fast

Actually, the other engine of those two engines has 630 hp. I would love the hear the sweet rumble of one of those 500 cube torque monsters in a Porsche.

By the way, horsepower per liter is meaningless to me. I just don't care about it. It's a favorite concept and retort of the lovers of japanese and german cars with tiny high revving engines that whine like blenders.

What is the horsepower per liter of a top fuel dragster engine? I believe they put out around 6,000 - 7,000 horsepower from 500 cubes. That's around 875 horsepower per cylinder. So what? Does that mean it is a better engine than a Porsche engine? Does that mean Porsche engineers should hide in shame at the puny (in comparison) output of their engines. No, it just goes to show that if you throw enough engineering and $ at an engine you can accomplish different things one of which is high horsepower per liter.

What would you rather have, a 2 liter engine pushing 300 horsepower or a 6 liter engine putting out 500 horsepower? Some might intellectually like the engineering "feat" accomplished by the 2 liter but I'll take the "inferior" six liter.

Calculate the hp per liter of the 725hp Lingenfleter twin turbo vette engine. Probably pretty good. But again, what does that prove? How much does it cost me to reliably go fast? That's my interest. If I want the equivalent of the twin Turbo Vette (HP wise) from Porsche what do I have to do? I have to buy a Carerra GT - a fantastic car on all fronts - price? $400k? I guess I could also fix up a regular 911 turbo but that still requires $130k before I even start modding it. By the way, top fuel dragster engines are usually good old American Chrysler Hemis.

as an aside, with all that great engineering and horsepower per liter, why do so many of those german and italian cars still have to pay the gas guzzler tax? Probably because the engineers didn't put high gas mileage as a priority. And that's ok with me. But why can a Corvette have performance equal to a 911TT and still get 28 mpg on the highway? Different engineering priorities and corporate mandates I guess. Fun talking with ya'll. Time to do some grilling for the weekend!

fast

Ok one more post. $ per HP 911 Turbo - $313. $ Per HP Z06 $124. Different cars for different audiences but interesting stat which is more meaningful to me than hp/liter. By the way, the 2004 Z06 (commemorative edition) ran under 8:00 minutes at Nurburgring. Can a stock 996 do that? I don't ask sarcastically, I just don't know the answer. seeya.

Ed Bighi

I'll pass on the rumble. Give me the blood curdling scream of a Matra V12 or Cosworth DFV instead. Yes the DFV is a V8. But unlike the regular V8, it does not have that "rumble" which you can hear from the car of every other Joe Dirt type. If I am going to aspire to something, I'll aspire to something I don't hear every day.

Rich W

Glad to see things have calmed down a little.

I don't find the claim of 630 HP from a small block Chevy engine outrageous at all - a guy I know just bought a similar engine to drop into his car and it dynoed out at 709 HP.

Another thing that many seem to miss: it's the TORQUE that an American V8 puts out that makes cars with those motors so damned quick. Face it - the average 9xx doesn't generate a lot of torque, at least not until it's turbocharged, or in some cases, supercharged.

I don't know George, but it would appear he's taken a novel approach to solving the torque issue. He hasn't done anything that the hot rodders of the 50s/60/70s didn't do, namely swapping in a larger motor.

It's his choice, let him have fun with it. Sure, one could argue his car isn't really a Porsche anymore, but so what?!

I can't say it's something I would do with my car, because I am absolutely fascinated by the engineering that allows one to extract quite a bit of power from an aircooled engine.

BTW, I don't recall who mentioned it, but some aircraft engines in Worled War II were water cooled (P-51 Mustang, Spitfire).

Devia

Thanks Ed, and the others, who actually added interesting info to this thread.

Oh Caaaarlooooss...if you see how many posts I HAVE made, gee, did you ever think that maybe I actually DO HELP other Porsche owners out when I can, even BEFORE I acquired my new one? Of course, this is outside of standing up for one of our own, who's also Muslim, here in America...

This thread was supposed to cheer up one of our own, for crying out loud, not be a pissing contest for Porsche vs Porsche V8, or Vette, etc.!

I guess I am one of the others who grew up only on American cars; until I bought my first 944, I really had no idea about what the big deal was about any Porsche.

In '91, when my dad's '85 Lincoln Continental Mark VII kept acting up (engine was rusting out from the inside), I decided to get another car that was more reliable. So, I checked out lots of GM, Ford, etc. Almost bought a Toyota Celica, etc. Then for some reason I decided to check out a White 944, and it was a real POS. When I took it to the one mechanic the owners of the POS told me not too, that's where I saw the one I purchased. Guy had too many Porsches, and just wanted to find a decent home for it.

Took the POS back, and came right back to the Porsche place, and took the Sapphire Blue Metallic 944, that only had 39K on her. My God, that thing earned my respect in minutes! I was amazed at how she handled and was easy to shift, etc.

I did haggle the price, but purchased her the next day. I of course had to play a prank and show up with a briefcase full of silver bars! They didn't know what to do, so of course I came back with cash, heh, my own joke.

I loooooved that car. When I was doing better in '96, I picked up a Black/Black '95 Vette, and had her chipped. I loved that car, but I called it something much, much worse than the "Batmobile"...I called it the Pe#*smoblie, because of the damned assumption girls made when they saw it coming - and they were always surprised it was a girl driving it, not a guy.

But then I still drove my 944, which outlasted the Vette; Vette spent nearly half it's time at the dealership, just couldn't handle the chip. Blew vacuum lines left and right. My 944? Always a rock, spent maybe 2 days of the whole 8 years I owned her in the shop, and that was because oil changed to jello in the engine block (courtesy of the exbf, of course; he hated that I wouldn't let him drive the 944 either, heh).

But I do understand that redneck that took our guy to task. He was just a jerk, and didn't deserve any further attention.

American vs Porsche? Well the only concession I'll make now is when I have my cousin's '55 Vette safely in my hands, but really could care less, unless I want just a beater.

And this is coming from a gal's perspective, and looks like the only one in this thread.

So all, cheer up, and drive!

- Julie

P-on

Julie

So aptly put and so maybe this will end the thread. I was beat on by a closed minded twit, but I get satisfaction with my choice. And assloads of fun. So be it. Thanks everyone for making this a long, interesting (to say the least) thread. Ed...when you writin' a book?