To owners of very fast cars
Discussion
How do you feel driving them on the roads? Do you drive them on public roads? Are they too powerful to enjoy properly on the public highway, or is there no such thing as a car being 'too fast'?
I daily an old 2.7 Cayman (I dunno, 230hp?). When I think of how easily we can buy cars with twice, thrice, or four times the power, I can't help but feel the opportunity to actually use them must be extremely limited.
I watched Harry's review of the new Ferrari (insert some model number here) which had 1000 hp, torque vectoring and a whole list of acronyms that I didn't recognise. Watching the video just made me think "what's the point of all this?". He couldn't open it up, and frankly, all the aero and flaps just made it look horrendous. It also felt to me that, the car was so over-equipped (capable?) at normal speeds, that there was no excitement at all.
Have I gotten old? Or are things getting a bit silly?
I daily an old 2.7 Cayman (I dunno, 230hp?). When I think of how easily we can buy cars with twice, thrice, or four times the power, I can't help but feel the opportunity to actually use them must be extremely limited.
I watched Harry's review of the new Ferrari (insert some model number here) which had 1000 hp, torque vectoring and a whole list of acronyms that I didn't recognise. Watching the video just made me think "what's the point of all this?". He couldn't open it up, and frankly, all the aero and flaps just made it look horrendous. It also felt to me that, the car was so over-equipped (capable?) at normal speeds, that there was no excitement at all.
Have I gotten old? Or are things getting a bit silly?
ddom said:
The most enjoyable cars are those that are light, with too much power. The curse of modern performance only being interesting over 100 mph is the polar opposite of what makes a fun road car.
Few and far between nowadays. However, never having driven anything that powerful, I dare say 1000hp would nullify some of the weightI've owned 3 Lambos and whilst they have all been very soul stirring to own and drive in their own way, you are right in assuming that it is very difficult to use the performance of a very fast car in any meaningful (leagal) way on roads in the UK.
I now drive a Cayman too, and whilst it is definitley not as fast, it is more 'useable' and no less fun to drive.
I now drive a Cayman too, and whilst it is definitley not as fast, it is more 'useable' and no less fun to drive.
Been thinking this for a while now. I run a Z4M and a 981 Cayman S and have the hankering for an AMG GT or F-Type R.
Considering that I would be giving up the manual gearbox, will the extra power make it more fun. I am doubting so.
Considering how fast both of my cars can get you into licence losing trouble, having more power seems a tad un-necessary, on public roads.
Considering that I would be giving up the manual gearbox, will the extra power make it more fun. I am doubting so.
Considering how fast both of my cars can get you into licence losing trouble, having more power seems a tad un-necessary, on public roads.
I think it depends on how it makes its power. My Monaro has 800hp with rear wheel drive and a manual box. Dynamically it’s rubbish, it isn’t subtle, but goes like stink in a straight line, on a dry road, I never get tired of the noise and supercharger whine. The occasional hot hatch will glue itself to the rear bumper which is lots of fun for the few seconds it can stay there. Most of the time though, I drive like I’m driving Miss Daisy. Modern performance cars leave me cold.
Funkstar De Luxe said:
cerb4.5lee said:
There is always a time and a place for it I reckon. 
I mean, if you drive a Cerbera, I'll bet it's a white knuckle ride when you open it up. What's that, 350hp?
Man, I'd love a TVR.
The Cerbera 4.5 was supposed to be 420bhp(in reality probably only 360bhp though). I currently have a 370Z with a few mods running about 350bhp, and also a F82 M4 with 430bhp. You'd be surprised at how many opportunities you do get to open them up on the right roads and at the right time. You just have to know where to go.
Obviously if you live somewhere like London though...then you may as well just settle for something with 60bhp!
Havard22 said:
Been thinking this for a while now. I run a Z4M and a 981 Cayman S and have the hankering for an AMG GT or F-Type R.
Considering that I would be giving up the manual gearbox, will the extra power make it more fun. I am doubting so.
An AMG GT would arguably be much more fun than the Z4M/Cayman are...because it has so much more power/torque it will be more entertaining at lower speeds I reckon. My M4 was a right laugh at low speeds over the winter period when the roads were cold/wet/damp. Considering that I would be giving up the manual gearbox, will the extra power make it more fun. I am doubting so.
I'd absolutely love an AMG GTS by the way!
Funkstar De Luxe said:
How do you feel driving them on the roads? Do you drive them on public roads? Are they too powerful to enjoy properly on the public highway, or is there no such thing as a car being 'too fast'?
I daily an old 2.7 Cayman (I dunno, 230hp?). When I think of how easily we can buy cars with twice, thrice, or four times the power, I can't help but feel the opportunity to actually use them must be extremely limited.
I watched Harry's review of the new Ferrari (insert some model number here) which had 1000 hp, torque vectoring and a whole list of acronyms that I didn't recognise. Watching the video just made me think "what's the point of all this?". He couldn't open it up, and frankly, all the aero and flaps just made it look horrendous. It also felt to me that, the car was so over-equipped (capable?) at normal speeds, that there was no excitement at all.
Have I gotten old? Or are things getting a bit silly?
To quote the irascible LJKS, who was likely paraphrasing someone else, enough is seldom enough, but more than enough can sometimes be just enough...for the record, I drive a 90hp diesel mini, but I'm all for 500hp plus vehicles of all sorts!! I daily an old 2.7 Cayman (I dunno, 230hp?). When I think of how easily we can buy cars with twice, thrice, or four times the power, I can't help but feel the opportunity to actually use them must be extremely limited.
I watched Harry's review of the new Ferrari (insert some model number here) which had 1000 hp, torque vectoring and a whole list of acronyms that I didn't recognise. Watching the video just made me think "what's the point of all this?". He couldn't open it up, and frankly, all the aero and flaps just made it look horrendous. It also felt to me that, the car was so over-equipped (capable?) at normal speeds, that there was no excitement at all.
Have I gotten old? Or are things getting a bit silly?
I have a 720s. You can't drive it fast on the road - it's just stupid. So I enjoy the sense of occasion and the ability to overtake and the sublime steering feel while mostly at 4/10. I don't find road driving much fun (I live in London) although you can stretch its legs occasionally, especially abroad.
If I want to have fun on the road, I take my 356 which, even though it has a race engine, really isn't very fast at all. So you can hoon about, find the limits of the 195-section tyres, get a workout from the unassisted steering, master all four speeds in the gearbox while barely breaking the speed limit. And when the road clears, the sun shines and you don't see any other cars for a bit, you feel like a time traveller.
If I want to have fun on the road, I take my 356 which, even though it has a race engine, really isn't very fast at all. So you can hoon about, find the limits of the 195-section tyres, get a workout from the unassisted steering, master all four speeds in the gearbox while barely breaking the speed limit. And when the road clears, the sun shines and you don't see any other cars for a bit, you feel like a time traveller.
Funkstar De Luxe said:
How do you feel driving them on the roads? Do you drive them on public roads? Are they too powerful to enjoy properly on the public highway, or is there no such thing as a car being 'too fast'?
I daily an old 2.7 Cayman (I dunno, 230hp?). When I think of how easily we can buy cars with twice, thrice, or four times the power, I can't help but feel the opportunity to actually use them must be extremely limited.
I watched Harry's review of the new Ferrari (insert some model number here) which had 1000 hp, torque vectoring and a whole list of acronyms that I didn't recognise. Watching the video just made me think "what's the point of all this?". He couldn't open it up, and frankly, all the aero and flaps just made it look horrendous. It also felt to me that, the car was so over-equipped (capable?) at normal speeds, that there was no excitement at all.
Have I gotten old? Or are things getting a bit silly?
I watched Harry's Ferrari SF90 review while I had my lunch today and came to exactly the same conclusion. I'd much sooner have a car that looks and sounds wonderful, feels really involving at sensible speeds and isn't so powerful that you can only red line it in first gear. To me, car manufacturers are locked in a bigger numbers battle at the expense of the real world driving experience.I daily an old 2.7 Cayman (I dunno, 230hp?). When I think of how easily we can buy cars with twice, thrice, or four times the power, I can't help but feel the opportunity to actually use them must be extremely limited.
I watched Harry's review of the new Ferrari (insert some model number here) which had 1000 hp, torque vectoring and a whole list of acronyms that I didn't recognise. Watching the video just made me think "what's the point of all this?". He couldn't open it up, and frankly, all the aero and flaps just made it look horrendous. It also felt to me that, the car was so over-equipped (capable?) at normal speeds, that there was no excitement at all.
Have I gotten old? Or are things getting a bit silly?
Sold my SL55 after a lost interest in driving last year after an accident. Prior to that, as much as I enjoyed it, it required a lot of concentration. It was easy to make a hole in a hedge at a roundabout. I also had undesirables trying to race me. Now and again I was frustrated I couldn’t exploit the potential on public roads. It began spending more and more time in the garage. Until I decided to part with it. Sometimes I miss it but it is what it is.
Havard22 said:
Been thinking this for a while now. I run a Z4M and a 981 Cayman S and have the hankering for an AMG GT or F-Type R.
Considering that I would be giving up the manual gearbox, will the extra power make it more fun. I am doubting so.
Considering how fast both of my cars can get you into licence losing trouble, having more power seems a tad un-necessary, on public roads.
A mate of mine had an R8 V10 and on the lanes and back roads round here it wasn’t any fun at all Considering that I would be giving up the manual gearbox, will the extra power make it more fun. I am doubting so.
Considering how fast both of my cars can get you into licence losing trouble, having more power seems a tad un-necessary, on public roads.
Too big, too wide and too fast .. following me over the fells between the dry stone walls he couldn’t stay anywhere near me as he had to keep slowing down at every bend in case something came round it as his car filled the road and was too expensive to risk meeting a wall
He said booting it from the lights was epic but you soon get bored of that
On narrow tight twisty rough surface British B roads Supercars are just too much
You’ll have much more fun in your Zed/Cayman than in a massive AMG thing
Earthdweller said:
Havard22 said:
Been thinking this for a while now. I run a Z4M and a 981 Cayman S and have the hankering for an AMG GT or F-Type R.
Considering that I would be giving up the manual gearbox, will the extra power make it more fun. I am doubting so.
Considering how fast both of my cars can get you into licence losing trouble, having more power seems a tad un-necessary, on public roads.
Considering that I would be giving up the manual gearbox, will the extra power make it more fun. I am doubting so.
Considering how fast both of my cars can get you into licence losing trouble, having more power seems a tad un-necessary, on public roads.
A mate of mine had an R8 V10 and on the lanes and back roads round here it wasn’t any fun at all
Too big, too wide and too fast .. following me over the fells between the dry stone walls he couldn’t stay anywhere near me as he had to keep slowing down at every bend in case something came round it as his car filled the road and was too expensive to risk meeting a wall
He said booting it from the lights was epic but you soon get bored of that
On narrow tight twisty rough surface British B roads Supercars are just too much
You’ll have much more fun in your Zed/Cayman than in a massive AMG thing
biggbn said:
To quote the irascible LJKS, who was likely paraphrasing someone else, enough is seldom enough, but more than enough can sometimes be just enough...for the record, I drive a 90hp diesel mini, but I'm all for 500hp plus vehicles of all sorts!!
I followed, well tried to, a local in a VW Up around the very twisty bit of the Nc500 north of Applecross last week Young lad, no fear, foot in all the time and knew the road like the back of his hand … and he had all of what, 60bhp
You wouldn’t have got close to him in 1000 bhp Ferrari
There was a group of us laughing about it afterwards.. absolute demon ( or lunatic )
I live in Northumberland which affords me easy access to lots of quiet country type roads.
Driving a big powerful car is actually quote difficult other than squirting through the gears in basically straight lines between corners as the roads are either too narrow, too bumpy or too risky (cyclists, ramblers, sheep on the roads etc)
However the very same roads afford far more opportunity to unleash full power on a big motorcycle with much higher speeds being achieved but also feeling easier and safer doing so.
I think the smallness of a motorcycle on narrow roads and higher eye level of the rider gives greater visibility around the bends so more opportunity to give it the beans.
So in answer to the question is 5 or 600bhp too much, probably, but it does give you a sense of occasion
:
Driving a big powerful car is actually quote difficult other than squirting through the gears in basically straight lines between corners as the roads are either too narrow, too bumpy or too risky (cyclists, ramblers, sheep on the roads etc)
However the very same roads afford far more opportunity to unleash full power on a big motorcycle with much higher speeds being achieved but also feeling easier and safer doing so.
I think the smallness of a motorcycle on narrow roads and higher eye level of the rider gives greater visibility around the bends so more opportunity to give it the beans.
So in answer to the question is 5 or 600bhp too much, probably, but it does give you a sense of occasion
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