The performance of a performance car doesn't matter anymore.

ShawnG said:

One of my favourite cars to drive is an Austin Healey Sprite.

More fun to drive than a lot of stupid-fast cars.

I'm getting greedy but I'm trying to build a 'super fast' sprite/midget. Fun squared?

frenchyd said:

RyanGreener (Forum Supporter) said:

Argo1 said:

Progress is inevitable.  New technology and process will replace old.  EVs are likely the future of automotive transportation.  They are faster, simpler, less maintenance, quieter, better packaging, more efficient, and better traction.  They also require no skill to extract their maximum performance.  Just mash your right foot.  Driving becomes a simple task with the car doing everything – literally – for you.

Right now, we are in the golden era of the ICE automobile.  Never in history have they been better.  However, they are doomed.  The “save the manual” campaigns are doomed.  But not today.  We are realistically 20 years away from internal combustion cars being an oddity.  Let’s enjoy what we have right now.

It used to be that everyone had to know how to ride and handle a horse.  Sailors had to know how to set and trim sails.  The necessity for both was replaced by progress.  However, people still ride horses and trim sails.  It is done for recreation and fun.  The drudgery of necessity is gone.  So it will be with our cars.  The car hobby is safe.  We will just all be over on the forum at Classic Motorsports.

Agreed with this post, but I'd love to give my take on the initial topic.

I think performance still matters, but what I also like in a performance car is that it is more analog than digital. I don't like tech heavy infotainment systems, driver assists and things of that nature. I'd love for a performance car to not only have performance, but have that kind of nice "feeling" to it too. I put a deposit on a BRZ recently because honestly, it's a new car that sort of feels like it could have been a 20 year old car (except it doesn't have hydraulic steering). It's got a physical handbrake and a manual transmission with minimal driver assists.

You're a young punk.  ( sorry, kidding). Guy. Your standards won't line up with mine.  I'm a set the points using a hand crank to turn the engine over kind of guy. So what you consider minimal is wildly assisted.  
   I can appreciate drivers aides. 'Cause I'm that old.  Blind side detection, intelligent cruise control, lane assist.  
They don't force me to use them  they allow the use of them.  They aren't intruding on my driving, they are assisting me.  
    I know my driving skills are going to leave me. While they haven't yet  Left at 74. Sometime before I take my long term dirt nap they will.   
    Then those assists will give me freedom to live independently a bit longer.  
     When my Grandfather was at that stage  his wife assisted his driving. ( she never learned)  they got away without bothering others in rural Wisconsin  during the middle of the day during the middle of the week when most were at work or out in the fields. 
   

I'm definitely not anti-driver assist in the majority of cars but I feel like performance/"driver" cars can do without them. Like I said, that was just my take on things. I'm only 32 so I guess a lot of my driving has been more assisted than someone over twice my age for sure.

buzzboy said:

mr2peak said:

You can certainly have too much grip for it to be fun, but never too much power.

Not enough grip makes a car unfun to me. I prefer power-limited over grip limited. Driving my friend's 700hp Termi wasn't fun because the back end wanted to pass me  on every shift at 1/4 throttle.

Now you're swinging it too far the other way! There's a balance (especially in a street car) that leads to more fun. A nice predictable amount of grip that you can play with without needing to bounce the limiter.

One of the most powerful and assisted cars I have driven is a 900hp GT500, fun but terrifying at times.

Contrast that with some of the most fun cars I have driven, Exige, TR3, restored Lotus 7, OG Rx7....

Both have amazing performance, just different and from different decades.  What degree of acceleration or G force do you need to have fun?  A TR3 with 1" of rear suspension travel and 60hp on pizza cutters is thrilling to drive on a twisty road.  Anything over 500hp and I want to be on a track to be able to push it legally.

Does ultimate performance even matter.  Yes, bragging rights matter, sales matter.

How much does it matter in my life?  Not so much, I race a slow Lemons car, track a faster yet by todays standards not so powerful car.  Better Performance would make me faster in both avenues but I can't imagine more enjoyment.

Do we need all cars to easily reach 100mph or 0-60 in less than 10 seconds?  If they didn't would we achieve 40mpg fleet average?  Is MPG a measure of performance?