Steve:
Great story--and a wonderful illustration!
While tempted by the Bugatti part of the story, I don't think I'll go
out and buy one of those pocket rockets with bags of horsepower at a
zillion rpm, though. I understand that they aren't much fun on a day to
day basis unless I keep the revs up all the time--in fact, did I
understand correctly that your final chapter to the story seemed to
illustrate the benefits of day to day drivability from having lots of
torque?
Best Regards
David Sosna
Steve Laifman wrote:
> Gather around the fire, friends, and let me spin you a semi long tale.
>
> Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, a World Class Championship
> car race was being held - and the Evil Empire ruled. They all had these
> huge, powerful machines, with their fearless drivers, that dominated the
> racing circuits. Time brewed larger, and even more powerful machines.
>
> The hills reverberated with their thundering passage. The quality of
> the vehicles was judged, and demonstrated by the enormous quantities of
> torque produced that allowed challenges of climbing steep hills in top
> gear from a dead stop.
>
> At dawn, one overcast day, at the World Championship Race, they were
> lined up. Enormous engines were thundering at idle. The biggest, most
> powerful cars and drivers in the world, awaiting the start of the long,
> hard European Grand Championship race.
>
> Then, what should appear but a new Challenger. It was met with
> disbelief, and loud disdain. "What, you bring a bright blue child's toy
> to this battle. It is an insult!". "Does your mommy know you have your
> pedal car here?" "Watch out, I might just run over you, hiding beneath
> my hubcaps!" "Where is the one for the other foot?" Boorish disdain
> and laughter filled the air. The Challenger just smiled slightly, in a
> quiet way. He towered over his machine, as opposed to the Champions who
> climbed up high to their steed's controls.
>
> After a long, grueling duel, the Champions found the new Challenger
> cooling off at the finish line, many hours ahead of them, awaiting their
> arrival. The bright blue French Bugatti had beaten Europe's finest 12
> Liter cars, ending one era and beginning another.
>
> There has been an argument about low speed torque vs. high rpm for a
> long time, before, after, and currently.
>
> But, as the wise man pointed out, "races go to finishers". Just look at
> today's Grand Prix and sports car racing machines. Unarguably the
> fastest we have ever seen. And those screams of high rpms, and
> multi-speed auto shift gearboxes, are a fitting conclusion to the
> argument that Bugatti, then NOVI , and BRM started years earlier.
>
> Then again, on a personal note, I took off from a stoplight with
> traffic, the other day, keeping up with what the surrounding traffic
> would allow. When I went to shift from first to second I ended up in
> fourth!
>
> I had unknowingly started in the wrong gate, third gear! I couldn't
> tell, it just moved on out with the fastest traffic would allow. Of
> course I did have the Mk II wide ratio gear set with the good ratios,
> but I am still smiling. The young hot-rodder still remembers tearing up
> the street in the big iron.
>
> Irony, such a sting.
>
> Steve
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