A few weeks ago I was part of a group at the BMW factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina and getting a ride in a 5 series being driven by one of BMW’s professional divers. It was an intense “hot lap” around their test track and this driver was really impressing us with his abilities along with the amazing capabilities of the BMW sedan. With a great deal of élan he took us through the complex course consisting of multiple layouts and the challenge of traffic cones placed to make the tarmac even more challenging. The BMW responded to his inputs as if by magic and demonstrating its braking ability as exceptional, bring our speed down in what appeared to be impossibly short distances. In the grand finale to our lap we ended drifting around a wet skid pad before we precisely exited the track and returned to our stating point. Yes, there is nothing quite as impressive as a great handling car being piloted by a professional driver.
Just before I exited the car I asked the driver how heavy the 5 series was. 4300 pounds, he said. That was a stunning revelation.
I know that cars are and continue to get heavier than they were decades ago, but I didn’t expect to hear a number like that and realizing that it was over two tons.
Back in 1971 I owned a new Volkswagen Super Beetle that had a curb weight of 1874 pounds. It came with a 1600cc, four cylinder, air-cooled engine with a 60 hp engine. Compare that with the 2017 VW Beetle 1.8T a front wheel drive, with a 170 hp, water-cooled four cylinder engine and a curb weight of 3012 pounds. The 1971 version was rear wheel drive with a power to weight ratio of 0.03, and the 2017 has a 0.06 power to weight ratio. I later modified the Super Beetle’s engine to be 1.8 liter and 125 hp at the wheels. A ratio of at least 0.07.
Back in 1971 one of my favorite cars was the BMW 2002 tii (E10). While I couldn’t afford to own one, I managed to have several occasions when I was able to drive one. The E10 was an amazing two-door sedan powered by a sweet 2.0 liter four cylinder engine and weighed in at 2227 pounds of curb weight. The four cylinder engine cranked out 130 hp. That was a power to weight ratio of 0.06. The 2023 equivalent (debatable) I would pick, as the 3 series. It also has a 2 liter four cylinder engine putting out 255 hp and weighs in at 3536 pounds. That is a power to weight ratio of 0.07. If the engine hp was swapped into the 1971 E10, then the power to weight ratio would have been would have been an impressive 0.11.
Looking for another equivalent pair of cars, I considered the 1971 Lotus Elan with a 126 hp four cylinder engine packaged in a two seater roadster with a curb weight of 1515 pounds. That gives us a power to weight ratio of 0.08. Compare that to a 2023 Mazda MX-5 Miata with a 181 hp four powering a curb weight of 2341 pounds, resulting in a power to weight ratio of 0.08.
Take a moment to compare the curb weights of a couple of the Tesla models: the Model S dual motor comes in at a hefty 4561 pounds, and the Model X Long Range weighs in at 5185 pounds. I’ll let you search the internet and then calculate their respective power-to-weight ratios.
How about those new SUVs? Well, why don’t you just explore those on your own? They are turning into small tanks, in a way. While the power-to-weight ratios keep improving, they have to, in order to overcome the inertia of their hefty curb weights. The days of vehicles that weighed in at less than a ton have been eclipsed by ones that now weigh in at over 2, and often 3 or more tons.