Judging by list prices, ignoring the presence or absence of any other options and any thoughts of political correctness, which U.S.-spec vehicle offers the most horsepower per dollar? I always assumed it was the 300 horsepower Ford Mustang GT, which clocks in at about $26k. Nope. Its $/hp ratio is $86 per pony. It's a good buy, but not the bang-for-the-buck champ. Remember: lowest $/hp wins.
Pontiac G8 – 360 horses – $83/hp
Dodge Magnum SRT8 – 425 horses – $89/hp
Dodge Caliber SRT4 – 280 horses – $82/hp
Chevy HHR SS – 260 horses – $88/hp
Shelby GT500 – 500 hp – $86/hp
But it's when you get into the trucks that the money-power ratio comes into focus.
Nissan Titan – 317 horses – $82/hp
Toyota Tundra – 381 horses – $81/hp
Yup, the true power mongers however are pickup trucks. The Mopar option is the Dodge Ram 1500, which brings you a 340 horsepower Hemi for only $25k– a fantastic ratio of $73/hp. But the crown goes to… the Ford F250 Super Duty, equipped with a 362-horse 6.8-liter V10. Listing at $24,175, that's a $67/hp combo. Screw the Dodge Challenger ($89/hp) rebirth. The muscle car champ is still a Ford truck.
I wonder what the best one after discounts would be? Probably still ford. $24175 – ….$4000 or so, $56/hp, plus a couple horsepower tax + registration.
Actually, I remember a Titan in the paper for $16999 a couple weeks ago, and it said 4 at that price, so $25994 – crapload = 16999 = $54/hp, plus couple horsepower tax + reg
Ah but you speed heads have the equation way too simplified. You have to factor weight in the dollars to power equation to get the maximum acceleration per buck…. of course that equation always ends up taking us to motorcycles.
E=1/2mv^2 and F=ma are our base equations… I’m lazy, so I’ll be waiting for some one to get me the comprehensive hp*torque/$$$*Kilos list.
BUT, WAIT! There’s more! Buy now, and you get extra torque thrown in at the same low, low price.
RayH:
Discounts change everything, so I didn’t get into it. For instance, there’s a $5000 rebate on the Ram 1500, which is a fantastic deal at $19,995 for 340 horsepower (and a ratio of $58/hp).
Used ’94 Ford Aspire: rated 70 hp (let’s guess it makes more like 60 after all these years) for $500 = $8.33/hp.
We have a winner!
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Of course a Tundra or Titan or whatever, is pushing a lot of steel around with each of those HP.
I don’t believe $/HP is as meaningful as something like $/(lb/hp), which would be a measure of “Thrills for the Bills.”
Sure, could factor weight into the equation as well as torque, but why stop there? Then we’d have to do gear ratios, traction efficiency at wheels, ect. Then there’s always crotch rockets…
If you go back to using MSRPs, the Caliber SRT-4 does OK. I got a value of just over $78/hp.
If you factor weight into the equation, it’s probably an Aveo or a Rio.
steronz:
How? It’s $23,000 and 280 hp, no?
The best part? The Ford truck handles just like an old muscle car.
horsepower is essentially meaningless
what’s important is POWER to WEIGHT ratio (this is how a Lotus Elise keeps up with a Corvette)
plus lets not even talk about aftermarket power per dollar . . . .
I say to hell with new cars, Horsepower/dollar goes to the old 5.0L, picked up mine for a measly $3,000, and with 225 (original) HP thats a whopping $13/HP! Granted, after nearly 2 decades, it’s maybe making 160HP, still under 20 bones/HP
Hmmm, I guess the truck might handle a little better but…..A fun comparison nonetheless!
cretinx : what’s important is POWER to WEIGHT ratio (this is how a Lotus Elise keeps up with a Corvette)
You are absolutely right, and that’s why the 425 horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT8 does 0-60 in the low fives (according to Dodge’s projections), which is comparable to any number of cars with less horsepower – Mustang, WRX, Evo, BMW 335i…
Hp/dollar divided by curb weight…betcha the Mustang still wins…on 87 octane, no less!
Boeing FA-18 Hornet – 32,000 horses – $1094/hp
So…is this a serious debate or just I got bored and decided to make a news story sort of thing?
Yep, I’ve got to agree. A better measurement of your bang for the buck would be
(cost)*(weight, ton)/hp.
This way you are comparing the cost versus the hp to weight ratio. I think Motor Trend did this a couple of years ago with some “super” cars, a Ford GT, and a Corvette. No surprise, the European “super” cars finished way back of the Corvette and the MSRP evaluated Ford GT (nobody got that car for anywhere near its MSRP of $100k).
cretinx has the right idea.
Well, to include gearing with weight vs. hp and all of its effects like traction as well, how about 0-60 or 1/4 mile times vs. price. These being old boring measures I guess don’t generate the buzz of an article like this. And what was the point btw? Just trying to praise trucks?
If you want something different, like muscle or subjective feel of power I think acceleration will still make the best deal. Maybe quickest 25 mph to 75 mph time. Or for muscle, fastest top gear acceleration from 50-70 mph like some mags partial to V-twins use.
Running the calculation, my ’06 Pontiac GTO gets $78/hp based on sticker, and about $70/hp for what I paid OTD. Sweet!
I have done this computation before, with a spreadsheet of 2006 specs I have. The formula I came up with is:
pow(HP/weight, 1.5)*price
sorted to the lowest number. The “1.5” is really an arbitrary number, the higher it is, the less important price is factored in. So for every buyer that number needs to be different depending on what you can afford. If you put it to 1.0 (i.e. straight weight per hp per $), then everyone be driving an aveo, so that would not be very informative.
Here is the list based on the above formula, best first (name, price, HP/weight):
2006 Ford Mustang GT Deluxe Coupe 25140 11.5
2006 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe 43690 8
2006 Suzuki Aerio Sedan Base 13999 17.2
2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 64890 6.2
2006 Chevrolet Aveo Special Value Sedan 9350 22.9
2006 Nissan 350Z Coupe Base 27650 11.2
2006 Mazda MAZDA3 i 4-Door 13710 18
2006 Saturn ION 2 Sedan Manual 11925 19.9
2006 Suzuki Aerio Sedan Premium 14999 17.2
2006 Dodge Charger SRT8 35320 9.8
2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution RS 28679 11.3
2006 Nissan Altima 3.5 SE 23600 12.9
2006 Kia Rio Base 10770 21.8
2006 Nissan 350Z Coupe Enthusiast 29350 11.2
2006 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V 18300 15.5
2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP Sedan 27330 11.9
2006 Mazda MX-5 Club Spec 20435 14.5
2006 Chevrolet Impala SS 26330 12.3
2006 Kia Spectra LX 12895 20