Great read. I basically agree with all of it.

http://www.speedhunters.com/2016/03/...ars-going-far/

 

From the article:

"The reality is, many of the people buying these cars have little idea how to handle their vehicles in the event they do reach their very high limits. It’s not that I worry about people hurting themselves, because I fully believe you have the right to drive whatever car you’d like. What concerns me more is the hyper-competitive numbers game that everyone is playing these days."


What concerns me more is the people driving these cars at or near their limit losing control and killing me or others in the process. Unless these folks have a whole lot of track time behind the wheel of these cars, they have no idea where the limits are or how to react when they reach them. Or worse yet, they are actually trying to learn the limits while driving on the street. I fully understand that anyone can lose control of any car at any time for a number of reasons. But adding in cars with 500+ horsepower really increases the likelihood of such an event with no corresponding requirement for additional driver training.

I'm a pretty big "freedom of choice" guy, but I do believe our choices come with responsibilities.

 

Honestly, I only really worry about straight line acceleration accidents (people matting the throttle and screwing it up, causing the car to veer to the side). Otherwise, most people are too scared or ignorant to truly exceed the limits of their vehicle in cornering. They don't even realize how hard a basic car can corner, much less a high-performance version of that car or a true sportscar. Supercars have always been dangerous, in the sense that the author means, so that'll always be present.

Add in the stability and traction control systems today and you have to really be intent on messing with physics to wreck these cars. Some of them have systems that can't be fully turned off, to help prevent the very issue that concerns the author.

THAT SAID, I think the underlying idea that we've gotten away from what makes cars fun is absolutely true. In the search for absolute speed, we're often walking away from pure fun. I haven't driven a 991 GT3 but I'm betting that it lacks the visceral feeling of a 996 GT3 (maybe the best car of the early 2000s, in my mind), despite being "better" in every way. The original Integra Type R was a hoot...but it definitely got lost in translation with the RSX Type S. Each car generally gets more proficient but also adds yet another layer of isolation and engagement from the driver.

A few manufacturers get this idea - Lotus and Mazda come to mind, and possibly Ford, to a degree - but I have a feeling most will phase out driver involvement continuously over the coming decade or so. Semi-auto transmissions and complex control systems will allow anyone to be fast in a car.

 

same could be said about the 993 vs 996; etc etc etc. Cars are getting "better" every year. Some of it is good, some of it is bad. But progress will happen regardless of what any of us want. I will say the 991 gt3 is an amazing car to drive. I'd still take a 997 gt3, but the 991 gt3 is a hell of a car.

 

If the next car is not "better" than the last one, that sure fire recipe for going out of business. It's easier to sell bigger HP numbers than it is to sell "we made the car lighter, more down force, better braking, etc..."

 

So the question is, who can make a sportscar that's faster and "better"...without losing the feel or driver engagement? Lotus seems to be doing a good job of it but that's all I can think of at this moment. ND Miata, maybe?

SIMPLE FACT: The driver is the weak link in vehicle performance. Very difficult to hit the "numerical metrics" without putting the driver in the passenger seat.

Launch control
Traction control
Stability control
(Semi)auto transmission
Auto throttle blipping for shifts (up and down)

We've now effectively eliminated the need for any sort of throttle modulation, properly shifting gears and rev matching. The driver basically just has to steer and work the brakes and throttle. Doesn't really matter how poorly they do it - the car will adjust accordingly.

In my Z4M, I could turn into a corner and pin the throttle and the car would sort it out for me...and that was a 2008 model. These newer vehicles are even more sophisticated.

 

I feel like that used to be true, but at least among enthusiasts weight and aerodynamics are coming into the equation more often.

I agree too with the sentiment of the article. It took buying a crazy high horsepower car for me to realize it but I think it's true. I have been racking my brain trying to think of what I could get that would be "better" than my C7. It seems like an impossible task for the money. I am starting to realize that what I want is probably something more practical but just as fun, even if it has a much "worse" power to weight ratio.

It's so easy to get caught up in the numbers game though!

 

i totally disagree with this. If you think this is the case, you havn't pushed a GT-R type of car far enough. It's easy to think that the "car does it all for you" until you drive it near the limits. At the limits, since there so damn high, you are happy you don't have to worry about shifting. Also does the computer do certain things for you? Sure. Does that mean you are going to be a pro driver? no.

 

Agreed. If outright speed does not excite the writer for SpeedHunters, then it's probably best to change their blog name to FeelsHunters. This article has so many generic statements about what people want and how they use their cars, it makes my brain hurt. Yes, the amount of new "traditional" driver's cars are decreasing, but they still exist along with the cars he complains about. People can have their cake and eat it too, just look at the Cayman GT4, Mustang GT350, Z/28, etc.

 

Those features are good sales points once someone is in the showroom and they can walk around the car and point out what is new & improved. Also are good selling points once on a test drive. Numbers on paper are needed to get people talking. Mention your new sports car and usually the first question (if being polite) is how many HP? How fast 0-60? Not "how much un-sprung weight did they reduce from the previous model" or "how are the channeling air pressure within the wheel well..."