Quote:
Originally Posted by Suberman
Modern cars aren't built to drive, they're built to crash.
It is a self reinforcing parasitic problem. Occupant crash protection weighs a lot especially rollover and side impact reinforcements where crush space is very limited.
Once you add weight to give more crash protection you add kinetic energy to the crash event leading to the need for yet more crash protection. This cycle is extremely difficult to break.
Heavier bodies require more power and heavier suspension with larger wheels
and tires.
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Progress should be doing MORE with LESS (or, the same amount, anyway).
FR-S/BRZ are a perfect case in point. This car is precisely a brand new S13 240SX, at the same price point, with some added performance and much greater chassis rigidity, with essentially zero weight penalty vs. the 240SX from 25 years ago.
Meanwhile, the GTI has piled on about 800 lb. of additional mass.
Just because not many companies are making the effort doesn't mean it's impossible to have reasonably lightweight cars even in the face of modern safety regs.
If Toyobaru can give us a 2750 lb. FR-S/BRZ, I would suggest that a similar-weight or even lighter fwd GTI is totally doable. If the will was there...