Miata | 2.743 | 1.700 | 61% | 5,6% |
| 5 | Toyota Supra | 1.725 | 1.013 | 70% | 3,5% |
| 6 | Porsche 718 | 1.506 | 400 | 277% | 3,1% |
| 7 | Toyota 86 | 764 | 704 | 9% | 1,6% |
| 8 | Hyundai Veloster | 687 | 2.082 | -67% | 1,4% |
| 9 | Subaru BRZ | 583 | 392 | 49% | 1,2% |
| 10 | Fiat 124 Spider | 477 | 388 | 23% | 1,0% |
| 11 | Audi TT | 266 | 175 | 52% | 0,5% |
| 12 | Mercedes-Benz SLC | 198 | 419 | -53% | 0,4% |
| 13 | BMW Z4 | 195 | 625 | -69% | 0,4% |
| 14 | Nissan 370Z | 28 | 561 | -95% | 0,1% |
| 15 | Alfa Romeo 4C | 24 | 31 | -23% | 0,0% |
| Segment total | 48.655 | 45.882 | 6% |
In the large sports car segment, which accounts for just 22.3% of total US sports car sales (up from 18.7% in Q1 of 2020), the Corvette is still king with a 47.4% share, thanks to a whopping 73% jump in deliveries compared to its full year of sales for the new rear-engined generation. The ‘Vette had some catch-up to play after production delays in 2020 due to the pandemic. The Porsche 911 is up 7% but loses share of the class. However, it does stays well ahead of the BMW 8-Series, down 11%. The Mercedes-AMG GT is up 25% which means it may be on its way to make 2021 a new record year. The major thing that could keep it from a new record is that the AMG GT roadster version will soon be renamed to become the next generation Mercedes-Benz SL. The SL is now already down 22% in preparation for the new generation. This allows the Lexus LC to jump into fifth place with sales up 173% thanks to the addition of a convertible version. That moves the LC even ahead of the Jaguar F-Type. The Audi R8 sees a nice jump in deliveries, up 53% to distance the Nissan GT-R. The Ford GT stays firm at just about double the sales figures of the Acura NSX, while the BMW i8 is all but dead and Dodge even found a couple more Vipers to register this quarter.
US large sports car sales 2021-Q1
| Large sports car segment | 2021-Q1 | 2020-Q1 | Change | Share | |
| 1 | Chevrolet Corvette | 6.611 | 3.820 | 73% | 47,4% |
| 2 | Porsche 911 | 2.782 | 2.590 | 7% | 20,0% |
| 3 | BMW 8-series | 1.502 | 1.694 | -11% | 10,8% |
| 4 | Mercedes-AMG GT | 1.212 | 967 | 25% | 8,7% |
| 5 | Lexus LC | 654 | 240 | 173% | 4,7% |
| 6 | Jaguar F-Type | 610 | 510 | 20% | 4,4% |
| 7 | Mercedes-Benz SL | 311 | 401 | -22% | 2,2% |
| 8 | Audi R8 | 148 | 97 | 53% | 1,1% |
| 9 | Nissan GT-R | 50 | 58 | -14% | 0,4% |
| 10 | Ford GT | 33 | 79 | -58% | 0,2% |
| 11 | Acura NSX | 17 | 34 | -50% | 0,1% |
| 12 | BMW i8 | 8 | 66 | -88% | 0,1% |
| 13 | Dodge Viper | 2 | 0 | +++ | 0,0% |
| Segment total | 13.940 | 10.556 | 32% |
Source: Manufacturers.