HP levels offered in 1981 performance cars

[Rich]

This comment in one of the other threads caused me to check out what else was on offer in the USA performance car market back when JZD was selling DeLoreans with 130HP motors in them:

I must remember that. "In 1981, the DeLorean had more horsepower than a V8 Mustang".

So have a look at this selection of performance cars from back in the day, ranked by horsepower rating. Where there was a choice it was kept to naturally-aspirated top-end versions of the car for the 1981 model year, all to USA specs.

HP 1981 Car Model
100 Mazda RX-7
101 BMW 320i
120 Ford Mustang
130 DeLorean DMC-12
135 Datsun 280ZX
160 Lotus Esprit S3
175 Chevrolet Camaro
190 Chevrolet Corvette
214 Ferrari 308 GTSi
229 Porsche 928
240 Porsche 911SC (up from 188HP in 1980)

These were the days when a 0-60 time below 8 seconds was remarkable.
A 308GTSi did it in 7.8 sec. and the 911SC was good for 6.6 sec. An RX-7 took 9.5 seconds, right up there with a D.

[Rich W]

I must remember that. "In 1981, the DeLorean had more horsepower than a V8 Mustang".


IIRC, the 1981 Mustang had very restrictive heads on the 4.2L V8, thus the very low HP output. Bruce may know more details.

I owned a 1980 Mustang Cobra Turbo (same look as the 79 Pace Car) and it had an I-4 Turbo (140ci) with 132 HP output.

I ended up trading the Cobra for my first DeLorean, back in 1985, just in time to enjoy the Back to the Future phenomenon.

[OverlandMan]

This comment in one of the other threads caused me to check out what else was on offer in the USA performance car market back when JZD was selling DeLoreans with 130HP motors in them:

I must remember that. "In 1981, the DeLorean had more horsepower than a V8 Mustang".

So have a look at this selection of performance cars from back in the day, ranked by horsepower rating. Where there was a choice it was kept to naturally-aspirated top-end versions of the car for the 1981 model year, all to USA specs.

HP 1981 Car Model
100 Mazda RX-7
101 BMW 320i
120 Ford Mustang
130 DeLorean DMC-12
135 Datsun 280ZX
160 Lotus Esprit S3
175 Chevrolet Camaro
190 Chevrolet Corvette
214 Ferrari 308 GTSi
229 Porsche 928
240 Porsche 911SC (up from 188HP in 1980)

These were the days when a 0-60 time below 8 seconds was remarkable.
A 308GTSi did it in 7.8 sec. and the 911SC was good for 6.6 sec. An RX-7 took 9.5 seconds, right up there with a D.

Funny I did the same thing yesterday. I put a spreadsheet together with many of the same cars and numbers. It was a dark time for performance.

[Rich W]

Where there was a choice it was kept to naturally-aspirated top-end versions of the car for the 1981 model year, all to USA specs.



As for the "gray market", the naturally-aspirated top-end version of the 1981 Porsche 928 (the Euro 928S) was really the car to have in the early 80's.

The 1981 Porsche 928S had a 4.9L aluminum V8 and put out 296 HP, combined with a 5-spd manual transmission, the car did 0-60 in 6.2 sec and got 20 MPG.

Even by today's standards, it's still a very quick and very fun car to drive, but do not even try to find parts for the Euro engine here in the States, at any price.

[Dangermouse]

I was intending to use the phrase "In 1981, the DeLorean had more horsepower than a V8 Mustang" as an unquantified retort to people's "It's Underpowered" or "It's heavy". Something people can relate to, even if it is perhaps uncharacteristic of the Mustang brand.

Sure you could add the weight of the car to the list above and quote relative lb/HP figures as a more meaningful comparison, but the above statement just puts the car's (lack of) power into the context of the early 80s. People have become so used to the huge HP engines even basic cars are fitted with today, that they wonder that 130HP is even enough to get the car moving. When a Honda Accord has had a 200HP V6 for 15 years you can understand the thought process.

[Ron]

:icon_smile_duh:

(What happened to the :whatsaid: smile?)

[OverlandMan]

:icon_smile_duh:

(What happened to the :whatsaid: smile?)

Good question - maybe it died with the upgrade? You're the admin. :lol: