American Cars Ranked by Power/Weight

"472CID" (472CID) 11/18/2014 at 10:07 • Filed to: None

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Here's a thorough, (but not complete) list of American production cars ranked by their power/weight ratio.

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Note: I'm not too sure about the street legality of the ACR-X

Now all those high powered cars of the 1960's should have impressive power/weight ratios as well. The problem is that they're rated in gross horse power, and converting them to net is anybody's guess. In 1971 they started rating cars in net as well as gross so we can get some idea of what the cars would have been rated. I've added an estimated net rating based on a ~20% loss, which may or may not be accurate. The website I used didn't seem to like keeping info on Pontiacs or Plymouths.

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ACESandEIGHTS > 472CID 11/18/2014 at 10:13

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Solstice for the win. Died long before it was truly appreciated. Remember Pontiac, the first casualty of American individualism fallen by the wayside.

claramag, Mustaco Master > 472CID 11/18/2014 at 10:14

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Even though they were underpowered I always loved the styling of the 95 Cobras, but wow I didn't realize they were THAT slow

03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST > 472CID 11/18/2014 at 10:14

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Is that weight correct on the 96-98 Cobra? My Mach(Which uses a slightly different version of that engine and components) is closer to 3400. I find it hard to believe that the Mach's picked up another 300-400 pounds.

Milky > 472CID 11/18/2014 at 10:31

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OMG the Viper makes 645hp!!!!

Also, Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6: 330(underrated)hp, 3220lbs = 9.75

472CID > Milky 11/18/2014 at 10:44

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You appear to be right, though it looks like every website except the official SRT's says 640. I'm going update it, since I've thought of a dozen cars since posting.

BigBlock440 > 472CID 11/18/2014 at 10:44

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Cool list

472CID > claramag, Mustaco Master 11/18/2014 at 10:45

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edit replied to the wrong person

472CID > 03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST 11/18/2014 at 10:46

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According to Wikipedia, for whatever that's worth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Must…

Milky > 472CID 11/18/2014 at 10:53

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They just changed it for the new model year, I'm being a pedantic dick on the internet. Hence the "OMG".

Worth noting though there was no hardware change, so its probably always been making that.

briannutter1 > 472CID 11/18/2014 at 11:10

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I was just about ready to go out and buy a 2006 Viper coupe based on the list, but don't see them coming in much lighter than 3380. Also, some cars seem to be dry weights vs. wet weights. http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/20…

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > 472CID 11/18/2014 at 11:17

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That CGI bionic Hellcat looked a bit too lithe, methinks.

472CID > briannutter1 11/18/2014 at 11:48

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yeah that Viper's weight is probably off

TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW! > 472CID 11/18/2014 at 14:30

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The Neon made the list! Even with the lowest quoted Hosepower! Yaaaaaaay!

T5Killer > 03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST 11/25/2014 at 10:33

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Its wrong the weight should be close to 3375 lbs do you honestly think that the 96-98 weights almost 400lbs less than a 94-95 (same exact body just different engine 5.0W VS 4.6 DOHC)

T5Killer > claramag, Mustaco Master 11/25/2014 at 10:34

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They are underrated from the factory most at sea level stock Dyno 230-235 RWHP. (95 SVT Cobra owner for 16 years)

03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST > T5Killer 11/25/2014 at 10:57

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I thought so. And no, the 96-98's didn't lose 400 pounds. That would be quite a weight reduction! The only major changes were the engines.

T5Killer > 03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST 11/25/2014 at 10:59

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YEP engine and transmission IIRC the 96-98 T-45s are heavier vs the 94-95 T-5.

03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST > T5Killer 11/25/2014 at 11:01

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I thought they had new transmissions to. And I thought they were heavier. Where were you finding the weights?

T5Killer > 03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST 11/25/2014 at 11:39

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The car weight I got from a book I have Standard Catalog of Ford, 1903-1998. And the transmission weight I have got from personal experience.

03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST > T5Killer 11/25/2014 at 12:30

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That must be a big book! Cool!

T5Killer > 03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST 11/25/2014 at 12:40

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Its very cool There is a version that is updated up to 2006 IIRC.

http://www.amazon.com/Standard-Catal…

03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST > T5Killer 11/25/2014 at 13:08

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I think I need this. Badly.

The Little Engine That Couldnt > 472CID 12/03/2014 at 13:34

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Tesla's about a full second faster than comparably ratio'ed cars. Don't know how much is number fudging and how much is the wonders of electricity.

MRtwo > 472CID 12/03/2014 at 14:36

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Isn't this weight/power? Higher performance cars are at the bottom because they have a better power/weight. I guess it doesn't really matter since it is just the reversed order.

Vintage1982Benz > 472CID 12/03/2014 at 14:42

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Having just looked at the Japanese list I can only smile at the HP numbers presented here.

mcgiggidy > ACESandEIGHTS 12/03/2014 at 17:02

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Sigh, I really loved the look of the solstice. It would have been nice to have more choices for a small roadster, other than Miata. Side note: if you haven't already, check out the youtube videos of the guy who swapped a 2jz into his solstice. It looks like a lot of fun.

TheBaron2112 > 472CID 12/03/2014 at 20:22

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These aren't power to weight ratios.

They are weight to power ratios.

BlackLab > The Little Engine That Couldnt 12/11/2014 at 15:34

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Tesla runs out of steam at high revs - so it just takes a longer straight for a regular car to beat it. They don't have a transmission so the funky curve of Tesla engine catches up with it eventually. It can run at very high rpms but makes less power..

LazyLemming > mcgiggidy 12/11/2014 at 16:34

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I loved the look of the Sky, hated the Solstice. I do wish they would have stuck around longer though. Drove a GXP once, it was fun.

T5Killer > 472CID 12/11/2014 at 18:33

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I was about to recommend to put the '95 Cobra R on there but its #s would be very close to the 96-98 Cobras

ViperGuy21 > 472CID 12/11/2014 at 20:11

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ACR-X

=

Race car. Very good race car. But race car.

CaptainAwesome > 472CID 12/12/2014 at 11:20

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how about the 2104 - 2015 CTS Vsport? 420 hp 3950 lbs

M42 > The Little Engine That Couldnt 12/19/2014 at 14:46

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Electric motors have a much different torque curve than internal combustion engines. Specifically, torque is much, much higher at low speeds. Remember, the battery doesn't need to get to a certain RPM to make full power.

Imagine if Tesla made a track version of the Model SD. (No, not the Roadster, that was an experiment) I'll bet if you normalized the list based on how many passengers, you'd see Tesla come out on top.