Autodelta's 147 gta 3.7
Discussion
This looks interesting!
www.italiaspeed.com/2004/motorsport/events/autosport_show/autodelta_147gta/report.html
Autodelta’s Alfa 147 GTA is a bored-out version of the existing 3.2 V6 unit, now up to 3750cc, delivering 328bhp at 7300rpm, 260lb ft of torque at 4700rpm and capable of reaching 175mph.
They have also fitted a limited slip differential which might come in useful!
>>> Edited by cjm on Monday 2nd February 11:42
www.italiaspeed.com/2004/motorsport/events/autosport_show/autodelta_147gta/report.html
Autodelta’s Alfa 147 GTA is a bored-out version of the existing 3.2 V6 unit, now up to 3750cc, delivering 328bhp at 7300rpm, 260lb ft of torque at 4700rpm and capable of reaching 175mph.
They have also fitted a limited slip differential which might come in useful!
>>> Edited by cjm on Monday 2nd February 11:42
Not too sure about an LSD on front wheel drive cars which I feel is always a trade-off between outright traction and steering purity (don't laugh - a MINI Cooper S has it in spades), but the key here is the 260 lbs ft of torque, which by all accounts isn't that massive - in fact, it's about in the same league as a couple of 250 bhp turbo cars - and should be more manageable through FWD than that peak hp number would have you believe.
Clarkson said on Top Gear some Saab engineer told him 220 bhp was about the limit for FWD. Either that man had made a gross generaliziation to make his point, or (more likely) Jezza misunderstood c.q. misinterpreted the quote. It's not outright bhp, it's torque at the wheels that poses traction problems (and similarly, it's not horsepower but torque at the input shaft that kills gearboxes). Given equal gering, if you have an engine that puts out 250 lbs ft @ 2,500 rpm after which the torque curve falls off to produce 200 hp @ 5,000 rpm (typical mildly tuned turbo behaviour - makes a wheezy four-cylinder feel like a big, lazy six-or eight cylinder engine), the front wheels will have just as big a problem transferring that grunt to the tarmac the moment you push the right pedal into the carpet as with an engine that reaches the same peak torque, but then retains most of it all the way up to redline and produces 350 hp @ 7,500 rpm.
In fact, the more highly strung engine will likely cause less traction problems because of its state of tune generally causing peak torque to be reached further up the rev range and being built more progressively up to that point.
For an illustration of the latter, try flooring a 2.0 litre Golf TDI with a 'puny' 140 bhp but spades of low end torque that comes in with a bang, in a low gear...
>> Edited by 900T-R on Monday 2nd February 12:04
Clarkson said on Top Gear some Saab engineer told him 220 bhp was about the limit for FWD. Either that man had made a gross generaliziation to make his point, or (more likely) Jezza misunderstood c.q. misinterpreted the quote. It's not outright bhp, it's torque at the wheels that poses traction problems (and similarly, it's not horsepower but torque at the input shaft that kills gearboxes). Given equal gering, if you have an engine that puts out 250 lbs ft @ 2,500 rpm after which the torque curve falls off to produce 200 hp @ 5,000 rpm (typical mildly tuned turbo behaviour - makes a wheezy four-cylinder feel like a big, lazy six-or eight cylinder engine), the front wheels will have just as big a problem transferring that grunt to the tarmac the moment you push the right pedal into the carpet as with an engine that reaches the same peak torque, but then retains most of it all the way up to redline and produces 350 hp @ 7,500 rpm.
In fact, the more highly strung engine will likely cause less traction problems because of its state of tune generally causing peak torque to be reached further up the rev range and being built more progressively up to that point.
For an illustration of the latter, try flooring a 2.0 litre Golf TDI with a 'puny' 140 bhp but spades of low end torque that comes in with a bang, in a low gear...
>> Edited by 900T-R on Monday 2nd February 12:04
I think the engine on its own is about £5500, once you add the diff, clutch, brakes, suspension, wheels/tryes, exhaust and the body kit its probably about £10k on top of the 147.
www.autodelta.co.uk
>> Edited by cjm on Monday 2nd February 12:07
www.autodelta.co.uk
>> Edited by cjm on Monday 2nd February 12:07
Hey don't get me wrong, 260 lbs/ft is plenty respectable in a car of this size and weight... 
The point I was making is that, as far as I'm concerned, moving the power further up the rev range is the only sensible way to up the power to this kind of level on a FWD car. So where conventional wisdom would have it 328 bhp in a FWD is plain crazy, I feel a well-developed conversion should not pose any more problems than channeling 300-odd hp though the rear wheels of a lightish roadster
.
The point I was making is that, as far as I'm concerned, moving the power further up the rev range is the only sensible way to up the power to this kind of level on a FWD car. So where conventional wisdom would have it 328 bhp in a FWD is plain crazy, I feel a well-developed conversion should not pose any more problems than channeling 300-odd hp though the rear wheels of a lightish roadster
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