Funny observations about vehicles weights

[300bhp/ton]

A bit like the performance thread the other week, this is a bit tongue in cheek but largely observational based on common held views on PH (and maybe the wider motoring community in the UK )

Not heavy:

1995 BMW M3 Evolution
1515 kg



Heavy:

2000 Ford Mustang GT
1468 kg



Not heavy:

2000 BMW M3
1570 kg



Heavy:

2008 Nissan 370Z
1466 kg



Not heavy:

2007 Subaru Impreza RB320
1495 kg



Heavy:

1998 Porsche 911 Carrera 996
1320 kg



Not heavy:
1996 Porsche 911 Carrera 993
1445 kg



Heavy:

2001 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
1541 kg



Not heavy:
2005 Ferrari F430 Spider F1
1520 kg


Heavy:

1997 Dodge Viper RT/10
1506 kg



Not heavy:
2006 Mazda 3 MPS
1485 kg





E&OE
All figures are from http://www.carfolio.com and are used for illustration purposes only.

[300bhp/ton]

WeirdNeville said:

I saw the thread title and instantly I KNEW who was responsible.

I dare say the column next to the thread title called 'Author' was a bit of a give away too

[300bhp/ton]

Mcbeth said:

That is not a picture of an M3 Evolution so you lost me there I'm afraid.

Yes wrong wheels I think. I just Googled the model year and BMW M3 and picked a photo that wasn't massive. Feel free to find an alternative and I'll change the URL.

[300bhp/ton]

WeirdNeville said:

I don't find it "that" amazing, to be honest. When you look at a car that is truly light, like an elise, you begin to appreciate what has to go to get a car down to ~700Kg.
It has:
An engine
An aluminium monocoque.

It does not have:
ABS
Air conditioning
Electric... anything
carpets
any storage space
interior trim
A proper roof

Plus the fact it's incredibly small to start with.

It's only when cars start to approach 2 tonnes that I start to consider them heavyweights.

I weighed my E36 touring on a weighbridge, and it was 1500Kg wet. same as an M3, and i think a bit lighter than a Cabrio!

All true, although I wasn't really trying to define "lightweight" cars or what would even be considered as "lightweight". Hence why in the op I used the phrase "not heavy" rather than light.

It was more about perceptions, that you can't have a single thread about the 370z without someone bemoaning it's too heavy. Yet the equally heavy/heavier BMW M3 is almost never exposed to these claims.

[300bhp/ton]

otolith said:

Herman Toothrot said:

Would be interesting to see what weight you could get a mk3 MR2 down to with GRP panels, light weight exhaust, suspension components, aluminium belled discs, forged wheels, GRP seats etc. I bet it'd be almost the same as a late Toyota Elise. Yet a much more user friendly daily driver, when looked at like that it makes the Elise aluminium chassis a bit disappointing / pointless.

But a MK3 MR2 is a steel monocoque with stressed panels - so if you replaced them with GRP, you'd end up with something as floppy as a crisp packet and lethal to crash. At least in an Elise you've got those big aluminium sills between you and a side impact.

Surely the stressed/load bearing panels are the inner ones, not the outer body for the most part? Otherwise something like a ding on the front wheel arch would have an affect on the cars balance and structure.