At what point is a car considered "fast"?

[michael]

Just one of those random thought things I guess but I was just thinking about this so thought I'd see what others thought too.

 

At what point does a car go from being "a car" and become "a fast car"?

 

Is it a 0-60 thing? Top speed? Handling? Lap times? Feel? Or maybe it's just relative to what you are used to?

 

Moving on from this when does a car become "very fast"?

 

I always think a 0-100mph time of under 10 seconds indicates a very fast car, 0-60mph doesn't seem to mean as much these days.

[The Raven]

0-60 tends to dictate whats fast for me.

 

That and what top gear tells me.

[bignum]

Good question, as ive often thought this aswell, some peoples idea of fast is very different to others.Like when you here people talking about a car saying its quick, sh$t of a shovel, rapid, blah, blah and they`re on about a saxo or civic or something which is obviously faster than they`re used too.

I think the 0-100 in 10 seconds is more realistic to being fast or even better what time it can go around a track like on topgear.

[SupraHuman]

I would say the 0-100mph time. and/or pulls from e.g 50mph and up. Top speed is not too important as you will hardly ever see the max potential for a very long period of time when driving on a public motorway etc.

[dani_r]

For me, fast would be the point when my face melts into the back of my head, or when I get whiplash from the acceleration!

[Ewen]

Any car that makes my wife wet herself is 'fast'.

As my wife gets older and car technology moves on, we find ourselves in a bizarre situation where 'fast' cars are actually getting slower.

[colsoop]

For most people the 0-60 is the be all and end all of a cars performance along with top speed.

 

My personal view of a fast car is in gear acceleration times say 50 - 70 and 40 - 80. The sort of speeds most of us spend the majority of our time doing.

[johnny g]

I always think a 0-100mph time of under 10 seconds indicates a very fast car, 0-60mph doesn't seem to mean as much these days.

 

I think with the power of today's cars, 0-60 in many cases is limited by the traction that the tyres are able to give.

 

As you say, 0-100mph in 10 seconds is a fast car, it's an indication of good power and traction.

 

For me, it's 30-70, 50-100mph - i.e. real world performance. It's all torque

[Havard]

Anything that makes my stomach go all funny.....

[michael]

A lot of the car mags seem to herald "the fastest X yet" and it's because it does 160mph instead of a limited 155mph... that annoys me.

[chris2o2]

Its a hard one to call i guess.

I think feel would be quite a large factor for me - a light and less powered car can and does on many occasion feel faster than a more powerful heavy maybe 4wd car. My old stripped out 106 xsi felt to me much faster than the prelude i owned after it even though the actual figures were quite the opposite.

[Havard]

A lot of the car mags seem to herald "the fastest X yet" and it's because it does 160mph instead of a limited 155mph... that annoys me.

 

Anything over a ton is probably a waste of time as you are not going to do that on public roads (unless you are braindead and don't particularly need your licence!!)

 

I think any car that will rocket from 0 - 100 will be fast enough for anybody. I am personally looking for anything sub 5 sec 0 - 60.....

 

H.

[JamieP]

Anything that can do the 1/4 in 12 seconds or under is a fast car.

[Chiefgroover]

I have come across people who think a 130BHP chipped Bora is a fast car.

Some folks are easy pleased I guess.

[miko_supra]

I always look at power to weight ratios when seeing how cars compare and what i consider fast

[michael]

I always look at power to weight ratios when seeing how cars compare and what i consider fast

 

What do you consider a good power to weight ratio?

[Havard]

Anything that can do the 1/4 in 12 seconds or under is a fast car.

 

*Edit - Anything that JamieP has owned in the past*.....

[AndrewOW]

Anything that can do the 1/4 in 12 seconds or under is a fast car.

 

And then do a series of twisties at demonic speeds, would be a definition of a fast car too.

[miko_supra]

What do you consider a good power to weight ratio?

 

approaching 300bhp/ton or more i would say. Its always gonna go up with what you get used to. I remember when i was blown away when i got in an n/a supra for the first time and they are only about 160/ton...The fastest i've been in so far in terms of power to weight is a 4.2 cerbera and they are about 320 on paper

[SupraAyf]

It's the 0-60 that counts for me.

[DannyB]

approaching 300bhp/ton or more i would say. Its always gonna go up with what you get used to. I remember when i was blown away when i got in an n/a supra for the first time and they are only about 160/ton...The fastest i've been in so far in terms of power to rate is a 4.2 cerbera and they are about 320 on paper

 

300/tonne is a good figure id say

 

Im sat at 250 now, its fast, but my goal is 330/tonne

 

It depends what other fast cars youve been in aswell i suppose

 

0-60 seems to be the pub figure to be honest, but if go with 30-120 times for a "fast" car.

 

0-100 is another good one as mentioned

[Max Headroom]

I went from a NA Supra with 220bhp to a Volvo with 320bhp and I considered that fast

[DaveK]

Anything over a ton is probably a waste of time as you are not going to do that on public roads

 

Don't be silly - you can do that in 40mph limits.

 

I think a "fast" car is relative to what you're used to - and is what feels fast. If I don't feel I'm "waiting" for the car when I accelerate, then it's fast.

 

Years ago, I sold my TT and the next car I bought was a 306 GTI-6. On the test drive, the salesman was in the back seat. We were accelerating flat out onto a dual carriageway, and he stated from the back that it was "Fast isn't it?". Er... no.

 

For me, my NA is adequate and my 911 meets my criteria for fast - despite the fact that from a 0-60 point of view it would be way behind a TT. I never feel like I'm waiting for it when I accelerate, so it's fast enough.

[Guest johnnie]

Anything exceed 600HP is fast for me, if below 600 thats simple

[DaveK]

Anything exceed 600HP is fast for me, if below 600 thats simple

 

Without any consideration of weight?