Thread: What kind of car did I see today?!?

Originally Posted by XxAndyxX

I used to go to the skatepark in Plano. I've heard Plano has the highest suicide rate in the U.S, maybe it's because of all the rich and poor being mixed together so much.

Yep, its a really big high school drug problem. Rich parents give their kids expensive cars and money. They buy steroids, and hard drugs.

Originally Posted by Chris31

A V12 48 valver 7.7L NA engine, 800BHP = 104BHP per liter = low tech?

Viper uses V10 8.3L NA engine, 500BHP = 60BHP per liter = high tech?

No one said anything about Viper's engine being high tech, Toyota Echo's engine is more high tech than that thing, the only high tech part of that engine is the fact that the engine block is aluminum, other than that it does not have much to separate itself from a Dodge Ram V10.

The numbers you are quoting for Cerbera are unrestricted engine, meaning that it won't pass any emission tests whatsoever. The design of the engine is nothing high-tech by today's standards, V12 48 valvers have been around for a while. The materials used in the engine ARE better than just about any other V12 out there, which in addition to the unrestricted exhaust, allow for such high horsepower numbers.
If you want an example of low tech engine pumping out even more horsepower per liter, check out any of the NASCAR engines, 750hp+ out of a 340 cube, although they are ever more "unrestricted" than the Speed 12.

Wow, I wouldnt have imagined that anyone in the US wouldnt have heard of Maserati... hell here in brazil they sell about 50 or 100 a year... cant remember how many.... many exotic cars here tho, if I stop to think... porsches, ferraris, bentleys, etc...

Which one is that (italian?) that starts with a P? Paneli, Panesi, something like that... very rare, I think they only have like 1 dealer in the US.... forgot the name...

Originally Posted by RoyN

Wow, I wouldnt have imagined that anyone in the US wouldnt have heard of Maserati... hell here in brazil they sell about 50 or 100 a year... cant remember how many.... many exotic cars here tho, if I stop to think... porsches, ferraris, bentleys, etc...

Which one is that (italian?) that starts with a P? Paneli, Panesi, something like that... very rare, I think they only have like 1 dealer in the US.... forgot the name...

Bigotti?

Originally Posted by Chris31

Toyota Echo's engine is more high tech than that thing
I didnt say that engine is the most advanced in the world, but its surely aint low tech as you implied.

I said it's relatively low-tech, they had a high-compression, large displacement approach with no emission-control of any kind, a major power robber.

Originally Posted by Chris31

The numbers you are quoting for Cerbera are unrestricted engine, meaning that it won't pass any emission tests whatsoever.
Just because it wont pass emission test it dont mean its low tech. F1 cars, I wonder if they can pass emmision test.

It does mean that the engine is easier to make that much more powerful, as state above.

Originally Posted by Chris31

Back to the topic...so your conclusion is, that car uses low tech engine and its not safe cause it uses space frame?

Please define your high tech engine and a list of cars that uses them, a list of car with low tech engine and a list of cars thats not safe. Ill love to see an example.

My conclusion is that Speed 12 is unlikely to be a street legal car in United States. If you want to see a list of cars with the "high-tech" enough engines and that are "safe" all you need to do is check the list of the cars that are imported into US. It is not my judgement that the car is unsafe, but the US government's, something many US car magazines have complained about for years and I completely agree with. If I remember correctly, car bumpers of cars like Speed 12 are not "soft enough" when hitting pedestrians by American standards... If it was up to me, if it works for Europe, I don't see why it should not work for US as well. This and emissions are what made the Lotus Elise unavailable in US for the longest time while it was selling just fine in Europe.
And it's not space frame, it's body-on-frame, which usually means that it's sturdy as hell and does not crample in a crash, meaning a higher likelihood of trauma in an accidint = Big Brother won't let you drive it. Although at ~1100kg and 800hp+ I would be more worried about the lack of landing gear.

Originally Posted by Chris31

And why is echo engine more high tech? please explain

It has only 4 valves less than Viper even though it has 6 cylinder less and has variable valve timing, 66.7hp/liter and Viper has... umm... 505 cubes of displacement

Originally Posted by RoyN

Wow, I wouldnt have imagined that anyone in the US wouldnt have heard of Maserati... hell here in brazil they sell about 50 or 100 a year... cant remember how many.... many exotic cars here tho, if I stop to think... porsches, ferraris, bentleys, etc...

Which one is that (italian?) that starts with a P? Paneli, Panesi, something like that... very rare, I think they only have like 1 dealer in the US.... forgot the name...

Pagani GT4 has that car, that's how I know

Shizzle: Bugatti, and its German nowadays

Yum... That's one nice car.