99% of the people out there cannot hope to handle 420HP. Much less more.
Perspective has been lost on many I fear. Thats Boss 429 level.
My uncle had a Pontiac Bonneville with a 455 in it.
Could not drive that thing under 40MPH, even with my
pinky toe on the accelerator.
Ratings have changed ... sae/net. 420 now is like 460 then.
Engine horsepower and wheel horsepower are not the same thing. An engine with high horsepower and less torque would need to have a transmission that could put that kind of power to the wheels. Besides, with all the computer controls, even the most reckless Cadillac owner would have whatever horsepower and torque the car is capable of “handled” for them.
With the traction control and automatic trannys of today, it's quite effortless. I know many girls here in NYC who drive 400+ hp cars around the city and they're far from “car girls”.
My 2008 Shelby GT500 has 500hp and I have no problem handling it. My wife drives it and has no problem handling it. I know people that have a 2014 Shelby GT500 with 662hp and they have no problem handling it. The Dodge Challenger Hellcat has 707hp and I anticipate that most owners will have no problem handling it. Modern cars are built to handle high horsepower.
“99% of the people out there cannot hope to handle 420HP. Much less more.”
Au contrere, Norm! First of all, 99% of the people out there are not interested in the kind of performance these limited production vehicles provide. The new ‘15 Corvette Z-06 will have 650 hp from a direct-injected, cylinder- dropping (i.e. it goes to 4 cyls when that provides sufficient power to move the vehicle) 6.2 liter supercharged V8. With the active management of the traction/braking/cornering, and idiot would have to work at it to have a problem with the power available. (My current car has a bit less power, but it has all these features, which I have to turn off, when I use the car in a track day, because they prevent me from exacting the absolute performance that’s available.) From what I understand, these cars will not have a gas guzzler tax because they get very good milage unless you have a heavy foot all the time. I have a Corvette that’s a couple of years old, and I routinely get more than 30mpg on the highway with combined driving coming in at about 25mpg.