Quote:
Originally Posted by tranquility
Ya guys, I admittedly dunno much about all those muscle cars in general. I just don't see the point having a crazily heavy car and then it must be compensated by an overzealous engine just to make it handle as good as a MX-5. Then again, I've never cared much for straight-line speed.
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easier and cheaper to add power than make a car lighter. more power, need more bracing, cooling, bigger engine means more fluids, more tire, more brakes, bigger wheels, beefier suspension, longer wheelbase to make it stable.
the bright side for manufacturers is you can do all this to a popular chassis that will sell to masses like a camaro or mustang. so you can offset the cost of a zl1 or gt500 by selling a bunch of base 4 cylinder convertibles. porsche does this with 911s, bmw does it with the 3 series.
you can't really sell alot of cars the size of a miata to offset the cost of a high performance model. most people cannot afford to have a pure toy with zero practicality. if you want z1l lap times with something the size of a miata you will be spending 2-3x more money.