What does 600bhp feel like?

[naefeart]

My RS6 was 600hp and when accelerating hard the scenery would get rather blurry. Closest I’ve come to physically experiencing the cinematography used in the first drag-race scene in TFATF

Very addictive, but ultimately a one trick pony. Incredible for a 2T family car that has no business doing those speeds.

 

[DRZ]

... and today an E63s with 612bhp. I expected the E63s to feel faster than it did given that it is outputting 612 ponies (313bhp / tonne). The car felt "fast", but not much faster than my existing 420bhp car.

I took my E92 M3 Competition (414bhp) to Silverstone a couple of times and on one of those occasions I happened upon an E63S. I came through Maggotts/Becketts to see an E63S just entering Chapel at what must have been 30-40mph slower than I was going. On the exit at the start of the straight I was alongside, maybe a nose ahead of the E63S but then he simply waltzed off down the Hangar straight as though I had parked up at the side of the road. It took me until Luffield to catch him up again...

So, your drive in the E63S might not have felt as fast but it most definitely is a lot faster than your A45.

 

[theone8181]

I took my E92 M3 Competition (414bhp) to Silverstone a couple of times and on one of those occasions I happened upon an E63S. I came through Maggotts/Becketts to see an E63S just entering Chapel at what must have been 30-40mph slower than I was going. On the exit at the start of the straight I was alongside, maybe a nose ahead of the E63S but then he simply waltzed off down the Hangar straight as though I had parked up at the side of the road. It took me until Luffield to catch him up again...

So, your drive in the E63S might not have felt as fast but it most definitely is a lot faster than your A45.

I blame lack of turbos. Although I wouldn't have put an e63s that much faster. 50% more power is probably going to translate to ~20-25% faster, which I suppose might be a bit quicker.

 

[pugheaven]

But the more important question here is, what does 601bhp feel like?

 

[Yaayuh!]

Over 200hp on a 200kg bike is quite an experience.

 

[Steedie]

500bhp in my C63 feels pretty mad at times, I've slowly gone up over the years, from my 3L V6 XF to the F10 530D, to the C43. But the jump from the C43 (380bhp) to the C63 was crazy, still takes me by surprise sometimes when you put your foot down in it just how fast it moves.

It's pretty difficult to have fun in it on most roads, as soon as you touch the throttle, you're at the speed limit. But right time, right place and it's an absolute blast. The C43 was ever so slightly better at putting the power down in less optimal conditions, but it never really felt properly fast, whereas you may get half a second or so of traction control kicking in, but once it's got grip...

I'd hate to think what another 100bhp on top of that would be like in the E63S, especially with it being AWD as well for putting the power down. Must be terrifying

 

[NathWraith]

BHP and traction are both worth considering, as having a car that struggle for traction can give the impression it's faster (even though quite obviously not).

 

[R.P.L]

My motor isn't overly rapid (~320hp / 1532kg), but it still puts a grin on my face when I get the hammer down and it's certainly fast enough to get me into trouble. I already feel like I have more than enough power to have fun on the road (no way I can claim to have driven it anywhere near flat out when going for a b road blast and can still reach speeds that are plenty high enough for me), so I'm not particularly desperate to go for anything faster (although that doesn't necessarily mean it will never happen). I mean, it might make me chuckle when wringing it out in a straight line when the opportunity arises, but that's not really worthwhile IMO.
I do still think about getting into bikes at some point, but again I doubt I'd be going for anything super rapid (certainly not to start with!).
Regarding the BHP / torque conversation, BHP at the wheels is the only thing that really matters, either when talking about acceleration or top speed. Of course the shape of the torque curve changes the driving characteristics and feel of a motor, but the acceleration at any given RPM will be a product of the BHP and the weight and aero drag.

 

[Simon]

I blame lack of turbos. Although I wouldn't have put an e63s that much faster. 50% more power is probably going to translate to ~20-25% faster, which I suppose might be a bit quicker.

Its not much heavier and 200hp more. It does a 11.1 @ 126 mph, that's 14mph faster than a E92 M3. Huge difference in speed.

Only '10% faster', is significant enough to be able to pull away from a car convincingly

 

[Jonnycoupe]

Tesla Model S P100D was rather something once the battery was warmed up - 762bhp. Traction incredible thanks to EV - didn't race anything to compare properly

 

[Six6siX]

The bhp number is never going to be the whole story, it depends on so much more - power delivery, torque, weight etc.

My own experience is going from ~550bhp in my CLS55 to ~650bhp in my GTR. The GTR felt massively more responsive and noticeably faster - 4WD, turbos vs supercharger, auto vs DCT etc etc. Totally different car, "wafty" power compared to a more focused, driver oriented car. That difference is not just because of 100bhp.

Then I took the GTR to ~800bhp and the car felt marginally faster but the power was all at the top end for that peak bhp figure; torque (capped for safety) wasn't much different so the car didn't really feel all that different to drive.

Some more work and a further remap to bring the torque much harder and remove the cap pushed me up to over 900bhp peak but the car now feels stupidly fast - the curve is much steeper, much earlier.

 

[Housey]

Having spent close to 1400 miles driving my car across the best roads in Britain over the last few days, I can't see how any more than my current 577bhp would have added anymore pleasure or pace. I think 600bhp is actually the end point for a road car. We had 2 E92 M3's with us, one with around 420bhp and standard bar a map and induction (the sound....wow) the other 650bhp with a Supercharger, again the sound.... Both are properly set up for fast road and track with serious expenditure across all parts and frankly there was little in it with 2 really rapid drivers in both cars. The 650bhp only shows its value at silly speeds, outside of that nothing in it really.

The constant chase for power is to me pointless outside of runway runs and autobahns. You would have had just as much fun and been close to all the supercars (only 5-6 of us were quick drivers) in a Civic Type R, though when we all parked up for lunch and paps you'd have had to park around the back

Too add...

I think in dry weather with the correct tyres up to their working best, 600bhp is perfectly manageable through the rear wheels only, it does not need 4wd at any point. When my Cup 2 tyres were in the zone the traction of the car was fantastic and I could happily bury the throttle without fear of it lighting up the rear tyres. In the damp and wet then 4wd has significant benefits, but better rain tyres would probably mitigate most of those too.

 

[Simon]

Did the E92 M3 have the eventuri airbox? Carbon fibre?

 

[Housey]

Did the E92 M3 have the eventuri airbox? Carbon fibre?

Yes, the white one (pic posted in the E92 track car thread) has Eventuri.

 

[bloodiedathame]

I'll never forget going from 12bhp>33bhp>100bhp on motorcycles. I felt like my torso was going to get ripped off each time.

 

[Nasher]

I felt like that driving a big jetski lol

I struggled to hold on to the handlebars at full throttle.

 

[acemastr]

530hpish to the crank feels amazing every time

Do have to think about which gear to be in when flooring it or coming out of a corner or you'll get in trouble pretty quickly.

 

[HoneyBadger]

I’ve not had much exposure to very high power cars. I’ve driven an S600 at high speed, but it didn’t feel like it because it was so insulated. I’ve also driven a Skyline R32 GTR with 600+ BHP and that was striped out. You felt everything in that car, it was relentless, a sports bike pulling a wheelie trying to keep up, which it did for a while and then dropped back.

 

[Frozennova]

Its not much heavier and 200hp more. It does a 11.1 @ 126 mph, that's 14mph faster than a E92 M3. Huge difference in speed.

Only '10% faster', is significant enough to be able to pull away from a car convincingly

Not to mention an E92 M3 will do that 1/4 mile in 12.8/12.9. Almost 3 seconds in quarter mile terms is big margin

 

[Simon]

2 seconds !