> I doubt a sub-1 tonne car is going to be pleasant to drive at highway speeds
My car is 945kg and the biggest issue with longer trips is that the chairs aren’t that comfortable. Although at higher speeds it feels a bit dodgy. It does 170 no problem and that feels quite fast already. Top speed is 190 which I only tried once on the autobahn but that’s quite scary. At about 170 acceleration drops significantly and it takes a few minutes to go from 170 to 190. Won’t ever try that again. Cruising at around 150 for several hours is perfectly fine.
My first car was a (UK) Ford Fiesta Mk 1 (1981). It had a sub 1l engine, something like 960cc and weighed not much.
At the time I lived in Plymouth, Devon and my parents live in Exeter and still do. In between is the A38, which is a dual carriageway and quite a lot of fun to drive. Halden Hill is a good test of a vehicle!
My old Fester managed about 60mph at the top of Halden Hill, going from Exeter. My current EV can be doing 120mph at that point.
The fester used to start chattering at about 65 and then quietened down at 70-75. After 75 (which of course I never achieved, what with that being illegal) it made a strange whining sound, which was not unpleasant. It passed away at M5 J30 (Exeter Services) with at least two shot cylinders.
Condolences. But it served valiantly.
My mx5 will happily sit at 150kph cruising, it's just a bit over 1000kg. At 200+ it feels like it's growing wings and about to take into the air. (motorsport)
Yes, when you feel the front end getting light it is time to call it a day. That's how the e-type got its reputation as an rich kid killer: they were so fast the front end would be lifted off the ground and that's a positive feedback loop.
MX5 is a great little car, you can carve your name with those.
Yep. I was competing in what's called VMAX - top speed racing - and it was really reaching the limits of aerodynamics at 230 and above. Other people using these cars end up building full aero for them however I pivoted to lower speed things with it.
I've been campaigning the car for about a decade though, fantastic machine.
Very cool. Be careful! I've had a 'Copen', that was the most fun I ever had in a car, it is even lighter than the MX5 (but not as light as a souped up classic Mini (the only real mini imho)).
well, I did a test once upon a time on an Opel Corsa D 1.1, full weight about 1.3t, and it did reach 139 kph on gps, but.. let's say it if had it in it to go 170, i'd just back off at about 150.
I had no problems going 190-210 on a motorcycle. It's just like boat hull speed, after some limit no matter what you do it just won't go faster.