Popular Science 250 Article Page 3

Clockwise from top left: Courtesy Paul Webb/Motor Sport Images; courtesy General Motors; courtesy Mazda; John Rettie






	Pitting the Superkart Against Rivals Hail to the superkart! It leaves a standard sports car like the Mazda Miata in the dust, and even a muscle car like the Corvette, with its beefy hp and flashy top speed, is a pokey 25 seconds slower per lap. The superlight superkart (just 462 pounds) accelerates faster than the Corvette and is nimbler in the curves. The Champ car bests the kart, but there's no shame in that: It costs 20 times more and requires an entire support crew. CHAMP CAR Price: $600,000 Engine type: Turbo V8 Displacement: 2.65 liters Peak power: 700 hp Hp/liter: 264 Weight: 1,565 lb. Hp/pound: 0.45 Lateral acceleration: 4 Gs 0-to-60: 2.2 seconds Quarter mile: 10 seconds Top speed: 240 mph Lap time (2.38 miles): 1:10 *Cost per second gained: $11,500 CORVETTE Price: $50,000 Engine type: V8 Displacement: 5.7 liters Peak power: 350 hp Hp/liter: 61 Weight: 3,100 lb. Hp/pound: 0.11 Lateral acceleration: 0.92 G 0-to-60: 4.8 seconds Quarter mile: 13.2 seconds Top speed: 175 mph Lap time (2.38 miles): 1:50 Cost per second gained:* $2,500 SUPERKART Price:$30,000 Engine type: Two-stroke Displacement: 0.25 liter Peak power: 90 hp Hp/liter: 360 Weight:462 lb. Hp/pound:0.19 Lateral acceleration:2 Gs 0-to-60: 4 seconds Quarter mile:12 seconds Top speed: 150 mph Lap time (2.38 miles): 1:25 *Cost per second gained: $143 MIATA Price: $25,000 Engine type: Inline-4 Displacement: 1.8 liters Peak power: 142 hp Hp/liter: 79 Weight: 2,400 lb. Hp/pound: 0.06 Lateral acceleration: 0.88 G 0-to-60: 8.1 seconds Quarter mile: 16.3 seconds Top speed: 121 mph Lap time (2.38 miles): 2:00 Cost per second gained:* NA Performance data for production models from Car and Driver. Some performance data for Champ car and Superkart are estimates. The additional amount of money driver must spend to gain each second on the racetrack, using the Miata as a baseline.* Page 4