The Horsepower Wars Will Kill Us All.

News flash: now is a great time to love horsepower.  In fact, it may be the best time ever.  60's muscle car fans will brag about how badass their Boss 429 Mustang is, or how their matching-numbers Yenko 427 Camaro shakes the earth when it starts, or why their Hemi Charger needs new tires every 4 days.  Whatever - we've got it so much better.  Not only do today's muscle cars make more power, they can actually put it to the ground without killing the earth as a byproduct.

Witness the powers of multiplication.  When the first Ford SVT Mustang Cobra came out way back in 1993, it was a hot son of a gun.  The 302ci Windsor V8 was breathed on by a team of Ford's finest, producing a healthy (and probably underrated) 235bhp and 285lb-ft of torque.  My dad bought one new off the showroom floor as a present to himself for professional success, and although I was only 6 at the time, I still vividly remember clicking the stopwatch on 0-60 runs, my head bouncing against the seat during the 1-2 shift, and that 0-60 time never got below 6.0 seconds - despite Ford's claim of 5.9.

Now of course, a base V6 Mustang will run loops around that '93.  And the new Cobra (they call it the GT500 now) produces - wait for it - 2.8 times more horsepower.  And 2.21 times more torque.  Now mind you, this is in comparison to a car that was nearly undriveable when it was wet, or cold, or the wind was blowing the wrong way - there was no traction or stability control, or ABS, or any other shenanigans.  Those Goodyear Gatorbacks were hopeless against the torquey Windsor's charms.  So what is a Mustang with 662 horsepower and 631lb-ft torque going to be like to drive?  Especially when it still has the same solid-beam rear axle?

I've talked about the 2013 GT500 before, but Ford recently had the GT500 SAE certified, and they came back with more power and torque from the blown 5.8L 32v V8 than they were originally expecting - 12 more horsepower and 31 lb-ft more than originally forecast.  For reference, that's 24 more than a ZR-1 Corvette, 82 more than a ZL-1 Camaro, 92 more than a Ferrari 458 Italia, 70 more than the McLaren MP4-12C, and 112 more than an Audi R8 V10.

The dyno chart is pretty impressive - at no point in the rev range does it make less than 400lb-ft of torque, and once it's past 1,750rpm it doesn't drop below 500lb-ft.  Torque looks to peak around 4,000rpm and level off, with power hitting full stride at about 6,750 - just before the 7,000rpm redline.  It's hard to judge looking at a dyno sheet on the internet, but I think it's still a safe bet to say it'll be ferocious.  Also of note: the EPA rates the GT500 at 15 city and 24 highway, which is pretty good for a 660+ horsepower car, and 5mpg better than the ZL-1 Camaro.  As if buyers care about fuel economy.

And it's all going through the rear wheels, a solid beam axle, and some 285-width tires.  So yes, it seems like the horsepower wars are trying to kill us.  What's your take on this topic?  How much power is too much?