Micro Hatches faster than Brocky's ever were

[pir4teParticipant Mallala640 HP hyper-cruising SS-V Flagonwagon View build HERE Member since: March 2, 2015 Posts: 154]

Joshua Dowling published this today:

http://www.carsguide.com.au/car-news/small-hot-hatches-now-faster-than-a-classic-v8-32236#.VUKh81ImKJI

Thoughts about comparing a 28 year old touring car to the latest hot hatches from Europe?

Naturally as-pirated, all-motor.

[Anonymous View build HERE Member since: January 1, 1970 Posts: 0]

It’s just technology, same as when they banned Learners from riding anything over 250cc bikes, manufacturers released a crop of 250 2 strokes that would far out perform the banned Litre bikes…

Downside to this sort of technology driven performance is usually longevity suffers, look at the maintenance schedule for the current 250cc 4 stroke motorcross bikes, I can see the new breed of Micro performance cars going the same way..

[VRSenator065Participant Adelaide SAVR Senator LSx454 1960 Kombi (project) 1921 Nash Hot Rod (future project) View build HERE Member since: February 17, 2015 Posts: 5 777]

Whilst I sort of get where the article is coming from , comparing todays anything to a 28 year old 137kW V8 isn’t a  fair fight.  I mean compare today’s hot hatches to the latest LSA powered HSV and they aren’t even in the same league performance wise.

There def is a trend to smaller cars, and some of those hot hatches pack a lot of punch into a small package.

[SLE-881Participant SydneyDaily - 2012 VW Golf R Weekend - 1981 VH SL/E View build HERE Member since: March 1, 2015 Posts: 81]

Great topic!

I have a 2012 VW Golf R with some mild work that I use as a daily driver. It’s got about 240kw @ the fly and can run a mid-low 12s quarter mile and reach 100km/h in close to 5.2 secs. I absolutely love it. It’s a fun and fast car that’s big enough to fit my wife and 2 year old kid in with the stroller and all the other kid paraphernalia.

I also love my old school V8 because it’s raw and unrefined and nothing beats the sound of a V8, no matter how slow.

I think what journalists often overlook in these types of articles is the size of cars now compared to 10, 20, 30 years ago. I  don’t think people have really turned off the large family car in favour for a hot hatch, it’s the large family car that has grown to be a larger family car and some manufacturers (read as Holden/Ford) have forgotten to fill the void. (Biggest mistake Holden made was not releasing the “Torana” mid sized car in 2004).

Today’s VE Commodore is as long and wider than a 1994 long wheelbase VR Statesman and weighs more.  In comparison, my VH SLE is only 200mm longer and 20mm wider that the 1999 Holden Vectra I used to own. That’s a 1980’s “large” family car compared to a 2000’s mid-sized car. Yes there are more safety devices and extras in today’s cars but VW, Audi, Renault etc have managed to fit them in their hot hatch so there’s no excuse. The only reason I won’t buy a current model Commodore or Falcon is that they are unnecessarily big and Holden/Ford don’t offer a smaller RWD alternative.

Daniel
Instagram - @SLE881

[VRSenator065Participant Adelaide SAVR Senator LSx454 1960 Kombi (project) 1921 Nash Hot Rod (future project) View build HERE Member since: February 17, 2015 Posts: 5 777]

^ good point about size.  Actually when you get my VR alongside a so called “mid sized” car of today, they are not that different.  Put a VR alongside a VE and the VE looks (and is) massive.  I do think Holden and Ford sort of ignored the trend toward smaller cars.  Although Ford seems to have been pretty successful with their smaller cars like the Focus etc, Holden seems to have had a go a few times with the Astra etc but never seemed to really hit the mark for some reason.

[pir4teParticipant Mallala640 HP hyper-cruising SS-V Flagonwagon View build HERE Member since: March 2, 2015 Posts: 154]

The ideal combo from GM right now would be the ATS-V (Alpha platform), and apparently it will be here in a few years.

It is a three litre twin turbo:

For me the last line sums it up: “I wanna hear a V8”.

So given the evolving national code of practice, specifically LA1 regarding power to weight, I reckon it’d be a safe bet for Holden to fast track a twin turbo (APS for eg) version fitted with the L83 Ecotec3 as the 5.3l direct injected, VVT and TT.

Sure it’d have a lot of the Caddy fruit but a stripped version would fit my vision of the 2020 Torana!

• This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by  pir4te. Reason: No embedded video?!

Naturally as-pirated, all-motor.

[VRSenator065Participant Adelaide SAVR Senator LSx454 1960 Kombi (project) 1921 Nash Hot Rod (future project) View build HERE Member since: February 17, 2015 Posts: 5 777]

^yep already another thread on here re the Caddy, I would buy one, drove one in the states a while back was awesome.

[Anonymous View build HERE Member since: January 1, 1970 Posts: 0]

I have a real soft spot for the Mitsubishi 380 as a mid size car, I miss my old VB for it’s size, my VZ is HUGE by comparison and the Bloat doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon..

[pir4teParticipant Mallala640 HP hyper-cruising SS-V Flagonwagon View build HERE Member since: March 2, 2015 Posts: 154]

Yeah the last generation Commodore and it’s powertrain (the last of the LS) cops it for being fat, dumb, inefficient and outmoded.

Basically a bogan wagon that’s fair game for the great unwashed, who simply don’t get it.

I am lucky I guess in that I get to travel to interesting regional country locations, hence after evaluating all potential product offerings from far and wide I settled on the SSV Battlecruiser, with a few tweaks here and there.

One of the main selling points was its size, rigidity and safety, which is even better in the Sportwagon, but yeah it’s over 5m long and well over 2.3t gross weight.  Australia is vast, and whilst the urban reality of the article is true for metrosexual latte-sipping hipsters blogging in the fourth estate, my reality is you just don’t see any lightweight small engined cars outback flat out out near the SA / QLD border.

See attached as to why I decided to double-down on a good thing recently and rebuild / maintain this powerhouse of a behemoth versus the downsized disposable option of Euro inspired Asian FWD crossovers.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/95340656/iRescue_GM_Holden_24Jul10.pdf

Naturally as-pirated, all-motor.

[VRSenator065Participant Adelaide SAVR Senator LSx454 1960 Kombi (project) 1921 Nash Hot Rod (future project) View build HERE Member since: February 17, 2015 Posts: 5 777]

Seriously 2.3t, fark me….

[pir4teParticipant Mallala640 HP hyper-cruising SS-V Flagonwagon View build HERE Member since: March 2, 2015 Posts: 154]

VRSenator065 wrote:

Seriously 2.3t, fark me….

Yep, stock Sportwagon Tare is 1.89, then double sized AGM battery, and a massive Odyssey all-lead military spec., proper dual battery management gear, spare wheel, 45lt fridge freezer, 12 bottle Vintec, Class 4 tow-bar, decent amp and sub, extra soundproofing… and that’s before two full sized adults, luggage, and… stock and trade: at least half a dozen cartons of booze 

So enhancements to suspension, diff, transmission, brakes and engine are not really about a better 1/4 mile time, more like upgrading a Battlecruiser to tackle the winding road ahead!

Naturally as-pirated, all-motor.

[VRSenator065Participant Adelaide SAVR Senator LSx454 1960 Kombi (project) 1921 Nash Hot Rod (future project) View build HERE Member since: February 17, 2015 Posts: 5 777]

Every cross country tourer needs a 12 bottle vintec, remind me next time I need to go interstate to hitch a ride

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