THE EVO BLUEPRINT
Performance cars are becoming heavier and a lot more complicated than they ever were. But the recipe for some unadulterated fun behind the wheel is actually a whole lot simpler. We at team evo India break it down for you
New performance cars are too big, too heavy and too powerful.
What we actually need for a great drive is much less
THIS PASSION FOR driving we all share, it’s sort of inbuilt, hard-wired, but we know what sustains it. We’ve all experienced moments of pure joy at the wheel, revelatory, unforgettable seconds of perfection when it all comes together – the car, the road and you. And so it sticks fast, leaves you wanting more.
We still crave those moments even if we’ve driven many cars on many roads. It can be the sound of a car echoing off tunnel walls, the feeling of a wonderful engine working hard, a perfectly executed downshift, or just seeing the car’s reflection in shop windows… but what really does it for us here at evo – and probably most of you too – is what happens in the corners.
It doesn’t get any better than the feeling of the car perfectly poised beneath you, its attitude from turn-in to apex to exit determined by your brake, steering and throttle inputs, those inputs guided by feedback through the wheel and seat that tell you the car has got this, was born to do this, was honed by engineers who love driving. That’s what releases the endorphins. That’s the Thrill of Driving. Question is: what’s the car?
We imagined driving a loop of our favourite A- and B-roads and asked ourselves: what would we choose? What would deliver that poise, that feel and feedback, corner after corner? What would engage and reward at all speeds? What do we need rather than want? We brainstormed the options, eliminating cars that miss the mark to varying degrees, while honing in on those that would hit the bullseye (see right).
Our shortlist of the most desirable cars
THERE’S ROOM FOR MORE SUCCESSORS TO THE RENAULT SPORT CLIO TROPHY AND MÉGANE R26.R
quickly revealed some common traits and a pattern. For starters, it contained mostly relatively modest cars. In no particular order: original Lotus Elise and Exige, Lotus Elise Club Racer, BMW E30 M3, Honda Integra Type R, Porsche 968 and 911 Club Sport, Porsche Cayman R, Alpine A110, Caterham Sevens (assorted), Ford Puma, Renault Clio Williams, Clio Trophy and Mégane R26.R, Subaru Impreza RB5 and P1, Peugeot 106 and 306 Rallye, Lotus Elan (’60s original)…
Spot the trend? There’s only one new car, the Alpine A110 (the Caterhams are only new in drivetrain). And the common traits? One is that they all ride exceptionally well, but there are more obvious similarities such as they are all reasonably small and light and not especially powerful.
This is at odds with the new car market. In the last ten years, building SUVs has boomed, while building lightweight cars has waned. Even in driver’s cars it seems that every new model year brings increased power, increased grip and cars that are physically bigger. It feels like we as enthusiasts should be cheering this evolution, applauding evergreater performance and grip and faster Nürburgring lap times. But more power and grip just means you have to be driving harder and faster to get to that point where the car is dancing beneath you. Similarly, the physical upscaling of cars (and their proportionate increase in weight) makes them less exploitable; our roads are no wider than they used to be, our speed limits no higher.
This got us thinking: is there an optimum specification for a driver’s car; a sweet spot that is just the right size and weight and the right power and grip? And are there essential features and characteristics it needs to deliver the ultimate driving experience? In short, can we create the blueprint for the ideal driver’s car?
We started with that list of our favourite cars. They obviously get quite a lot right so we averaged their vital statistics, which produced some promising figures: a car of around 1100kg with 180bhp per ton wearing a 205-section tyre, wrapped up in a body that casts a shadow no bigger than a Peugeot 306. Configuration? It clearly matters less than these basics because our list includes almost all layouts: frontwheel drive, front-engine/rear-drive, mid
engined, rear-engined, four-wheel drive…
These basics deliver because a smaller car has more road space to play with, and a lack of weight and thus inertia doubles up on this because any slip turns back to grip more quickly. The right amount of grip for the mass and torque should help deliver the desired dynamics: there should be grip enough that the car is responsive and able to exploit its weight distribution in a subtle way or an exaggerated way dependent on circumstances.
So what else do we need in our compact, lightweight car with its adjustable, responsive dynamics and good ride? You’ll find our proposals over the page.
ALL CREDIT TO THE CAR MAKERS who are targeting these areas and whose development engineers can set the car up to fully exploit its potential. The Alpine A110 ticks almost all the boxes and absolutely nails the execution. It looks small beside a Cayman and lightness is a key factor in its superb dynamics and performance. The Lotus Elise – whose bonded aluminium chassis clearly inspired Alpine – continues to deliver, though the current models seem to be chasing grip at the expense of some dynamic delicacy. Credit, too, to Mazda. The original MX-5 weighed 971kg and 30 years later the current MX-5 is only slightly heavier despite perceived wisdom saying that modern cars are heavier as they meet stricter safety standards.
Based on past glories, you would hope to find some heroes in the hatchback sector, too, but only the Fiesta ST Performance
Edition is on the right track. There’s certainly room for more successors to the Renault Sport Clio Trophy and Mégane R26.R – small, light, affordable hatches that combine sublime damping with great agility and poise, rather than ever-more potent and/or expensive hatches such as the AMG A45 and Mégane Trophy-R.
But in truth every sector could benefit from more cars that sit closer to our blueprint. The benefits of lighter, smaller and less powerful cars alone would be many, from lower fuel consumption to reduced component wear to less raw material required simply to make them. But the greatest benefit to people like us would be the increased chance of having one of those memorable drives next time a great road reveals itself in your windscreen. ⌧
THE ALPINE A110 TICKS ALMOST ALL THE BOXES AND ABSOLUTELY NAILS THE EXECUTION