Over the past 10 years, I am amazed how many active 20ft (n6.0, i20, etc) racers have moved to A-class. Most of the time, I would honestly rather be screaming along with a N6.0+spi, but as I get older I have less time to rig and organize crew. Also, I have less need for the high wind ultra high adrenalin but want a good, full drug, rush even in light wind (which is more common when your sailing days get reduced).

Downwind, the A-class is still fast like spin cats (mostly)if you sail it very, very well. The biggest downside is that they are very fragile. You must handle them with care (especially on land), but their light weight makes this easy.