A question of power

[Nyffenschwander]

Dear Escapists, I just stumbled upon a car-related thread in these holy forums.
As a petrolhead I support that and want to contribute my own question:
What was the most powerful car you ever drove (no matter if you owned it or just took a test drive) and how was your experience with it?

I'm asking because a while ago, when i was an intern in a german motoring show, I got to drive a Mercedes CL65 AMG. That thing has a 6-litre V12 Bi-Turbo and delivers 612 HP and over 1 000 NMs of torque. I had to drive to the location where we filmed it, a few hundred kilometers on the german autobahn.
You will think: Wow, that must have been that special moment that only comes once in a car nut's life.
Well, it wasn't. I was astounded how unspectacular the acceleration was. It was certainly fast, no other car could keep up with me. But did it feel exciting?
Well, no, somehow it just didn't, it was just too... perfect? (in a bad way).
And then I remembered driving an old VW Golf GTI (the very first model) with just 110 HP and I especially remembered how I almost peed in my pants out of excitement about the little determined bugger.
So, escapistic car freaks, did you experience something like that?

 

[Daystar Clarion]

612 HP!

That's a lot of health!

[sub]Sorry, I don't know much about cars...[/sub]

 

[Nyffenschwander]

612 HP!

That's a lot of health!

[sub]Sorry, I don't know much about cars...[/b]

Lol, petrolhead lingo and gamer lingo don't seem to mix well...

 

[JEBWrench]

*snip*
I'm asking because a while ago, when i was an intern in a german motoring show, I got to drive a Mercedes CL65 AMG. That thing has a 6-litre V12 Bi-Turbo and delivers 612 HP and over 1 000 NMs of torque. I had to drive to the location where we filmed it, a few hundred kilometers on the german autobahn.
You will think: Wow, that must have been that special moment that only comes once in a car nut's life.
Well, it wasn't. I was astounded how unspectacular the acceleration was. It was certainly fast, no other car could keep up with me. But did it feel exciting?
*snip*

While I haven't had a power experience, I'm willing to bet the lack of thrill driving the CL65 stems from the car's suspension itself being so amazing.

You didn't feel like you were letting 612 horses run, because the ride itself was smooth as silk, I think.

 

[Drakmeire]

the idea of horsepower scares me... 612 Horse power basically states that if 612 horses tried to take on your car at tug of war, they would fail.

 

[Sassafrass]

the idea of horsepower scares me... 612 Horse power basically states that if 612 horses tried to take on your car at tug of war, they would fail.

Heh, you'd love the Bugatti Veyron then.
That has 1,001 horsepower.

OT: Nope, I've never had that sort of experience.
My little Ford Ka is enough car for me to handle. It's a beast of a machine!

 

[goatzilla8463]

612 HP!

That's a lot of health!

[sub]Sorry, I don't know much about cars...[/sub]

HP is horse power.

OT: I'm slightly too young to drive but my parents have the 2.0 TDI Audi A4.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

612 HP!

That's a lot of health!

[sub]Sorry, I don't know much about cars...[/sub]

HP is horse power.

OT: I'm slightly too young to drive but my parents have the 2.0 TDI Audi A4.

I know, I was feigning ignorance for comic effect. I'm still waiting for my Aston Martin DB9 to appear out of thin air.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Straight up power... 200 something HP Impala.

Fastest? 160HP Nissan 300ZX. Frequently drove on the highway at 130 mph without straining the engine. Have to love a car that can be picked up by 4 reasonably strong men.

For straight up power, I've never had the chance to drive anything over maybe 260HP.

 

[Matt_LRR]

I know what you're talking about.

I presently drive a Mazda Miata (in before "gay car", "women's car" (I'm in the process of trying to sell it anyhow) ). The thing drives like a go cart. tight handling, peppy acceleration... and it tops out at like 150kph. after getting the shakes at 110.


It's not fast, but it's wickedly fun to drive.

sometimes it's just not about power.

-m

 

[goatzilla8463]

612 HP!

That's a lot of health!

[sub]Sorry, I don't know much about cars...[/sub]

HP is horse power.

OT: I'm slightly too young to drive but my parents have the 2.0 TDI Audi A4.

I know, I was feigning ignorance for comic effect. I'm still waiting for my Aston Martin DB9 to appear out of thin air.

That made me feel a bit dumb...

 

[DoctorNick]

The most powerful car I have ever driven was my friends RX-8 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RX-8] once when he was really tired and didn't feel up to driving home.

I can't say I enjoyed the experience considering that I completely hate driving other peoples cars and was white-knuckled-terrified of damaging the thing the entire way back to his house.

 

[Nyffenschwander]

While I haven't had a power experience, I'm willing to bet the lack of thrill driving the CL65 stems from the car's suspension itself being so amazing.

You didn't feel like you were letting 612 horses run, because the ride itself was smooth as silk, I think.

True, that was certainly part of it.
I also got to drive the Lexus LS460 and it was basically the same experience, although I didn't have the same expectations in a car with "only" 380 HP and accordingly wasn't that disappointed.
They didn't let me drive the really sporty cars like the Audi R8 and the Dodge Viper, they may have had a good reason...

 

[DefunctTheory]

I know what you're talking about.

I presently drive a Mazda Miata (in before "gay car", "women's car" (I'm in the process of trying to sell it anyhow) ). The thing drives like a go cart. tight handling, peppy acceleration... and it tops out at like 1350kph. after getting the shakes at 110.


It's not fast, but it's wickedly fun to drive.

sometimes it's just not about power.

-m

Your car goes 838 MPH? What are you putting in the tank, rocket fuel?

 

[Daystar Clarion]

612 HP!

That's a lot of health!

[sub]Sorry, I don't know much about cars...[/sub]

HP is horse power.

OT: I'm slightly too young to drive but my parents have the 2.0 TDI Audi A4.

I know, I was feigning ignorance for comic effect. I'm still waiting for my Aston Martin DB9 to appear out of thin air.

That made me feel a bit dumb...

Don't worry, I have that effect on a lot of people.

 

[Nyffenschwander]

the idea of horsepower scares me... 612 Horse power basically states that if 612 horses tried to take on your car at tug of war, they would fail.

To un-scare you, just watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=882iGcz5er8 (start at 6:30 to see what I mean)
It's the old cl65 though...

 

[Gavmando]

I drive trains. Out power that bitches!

 

[Brandon237]

In learning to drive, I have used my father's 1980 something Honda Ballard. Old yes, less than 200 hp yes. Am I too young to drive? Yes. This is why I haven't used anything with power.