$300,000. Is any car worth it?

[clyde]

Originally Posted by lemming

Ha ha ha. Point taken.

I missed his point. Maybe because you took it?

[FC]

Originally Posted by robg

+1

I really dont understand the objection to adding mild hybrid systems to modern turbocharged cars. Its not like it somehow dilutes the "purity" of the experience...mostly what mild hybrid systems do is make the car feel better in everyday traffic situations by remvoing any sort of lag from a start. They also serve to make start/stop systems not suck (you dont even notice it). Not much weight penalty either. And with the better designed systems, it's neutral in terms of added complexity since they are able to ditch the traditional starter motor (which is another cool thing about these mild hybrid systems--ultra quick and smooth starts with no "cranking"). Having a hard time seeing the downsides here...

What did McLaren call it, "torque gap filling" or some such thing?

Found it: "Torque fill"

[FC]

Originally Posted by lemming

Yes.

Hence the question, is that car worth the $300,000?

It is amazing. But is it ‘more’ amazing than your M3? Yeah. Dunno.

Sure it's more amazing. THAT MUCH more amazing? I dunno. Diminishing returns and all that.

But for the purposes of worry-free giggles, my old 997TT beat the M3. I can only imagine what this thing feels like.

[dan]

Originally Posted by clyde

I missed his point. Maybe because you took it?

They don't want to discuss their net worth in a public forum

[clyde]

Originally Posted by dan

They don't want to discuss their net worth in a public forum

Ah. Maybe Rich Brad can come back and talk about his money then.

[Nick M3]

Originally Posted by dan

They don't want to discuss their net worth in a public forum

Or things done in "Mexico."

[FC]

Originally Posted by Nick M3

Or things done in "Mexico."

[clyde]

Seriously, I understand not wanting to talk about net worth in a public forum, but publicly disclosing your net worth isn't a requirement for establishing out a formula.

[Nick M3]

Originally Posted by clyde

Seriously, I understand not wanting to talk about net worth in a public forum, but publicly disclosing your net worth isn't a requirement for establishing out a formula.

What if there isn't a formula? My point was just that there's a not insignificant group of people in this country who can afford to spend $300k on a car and won't really notice it. It's not like you *need* to have $30mm* to do that, either.

* We don't need to get into net-worth vs. liquidity. Yes, I'm well aware of the difference - and I've seen some pretty hilarious balance sheets.

[robg]

Originally Posted by FC

What did McLaren call it, "torque gap filling" or some such thing?

Found it: "Torque fill"

Yeah I think the P1 was a plug-in hyrbid with a higher capacity battery and more powerful motor than what you'll find in most "mild hybrid" type systems. From what I'm aware of, the mild hybrid systems generally have enough juice to assist in getting the car moving (to make it more responsive from a start). So not something that would be capable of true "torque fill" like on the P1.

Some systems also include an "electric supercharger" to aid the main turbo when off boost, which I suppose is also a way of achieving some manner of "torque fill" but quite different. I doubt Porsche would include such a system in a 911 though.