I know the title’s whimsical, but I’m curious about the improvement in handling, braking, tire technology and acceleration in modern sedans – as compared to race cars of the past. Ignoring pit stops, it seems like even a mid-level 2021 sedan could outrun a lot of older racers. Has anyone studied this, or actually run an older sports car against a typical modern sedan?
Feel free to use any modern car or race as a comparison, the Corolla was chosen because I just bought one and it’s surprisingly nimble compared to its counterpart of 15 years ago. I realize hard core sporting cars like Corvettes, Challengers, etc. probably would compete very well. I’m just curious about how good our boring cars are today.
Wikipedia says that 1925 was the first time anyone averaged over 100 mph. Other sources say that the curves at Indianapolis are 250 m in radius. The Corolla can do about ~0.75 g on the skidpad; if we derate this to 0.65 g, we find that the Corolla should be able to do 90 mph around the turns–and that’s without taking the bank into account. So it would not surprise me if it could do 100 mph, or close to it, through the turns.
Which means that it only needs to get just above 100 mph on the straights to average out to >100 overall, which seems pretty doable. And maybe substantially better than that is possible if with a driver willing to ride closer to the edge, and maybe with some stickier tires than stock. So I’ll say 1925 as an early bound.
Not quite on topic, but it is interesting to note that a modern Corolla has about the same horsepower as a V8 Mustang from the late 1970s, although that’s because most cars of the late 70s had less power than previously due to the new at the time emissions standards.
Back on topic somewhat, if you’re taking your Corolla back in time, emissions laws haven’t been written yet. The cars you’ll be competing against don’t have any emissions equipment, so why should yours? You could probably get a bit more power by getting rid of the emissions equipment.
Fun question! Car and Driver lists the top speed of the 2021 Corolla Apex (the performance model) at 117 mph (governor limited) and the lateral acceleration as 0.89g. With only 169 horsepower, even if you removed the governor, I don’t think you’re going to get much beyond 125. Then, you have to account for fuel stops. I’m guessing running near top speed, it would need at least two over 500 miles. You’re also going to lose speed in the corners to tire scrub. I think an average of 120 mph is beyond the limit.
It looks like you might have a good chance to beat George Robson in 1946, who averaged only 114.82 mph. By 1950, the average speed was 124, including pit stops, etc. and I think your Corolla would be pretty well outclassed.
There were older, lighter Corollas that made more power, such as the XR-s from 2005 to 2006, which made 170 hp. It had a smaller frontal area and topped out at 130 mph according again to Car and Driver. Some European and Japan only Corollas of this generation made even more power, I think, up to about 190 hp with the same engine. Lateral acceleration was worse than today’s models, though.
A Tesla probably wouldn’t do so great, even if you had access to a Supercharger station. If the car got its stated range (300+ miles) at 100+ mph, you could probably pull it off–you’d need <30 min of charge time, which would be made up over a multi-hour race. The trouble is that this is very much not the case, and efficiency goes way down at higher speeds. So the 300 mi car is now a 150 mi car, or worse.
Modern Teslas do very well for a few laps around a track–one recently pulled off 1:29 around Laguna Seca, which is very close to the all-time record for a production car (a McLaren Senna). But their endurance isn’t great compared to a gas car.
They don’t top out that fast and charging would kill it. It would have no chance. Teslas were pretty damn good at autocrosses though right up until the SCCA all but banned it by placing it in its top class, where it would compete with purpose built race cars built with unlimited technology.
There is a $50,000 prize being offered by the 24 hours of Lemons for the first electric car to take an overall win in their endurance racing series. Although the cars it would compete against can’t cost more $500 (using their creative accounting that excludes safety gear), electric cars are allowed an unlimited budget for batteries and things that make the car move. No one has even bothered to try to take the prize because today’s electric cars are just not going to be even remotely competitive in long distance races.
A long time ago I read an account about the first 500 mile race at “the brickyard,” which mentioned that late in the race, the track had suffered damage which was in turn causing the cars to wear out their tires quicker. Could a modern car’s tires and suspension take running on a torn up track like that, or will you need to bring a 4x4 vehicle with higher clearance? You might have to limit your attempts to a time after when the bricks were covered in asphalt.
I’d prefer an armored vehicle, like an M2 Bradley. Useful for when I visit Ancient Rome or any other time/place that doesn’t have cannons or gunpowder.
Would race track managers allow a modern car in 1925? Did you need to certify the car somehow?
The top speed of an M2 Bradley is only 35 mph, which is far short of what’s needed to see some serious shit. Perhaps you could roll it down a very steep hill.
The track was essentially unpaved for its first race. The crushed rock, dirt, oil, and tar they threw down failed immediately. By the next year, they had paved it in durable brick, making it one of the first paved auto racing courses in the world and earning it the name “Brickyard.” Brick was also rough on the cars (though less than the original surface), so they repaved it in stretches over a period of years. I’m not sure when the repaving got it to its current status of fully paved except for one yard of original bricks at the start/finish line. It’s a really interesting question how well the Corolla would hold up to a rough brick surface.
I’d think racing a Tesla against ICE cars in a 500 mile oval track race would necessitate battery changing (replacement—not charging) during the race.
You’ might think changing out huge, heavy batteries would be too much for a pit crew during a race but as it stands pit crews in NASCAR, Formula 1, and IndyCar are capable of essentially rebuilding a car from scratch during a race.
I’m gonna say an even 100 years. 1921. Average speed just under 90 mph. I’d be willing to bet you could do the whole race on one set of good tires and only one stop for fuel.
It would be about as fun as driving from Reno to Vegas without fear of getting a ticket.
