My Speed3, stock, did 0-60 in the five second range, and I’d hardly call it “insane”. Well, back then at least.

By the way, I get that performance from my 195 HP Camry V6.

If you really want to snap your neck: take a motorcycle.

I’ve personally owned a 517 hp, 2800 lb 1993 RX-7 single turbo (Garrett GT3540R)conversion – that was too much power.

I had a 360 hp turbocharged RX-8, that was about right but it could have handled more.

I’d say my 400 hp Eclipse GSX (AWD, 4G63 EVO engine) felt just right.

To be honest, I’m delighed by a 115 hp 1.6L early 90s Miata.

Call up the boys at Cobb or TurboXS. They will handle that loss to a CTS-V nonsense in short order.

That’s isn’t how I “roll”, as the kids say.

Heaven for me is a slow-revving powerhouse with minimum NVH. A car I would like to drive at some point is an old Ford with the 429.

Regarding the Speed3 comment on HP:FUN… Stock, she is fun to drive. With an intake and a catback, she was a bit more fun to drive, sorta like a good, easy going party. When I did the three inch turbo back and upped it to 18pounds of boost, it was fun like St. Paddy’s day when I was pulling on a C6 last night up to around 115.

It should be super fun like a week long bender when I’m done with the motor build/gt35r combo I got going right no. You know, way too damn much fun, and you know you’ll regret it in the morning, but you don’t care?

The RX7 I’m building…lets just not even talk about Power to weight. I was thinking about a three rotor, but I’ve decided to see if I could shove a 2JZ-GTE in an FC, Fuel+big single (not GT4488 big). Should be good for around 750-800 wheel in a gutted FC (no power windows, no AC, no radio, no passenger seat, no sound deadening). I think it should be pretty quick.

The thing is, I fully understand the fun of being able to be nimble and quick, and rev out and all that of a light car with a high revving, low power motor. But for me…its that second when you come right into the power band, and you bend the laws of space and time around you when it gets fun.

I still don’t think I will ever have as much fun in a car (that doesn’t involve the more tender gender) as I did in that Poopra. When that thing came into full boost, the whole world seemed to just melt and fall apart.

Awesome. That was brilliant. LOLTFOFWL (Laugh-out-loud-then-fall-on-floor-whilst-laughing)

Give sherbornsean a chromed supercharger desk set.

My previous BMW 325e had only about 120hp, yet acceleration from 0-50 was excellent because of the high torque at low RPM’s (170lb-ft @ 3250rpm)… just like my sister’s Mercedes diesel, which is pretty similar- low hp, but high torque.

I didn’t get serious traction till about 130ish. That almost has enough power for me.

Better buy that RS6 quickly…

This understanding has lead me to the opinion that I really don’t care too much about how much total power a car makes…I care about the balance of the chassis, brakes, engine.

The only time I’ve ever “needed” a v8 is in my tow vehicle – a 2500HD Silverdo. All other cars I’ve ever owned only have 4 cylinders – just with properly built ones. These include mainly Honda 4 cylinders (for inline 4 cylinders with normal aspiration…they are simply the class (with our without VTEC) of the field with proper technology, a decent flat torque curve that provides power all the way to redline. Compare that to an ecotec engine that tapers off long before it shakes itself to death or a appliance Camry 2.4 engine. Some of my favorites still today are Porsche’s 2.5 8v and even better the 3.0 16v in the S2 that revs to redline properly (you’d not believe the difficulty many a stock Mustang or Camaro has in trying to pull away from me), or the 16v 2.3 Cosworth or M3 engines – legends in their own time. In fact the only engine I’ve had that was woefully inadequate was the 2.5 iron duke olds omega, 2.2 liter Dodge 600, Mazda Protege5 (wound up putting a turbo kit on it b/c n/a it was pretty weak).

And, as if on cue, Audi unleashes the 572-HP RS 6 Avant, which will plaster your kids to the rear window faster than just about anything else that can carry 5 people and all their stuff!

Johnny – I’m guessing that your “420HP seems about right” comment stems from your now-legendary review of the RS4?

Currently at about 430HP and that’s not enough, so I think my formula is still accurate.

The 120 kW in-wheel motors have been demonstrated by the manufacturer (PML) since 2006, and apparently Volvo intends to use them in future production models.
They are rated at 350 V (DC), peak power comes up at 400V.

http://pmlflightlink.com/motors/hipa_drive.html

Batteries with sufficient power density exist. Add capacitors for short acceleration surges with demand for high amps.

I also think that 50-100 through the gears or in the lowest gear that will do 100 is a much better test of a car’s accelerative ability than any measure involving a standing start. For one, it’s more repeatable – no major differences between surfaces, no clutch and tire slip to master. For another, the 100-MPH finish is fast enough that a sticky-tired, low-geared Miata isn’t gonna test better than cars that will burn it on the highway.

Likewise 90hp is great fun in a Mini.