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And tell me again why I need to buy a $200K+ Gt car?


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#1 mariner

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Posted 03 December 2021 - 17:21

The Tesla Plaid now into the 8's on the dragstrip. - 8.994 seconds at 155 mph.

 

https://www.dragzine...ar-into-the-8s/

 

To put it in perspective that is about 10% faster to 155 mph than a Bugatti Veyron.( it did 1 - 150 mph in 10.2 seconds and 0 - 160 mph in 11.8 seconds in its Autocar road test)

 

I know they took some weight out but, hopefully, everybody does that on drag strip.

 

Maybe  the frankly lunatic speed of powerful EV's might make sports car makes to go back to basic, small FUN cars in the same way the Austin Healey Sprite was slower than many salons but a huge success?



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#2 Afterburner

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Posted 03 December 2021 - 17:29

The real question is why don’t you need to buy a $200K+ GT car?



#3 Sterzo

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Posted 03 December 2021 - 19:57

It's obvious why you need to buy any high speed supercar: to parade up and down Knightsbridge or The King's Road, Chelsea. If suburban living is for you, then come here to the outskirts of London, where three local guys meet every morning in the Costa coffee shop (which one of them owns), leaving their cars outside - currently a Ferrari, a Lamborghini and a Maserati, but they change every three months or so.



#4 scolbourne

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Posted 04 December 2021 - 03:37

The answer is a GT car is about handling , top speed and long range (something that can do the Le Mans 24 hour race). A Tesla would have to recharge so often when pushed hard that the batteries would overheat and you would lose so much time with charging. 

 

I dont think the Ford  GT would qualify to my requirements either, with its 13 gallon tank giving a minute range.

 

GT cars do not accelerate as well as some cars due to more high speed aerodynamics and heavier weight.

 

The Tesla does not really have the top speed of most super cars, claiming 200mph, but I dont think it has been much past 170mph, which is almost 100mph behind the top GT cars.

 

The Tesla Roadster  may make the cut though, with a claimed 260mph top speed and a claimed 620 mile range.


Edited by scolbourne, 04 December 2021 - 03:44.


#5 BRG

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Posted 04 December 2021 - 15:03

Actually, you would be better off buying a Caterham Seven 420 starting at around £35k.  0-60 in 3.8 secs, only 130+ top speed (but where are you going to use more than that?) and better handling than almost anything else.  It weighs about as much as your holiday suitcase.  It knock the socks off any high performance car around most race tracks.  And you can re-fuel it in 3 minutes. 



#6 Wuzak

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Posted 04 December 2021 - 23:15

The Tesla Plaid now into the 8's on the dragstrip. - 8.994 seconds at 155 mph.

 

Doesn't that mean, under drag racing rules, the car should be equipped with a full roll cage and a parachute?



#7 mariner

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Posted 05 December 2021 - 10:06

Doesn't that mean, under drag racing rules, the car should be equipped with a full roll cage and a parachute?

 

Good question, if running under NHRA rules definitely yes due to the top speed

 

Roll Cages Roll Cages required on convertibles running 6.99 or faster than 135mph. Roll Cages required on all cars running 6.99* or faster than 135mph.

 

but if it was just running on drag strip as a private car then I imagine its up to the strip operator.



#8 Wuzak

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Posted 05 December 2021 - 13:28

You can do under 7s quarter mile without a roll cage?



#9 mariner

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Posted 06 December 2021 - 13:49

Sorry, my mistake on reading the rules,- I would never get job in F1!

 

It's 6.99 for  the  1/8th mile and 10.99 for the quarter. 

 

https://st.hotrod.co...afety-Rules.pdf



#10 Charlieman

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 16:45

All that torque and power works for an EV in straight line contests. Weight changes things when the car has to corner or brake.



#11 BRG

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 16:53

All that torque and power works for an EV in straight line contests. Weight changes things when the car has to corner or brake.

Tesla Model S :-  1,800kgs

Caterham Seven 420 :- 560kgs



#12 Wuzak

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 23:14

Tesla Model S :-  1,800kgs

 

Actually ~2,200kg, depending on spec.



#13 BRG

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Posted 19 December 2021 - 11:11

Right, not sure now where I got that figure from.  Maybe it was the dry weight, before recharging!   ;)



#14 gruntguru

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Posted 19 December 2021 - 21:21

Very useful - currently having trouble deciding between a Model S and a Caterham 7.


Edited by gruntguru, 19 December 2021 - 21:21.


#15 BRG

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Posted 20 December 2021 - 10:09

Very useful - currently having trouble deciding between a Model S and a Caterham 7.

Bear in mind that for the price of one Model S, you could have TWO Sevens.  One for each foot!



#16 404KF2

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Posted 20 December 2021 - 21:20

That acceleration is probably entertaining once. If it's used all the time, the car is not being driven safely.

 

I like your premise of true sports cars being like an old Sprite. That's it all right, I expect that an A110 or even a Miata (that I don't fit in) is WAY more fun to drive in the real world.



#17 Nathan

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Posted 22 December 2021 - 23:47

The Tesla Plaid now into the 8's on the dragstrip. - 8.994 seconds at 155 mph.

 

https://www.dragzine...ar-into-the-8s/

 

To put it in perspective that is about 10% faster to 155 mph than a Bugatti Veyron.( it did 1 - 150 mph in 10.2 seconds and 0 - 160 mph in 11.8 seconds in its Autocar road test)

 

I know they took some weight out but, hopefully, everybody does that on drag strip.

 

Maybe  the frankly lunatic speed of powerful EV's might make sports car makes to go back to basic, small FUN cars in the same way the Austin Healey Sprite was slower than many salons but a huge success?

 

I think first you need to understand why people buy these exotic cars.  If buyers in general really wanted back-to-basic sports cars Ferrari wouldn't have outsold the Elise every year of production at x5+ the price, and the 911 wouldn't have out sold the MX5/Miata for over a decade now.

 

Will a Plaid be worth x2, x3 in 10 years? Does it turn heads? How customized from the factory will they be?  Tesla's fail to elicit emotions.  Totally different ownership experience.


Edited by Nathan, 22 December 2021 - 23:48.


#18 404KF2

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Posted 23 December 2021 - 03:04

It could elicit some emotion when blowing the Enzo or Pig-snouted VW-Bugatti into the weeds from a light.

 

But as a product to look at, Mazdas look better.



#19 MatsNorway

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Posted 07 January 2022 - 23:50

NHRA needs to chill. Let people race without roll cage. At least a plaid, perhaps instead demand a 4point+ harness demand. Modern cars got far better roofs than the cars the rules where made for.


Edited by MatsNorway, 07 February 2022 - 22:37.


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#20 gruntguru

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Posted 08 January 2022 - 00:21

Agreed. Anything you can buy in a showroom should be allowed down the strip without a cage.



#21 Greg Locock

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Posted 08 January 2022 - 00:46

"That acceleration is probably entertaining once. If it's used all the time, the car is not being driven safely."

 

​It takes something like 15 minutes for a Plaid to reconfigure itself for a 2 second launch. 



#22 kikiturbo2

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Posted 08 January 2022 - 19:23

NHRA needs to chill. Let people race without roll cage. At least a plaid, perhaps instead depand a 4point+ harness demand. Modern cars got far better roofs than the cars the rules where made for.

 

agree.... hell, you can do a sub 7 min ring time with a showroom car without a cage, if you wish so.. 



#23 Lee Nicolle

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Posted 14 January 2022 - 05:32

The Tesla Plaid now into the 8's on the dragstrip. - 8.994 seconds at 155 mph.

 

https://www.dragzine...ar-into-the-8s/

 

To put it in perspective that is about 10% faster to 155 mph than a Bugatti Veyron.( it did 1 - 150 mph in 10.2 seconds and 0 - 160 mph in 11.8 seconds in its Autocar road test)

 

I know they took some weight out but, hopefully, everybody does that on drag strip.

 

Maybe  the frankly lunatic speed of powerful EV's might make sports car makes to go back to basic, small FUN cars in the same way the Austin Healey Sprite was slower than many salons but a huge success?

Tesla Plaid gutted of seats and trim is a low 9 second car on drag radials. Eights without mods I doubt.  Put the Veyron on drag [or a decent soft road race tyres/ radials and would be half a second mininum faster.  Though both of these cars are way too fat and do not have rollcages.



#24 mariner

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Posted 12 February 2022 - 13:09

I may have partially answered my own question having read this road test of the new hybrid GT Ferrari as below.

 

Like the Tesla Model S Plaid it's faster to 1o0 mph than a Veyron, and within 0.2 seconds of the Veyron up to 170 mph. and one third  the price.

 

Still  2.5 times an   S Plaid and half the seats but, hey, its Ferrari.

 

Two interesting things in the test.

 

It only weights 1570kg with the lightweight kit , about the same as Porsche 9ii non turbo  despite all the  hybrid gear.

 

Also the testers  were very impressed with the seamless integration  of the electric power and regen  vs friction brakes. Maybe there is a flow through of F1 technology there as F1 requires seamlessness  in spades for accelaration out of corners and braking.

 

 

Test here   https://www.autocar....i/sf90-stradale



#25 Nathan

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Posted 18 February 2022 - 15:12

https://youtu.be/JpC_AoSnPrQ?t=304

 

Chiron vs Plaid.  Time marked to get to the point.


Edited by Nathan, 18 February 2022 - 15:12.


#26 MatsNorway

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Posted 18 February 2022 - 19:22

What everyone should be asking for is the Gemera vs Plaid. Or anything else really as it probably eats the Chiron for lunch as well.