Your idea of f**king fast?
Discussion
I've just been wondering about the amount of hyperbole I read regarding 'fast' cars...
The fastest car I've driven for any decent amount of time was a 434bhp C6 corvette and recorded a 0-100mph in 9.6s on my PerformanceBox... I thought it was 'brisk' but not OMG the world is about to end fast...
The quickest car I've been a passenger in was Owen Evan's 700bhp Lightning Direct 911 GT2 'Lemans' race car on slicks - which hit around 300kph down the back straight on a circuit in New Zealand... it felt 'fast' but again not quite the thrill ride I'd expected after reading all the talk in magazines of road cars which are 'biblically fast' or 'compressing your organs into your spine' 'unleashing Armageddon when you put your foot down' and with brakes which 'leave your eye balls against the windscreen' and many other Troy Queef style descriptions of performance...
Now I understand most of this is exaggeration for effect and I expect an F1 car fits the bill, perhaps some of the lesser open wheelers... but what do PH think constitutes fast enough to make you swear out loud and spout Clarkson-isims? Do any road cars do it for you? What kind of race car does?
The fastest car I've driven for any decent amount of time was a 434bhp C6 corvette and recorded a 0-100mph in 9.6s on my PerformanceBox... I thought it was 'brisk' but not OMG the world is about to end fast...
The quickest car I've been a passenger in was Owen Evan's 700bhp Lightning Direct 911 GT2 'Lemans' race car on slicks - which hit around 300kph down the back straight on a circuit in New Zealand... it felt 'fast' but again not quite the thrill ride I'd expected after reading all the talk in magazines of road cars which are 'biblically fast' or 'compressing your organs into your spine' 'unleashing Armageddon when you put your foot down' and with brakes which 'leave your eye balls against the windscreen' and many other Troy Queef style descriptions of performance...
Now I understand most of this is exaggeration for effect and I expect an F1 car fits the bill, perhaps some of the lesser open wheelers... but what do PH think constitutes fast enough to make you swear out loud and spout Clarkson-isims? Do any road cars do it for you? What kind of race car does?
It's all relative and largely dependent on what you're used to. However fast your car you eventually get used to the power delivery so need a bigger hit of horsepower for the same buzz. My first 'properly fast' car was a TVR Tuscan. Coming from the cars I'd had before it was sphincter-tighteningly fast 
Personally, all depends upon the car.
140mph in something heavy, and modern feels "safe and removed" from risk..... 90mph sideways in a MG ZR felt f
king horrifying as it nearly spat me through a field.
Been over 150 in an XK8, again felt safe, comfy and not "fast" in any way. The same speed in a 200SX with no safety features, front end lifting a little by 160mph, and on coilovers with the obligatory jap-spec exhaust, felt like the world was about to end.
My best mate had a mountune'd Focus ST. 320bhp, and fk knows how much torque.
Felt so seate until he booted it, and the wall of power and use of that 6speed box, gave it an impression of being far more powerful than it actually was. from 2500rpm up to the red line, it never dipped in grunt, just shoved you back. 1st to 5th gear at 140mph........ Don't know if being a passenger made it worse than if i was driving though.
140mph in something heavy, and modern feels "safe and removed" from risk..... 90mph sideways in a MG ZR felt f
king horrifying as it nearly spat me through a field.Been over 150 in an XK8, again felt safe, comfy and not "fast" in any way. The same speed in a 200SX with no safety features, front end lifting a little by 160mph, and on coilovers with the obligatory jap-spec exhaust, felt like the world was about to end.
My best mate had a mountune'd Focus ST. 320bhp, and f
k knows how much torque.Felt so seate until he booted it, and the wall of power and use of that 6speed box, gave it an impression of being far more powerful than it actually was. from 2500rpm up to the red line, it never dipped in grunt, just shoved you back. 1st to 5th gear at 140mph........ Don't know if being a passenger made it worse than if i was driving though.
trickywoo said:
Getting your weight over the front wheel and opening up a 1000cc sports bike in second feels pretty fast.
You do get used to it though.
Oh yes! When i first rode a friends fireblade back in `98, i had a 400cc bike at the time and his bike felt absolutely frickin ridiculous.You do get used to it though.
Car wise, it has to be a caterham r500 or when i was 17 and a friend of mine had a 930 turbo as his second car! he was only 19 and that thing felt rapid with its on/off power! Still want one now (nearly 20 years later)
off topic a bit ,front seat in the dragon khan ,portaventura salou,got me buzzing a bit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdsEO6LkUf0&fea...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdsEO6LkUf0&fea...
Edited by eskidavies on Monday 23 May 11:51
I'd say anything over 300bhp/ton (the power to weight ratio that is, not PH's very own purveyor of eclectic 'what car' solution...) starts to feel properly quick. At the extreme, the quickest car I’ve been in had nearly 700bhp/ton and that was simply insane. I guess I start to exclaim somewhere towards the lower end of that range.
So that’s the top end. At the other end of the scale, I would say above about 170bhp/ton is where an every day car starts to feel markedly quicker than average. Particularly on the road. Tracks massively flatten the sensation of speed I find.
So that’s the top end. At the other end of the scale, I would say above about 170bhp/ton is where an every day car starts to feel markedly quicker than average. Particularly on the road. Tracks massively flatten the sensation of speed I find.
paulmnz said:
The quickest car I've been a passenger in was Owen Evan's 700bhp Lightning Direct 911 GT2 'Lemans' race car on slicks -
Same here, i once had a passenger ride around an industrial estate in a racing 911 in the early 90's. The car never really gained traction properly yet the acceleration was enough to make me swear. I have been in the occasional normal Ferrari, lambo and porsche and they make me smile, not swear 
Dr G said:
kambites said:
I've never driven a car that felt uncomfortably fast under acceleration.
I have, Cerbera with f***** suspension. 30 would have been too fast 
Actually putting it that way, I have. The first time I got my MGB much above about 100mph, I discovered that I could steer with my little finger. I think it would have run out of aerodynamic stability long before it ran out of power. Fastest thing I've driven was a Lambo round Silverstone. But it just didnt light my lemon.
Got to drive a gaggle of vxr's round a few tracks and they felt fun. Even the VXR8 didnt make me feel like I was experiancing acceleration of biblical proportions.
But then strapping into a single seater and hammering that about felt more raw and exciting than anything else I've driven.
For me F***ing fast was being on the back of a big motorbike and papping myself at the sheer speed of the thing, holding on for dear life and my brain just simply unable to understand the force of the wind I was experiancing
Got to drive a gaggle of vxr's round a few tracks and they felt fun. Even the VXR8 didnt make me feel like I was experiancing acceleration of biblical proportions.
But then strapping into a single seater and hammering that about felt more raw and exciting than anything else I've driven.
For me F***ing fast was being on the back of a big motorbike and papping myself at the sheer speed of the thing, holding on for dear life and my brain just simply unable to understand the force of the wind I was experiancing
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff