Is 400 HP the sweet spot for a street car?

The most fun I have had driving thus far is my Lotus Exige S. It is slightly modified (about 240 hp) but has more power than you need. It will spin the tires on dry pavement at the top of first gear. On track, I don't notice the decrease in power until you get to about 110 or so, and then overcoming wind resistance is an issue. The sum total is a car that is very quick at legal speeds, and a hoot to drive.

I also have a 4000 pound 420 hp RS4, and a 2200 pound 400 hp Cobra. The Audi is so stable at all speeds, and the tires will not break loose under acceleration (regardless of the TC setting) with the weight and the AWD. In the Cobra, you cannot give full throttle ever in first or second gear without the rear braking loose, and in a corner you have to be judicious in third gear as well!

 

I think that 500 to 600 whp, is actually the sweet spot. Most cars with 400 hp can easily spin the tires and lose traction from a dead stop if floored anyway. A 600 hp car will hook up most of the power really well once you are moving. The right tire makes a big difference too. When you start getting over 600 whp you start having traction issues over 60,70,80 mph. which can be scary with other cars around on the street. Btw... my 95 supra makes over 1000 hp to the wheels and I drive it on the street, it will hook up most of the power from about 40 to 50 mph, but it has broken the tires loose as fast as 140 mph every once in a while so you do have to pay attention. Third gear is a sweet spot for this car, the acceleration from 60 to 125mph is staggering The look on a passengers face when you open the car up is priceless.

 

I believe the market (consumers and manf) are so obsessed with horsepower it's going to go higher before it comes down. Mustangs and Camaros are hitting the market with more than 500 hp. I've driven in domestics with high horse power ranges on the track and they just do not feel stable at higher speeds when pushed through their paces. When you spend your time in BMW's, Mercedes, Porsches and Ferrari, you feel very uncomfortable in a Dodge, Mustang, etc at high speeds. A friend of mine who races for a living tells me most of the domestics don't spend the time to really study the suspension that is required for such beefy power. It's almost the Corvette syndrome; more and more hp. I hear a vette on the drawing board will have 700 hp. What the hell? Has the speed limit gone up to 150 lately?

I know there will be some disagreement, but you almost want someone to step in and say, enough! No more than x hp on new cars. I believe this would drive manufacturers to be more efficient with what hp is available. I'm not inviting government in as that never works, but maybe the manufacturers will start making an effort in the other direction. I agree 400hp is more than plenty for the street.

 

My 400hp Maserati GranSport is just perfect for me. Enough power to throw you back in the seat, but you still need to play with the whole power band and get to hear the engine at 6-7K rpm blasting through the Tubi!
I was always lusting for more, until I got this car.
My next car likely will be more "vintage."
I would love an E-Type, older 911 or the like.
It changes daily however....

 

I think the answer is really multifaceted.

The question is really, is 400bhp the right amount of horsepower for YOU?

Personally, I can't help but feel nervous driving a 800whp street car, but some wouldn't trade for anything less.

I feel comfortable driving cars with 6lbs/hp, but thats about my limit.

 

I think that big power (and brakes to match) is great on the street. With kids and dogs and cats and cops and deer and and other cars and road hazards and so on, one really must maintain a high visual horizon, and be prepared to stop within one's line of sight. That means not carrying much speed in corners. So one goes around turns at 4/10ths, but with lots of power on tap it's still fun (and safe) to exit them accelerating hard.

The romantic ideal of doing 4-wheel drifts corner after corner in a good-handling, modest-powered sports car is crazy on the street. Point-and-squirt is the way to go.

 

I have a 308QV that I’ve now driven at 3 different hp levels. It had a tired engine when I got it, say 200hp and it was clearly under powered. I rebuilt it and added a supercharger putting it at about 360hp (304rwhp) and it was a whole new car, much much better. It still seemed like I had my foot to the floor more often than I thought should be required. So I added a bigger supercharger and intercooler to get it up to about 510hp (420rwhp) and it was possibly too much. At street speeds I could never completely open the throttle and driving in the rain is a real challenge, I tried to keep it under 2000 rpm. I’ve honestly got cheap tires on it because I wasn’t sure the sizes I wanted would fit under the fender so I’m sure they aren’t helping things any.

The newest engine (a naturally aspirated V12) should be right around 550-600hp with probably a touch less torque than the high boost V8 had so I’m thinking it will drive a touch better even with more hp. I’m also altering the gear ratios to further reduce the torque getting to the wheels in each gear. I think the final set-up, with good tires, will be quite happy on the street inspire of the fact that it will be pushing nearly 600hp. We’ll see.