Interesting article on HP requirements to achieve a certain speed with a Corvette.
More interesting to the racer is the fact that it takes 145 hp to overcome drag at 150 mph. We know that our Corvette example car has about 240 hp, so about 95 hp must be going into overcoming rolling resistance and the slight braking forces arising from internal friction in the drive train and wheel bearings. Race cars capable of going 200 mph usually have at least 650 hp, about 350 of which goes into overcoming air resistance. It is probably possible to go 200 mph with a car in the 450-500 hp range, but such a car would have very good aerodynamics; expensive, low-friction internal parts; and low rolling resistance tyres, which are designed to have the smallest possible contact patch like high performance bicycle tyres, and are therefore not good for handling.
Part 6: Speed and Horsepower
I was wondering how this stacks up with some of your real world experiences in the "not so aerodynamic" Cobra?
I'm actually trying to figure out what rear-end to use with a TKO600R .82 and 26" dia tires (335mm wide) that will get me to the theoretical top speed of my Cobra with an aluminum 427 sbf that is expected to give me 450 rwhp at redline = 6500 rpm.