HP is Overrated

[1JB]

Originally Posted by MNBoxster

Hi,

IMHO, I think there are too many Sports Car owners who don't really know what a Sports Car is.

Traditionally, most Sports Cars were Small, Light, Nimble, Balanced, with high-revving, small displacement Engines, excellent Steering and good Brakes. And, most were underpowered, especially when compared to the Bel Aires, Cutlasses, Galaxies, Furys and Muscle Cars of the day. Mom's Stationwagon would go Faster.

But, the Sports Car elicited a visceral, endorphin-generating Feeling which made it seem that you were going MUCH Faster than you actually were. Few of these cars would hit 125MPH. But, they proved how little Speed actually mattered to the Fun equation - it was the sensation of going fast or hanging out on the edge, as opposed to actually being there which made it Fun.

They also made Driver Skill an integral component to achieving Maximum performance from the car - they were Quick, not Fast.

Horsepower is a cheap substitute for Driver Skill and no substitue for that Feeling. It's the manifestation of the proverbial Dick Contest (which btw, no one ever really wins save for a moment - somebody's always coming along with a bigger one).

I think people have forgotten that it's this Feeling which is most important, not the time interval between 'A' and 'B'. No Chevy or Ford could give you that Feeling, no matter how Fast it was splitting the air...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

I agree with you MN. Austin Healey, Sunbeam, MG - all great sports cars with marginal power. I do wish Porsche would offer upgrades in the engine department though such as a 997s powertrain in a 987s. My preference is for the mid engine dynamics. It's clear the car can handle the added HP which leads one to agree with the notion that the only reason they don't offer the 997 drivetrain in the 987 is so that it won't bring down 997 sales where the mark-up must be higher. If the choice was between a Boxster with the 997 power and drivetrain and a Carrera at the same price I would go with the Boxster.

[Rob-00BoxsterS]

I was happy with the ~180 HP my 911 put out and it had a hard time keeping up with a 90 HP 356 at one of our PCA Auto-X events.

I think my 250 HP Boxster S flies! I don't feel the need to add any more power at all. The weak link right now is my driving skills and not the Boxsters HP or handling. I didn't buy the car to please the people that seem to have a problem with it's power output so I guess I'm golden.

BTW - I also own a 300ZX turbo ( for over 22 years) that only has 200 HP and have never felt the need to modify it even though you can get it to put out really good power for next to nothing. So I call "BS' to the people that call "BS" on us that think the Box has plenty of power lol .