Thought some of you might be interested in this. Was bored earlier so did some quick low quality scans. Haven't read the full thing yet so will not comment yet. Was just going to post the results for each track but put the rest for the hell of it. Hope all text is visible (is on my screen).

 

Very nice article. It's cool to see how different cars do on different types of track.

 

Sweet article, thanks for posting. I think I would have to agree with the author, give me the gallardo out of that bunch. I'll take mine in white though.

 

Cool article. Seeing the R8 just never gets old, is just so freakin gorgeous.

 

cool article. either way i'd take the dbs outta the bunch. who wouldnt.

 

Excellent article. I've probably read it 5 times now. No need to post the article's images, because here it is online
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=6939

I REALLY wanted to start a thread on this a couple of day ago. Glad that JRichter did.

What it points out is that even you absolutely can't determine performance from such stats as curbweight. I bet the consensus is that the Lotus Exige would destroy everything in the autocross because it's the lightest and has the best handling. It's what I thought would happen! And yet, it had it's *** HANDED TO IT by a heavy, AWD Lamborghini. Not only that, it got CLOWNED by 6 other heavier, bigger, more powerful cars in a freakin autocross. To anybody that thinks just curbweight is the "holy grail" of handling for street cars, you're dead wrong. 7/100ths away was a pure grand tourer... the Aston Martin DBS. Pitiful. Power reigns supreme, because suspension and handling technologes are so well establised and commoditized that any car manufacturer can exploit the shared knowledge. Any "sports car" that has under 300hp can't compete with even the "boats" of the automobile world at their own game.

Mazda?!?!?! Hello!?!?!?

 

I don't think the DBS is a pure grand tourer, other astons perhaps, but the DBS was designed to be a luxury sports car to take to the track.

 

Okay, since I've never driven a DBS, I'll quote the article (Steve Millen) p59

 

i read that article...i was semi suprised the exige got handled even in autocross...i was glad to see the porsche do relatively well too

 

What i'd like to see is a final points tally weighted to / Per $.
A 216,000$ was almost beaten by a 100,000$ car. Id take the half price viper.

 

Yes and no.... Mazda never had to have big HP numbers in any of there Rotary cars to put down impressive numbers or compete with other cars within a 100HP +/- range. . Wether in autocross, track, 1/4 mile, etc.
I agree, curbweight alone is not the holy grail of a well performing car, but it is a part of the puzzle of a complete picture.

Why the Exige didn't win the autocross is beyond me, like I always say , i would like to see consistency. A loss here or there still isn't going to tarnish its name as a curve carver.