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Alright, as an offshoot of the vintage vs. modern styling thread, and because that thread keeps deviating to talking about performance... which era do you think had the edge on performance?
Was it the days of massive V8's that made massive torque to get two-and-a-half tons of steel and chrome to 0-60 down the boulevard like a Nike missile? The days of open-top, windshield-less British roadsters that were basically sheet metal over a skeletal frame that weighed 1200lbs whose BMC A-series engines could be floored through the corners?
Or is it the today, the era of variable valve timing and twin turbos that launch aerodynamic sedans and coupes from 0-60 in time that was reserved for supercars just a couple decades ago? Where adaptive independent suspension, 50/50 weight distribution, and limited slip differentials allow you to pull over 1 lateral G in the turns?
Gentlemen, start your engines
Where does vintage end and when the modern begin? For me, the era of high-pitched, buzzy engines and light, rather unsafe cars would be my choice. I prefer cars with these qualities that you can toss around while still retaining simple mechanical features, fewer but still helpful electronic aides, and good reliability. Late 80's, early 90's? I don't know, I'm sure there are cars from every era like this but this would be my choice.
News flash, the Viper didn't handle well bone stock either. It's obvious from the video that the muscle car was heavily modified. The Viper not only appeared bone stock, but it also appeared the driver wasn't serious about the race or he didn't want to risk damaging his ride.
It's a horsepower war. We all know how you guys just hate drag racing........... prowly cuz it makes you all look bad.
I don't hate it. I just don't think it requres as much skill from a driver as rally or F1. All those guys doing burnouts thinking they are race drivers... LOL
Looks like 60-0 is typically faster than 0-60. Going off of that my Legacy probably could have done that in less then ten maybe closer to 9. Again I didn't think that car was that fast either.
Look, you can post all the videos you want but it won't make a bit of difference. Ever watch the BBC show Top Gear? What they do to test the car is what we would accept. They take a completely factory car, put a professional race car driver in the car, and drive it around their track as fast as possible. They then put that number on a board to compare to other vehicles. It's always the same track and always a professional race car driver and always a factory stock car. This is the best measure of what a car is capable of for total performance. Your focus is exclusively on straight line racing. Drag racing is fun to watch and is very exciting. It's also the most affordable form of racing one can get into since there are so many drag strips that allow street rods to race. But this thread isn't about that. Look, I'll agree that the stock muscle cars you rave about is superior to the vast majority of cars produced from the mid 1970s to the mid 1990s. However, from the mid 1990s the quality of performance went up and up. We're in the peak of the modern performance era and I wouldn't be surprised if 2013 becomes 1973 all over again. Just hope it doesn't take another ten to fifteen years before performance begins to appear again like before. Today's factory cars stop quicker, corner harder, and are much more safer and more comfortable than ever before. The average family car also accelerates faster than the average family sedan of the past.
Look, you can post all the videos you want but it won't make a bit of difference. Ever watch the BBC show Top Gear? What they do to test the car is what we would accept. They take a completely factory car, put a professional race car driver in the car, and drive it around their track as fast as possible. They then put that number on a board to compare to other vehicles. It's always the same track and always a professional race car driver and always a factory stock car. This is the best measure of what a car is capable of for total performance. Your focus is exclusively on straight line racing. Drag racing is fun to watch and is very exciting. It's also the most affordable form of racing one can get into since there are so many drag strips that allow street rods to race. But this thread isn't about that. Look, I'll agree that the stock muscle cars you rave about is superior to the vast majority of cars produced from the mid 1970s to the mid 1990s. However, from the mid 1990s the quality of performance went up and up. We're in the peak of the modern performance era and I wouldn't be surprised if 2013 becomes 1973 all over again. Just hope it doesn't take another ten to fifteen years before performance begins to appear again like before. Today's factory cars stop quicker, corner harder, and are much more safer and more comfortable than ever before. The average family car also accelerates faster than the average family sedan of the past.
Which is what the OP had in mind when he started the thread. I can recall when the holy grail of high performance was 50HP per hole....we can buy that off the showroom in a package that handles, and brakes better than a lead sled, can drive in traffic all day without overheating, doesn't rust out in 3 years, and had a vastly better ability to keep you alive if the fun goes all pear shaped. Rational people may conclude that yes modern cars handle and perform better. It's not rocket science, but plenty of rocket science is incorporated into the cars of today. Brilliant is what I would say.
Even if that 0 to 100 and back to 0 again figure is a little off (and it could be) it's been years since I read up on it....it's still one crazy fast SCARY car. I found this one....it's even better.
Guys....watch that timer at the bottom of your YouTube. That's less than 10 seconds. Looks like about 6.5 to 7.
Actually I goofed I posted 0-60-0 times not 0-100-0. I corrected my post with proper info.
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