Fastest Sport Compact?

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Since the "Will GM Declare Bankruptcy?" thread always goes off-topic, I thought I'd try to help that by starting a thread for a recent discussion in that thread.
The Question of the day is, what's the fastest sport compact? Straight line and road course times, thoughts are welcome. Anybody with times, or numbers from any sport compact, is more than welcome to post them, and I'll do my best to keep track. Maybe we can find out, what the fastest is? While I'm sure the most difficult to compare will be cars from different countries, somebody here at GTPlanet always seems to find something, so let's give it a go! - or, just state opinions, as I'm not sure what can be found yet, either way, it can be fun.
I'll start by naming some worthy competitors, feel free to name any I forget, as long as it's worthy, It's in!

Acura RSX Type-S -- 210HP - ???LB-FT
Honda Integra DC-5 -- 225HP? - ???LB-FT
Chevy Cobalt SS -- 205HP - 200LB-FT -- 2970LB
Dodge Neon SRT-4 -- 230HP - 250LB-FT
Volkswagon Golf GTI -- 200HP? - 206LB-FT -- 2800LB
Saturn Ion Red-Line -- 205HP - 200LB-FT -- 2970LB
Ford Focus RS -- 212HP - 229LB-FT?
Vauxall Astra VXR -- 237HP - 236LB-FT

Honda Civic SI -- 197HP - 139LB-FT -- 2880LB

Alfa Romeo 147 GTA -- 250HP - 221LB-FT
Peugeot S16 206 -- ???HP - ???LB-FT
Mini Cooper S -- 160HP - ???LB-FT


Also has been noted that 4WD cars, are seperate along with RWD cars, simply because we're looking for a specific kind of car, which includes FWD, Front Engine, and a small car as well - No Grand Prixs!:lol:


Any more suggestions are welcome, too!
 
What about the Focus RS, the Civic Type-R and the Vauxall Astra VXR? All over 200hp (the latter being 250hp).
 
156 and 147 GTA - both 236hp.

This ought to be limited to FWD only, for reference, ruling out the Golf R32, otherwise some ridiculous manufacturer could throw out a random vehicle with pots of power and too much list price. Like the BMW 130i, for an example... Oh, and no tuner cars either. At £50,000+ for a "sport compact", all bets are off.

And don't forget to include all the cars I mentioned in the other thread. And the Mini Cooper S.
 
At the track, I'd put my bets on the Focus RS... helical limited slip, lots of power, light weight, special suspension... there's a good reason Ford lost money on every one of these buggers they sold, despite the fact that they sold them at a pretty high price (high for a Focus, that is). Even if you do include an R32 or a 130i, it's still a good bet.

Other than that, I'd put my bets on a stock SRT4 at the drag strip.
 
-I don't know Alfas very well either, but how about the 147 GTA?
-BMW MINI Cooper S
-BMW 1 series
-Peugeot 206 S16
-Audi A3 V6

That's all I can think of right now.
I had the Opel Astra OPC included too, before I noticed you already listed the Vauxhall. Is the VXR equivalent to the GTC or OPC spec?
(and are they badged Vauxhall in Germany? I thought it was UK-only.) Anyway, that's what my vote is for.

(edit: I have no idea how it took me 40 minutes to type this, but it should be post 4 :indiff: )
 
I think the VXR is slightly higher than OPC spec, though I'm not sure. I don't remember who did it back to back with the Focus RS (likely EVO) but they've said that the RS handles better.
 
Not sure whether it's legal in this comparison ... but what about the Renault Clio V6 ? That mid-engined little beast with RWD ? Not too fond of it, but it should go like hell ... ?

And the Audi S3 (210hp) as well ...
 
The Clio V6 is a coupe and the Audi S3 is 4WD.
 
Famine
The Clio V6 is a coupe and the Audi S3 is 4WD.
Click to expand...

Well then the Civic Type-R, 147GTA and the Ford Focus RS are all coupes, not ? 2 doors = coupe, or not ?

Ok, I'll only stick to FWD then ...

Ok then, the Audi A3 1.8T ... the 132kw one ...
 
I'd put my money on an SRT-4 at both the drag strip and on a circuit. The Cobalt SS should also give it a run for its money.

I think you should also include the Impreza WRX. Excellent small sedan, and its got AWD.
 
The Impreza is a saloon car AND 4WD. It shouldn't even come into discussion when mentioning "Sport Compacts" (what we call "Hot Hatches") - otherwise I could throw my brother's WR1 (0-60mph 4.2s, 0-100mph 10.7s) in and game's over.

kragbees - No. The Civic is a hatchback. The Focus is a hatchback. The Alfa is a hatchback. Coupe does not refer to numbers of doors, rather the shape of the roof - though it's true that the line is becoming somewhat blurred between bodystyles these days. The Clio V6 cannot be considered a hatchback - despite having a hatched back like the Clios on which it is based - because the back is actually the engine cover and not the boot/trunk.


This discussion ought to be limited to FWD hatchback/compact cars ONLY, otherwise there is no basis for comparison.
 
The Impreza is commonly reffered to as a sport compact on this side of the pond. I guess we have a broader definition over here, or it might just be marketers trying to sell the car to a different audience.
 
Let's just say "small" FF cars, then... excluding coupes and four doors excludes the Integra, the Alfa GT, the Cobalt and the SRT4, which are definitely nice "compacts".

The Cobalt is supposedly faster around a track than the SRT4, stock to stock. As the Focus RS and VXR are on the opposite side of the pond and no direct comparison is possible in real-life, I guess we can't know which set is faster, but my money's still on the lighter car.
 
niky
As the Focus RS and VXR are on the opposite side of the pond and no direct comparison is possible in real-life, I guess we can't know which set is faster, but my money's still on the lighter car.
Click to expand...

Eh? We get both over here..... :confused:
 
He meant that no direct comparison is possible between the European Focus RS and Vauxhall VXR and the US Cobalt and SRT-4.

niky
I guess we can't know which set is faster, but my money's still on the lighter car.
Click to expand...

Cobalt SS and Focus RS both weigh in at roughly 1280kg (2820lb). The Cobalt SS reputedly has 205hp and 150lbft. The Focus RS reputedly has 212hp and 229lbft.
 
How about the Renault Clio 182/Cup/Trophy & Megane 225/Trophy? and new Focus ST?
 
If the Cobalt SS is a faster track car than the SRT-4 and, in the absence of a direct comparo, the Focus RS churns out better numbers on a similar-weight car, then it isn't as clear cut as you might think...

Edit: In fact, the numbers are interesting...

Focus RS: 212hp/229lbft
Dodge SRT-4: 230hp/250lbft
Vauxhall VXR Astra: 237hp/226lbft
Alfa 147 GTA: 250hp/221lbft
 
Hmmm... Ford always makes noises about how the new ST is 10 or 20 seconds faster round the ring than the RS was... anyone know what the real numbers are? (Anyone writing in indigo, that is... :lol: ).
 
Hardly official, I know, but the outgoing RS was 2 seconds quicker around the Top Gear test track than the new ST.
 
So the ST wins the Nurb on pure top end, I suppose.

This is probably one issue that only (perish the thought!) Top Gear can resolve... now if we could ship them a few American cars... :lol:
 
I don't know what Focus ST you guys are talking about, but the Focus ST in America only has 152hp. - Famine, The Cobalt has 200LB-FT, not 155

The definition has been a bit skeewed, so I'll have to say this
All, small, FWD, Front Engine cars with hot-rod performance --- The Subaru's are great, the R32's great, and the Audi's are great, but there's enough of them for their own league, so let's keep it simple, and FWD, I don't think hatches are absolutly necessary, being the Cobalt, SRT4, I don't think are hatches, at least they don't look like it anyway, I've got some cars to add
 
In America, the best bang for the buck is either the Neon SRT-4 or the Cobalt SS/ Ion Redline duo. For 21 grand you can have uber speed right outta the box and really it comes down to who's the better driver between these two cars.
 
If we're talking straight line speed, the SRT-4, no doubt.
For the track, maybe the Focus RS or the Dodge.
The Cobalt/Ion aren't quite powerful enough to run with the SRT-4 and RS.
 
Around a track the Ion/Cobalt will beat the SRT-4...unless its the ACR edition. But I don't know what everyone says the Ion/Cobalt aren't up to par with the SRT-4, like I said it comes down to the driver on which one is faster.
 
We're talking about the new ST. Since the "new" Focus isn't going Stateside (they're staying with the generation one design for another year or two), I doubt you'll see it in the US.

It's around 220 hp (I THINK), front-wheel drive with a 2.5 Volvo Turbo 5 cylinder. I've heard some criticisms about the front-heavy distribution, even though Ford claims it's as good or better than the RS.

I do believe the Cobalt would be faster than the SRT-4, unless we're talking about the run out ACR version, but then, they're both pretty quick for front drivers, but as the hottest front-drivers are each sold in separate markets, I seriously doubt we'd get the JDM Integra Type R, the Focus RS, the SRT 4, the Cobalt SS and the Vauxhall Astra VXR all on the same trackday... maybe someone should do this? :lol:

Just found the Stig laptimes... interesting, the Focus RS is faster round the TG track than a Clio V6, the ST, an Alfa Romeo 147 GTA, the TT V6 and even a Monaro (wtf?). The only FF that's faster is a "tuned" Alfa... very expensive and ridiculously powerful.

It's only a few tenths off the 350Z and RX8, and two seconds off the STi (which is two seconds off the EVO VIII). So, to beat the RS, the Cobalt and SRT 4 should beat the 350Z and RX8 by a good margin round a tight handling track...

Any bets they can do it? :D I'd say it's fifty fifty.
 
Famine

Focus RS: 212hp/229lbft
Dodge SRT-4: 230hp/250lbft
Vauxhall VXR Astra: 237hp/226lbft
Alfa 147 GTA: 250hp/221lbft
Click to expand...
Hmm, I have the OPC's specs listed at 240hp/236lbft. So either the VXR is slightly lower trim for some reason, or there's some minor difference in units/ mesurement between sources.
 

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