How much horsepower do you need in your sports car?

660.

 

I agree with you: more HP is always better, but in sports cars, as in racing there will always be a place for lower-powered cars. I'd be far more willing to put a lowing limit on luxury car HP than sports car HP.

The key to sports car love is handling precision and great brakes that won't let you down.

 

You've discovered great cars come from things besides horsepower. Lots of people who can't drive or only drag race ricers never learn that.

If you drove my prox 122 HP Europa, especially around tight turns at 80-90 MPH you'd have that same grin, I guarantee it. But I imagine the Elise would be better with the extra horses.

How much you need depends on the car; a big honkin' Ferrari needs more than my go-cart car, but 400 is PLENTY IMHO if a car is designed right.

Ken

 

well the car doesnt have to be light to have fun. my 96 impala weighs in at 4052lbs and its a blast to toss around corners.

the added weight can be fun, while not as fast.

Stock 260 horsepower and 4000lbs and its a blast to drive.

 

I used to own a Dino 246 GTS. It only had 195 hp but it was an absolute blast to drive around town and on twisty country roads. I think that the amount of horsepower needed in your sports car will depend on how you will drive it. On a track I want lots of power but I don't need nearly as much on the street to have fun.

 

That depends on how much the 'sports car' weighs.

 

MK-IV
500HP
2300 lbs

P 3/4
450hp
1850 lbs

Lola
450 Hp
2600 lbs. (With a lot of crap)

Those 3 seem ok to me.

 

5 more hp than what you have............

 

The Lotus Elise is a perfect example. 192 HP and a screamer on the track due to its featherweight status. Imagine that thing with 240 HP.

 

Hehe,

Ok, see .. the real question in this thread is how much Torque do you need, not how much horsepower. Horsepower is just a derivative of RPM. Take a 100 lb-ft of torque Civic and get it to rev to 15K RPM like a sportbike while getting the torque curve to peak at that engine speed, and instead of making 140HP it now makes 286. But it still only provides 100 lb-ft of torque worth of thrust which is a joke to say the least.

This is why cars like the Viper with "only 500HP" get through the quarter mile faster than 600HP cars ... with 500+ lb-ft of torque available at pretty much all RPMs, the car physically accelerates harder.

Bill in Brooklyn

 

Also See:

Gemballa Edition Diablo

 

Any sports car with 400+BHP/ton is fast.

The only new Ferrari that has this type of figure is the Enzo.

I believe it is 478bhp/ton.

Not forgetting torque.

 

My s2000 is a blast at 240hp but my 944 turbo is even more fun at over 400hp! Its all relative! Light weight cars are usually fun no matter what!

 

The horsepower wars are at ridiculous proportions given the fact that there is less and less space to use it. If all your buyin a car for is the HP, your missing out on allot of great cars. It's the total package that matters, and everybody's got their own idea of the perfect car.

 

I agree. My Europa was a blast to drive and had the mid-engine-low polar moment of inertia feel the F-car has. I had a series 2 with less hp than Ken, but it sure was fun in the hills.

steve

 

I could use just maybe a little more torque in mine but hey I'm not complaining.

 

You can have quite a bit of fun with 18.2 hp if the car weighs 625lbs:

It's great fun driving a slow car quickly... you can be driving at 99% and run past a traffic cop and he doesn't even notice!

I've found it's about more than speed. My Lotus Europa S2 (with only about 110 hp but a couple hundred lbs less weight than our Twin Cam Europa poster) was an awesome sports car. So is my 100hp MK1 Mini Cooper S.... a car that gets more attention than the Ferrari!

That's why I knew I would absolutely satisifed with a US spec 308GTB. Sure, there are plenty of faster cars, but few that can give you the overall driving experience.

But I've found that with any car I've owned, "just a little more" would be just right...

Bill
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Not to slight your observation, but if torque were really king every race car would be rocking a longstroke diesel and redline at 3000 rpms. Power to weight tells you how fast you're accellerating. Torque tells you how forgiving the car is of you putting in too high of a gear.

 

My answer would be that it depends on how much the car can handle. I've driven cars with 250hp, which couldn't really handle the power, and on the other hand you have the 360, which needs another 100hp (=F430).

 

I need just enough to where it won't get me arrested. Most of the people that have sportcars don't have the driver skill to use the power these cars have. Most of the time I drive my 1.9L for Escort around and actually have fun with it. It probably has 80 h.p. but I can drive it and not get into any trouble. Then when I get in my 308, or on my zx-10, I have a tough time keeping it legal. Especially the motorcycle. These things have rediculous power.

 

My Datsun 240Z pretty much does it for me on the street. 430 HP at just over 2,000 lbs w/ a modified suspension, etc in a strait line light to light is wicked. Looks good doing it too. I'm sure there are Ferraris quicker & slicker but not for under $10K.
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I'm a huge fan!!! I've seen just about every engine put in the Z but if I had to guess I'd say ... Chevy?