1M compared to oldsters

[gazz]

I've just read Nick Mason's excellent book " Into the red ". The book is a series of tests of the cars in his collection with several ex grand prix cars included. He has an extensive table at the end of the book with specs on all the cars.

Comparing (imp') bhp per (imp') ton with the 1M -

2011 1M 227 bhp per ton

Grand Prix cars -

1927 Bugatti T35B 122 bhp per ton

1936 ERA B type 207 bhp per ton

1953 BRM V16 Mk2 522 bhp per ton

1957 Maserati 250F ( My favourite ) 352 bhp per ton

1961 Lotus 18 596 bhp per ton

1978 Ferrari 312T3 870 bhp per ton

1983 Tyrell 011 942 bhp per ton

Notable road cars -

1901 Panhard B1 37 bhp per ton

1931 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 156 bhp per ton

1949 Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica 101 bhp per ton

1955 Jaguar D type ( yes this is a road car ) 244 bhp per ton

1962 Ferrari 250GTO ( everyone's favourite ) 288 bhp per ton

1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona 358 bhp per ton

1989 Ferrari F40 442 bhp per ton



A bit more detail on the GTO's specs -

Engine - 2953 cc / V12 single OHC per bank

Power - 298 bhp @ 8000 rpm

Tyres - Fr 600 x 15 / Rear 650 x 15

Wt - 1045 kgs ( 2299 lbs )

Top speed - 170 mph

0-60 - 6.5 secs

[Alpha Trion]

Wow my workshop (when I had it years ago) was called In The Red!

[woosh]

Originally Posted by blackonblack135

Wow my workshop (when I had it years ago) was called In The Red!

Haha, I wouldn't suppose you named it after watching a certain Sydney movie - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213724/
I never got around to watching it..

Holy crap at the output figure of the Tyrell 011

[gazz]

Originally Posted by woosh

Holy crap at the output figure of the Tyrell 011

The actual output is 500 bhp @ 11500 rpm. Because the car weighs 540 kgs the bhp/ton figure is 942. I find that the bhp/ton measure is sometimes a better indication of a cars performance potential than just outright power. Check the acceleration figures for Caterhams and other clubmans to see the advantage of bhp/ton even though they have relatively low hp engines.

Look at the 1957 Maserati 250F with 352 bhp/ton, which is a nice ratio. The car has just 218 bhp @ 8000 rpm from a 2493cc in line 6. Yet its' weight is just 630 kgs. Lovely. BTW the sound is just glorious.

[woosh]

I cannot become to fathom the amount of g forces some of the vehicles above can yield. To achieve similar figures with modern day cars, you'll have to be pushing at least 700 bhp out of a 1.5 tonne vehicle. And that ain't cheap. My closest experience to 'feeling like I'm being pulled' is when my cousin took me for a spin in his 997 Turbo producing about 600 bhp. Man was that freaky... especially when there's ice on the road and driver aids are switched off.

So I take it you'll be trying to match the 1M's bhp figure with that of the Maserati 250F you seem to love? :P

[gazz]

Originally Posted by woosh

So I take it you'll be trying to match the 1M's bhp figure with that of the Maserati 250F you seem to love? :P

Not seem to love, do love. Though admire is perhaps a more appropriate word. No, I'm pretty satisfied with the 1M's power at present.

Up until the aerodynamics era, race cars didn't rely on G forces all that much, particularly with the tyre technology being what it was back then. Drift style driving was common in order to maintain cornering speed. You can see pictures of drivers leaning way out of the cockpit into the turn, something that would be impossible in today's cars with the level of Gs being exerted in cornering.

Bear in mind that although the old cars did produce a lot of power they did not have the sophisticated engine management systems of modern cars. The BRM produced enormous power from a 1.5 ltr V16 but was an abject failure in terms of reliability and an utter pig to drive. Combine the hair trigger power delivery with skinny low tech tyres and you have a coffin on wheels at 160+ mph. No roll bar, no seat belts, death, or worse, was an acceptable risk for the drivers of that era. If you want an appreciation of heroic driving look up Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson's drive in the 1955 Mille Miglia. An extraordinary caution-be-damned determination to win. 1000 miles in a little over 10 hours on some of the most notoriously dangerous public roads around Italy. It was either sheer madness or a triumph of spirit.

[woosh]

Originally Posted by gazz

It was either sheer madness or a triumph of spirit.

Those words remind me of this video:


Racing has come a long way in terms of safety standards.

[gazz]

Great vid.
I wonder how we will be looked back on years from now?

"Man those crazy guys from the naughties and teens; Co2 fossil fuel burners, no health systems implant to inform medevac of trauma status, no implant to override driver behavior, actual individual driver control of vehicles!!"