feistl said:
... you can turn the Supercharges off with a small switch so you can run the engine without boost...
How does this work? More info please.
I'm not too well versed in forced indcution but aren't superchargers belt driven? soo.... how do you turn off a supercharger if its belt driven by the crankshaft? Fair enough you can decrease the boost BUT that is NOT turning the supercharger off.
As for saying that the VX and VZ engines can handle 1200bhop reliably, where's the proof? The engines from those cars may be based on old technology but they weren't manufactured a decade ago. So how can it be said that a relatively "new" engine is reliable when it's just come from the factory?
Don't get me wrong i'm not a V8 basher, I actually quite like em. But to say that 1200bhp can be achieved "cheaply" and "reliably" and then question why manufacturers don't make car's with that much power just doesn't sit well with me. They have to spend time and money on R & D not just on the power output of the engine but of a car as a whole. They have legislations and law which they much adhere to.
Power can be made cheaply, just add a turbo or a supercharger. A good example was a CRX project car which was featured in a NZ DVD. In total they spent 18000 NZD or roughly 11000USD and their results was a Honda CRX with a 1.8L turbo charged engine producing roughly 400BHP. The 11000 USD INCLUDES the cost of purchasing the car. The 22 000 pounds which you talked about was just and engine and modifications.
Reliability and drivabillity (sp?) are a whole different matter. No point in going fast if you can't stop or turn. My money would go with the CRX, cheaper to run (only 1.8L), probably easier to drive (since it won't be wheel spinning all that much from all the torque, wouldn't need a triple plate clutch) and probably won't run out of petrol in half and hour.
Personally I think 400hp is more than enough for car's which are on the road. There are already enough idiots with low powered cars, imagine what they'd get up to if they had more power.