300bhp per tonne

Author
Discussion

R8VXF

6,788 posts

114 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
Wills2 said:
300hp/tonne is a huge amount of power in a road car, you have to be looking at the latest 991 GT3/turbo to gain entry as a standard car and then on into the likes of Ferrari/Lambo/McLaren/R8 [insert mental car of your choice] etc...

Only a few of the AMG/M monsters get to the 300 mark.

VXR8 GTS is a "standard car" that makes the list smile Probably less than half the price of a GT3 (I have no idea what the Porsche costs).

Wills2

22,666 posts

174 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
R8VXF said:
Wills2 said:
300hp/tonne is a huge amount of power in a road car, you have to be looking at the latest 991 GT3/turbo to gain entry as a standard car and then on into the likes of Ferrari/Lambo/McLaren/R8 [insert mental car of your choice] etc...

Only a few of the AMG/M monsters get to the 300 mark.

VXR8 GTS is a "standard car" that makes the list smile Probably less than half the price of a GT3 (I have no idea what the Porsche costs).
I did think of that when I was posting.........Honest!

tattietamson

2 posts

103 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
hornetrider said:
Who cares about some arbitrary figure of no significance?
Yes, agree.

Figures don`t often tell the full story.

R8VXF

6,788 posts

114 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
Wills2 said:
I did think of that when I was posting.........Honest!
hehe

Caruso

7,422 posts

255 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
Of course when it comes to motorbikes, 300bhp per tonne is just about acceptable for a middleweight commuter bike. biggrin

mike_bngs

14 posts

103 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
My little car manages about 115 per ton, still great fun but would love the figure to start with a two.

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
Caruso said:
Of course when it comes to motorbikes, 300bhp per tonne is just about acceptable for a middleweight commuter bike. biggrin
Depends on how far the rider is. hehe

My car is about 185bhp/tonne with a full tank of fuel and me in it, which feels plenty. smile

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 1st September 18:53

R8VXF

6,788 posts

114 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
If anyone is REALLY bored, then it would be interesting to see purchase price (adjusted for inflation if not manufactured anymore) over the power to weight ratio of all the cars in the above list.

McSam

6,753 posts

174 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
Patrick Bateman said:
Bennet said:
If you add an 80kg driver to either of the two cars you list that actually pass the benchmark, they both cease to meet it.
BMW include the driver, some fuel and luggage in that figure, are most manufacturers not the same?
Yes, EU kerbweights include a 68kg driver with 7kg luggage (so effectively a 75kg driver) and a 90% fuel fill. All other fluids (incl. screenwash) are full.

However, assuming the quoted weight is actually representative of the real car is a bit of a leap. Many manufacturers quote as much as 5% lighter than reality, and that's before any optional equipment.

DonkeyApple

54,922 posts

168 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
McSam said:
EU kerbweights include a 68kg driver with 7kg luggage.
A small man, with a big hand bag. How European. biggrin

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
DonkeyApple said:
McSam said:
EU kerbweights include a 68kg driver with 7kg luggage.
A small man, with a big hand bag. How European. biggrin
Or it's the average weight of a man or woman with half the average weight of a handbag!

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
otolith said:
DonkeyApple said:
McSam said:
EU kerbweights include a 68kg driver with 7kg luggage.
A small man, with a big hand bag. How European. biggrin
Or it's the average weight of a man or woman with half the average weight of a handbag!
It appears that 68kg is actually lighter than the average adult woman in the UK, let alone the average adult overall!

anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
Remember that cars only have the claimed power to weight ratio at zero mph. As soon as you start moving drag reduces the power available to accelerate the cars mass. And at that point, absolute power counts, not power to weight! Which is why a Mclaren P1 is a lot faster than a Mclaren F1, despite what the bhp/tonne number might say.

Jonny_

4,108 posts

206 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
T
otolith said:
Or it's the average weight of a man or woman with half the average weight of a handbag!
A 14kg handbag???

Pull the other one.



No woman on earth travels that light.

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
Max_Torque said:
Remember that cars only have the claimed power to weight ratio at zero mph. As soon as you start moving drag reduces the power available to accelerate the cars mass. And at that point, absolute power counts, not power to weight! Which is why a Mclaren P1 is a lot faster than a Mclaren F1, despite what the bhp/tonne number might say.
Absolute power never counts; it's power to weight and power to drag ratios that matter.

Nedzilla

2,439 posts

173 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
soad said:
(V10) F1 cars? wink
I seem to remember the most powerful of these produced around 930bhp and the minimum weight of the cars was around 600kgs which was obviously achieved as many teams had to make up the extra weight with ballast.
So around 1500bhp/tonne! yikes

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
Nedzilla said:
I seem to remember the most powerful of these produced around 930bhp and the minimum weight of the cars was around 600kgs which was obviously achieved as many teams had to make up the extra weight with ballast.
So around 1500bhp/tonne! yikes
Towards the end, I think the top Can-Am teams were claiming something like 1600bhp in qualifying trim in cars weighing around 800kg. I think turbo F1 cars were similar. biggrin

Obviously things designed only to go in straight lines can be an order of magnitude higher again.


Still, for a road car it all seems somewhat academic once you get past a certain point.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 1st September 20:20

DJP

1,198 posts

178 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
Caruso said:
Of course when it comes to motorbikes, 300bhp per tonne is just about acceptable for a middleweight commuter bike. biggrin
This^^.

I have a pretty modest bike these days, but it's still around 300 bhp per tonne with me on it.

Hol

8,359 posts

199 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
Most kit cars weigh in at 500-650kg, dependent on the donor parts used.

A bog standard 2.0 zetec on 45's gives 170bhp so that makes the requisite 300bhp figure very easily.
Some people will stick 300bhp plus engines in making 500bhp/ton drivers.


Not much cop for taking the wife and two kids out to collect the weekly shop though. Just like a motorbike.

Hol

8,359 posts

199 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
Most kit cars weigh in at 500-650kg, dependent on the donor parts used.

A bog standard 2.0 zetec on 45's gives 170bhp so that makes the requisite 300bhp figure very easily.
Some people will stick 300bhp plus engines in making 500bhp/ton drivers.


Not much cop for taking the wife and two kids out to collect the weekly shop though. Just like a motorbike.

Edited by Hol on Tuesday 1st September 20:33