It’s Friday Junior, so I’m looking for any opportunity to take it easy. And blammo, there’s our pal Zerin of Speed Sport Life with a terrific Autopian Asks idea just there for the taking on his Twitter. I may go home early!
If someone said you have a budget of 1100 horsepower to spend on your fleet this is exactly how I’d spend it. ???? pic.twitter.com/iAohFdVnm5
— Zerin D (@SpeedSportLife) May 31, 2023
What a fun idea. You’ve got 1,100 horsepower to divvy up amongst as many vehicles as you like–or just one, I guess, but maybe you’ll have enough left over for at least a moped? It’s your call, you do whatever you like. Six Mazda Miatas? Sure thing, the math checks out. You want a Mustang GT, Mini Cooper S, Veloster N, and a Harley-Davidson Fatboy? Shoot, you’ll still have like a hundred horsepower left over! What about fourteen Mitsubishi Mirages? Uh … sure. No judgements, but many questions. Soooo many questions.
How would YOU spend 1,100 horsepower*? To the comments!
*Rollers do not count. They have to have a powertrain.
Boy there’s been some serious horsepower inflation recently, 1100 hp could get you half a dozen radwood cars, but barely 2 or 3 today.
I’ll go with
2004 TJ Unlimited (190 hp)
1997 Dodge ram diesel (215 hp)
1997 Mustang (215)
2008 4runner (245)
1992 Dodge sprit RT (225)
1999 Yamaha TW200 (10ish)
Currently I have 3.7 liters, 268hp, and 8 cylinders. I would budget:
1 Honda VFR400 (59hp)
1 Kawasaki KDX220 (50hp)
1 1996 F150 4×4 4.9L (145hp)
1 1969 VW Karmann Ghia (60hp)
1 Ultima Evolution ls3 edition (480hp)
1 2017 VW GTI Base (210hp)
1 2020 Mitsubishi Mirage 5mt (78hp)
1 Vespa PX150 (10 hp)
and 1 8HP outboard for the skiff
If I’m keeping the cars (tempted to cheat with detuned versions of things, but I’ll play it straight):
Ford Maverick (hybrid): 162
Aston Martin DB5 convertible: 286
AMG E63S: 603
And 49 hp for a motorcycle.
I wrote and rewrote a few times. Considered mid-size pickups, off-roaders, etc. But this would work for me. I didn’t want too large a fleet, but I also considered a lot lower hp fun rides. But it’s no fun if I don’t drive things often enough.
Alternatively:
24 Tacoma hybrid: 326
DB5: 286
E450 wagon: 362
And 126 for whatever else.
BMW M240 (382)
Bronco Raptor (418)
GR 86 (228)
a first gen. Twingo (60)
and a muthafuckin Ruckus (4.3)
I suppose I could go for a far less angry Bronco and squeeze in a Peugeot 505 wagon.
I actually got out a calculator and a pad of paper.
I’m not giving up any of my current fleet, so I’ll include them:
Chrysler 300 5.7 Hemi – 363
Chevy 1500 4.3 V6 – 160
MGB GT – 92
Total so far: 615, giving me 485 to play with. Hell, I can squeeze the rest of my dream fleet into that:
Dodge Shelby Charger Turbo – 141
Fiat 128 Rally – 60
Pontiac Fiero V6 – 130
VW Scirocco – 90
Morris Minor 1000 – 48
…Leaving me 16 horsepower for a small tractor or something.
Using stock numbers:
1977 Morgan Plus 8 (190)
1993 Mazda Miata (116)
2005 Volvo S60 R (296)
1985 Ford Mustang GT (my current fun car – 210)
2003 Royal Enfield Bullet 500 (my current bike – 22.5)
2020 Royal Enfield Continental GT (my other bike – 47)
1968 TVR Vixen S.2 Super Sports (115)
I don’t know what I’m going to do with that 103.5 leftover HP. Breathing room for modifications, I guess, or maybe another bike if I’m feeling sinister.
Wrangler Rubicon 392 470 hp
2 Honda trail 125 9hp total of 18
Saab Sonnett 59hp
Unimog camper conversion 280hp
WRX 271hp
2 hp to spare
110 2023 Honda Super Cub 125s.(9.7hp/ea)
I don’t have an answer.
I’m just hear to say that Jason would need a moderately-sized airplane hangar for all the cars he would buy with that budget.
And we’d all need tetanus boosters before we check out David’s haul….
Tyvec suit & a respirator. For Gossin’s selections only a flamethrower would do.
Does it count against the budget if it doesn’t run?
1,100 horsepower!? That’s what, 27 Smart Fortwo diesels and 1 Royal Enfield Bullet? I can live with a garage like that. lol
I thought you did live with a garage like that?
Add up the engines you have for us. How many cylinders? How much horsepower?
I thought about doing that, but it would be such a large undertaking that I wouldn’t meet deadlines. lol
I’ll definitely do that soon, maybe for its own thing.
You could build a garage out of Smarts with that many. Just stack’em up on four corners and put a roof over it all. You would still have at least 15 left over.
Cayman GT4 RS (493 horsepower)-weekend/track toy. I’d have gone GT3 here but the slight power advantage would put my total over 1,100.
Audi S3 (306 horsepower)-daily driver
Ford Bronco (300 horsepower 4 cylinder)-off-road vehicle, potential hauler, convertible and can be had in manual, which neither of the other 2 can.
That’s a 1099 horsepower enthusiast garage that I challenge anyone to beat.
Great selections! I’d swap out the Bronco for a JK Wrangler with the non-USDM diesel option (177 horsepower) and use the spare 120 horsepower on an MR2 Spyder or NA Miata for a more casual weekend cruiser than the Cayman.
I’d also take a BMW M135i over the Audi S3 for a 300HP daily driver, but that’s just personal preference.
200 Renault Twizy 45. Sell them for about 10k euros each. Buy a house and something with plenty of horsepower.
I’m a tad over with my current fleet, but it rounds down to 1100 and I don’t want to change a thing:
1998 Dodge Ram 2500 with the V10 – 300 hp
2002 Honda S2000 – 240 hp
2018 Mercedes AMG E63S Wagon – 603 hp
Dude, that fleet is awesome!
Do you like that 2500 much at all?
Love it. Ordered it with a 5 speed from the factory, window sticker has my name on it. Will never sell it, much to the chagrin of my wife. 🙂
Aw hell yeah! That’s sweet man!
1100 horses. I bet their combined value could get me a pretty sweet car or 2.
That was my thought, but one horse actually runs about 15 hp, oddly. Still 73.33 horses in their prime are going to be worth something. Personally, I think 200 Renault Twizy 45s might be the move here.
a lot of alpo
Or a lot of very satisfied French palates.
If HP is the only consideration, and not money…
1998 Subaru Impreza 22b STI for fun
2024 Audi RS6 Avant for the daily
And then with the left over 160HP or so.. Like a sixth gen Toyota Celica because I always though they were neat.
Option A: two 2005 Ford GTs
Option B: a 2005 Ford GT, and a 1990 Mercury Cougar IMSA GTO race car detuned to 550 hp
I’m 6 hp over but it’s fantasy land anyways so don’t crush my dreams.
Kia EV6 GT e-AWD – 576 hp
Kona N – 276 hp
Maverick hybrid – 191 hp
Honda S660 – 63 hp
125 on a 600cc or 750cc sport[y] bike
350 on a Land Rover with a spare tire on the hood
250 on a DD crossover
375 on a Cobra replica
Lada Niva 4×4 for off-roading (83HP)
Lotus Elise weekend car (134HP)
Volvo 850 Turbo daily driver (222HP)
Camaro ZL1 6MT for track days (650HP)
That leaves me 11HP for either a 1950 Citroën 2CV or a sweet hotrod Changli build.
I have to keep my beloved FC, so 200 hp there. I’ve always wanted an FD, so 255 hp for that. I need a daily, so may as well stick with my RX-8, add up another 232 hp. That brings me to 687 hp, leaving me with 413 hp left and I will finally leave the world of rotaries. And let’s just go for the gusto here. I’ll take a brand new Cayman GTS 4.0 at 394 hp, leaving me with 19 hp left. So, I can take a 375cc powered Citroen 2CV at 9 hp, giving me a whopping 10 hp left. I’ll take a Briggs 206 powered go-kart of some form, which comes in at around 9 hp. I managed to spend 1099 hp, leaving one on the table.
You could get an actual horse.
Touché
I love that we converged on a 2CV to fill out our rosters.
“I need a real car, but it needs to make single-digit horsepower. What car should I buy?”
There may be a lot of stuff from early automotive history that fits, but come on! a 2CV! It was the logical choice.
A pole-barn full of old motorcycles and scooters.
Z06, Bronco Raptor, and a lawn mower
That, or a +1100 twin turbo kit for the Viper. 1600-1700 RWHP is surprisingly streetable.
2025 Corvette ZR1 and My Civic Si or
2022 NSX Type S and 2023 Corvette Z06 or
2022 NSX Type S and 2023 Porsche 911
I’d probably blow it all on a Model S Plaid.
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