How long did the Fiat Coupe hold this crown for and what car superceded it?

Not sure on facts, The DC2 Integra Type R was hot on its heels, Nowadays the Mazda3 MPS is quicker, Astra VXR figures show thats a tad slower than a 20vt - But on a blast in my old std 20vt, THEY ARE QUICKER! All the megane Renault Sports are slower inc the R26, With the exception of the 26RR,

There have not really been any quicker cars at that time, circa 1996.

Chrissy

There were a couple of American FWD cars from a few years back that may have had the legs on the coop from silly speeds (Mitsubishi Eclipse GT (2008), Acura TL S (2007)) but I think the rest of the fast FWD'ers were sold here.

Of those I can tell you which aren't faster.
Focus RS (mk1)
Astra VXR
Alfa 156 GTA
Alfa 147 GTA
Any 'booty' Megáne (including the R26R)
Integra Type R (both models)
Focus ST
Leon Cupra R (any model)

...which might be faster or about the same
Mazda 3 MPS
Golf GTi ED30

...and which are faster
Focus RS (mk2)
Scirroco R
New Megáne RS

This all means the 20vT took the record for the fastest FWD car from the Rover 220 Turbo and held it for 10+ years. Having a Coupé body shape helps when most of the other FWD cars are hot hatches because it has much better aerodynamics.

Im not biased, but even the new 260ps Cupra R's slower?

According to Performance Car's road test data yes. The article featured a tuned one with 360bhp (supposedly) and that wasn't even that quick. Barn door aerodynamics coupled with shite electronic traction control rather than a diff?
Stats for revo 360

I can vouch for the diff, My cars hideous at getting ANY traction in forst 3 gears.. dreadful,

I would really have a second think regarding the VXR vs 20vt std - std,

Stats somethime lie, and I believe would have the edge.

Do we know any 2 to campare?

not scientific i know, but my ex's sisters fella had one and it really wasn't that quick - a few "tests" along the m40 proved it several times. long live the coop!!

he was VERY gutted

were you comparing like with like Steve? ie. both standard or modded to the same power?

both were standard Duncan, i never messed with my previous 20vt at all, and it was the mosr reliable car ever! still is i hear, one of Pauls' (motormech) mates bought it off him when i part ex'd for this plus. in the time i've spent c£13k he's spent £300

IIRC a guy on this forum knew someone who worked in a garage with VXR's in, and he was very confident that the 20vT was quicker after having several runs against several examples. The Vauxhall simply doesn't have the traction off the line (due to having better weight distribution mainly but the lack of diff won't help) and has less efficient aerodynamics at speed. What with the coop having less power to start with, increasing the power equally will just make the coop faster still.

Is the Megane RS really faster ? I have been on track with 2 and they could not get past in any part of the track.
I have no idea of the RS stat's

I spent 2 years working for renault
If driven properly around a track the coupe wouldn't touch the megane.
Lets not forget that it set the fastest time around the nurburgring for a FWD car and as far as im aware its a record it still holds???.

In the straights the megane launches better and puts the power down better.

A mate of mine has the ''26r'' version and in a stock coupe i couldn't keep up with him on the straights let alone the twisties.

"Fastest FWD car" was about the actual top speed.

Is this what we worry about when it all comes down to it, or is the Coop a very special old car that can still cut the mustard if need be & still be a nice place to be. Personally the Coop doesn't have to compete with too many modern sports cars.

At the end of the day the Coop can still make its mark, but lets not forget its an old dog now, but a goody at heart.

This is the only Megáne that is quicker

Renaultsport Megane 250 Cup

I yammered on about this a few times, but the 0-1000m time of 25.9s@ 130.7mph proves again that the 20vT's printed 25.9s@ 126mph is tosh; it should be 26.2s@ 125mph.

but some cars perform alot better then the figures suggest.
The megane is one of them.As is the new VW golf gti.

Spot on. I've been surprised by quite some magazine reviews about how B A D the Brera is to drive. Still, on a bendy track (owning both, and both are in an as-new state) the (Ti pack) Brera would run circles around the (Plus pack) Coupe. But then if you would ask me which one I'd rather be driving there and then? Coupe, Coupe, Coupe!

In fact, Pete has been with me in the Brera around Spa and I'm pretty sure, although he didn't comment on it, the Brera is a lot more light-footed than the Coupe.

But as said, we'd probably happily sell the Brera and change it for a baby car if we would need it, but definitely would keep the Coupe.

You're right there JBT, some cars will even be faster in the real world allowing for driver ability and engine tractability. Some examples of these cars even vary hugely in terms of power (we've all seen the different outputs of standard cars on Flea's dyno league table), but the simple maximum straightline performance should be the ultimate test of straightline performance. It's also the easiest to understand, quantify, and, most importantly compare with other cars.

Well,

I been in Germany for a while now and have had a few spirited drives on Autobahns with Vxr's, Mk6 Gti's, R26R's and not one of them has managed to stay with me beyond 150Mph.

And have been behing BMW's and Merc's when they hit the limiter Watching their faces as I slowly creep past them and they can do nothing is Priceless

I have a 2000 "6" with a Gtec 1, K@N, SMIC @ Chargecooler and mine will hit 175Mph on the clocks.

My mate has a brand new Cupra R with the Seat power pack pushing 310Bhp. He can get away from me upto 130mph not far a few car lengths but again hit 150 and hes gone.

Well, driving fast on autobahns may well be a blast, fair enough, but a well sorted Coop is a joy on the twisties. I'm certainly not for one moment going to say my Coop is the best set up ever, but hey, I know what my car is capable of when pushed, not so much in speed, although it is fast, but the way it handles full stop. Upgrades in the suspension department & brakes makes a huge difference to the Coop.

Any Coop owner knows this of course.

huh ?

an old dog .. if you actually read my post, I was asking about 'back in the day', it has nothing to do 'is that all we worry about?' .. I was interested in knowing about the history of its performance, I already know 'what a nice place it is to be'

jesus

In my experience, Having owned 8 20vts, actually having a 155mph car and getting it there are 2 totally different things, on a flat they would get to 140 leptons and the rest would be too slow to bother attempting.. But on a decline they would be very different IMO.

My old CTR claimed top ends @ 147, Mine was tuned and could get 7 mph short of that then again would be too slow to attempt.

Chrissy

Calm down there Duncan, as well you really know I'm referring to others that are veering from your original question. & by the way the old dog has a much bigger bark than a lot of modern sport Coops as well you know.

ok fair enough Jim, I thought it was going to be another 'we musn't talk about how fast the coop can go compared to other cars or we'll get the thread closed, a slapped wrist and let's talk about the interior instead'

I assumed the 'fastest FWD car' was down to it's 0-100 (or at least that's what I benchmarked it against other cars) and not as KayJey said 'The top speed of 155mph'

and as far as stats go, 0-100 in 14.5s is faster than the quoted time for an Astra VXR (torquestats.com). of course, I am just interested in straight-line speed.

That's what I like about my car, it's 10 years old but it can perform better than the majority of performance cars in it's scope (CTR, RS mk1, ST etc etc).

it also has some Soul

Honestly, & I say this as a petrol head of some years. We should all enjoy the Coop for what it is/we think or modded it to. Now in my own admittance this may sound too easy, but then again if you can find another vehicle for little money & perform the way it does & style of course...........................well...bye.

<the management says>
talk about the relative speeds all you like. Compare it directly with another car while driving and you'll get it closed.

Obviously there are rules to this forum, and moderators have the choice to moderate or not, but a little common sense is needed I think.

I also think the unrealistic take that none of us use our cars in anger is incredibly naieve, I respect the rules but In my opinion they are dated, and not suited to a performance car forum.

Obviously stories of ridiculous street races is out of order but to say that compared to a astra vxr my car is better acceleration wise without mentioning speeds broken if any, road driven, or silly behaviour is hardly resultant to closing a thread.

Davie

Ditto, however the rules are set, due to turds like 'Welspermed'

Chrissy

An entire forum of sensible users then has to adhere to a 'performance car talk-chastity belt' just because of one or two silly users who probably don't even use the forum anymore, that makes sense...???

No not quite and I am not going to waste my time explaining why or how we have these rules, if you can't figure it out, well that's not my fault, but what I will say is there are many other forums that you can talk about illegal racing and illegal speed and illegal activites, and I am sure you are welcome there, no doubt they will also have their own rules that you need to abide by, just as you have to abide by our rules and we thank you for doing that..