[eschaider]

Magazine editors, back in the day (probably today too), manufactured performance numbers that fit what they were trying to sell, usually more magazines and advertising space. The only thing you can say with absolute certainty about reported vehicle performance was that it was what that particular editor wanted it to be — which had no relationship to the real world.

And yes, just like today, a light car with small tires that have diminutive contact patches for the tries to apply all that power to the ground, will smoke the tires. The car's performance was, and is traction limited — if it was really tested at all. More likely than not, it was just a magazine editor's wet dream after driving one of these cars and using up a lot of tire rubber in burnouts and donuts.