Sticking It to Car Nazis
Peter De Lorenzo on supercars:
Manufacturers are perfectly capable of throwing vast quantities of money around to develop a supercar. But what if, instead of the coterie of $1 million supercars we’re seeing now, we had a new wave of supercars designed around the elegant simplicity of an advantageous power-to-weight ratio?
“Simplify, then add lightness,” famed Lotus designer Colin Chapman once said. Known for his visionary racing and street car designs, Chapman exploited the concept of an advantageous power-to-weight ratio time and time again, often resulting in brilliantly innovative – and winning – solutions that made history.
A supercar based on the concept of exploiting an advantageous power-to-weight ratio would do wonders to advance the cause of our future mainstream automobiles. And even though the current supercar manufacturers can point to the strides made in reducing the weight of these new high-performance machines – especially McLaren – the fact remains that redefining the concept entirely would result in even more gains.
Let’s take power, for instance. Instead of the usual gamut of V6s, V8s and V12s, I’d like to see these next wave ultra-high-performance machines powered by smaller displacement 3- and 4-cylinder engines of no more than 2.0-liters delivering 300-350HP. With that – and thanks to their lightweight (2100 lbs.) specification target – these machines could deliver blistering performance close to the current stable of ultimate supercars, while using demonstrably less fuel.
Redefining the supercar equation would allow auto manufacturers to translate lessons learned from these radical next-think supercars to the vehicles we will eventually drive too. Imagine the average 4,000-lb. luxury sedan weighing in at 3,000 lbs. Or a crossover that formerly weighed 5,000 lbs., tilting the scales at just 3,500 lbs.
Yes. This. Exactly.
The fun-to-drive quotient of low weight to high power must be ruthlessly exploited for and by the masses, or CAFE will take all the fun out of driving.
Lotus is the only company around making a sports car that weighs less than 2,500 lbs, and they get away with it via a number of low production volume waivers to the more idiotic of those regulations.... (show more)
Lotus is the only company around making a sports car that weighs less than 2,500 lbs, and they get away with it via a number of low production volume waivers to the more idiotic of those regulations.
Second, light is nice, but power matters. One of my cars is, in fact, a highly modified Lotus Elise. It weighs around 1,800 lbs thanks to some additional lightening, and chucks out around 350 horsepower, thanks to a significant amount of turbocharging. Now, it is quick, and quite a lot of fun to drive, but it is nothing like as fast as the current crop of supercars.
Another little issue, even with light weight, is the complete lack of torque produced by tiny engines. While light cars need less of it, you still need quite a lot more than you're going to get out of a tiny displacement 2-4 cylinder engine for the thing to be anything like drivable on the street.
While revving a tiny engine until the valves come out and dance on the hood is fun and all, it does get old when you need 8,000 rpm to get on the highway, and then 4,000 to maintain 75 mph. (show less)
I've got doubts about the 2L 350HP engine, too. While they're doing marvelous things with transmissions these days, does it really make sense to take weight out of the engine just to move it to the 21-speed slushbox you'd need to get it away from the red light?
I've got doubts about the 2L 350HP engine, too. While they're doing marvelous things with transmissions these days, does it really make sense to take weight out of the engine just to move it to the 21-speed slushbox you'd need to get it away from the red light?
To my knowledge Lotus is the only one selling anything with a VIN and registration as such that is anything like that light. The Fiat 500 Abarth is the runner up at ~2,600 lbs.
To my knowledge Lotus is the only one selling anything with a VIN and registration as such that is anything like that light. The Fiat 500 Abarth is the runner up at ~2,600 lbs.
The trick is that its curb weight is a little over 3000 lbs, and all the newer ones weigh in at around 5000. It also has a smaller frontal area due to a generally more efficient frame and interior design. I have to live without 21-way powered seats and the automatic heated bidet, but I'm willing to make that sacrifice for the improvement in overall utility. The engine also gets along without the later emissions requirements, which seem to reduce mileage by a good 5% to 10% (in order to get a 5% reduction in emissions--please 'splain to me how that makes... (show more)
The trick is that its curb weight is a little over 3000 lbs, and all the newer ones weigh in at around 5000. It also has a smaller frontal area due to a generally more efficient frame and interior design. I have to live without 21-way powered seats and the automatic heated bidet, but I'm willing to make that sacrifice for the improvement in overall utility. The engine also gets along without the later emissions requirements, which seem to reduce mileage by a good 5% to 10% (in order to get a 5% reduction in emissions--please 'splain to me how that makes sense), and oh yeah--no airbags. But airbags add only a tiny improvement in safety if you're already strapped in.
If you ask me, automotive design has been completely ruined by "amenities", and mileage has been ruined by emissions and "safety" regulations.
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