In the performance world, horsepower isn’t everything even though most American manufacturers seem to think so. Slapping 500 brake horse power into a car is useless if it can’t deal with taking a corner when the road gets twisty. In fact, horsepower is only one small piece of the puzzle. Tires, brakes and suspension all play a role in making a truly exquisite performance car. Like many human beings, more weight means more misery and this is true in the performance car world as well.
That’s why in most true performance cars, there is no sat nav, no heated seats and sometimes even no radio. Every little bit counts.
But there is another reason to lose weight.
Lamborghini is being forced to voluntarily losing weight to reduce gas usage, which means reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This is not a new concept, although apparently CEO Steve Winklemann is only figuring this out now.
Says Winklemann “It has come to the point where acceleration equals consumption…”
Uh, acceleration has always meant consumption. That’s why we consistently need to fill our tanks with gas, and why there is now an oil crisis. But no matter, Winklemann now understands that acceleration of any form requires energy and is determined to make those wonderful supercars are friendlier to David Suzuki types.
This is really win-win for Lamborghini. Not only will their cars be even better than they already are, but Lamborghini can now tout themselves as the latest to hop on board the ‘green’ movement. Even if Obama’s new fuel efficiency ratings forced them into it.
In any event, is this now signifying the end of the horsepower wars?
[Autoweek]