Biggest engine, shitest power

[dollywobbler]

Following on from the big car/small engine thread, what about worst specific power output? Let's put a cut-off at 1950 as older stuff was especially poor. I reckon Merc W123 diesels could be in with a shout again as I reckon the 200D is about 28bhp per litre and the 300D a whopping 29bhp/l.

 

What I find interesting is that a 602cc 2CV is 48bhp/l but a Volkswagen Beetle 1200 is only 35...

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Is a 2cv really 48bhp? Seems highly unlikely to me.

 

Surely no-one can beat the mighty GM diesel of the early 80's, 5.7 litres/105bhp.

[dollywobbler]

Look again. Bhp/l is the key difference!

[The Moog]

Saab 900 GL is 49 bhp/l which I thought must be low ... especially as the car weighs like a small baby elephant..

[dollywobbler]

Oooh, Vauxhall Ventora is pretty bad. 123bhp from 3294cc equals a paltry 38.43bhp per litre. That's not as bad as I originally thought because I'm crap at maths...

 

THREAD EDITED BY IDIOT

[warren t claim]

The Mk2 Granada diesel must be up here with the greats.

[fiatdaft]

I'm sure it will be something from the land of the not so free americans !

[chaseracer]

The 1976 Cadillac Deville had a 500 cubic inch (8.2 litre) V8 with 190bhp...

[dollywobbler]

I reckon the Landy counts. I wouldn't rush for the extra power without some extra stopping power though!

 

Caddy is 23.75bhp/l - that's not exactly efficient is it?

[Albert Ross]

I reckon the Landy counts. I wouldn't rush for the extra power without some extra stopping power though!

 

It got 3 inch wide front drum brakes (50% increase!!) and a Servo.

 

My 109 diesel was 62 bhp when new. 2286cc. It's probably around 13bhp now. And noisier.

[M'coli]

18.5bhp/l for the 5.7ltr diesel mentioned by Mr Bollox, that'll take some beating.

[chaseracer]

18.5bhp/l for the 5.7ltr diesel mentioned by Mr Bollox, that'll take some beating.

Unlike the 'performance' of anything it's fitted to...

[Bren]

Some of the big block ford V8's (460 cu.in) that had the "smog" heads in the seventies only produced about 160 bhp. They were effectively detuned to comply with emissions regulations in states such as california.

[Negative Creep]

My Falcon produced an impressive 120bhp from a 4.1 straight 6

[Cavcraft]

Don't know the BHP/litre ratio, but a GMC Suburban 6.5TD I owned once didn't exactly set the world on fire aceleration wise.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

I wonder which is the worst petrol engined car? This '77 Chevrolet Impala must be close - its 4096cc six made 82bhp. That's 20 per litre!

 

[alfetta]

Saab 900 GL is 49 bhp/l which I thought must be low ... especially as the car weighs like a small baby elephant..

 

it's only 1170kg, hardly heavy! about 200KG less than a mk2 mondy

[Craig the Princess]

Cheating slightly, but my Nuffield Universal DM4 has a 3.4 Litre 4 Cylinder Diesel Engine pusuing out a massive 53bhp. 15.5 bhp per litre.

 

(Except the engine is a bit knackered and is putting out less than that!)

[cort16]

I've done the maths. The LF9 GM diesel as mentioned earlier by mrb works out at 18.42bhp per litre, which is worse than the Merc.

Apparanty you could get one of these with it. Ideal for running the quarter mile in 11 minutes.

 

[ProgRocker]

I think the AMC Pacer was pretty woeful.

[dollywobbler]

I think the AMC Pacer was pretty woeful.

 

3.8-litres (same as a Jag MkVIII), 90bhp (not the same as a Jag MkVIII) which means 23.7bhp/l. Not so bad compared to some yank tin!

[jonny69]

Looks like Yank smog-era diesels seem to be winning!

 

The Ford Pop 103E just sneaks in the 1950 cut-off with 30hp and 1172cc. That makes *screws face up slightly and counts through fingers* 25.6hp per litre. Not too shoddy in the grand scale of things.

[ashmicro]

IIRC the Pacer could be had with a V8 5 litre. I'm sure it still wasn't GR8 4 driftin.

[dollywobbler]

Can't find any stats for the 5-litre Pacer, but if it had the 125bhp of some other 5-litre AMCs, that's a throbbing 25bhp/l. Actually better in specific terms than the 3.8.

[Negative Creep]

Wasn't the 3.8 the "economy" model designed to compete with the likes of the Corolla?

[Muscles]

Is a 2cv really 48bhp? Seems highly unlikely to me.

 

Surely no-one can beat the mighty GM diesel of the early 80's, 5.7 litres/105bhp.

 

 

It has 10hp!

Who the hell would imagine 48 in a shit car like that.

Doesent even look like it was made to move.

[ashmicro]

Ye mighty Autodata lists the last-of-line 2CV6 as having 29BHP

 

ISTR some young lad round here had managed to get a GS engine into one years ago. Not a BiRotor, though!

[dollywobbler]

Ye mighty Autodata lists the last-of-line 2CV6 as having 29BHP

 

ISTR some young lad round here had managed to get a GS engine into one years ago. Not a BiRotor, though!

 

Yes, and 29bhp divided by 0.6 litres gives you 48bhp/l. Clearly I made a meal of my opening post and most people missed the l!

[scooters]

Chrysler Lebaron Convertible with the horrible 2.4 NA Four Pot - total agricultural rubbish

 

all these are yanks!

[barefoot]

Didn't the original wartime Willy's Jeep have a 4 pot 3 litre with 30bhp?

 

another 10 bhp/litre - I suspect it's done to improve reliability.