German Car Zone

Uphill, downhill…20 mph or 200... These cars just don’t care


Remember when 600 horsepower was the province of pure racing cars and dragsters? Even the biggest and meanest late-'60s' muscle cars topped out at somewhere between 390 and 500 bhp. And those cars were thought to be right at the edge of driveability, shuddering monsters that went sideways and hit things if you got a little too happy with the throttle.

Cars like this faded away in the early '70s, like dinosaurs caught in a meteor shower of gas station lines, safety legislation, emissions laws, recession and high insurance costs. They put their tails between their legs and slunk off to their lonely caves, apparently to be seen no more.

Then dawned the '80s, and horsepower started creeping back. Fuel got cheaper and Americans suddenly rediscovered fun. ("What do you mean, convertibles are unsafe? Whose life is this, anyway?") Meanwhile, a decade of emissions research helped engine labs find more power — and more manageable power — in smaller beakers of gasoline. Horsepower and efficiency have been on the upswing ever since.

And now, here in 2009, we suddenly find ourselves able to gather together no fewer than six luxury GT and sports cars that are able to produce 600 or more horsepower.

No one, in 1973, would have predicted such a thing. We thought we'd all be commuting on hydrogen-powered unicycles by now, and dining on seaweed. Further proof that the only thing we ever know about the future is that we don't know anything. Just ask my stockbroker.

And now these cars...

A cynic — or simply an alert realist — might point out that some of the same conditions that killed off those '70s' muscle cars are back today — along with a consumer mood that discourages throwing brandy tumblers into the fireplace. Depending on your alarmist tendencies, we are either living through the Last Days of Babylon or the Golden Age of High Performance. Maybe some of each. Either way, these are six great cars worth driving and examining.

To wring them out, we spent three days on the road, driving from our Newport Beach offices up into California's Coastal Range around the little towns of Buellton, Solvang and Los Olivos — the scenic wine country where "Sideways" was filmed, forever raising the price of Pinot Noir, not to mention food and lodging, in this area. Nevertheless, armed with company credit cards, we pressed onward in our research.

This is not a comparison test, but more a survey of how these cars drive — and how they put all that power to the ground. I doubt anyone is really undecided between, say, a Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 and a Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG. Car buffs in this high-end market tend to have their personal tastes well channeled. Still, it was interesting to see how these cars struck our staff, and we all emerged with our own — sometimes unexpected — favorites.


Full Story: Road and Track - The 600-Horsepower Club


Road and Track - The 600-Horsepower Club - VIDEO



M

For me it'd have to be:

1. LP640 -- Because it's so absolutely outrageous




2. Corvette ZR1 -- You get the feeling nothing's quite so visceral as 638 American horses




3. SL65 -- Surprised this isn't up higher on my list, but, to steal from Jeremy Clarkson, it's the perfect grand touring blunderbuss




4. Ferrari 599 -- Balanced, poised, powerful and eye-catching. Everything you want from an Italian exotic




5. Dodge Viper -- Not as pretty as the old one, but who can say no to a V10?




6. Bentley Continental -- Why is this even in here?

LP for me please. That car looks ten times better than any of the other rides, though I have to say that the 599 has a brilliant exhaust note.

599 for me, followed by ZR-1 & SL65...

599 GTB
LP-640
SL65...why not the Black? would have been my first choice!
ZR-1
Bentely
Viper

There's still few cars from MB with over 600+hp and not included,i think CL65,SLR 722s and S65 should be there too...haha

Oh, a black 599... damn, that is nice!

Yeah and imagine a red interior for the 599 and that black SL65..

I know, that I'm the only one that would choose this car here:

I would go with the Bentley Continental GT Speed! I love this car. Great looking, mind-blowing interior, comfortable, fast…

…the Bentley is followed by SL 65, 599 and Corvette…

1. Lambo
2. SL
3. Ferrari/Bentley, can't decide.

No hassles... Lp-640 for me please & I'll prefer the one in yellow!