The Best american car ever made

[kingofthering]

Originally Posted by Northalius

I'd say the best car America has ever built, would be the 2007 Dodge Viper Hennessey - top speed: 255 mph. Price? $225,000. A fraction of what a 253 mph Bugatti Veyron costs. And, if you think the interior and maybe other minor things on the Viper don't hold up to the Veyron in your opinion, you can always throw in a few hundred thousand more dollars for upgrades, and still be about $1 million less in cost, compared to the Veyron.

Now THAT'S an American supercar for you!

That's a tuner.

That's like saying those 600+ hp 911 Turbos are the fastest because some guy added some bigger turbos to it.

[KingNothing]

Originally Posted by johnnynumfiv

After which fast and the furious movie did you realize that?

Ive only seen the first one and i wasnt that impressed, so the answer would be neither. Not all of us hop on the bandwagon when a car is featured in a movie Johnny. I go by the specs, reviews, and videos of the cars not fictional movies.

[johnnynumfiv]

Originally Posted by KingNothing

Ive only seen the first one and i wasnt that impressed, so the answer would be neither. Not all of us hop on the bandwagon when a car is featured in a movie Johnny. I go by the specs, reviews, and videos of the cars not fictional movies.

It's funny that you don't include personal experience in your list of what you go by.

[Fleet 500]

Originally Posted by Cardude1111

Okay the 455 had only 10ftlb of torque mor than the 454 LS6 did but the 454 had 90 more horespower than the 455.

Here are the specs.

The 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454
Specifications
Wheelbase, inches: 112.0
Weight, lbs: 3,800
Number built: 8,773
Base price: $3,800

Top Available Engine
Type: ohv V-8
Displacement, cid: 454
Fuel system: 1 x 4bbl.
Compression ratio: 11.25:1
Horsepower @ rpm: 450 @ 5600
Torque @ rpm: 500 @ 3600

Representative Performance
0-60 mph, sec: 6.1
1/4 mile, sec. @ mph: 13.7 @ 103

The 1970 Buick GS Stage 1
Specifications
Wheelbase, inches: 112.0
Weight, lbs: 4,000
Number built: 687
Base price: $4,880

Top Available Engine
Type: ohv V-8
Displacement, cid: 455
Fuel system: 1 x 4bbl.
Compression ratio: 10.5:1
Horsepower @ rpm: 360 @ 4600
Torque @ rpm: 510 @ 2800

Representative Performance
0-60 mph, sec: 6.5
1/4 mile, sec. @ mph: 13.8 @ 101

The horsepower rating for the Buick 455 Stage 1 was underrated, as were many other muscle car engines. The actual hp of that engine was 420-430 hp.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Fleet 500

The horsepower rating for the Buick 455 Stage 1 was underrated, as were many other muscle car engines. The actual hp of that engine was 420-430 hp.

I remember from that time that all US HP figures were given in SAE, which was notoriously more optimistic than the BHP or DIN-hp used in Europe. Could it be that the figures now shown have been adjusted to "realistic" ones?

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by henk4

I remember from that time that all US HP figures were given in SAE, which was notoriously more optimistic than the BHP or DIN-hp used in Europe. Could it be that the figures now shown have been adjusted to "realistic" ones?

No, underratement was common in 60's/70's muscle car, usually for insurance purposes. That doesn't meant that still in terms of DIN ratings they might still be overrated despite being underrated (if that makes any sense... ).

[Fleet 500]

Originally Posted by Ferrer

No, underratement was common in 60's/70's muscle car, usually for insurance purposes. That doesn't meant that still in terms of DIN ratings they might still be overrated despite being underrated (if that makes any sense... ).

Right. For insurance purposes and to get into a better class for NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) drag racing.
It didn't always work, though. The "official" rating for the Mopar 340 was 275 horsepower. The NHRA wasn't fooled and factored them at 320 hp.
And both the Chevy and Ford Hi-Po 302. Rated at 290 hp, but factored by the NHRA at 310.
I have a list of advertised and actual hp which I'll list in a little while.
Some of the claimed hp was ridiculous, like the Ford 428 engine. The 390 was rated at 335 hp (pretty accurate) and the 428 was also rated at 335 when it actually made about 410 hp. These are all gross figures, but I do have specs of their net ratings, too.

[Northalius]

Corvette C6 Z06! A stock $68,000 car competing with, and in some cases beating, $130,000-$300,000+ European cars, is what I call a legend.

C6.R Corvettes winnin many races, including 5 out of the last 6 Le Mans 24 hour races!

The LS7.R engine in those C6.R Corvettes won an international award, for engine of the year, on November 9th. That same engine (though detuned, thus less hp, but more MPG) is found in the C6 Z06 Corvettes!

A C6 Z06 Corvette got a 7:42 laptime on the Nurburgring!

[KingNothing]

Originally Posted by johnnynumfiv

It's funny that you don't include personal experience in your list of what you go by.

Johnny...Im 16 i dont have personal experience to go on. I admit this, so i go on reviews, specs and professional drivers opinions. Besides, about 90% of the people on the forums dont have a lick of experience either but that doesnt stop them from yelling at others for saying a car is the "best"

[Piazza]

Well, I might take a beating for this one but I`m going to have to go with the 1984 Corvette. With the z-51 suspension system it handled incredibly. It brought corvette from being a glorified dragster to in the same class as the best handling cars in the world. Of course I know that there are many arguments to say that this thing was a piece of junk. Everyone seems to have an oppinion on the 84. But I dont think too many people can deny that it put the vette in a new direction and scared the XXX outta alot of other companies. Just if you were to look at one car that changed the way America was looked at in the car industry, Id say this one...

[Rockefella]

Originally Posted by Piazza

Well, I might take a beating for this one but I`m going to have to go with the 1984 Corvette. With the z-51 suspension system it handled incredibly. It brought corvette from being a glorified dragster to in the same class as the best handling cars in the world. Of course I know that there are many arguments to say that this thing was a piece of junk. Everyone seems to have an oppinion on the 84. But I dont think too many people can deny that it put the vette in a new direction and scared the XXX outta alot of other companies. Just if you were to look at one car that changed the way America was looked at in the car industry, Id say this one...

84? Ouch, those were some bad years for the Vette, at least imho.

However, I agree with your point about the 4th? generation corvette re-shaping the American car-industry and it's overall demeanor.

[baddabang]

Originally Posted by Piazza

Well, I might take a beating for this one but I`m going to have to go with the 1984 Corvette. With the z-51 suspension system it handled incredibly. It brought corvette from being a glorified dragster to in the same class as the best handling cars in the world. Of course I know that there are many arguments to say that this thing was a piece of junk. Everyone seems to have an oppinion on the 84. But I dont think too many people can deny that it put the vette in a new direction and scared the XXX outta alot of other companies. Just if you were to look at one car that changed the way America was looked at in the car industry, Id say this one...

Well the suspension was known to be really stiff on the 84, but compared to previous generations which basically had sedan suspension, it was a major improvement.

[nota]

Originally Posted by Piazza

Well, I might take a beating for this one but I`m going to have to go with the 1984 Corvette. With the z-51 suspension system it handled incredibly. It brought corvette from being a glorified dragster to in the same class as the best handling cars in the world. Of course I know that there are many arguments to say that this thing was a piece of junk. Everyone seems to have an oppinion on the 84. But I dont think too many people can deny that it put the vette in a new direction and scared the XXX outta alot of other companies. Just if you were to look at one car that changed the way America was looked at in the car industry, Id say this one...

Welcome to UCP! Not wishing you give you a beating and everyone has their own preferences

But geez, in performance car terms those '84s with the gutless Tuned Port EFI (a pitiful 205hp) were a bit of a lame duck weren't they? I remember an internationally well-regarded journo travelled abroad to the big GM proving ground of Millford or somewhere to review the C4 at the media launch, and his over-riding memory was of GM's 'handling evaluation test track' which apparently in those days consisted of nothing more than a huge and glassy-smooth expanse of concrete - ie a giant dead-flat skidpan! No wonder those era of Vettes feature rock-hard supension tuning and consequently are so stiffly sprung they do poorly on everyday roads because they skip from the top of one bump to the next

Looking back at those days the fastest GM-built car wasn't a Corvette, nor was it made in America ...

[henk4]

Originally Posted by nota

Looking back at those days the fastest GM-built car wasn't a Corvette, nor was it made in America ...

Lotus Carlton?

[nota]

Originally Posted by henk4

Lotus Carlton?

I was somewhere in the early to mid 1980s .. where are you?