Dallas Morning News Article - Horsepower! [Archive] - TALON Club - Texas Area Lightning Owners North

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11-04-2003, 06:21 PM

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High-horsepower cars showing off new muscles

11:52 AM CST on Tuesday, November 4, 2003

By TERRY BOX / The Dallas Morning News

This is supposed to be the start of the auto industry's green era, a quiet time of whispery hybrids and oh-so-correct alternative fuels. But the high technology that is helping keep emissions in check is also ushering in a thunderous new age of pavement-pounding horsepower. Nothing in the storied muscle-car '60s – not the legendary Ford Shelby Cobra, the mighty Hemi or the ferocious big-block Corvette – even approaches the power in today's supercars.

Over the last few years, cars at the top of the automobile world have burst through the once-mythical 500-horsepower barrier, then 600 and may be headed now for 700. The strongest muscle cars in the '60s had about 425 horsepower, and their ratings were usually inflated. When the new Bugatti Veyron arrives next year from Italy, the $1.1 million, 16-cylinder exotic is expected to have 1,000 horsepower, which is more than most race cars and small planes.

http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/L_IMAGE.f88d5cfcee.93.88.fa.80.177b1c31.jpg
Jim Mahoney / DMN
Cars like this JRD Panoz Esperante RSr are zooming past the old barrier of 500 horsepower. And the heavy doses of horsepower are trickling down. The average vehicle this year has 197 horsepower – nearly twice the average in 1981 – and is 29 percent faster despite being heavier, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"The industry as a whole has rediscovered how cool high-performance cars are," says Herb Helbig, a senior manager at DaimlerChrylser AG's performance vehicle operations who helped develop the Dodge Viper. "The reason why is simple: Americans love horsepower."

"The majority of the business is driven by need," said John Coletti, director of Ford Motor Co.'s SVT program, which builds the Mustang Cobra and F-150 Lightning pickup. "This niche is a want business. Why does someone need 500 horsepower? Why does he need titanium golf clubs? Why does he spend $2,000 for a suit or $300 for a bottle of wine?"

Much of the attraction to power is related to marketing, industry officials say. Most consumers understand and appreciate horsepower, and strong engines allow manufacturers to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive business. In addition, exotic, ultrapowerful cars pull people into dealership showrooms and infuse an entire brand with greater credibility – the so-called halo effect.

Moreover, unlike the automobile dark ages between 1972 and '85, manufacturers today can create big horsepower and easily meet all emissions requirements – and sometimes even get decent gas mileage. A new Z06 Corvette, for example, belts out 405 horsepower but can get more than 25 miles per gallon on the highway.

"The key to this door is electronics," said Matt Stone, executive editor of Motor Trend magazine. "If you look at what drives automotive progress, that is the answer. What other time could you get cars that do what they do today – on unleaded fuel?"

Thanks mainly to highly computerized engine management systems that can manipulate a motor – making it a mannerly grocery-getter at slow speeds and a road-eating beast when the throttle's down – automakers can now be red-hot fast and green.

"I don't know where the limits are," said Mark Reuss, executive director of General Motors Corp.'s performance division, which oversees Chevrolet SS, Pontiac GXP, Cadillac V-series and Saturn Red Line vehicles. "In a mature industry, as it fragments, this offers the opportunity for more bang for the buck, to really change a car with more exciting performance. We have to pick and choose where horsepower and performance make sense. But where we think it makes sense, we will do it."

Automakers have a huge horsepower arsenal at their disposal. The industry has seen more technological change in the last five years "than in the previous five decades," said Jean Jennings, editor-in-chief of Automobile magazine. Drivers are reaping the benefits, she said.

"When you make a car with 500 horsepower, you must have the tires, the suspension, the steering, the brakes to handle it," Ms. Jennings said. "Imagine how competent a car like that is at 70. I think it just makes a better car."

This time around, the fun may last for a while, too.

Insurance companies, which helped kill muscle cars, may not stifle this outburst of horsepower, officials say. For one thing, there are more insurance companies today and greater competition. Also, many of today's high-performance enthusiasts are affluent, middle-aged men – not testosterone-charged teenagers.

"You're talking about baby boomers who can afford the gas and insurance," said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas, which represents 425 companies. "It's to the point where if you can afford the rates, it's all yours."

Charley Wilkison, political and legislative director of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, said officers aren't overly concerned about the high-horsepower vehicles. The Legislature passed a bill in the most recent session increasing the penalties for drag racing.

"It would stand to reason that some people would try to drive one of these cars fast," Mr. Wilkison said. "But I don't think law enforcement is out to make a blanket indictment of high-performance cars. You might be cussing one if you were chasing him. But it's never really about the car. It's the driver."

Though ultra-high-performance vehicles comprise a small niche, at least 22 cars and trucks today offer at least 450 horsepower, according to Popular Mechanics. These are a few examples from the pantheon of power:

• The Porsche Carrera GT, a limited-production two-seat roadster that arrives at dealers in the next few weeks. The $440,000, carbon-fiber speedster will be propelled by a 603-horsepower V10 and will have a top speed of 205 mph.

• The Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG, which is based on the automaker's luxury two-ton, two-seat roadster. Powered by a turbocharged V12, the $180,000 car will pack 612 horsepower as well as tire-melting torque. It's due out next year.

• The $670,000 Ferrari Enzo, the industry's poster-boy for exotic excess – before the Bugatti. Sporting a 660-horsepower V12, the Enzo has a top speed of more than 200 mph and retina-flattening acceleration. All 399 Enzos that Ferrari is building already have eager owners awaiting them.

• And in the less-than-$50,000 class, the perfect exotic for Texas: The 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10 pickup, which has a 500-horsepower V10 Viper engine under the hood and is capable of 150 mph – but not with a horse trailer behind it.

Bobby Rodriguez, president of Boardwalk Auto Group, which includes Boardwalk Porsche in Plano, expects to get at least nine of the hyper-fast Carrera GTs and already has $50,000 deposits on each.

"I can't think of anyone who wants to be second best," Mr. Rodriguez said. "We all want just a little bit more, and as long as I've been selling cars, the first thing that people want to know is: How much power does it have?"

Meanwhile, Ken Schnitzer of Dallas-based Park Place Dealerships said he has 10 to 12 deposits on the Carrera GT and 30 more on the Mercedes-Benz SLR. The SLR is a big $300,000-plus roadster that will have 600 horsepower and a 205 mph top speed when it becomes available next spring.

Mr. Schnitzer, chairman of Park Place, doesn't think that it's coincidental that so many high-end, high-performance cars are hitting the market now and in the near future. All are aimed at affluent baby boomers who are entering their peak earning years.

"I think the next three or four years are going to be the most exciting in the auto industry's history," said Mr. Schnitzer, whose holdings include two Lexus, two Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Rolls-Royce and Bentley franchises in the Dallas area. "This is just the first wave. From 2005 to 2010, these [baby boomers] are in their peak earning years, and it's a good opportunity to market these specialty vehicles."

Although most people will never use it all, horsepower sells, said Matt Lineback, owner of Lineback Enterprises in Plano, which offers a range of high-performance and exotic cars.

"Beyond a little stoplight-to-stoplight acceleration, most people probably won't use it," Mr. Lineback said. "But for many drivers, I believe it boils down to power equals prestige, and in my world, prestige is not a bad word."

For Dallas attorney Keith Verges, power is a passion.

Mr. Verges, who races Miatas on the weekend, owns two Vipers, a supercharged 1995 Corvette and a Ferrari 355. Both Vipers and the 'Vette have 500 or more horsepower, he said, and all are street-driven.

"One thing you'll find in the supercar community: Too much is never enough," said Mr. Verges, who is a partner in a new high-performance driving school scheduled to start next year at Motorsport Ranch near Granbury. "Why do you need a three-carat diamond? Why do you need a 5,000-square-foot house? It is just not a matter of need. It's all about fun."

And auto enthusiasts are having serious fun these days, says Dan Panoz, founder of Panoz Auto Development Co. in the Atlanta area, which builds high-end sports cars powered by Mustang Cobra V8s.

"It's wonderful because it's not just about horsepower," Mr. Panoz said. "Today, it's better braking, better handling, better overall performance. A 500-horsepower Mercedes is a lot more docile to drive today than a '65 Mustang with 210 horses was."