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Originally Posted by JackMcCornack
The author (Jalopnik staff writer Jason Torchinsky) says he loves the idea of small engines swaps in sports cars
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Since he's quite obsessed with old air-cooled Volkswagens and other cars based around the Beetle engine, such as the Brazilian Puma GT, it doesn't really surprise me.
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"...I'd like to see an automotive subculture obsessed with cramming the smallest, feeblest engines they can into the most impressive, powerful cars they can find...culminating in the pinnacle of the genre, a Briggs and Stratton 1 cylinder lawn tractor engine in a Veyron...neutered supercars...I think this subculture should be called Gelders."
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Not sure at which point it would make sense to get so extreme into the usage of small engines, but the aerodynamics of certain sportcars combined with a modest drivetrain might lead to good results efficiency-wise while keeping a reasonable overall performance. BTW when I was 13 I believed it would be cool to fit a motorcycle engine between 250 to 500cc into a small car that would normally rely on a 4-cyl 1.0L engine...
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I've encountered a lot of guys who equate horsepower with masculinity
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Carroll Shelby used to say that horsepower sells cars while the torque wins races. But anyway, in my country due to the displacement-based taxation, some cars with 1.0L engine and a relatively high horsepower rating compared to their Euro and Argentinian counterparts with 1.2L and 1.4L engines end up getting worse mileage figures since they have to be revved higher and backed by shorter gearing. But anyway, it's always worth to remember the Lotus Seven, which would usually have an impressive performance compared to fancier rides on a track even though it relied mostly in small engines.