Ever drive a car that was so fast that it scared you?

Like others, not  a car, but a bike.

KTM 300xc in tight woods, when it came on the pipe.

In hindsight,  I wasn't nearly as afraid of that bike as I needed to be. The mellow, yet fantastic KDX200 trail bike that I had  previously ben riding somehow no longer excited me as it used to. I was seduced by  the speed and fury  of the Katoom 2 stroke. When riding it, I would be reminded of the Star Wars scene where they were on those pods chasing each other through the forest.

It was nearly 3 months after the surgery before I even regained the courage to open the storage shed where I had parked it after the accident.

I then proceeded to finally clean the tree bark out of the triple clamp and front brake lever, but anxiously, like one might pet a feral cat that you just don't quite trust.

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

m4ff3w said:

I can't imagine what the Model S Plaid feels like.

There's a youtube video where it spanks a Hayabusa and a ZX-14R in several drag races.

 

If you're talking about this one, the Busa yes but the 14 held its own.

https://youtu.be/nd-2AS2WjCY

I had a Plymouth Barracuda with a violently fast 440 along with the typical sketchy 70s muscle car suspension and brakes. It was fun and frightening 

I haven’t driven it yet but I’m sure it would scare me:  Mid 90’s New Edge Mustang that a friend built as a sleeper.  Aluminum 5.4 with a ginormous turbo, a 5 speed stick, caged with racing belts.  It’s supposed to make close to 800 WHP and broke into the 9’s on a pass at Epping NH.  He thinks it has more in it but would need to do upgrades to the cage and other safety gear that would make it a lot less fun on the street.    Definitely beyond my skill set.

In reply to ORIF (Forum Supporter) :

I had a 96 KTM 300 with Onlins suspension that was plated. It had a completely flat powerband and was one of the best dirt bikes I've ever owned. 

1100HP Ariel Atom. Dude showed up for driving instruction. I didn't feel comfortable instructing him at first because he had only ever done 1/2 mile drag racing in it. He offered to let me drive the car and said when I was done taking it for a spin we could turn it down to 700 LOL. Easily the fastest car I have ever driven. It was absolutely insane. 

A shelby mustang, I'm gonna guess from 2010 or 2012 that had been souped up some. It had way more power than traction. I shouldn't say it scared me as I was careful with it, but it definitely made you aware that it could get out from under you any time it wanted. I think what scared me was understanding what it was capable of and the realization that they would sell cars like that to anyone who wanted one. 

Those, hellcats, and anything else over 500hp require either a lot of talent or a lot of self control, otherwise they are just plain dangerous.

Passenger in a modified 964 that made over 700 to the tires when we were done with it. Trying to tune it for "driveability" on some back roads in NJ and I feel like I was looking at the woods on either side of the road more than straight ahead. If given the chance I wouldn't even drive it.

I live in Pennsylvania, even a versa is scary on some of these roads.

New top of the list as of yesterday: an early 2000s Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, lifted, no sway bars, big wide low-offset wheel and tire setup, stick shift, on a bumpy back road at dusk in the rain. That thing would NOT go straight. Ripples in the road yanked at those big tires, inducing body roll, which caused roll-steer, but by the time the body was rolling one way, there was a bump that would tug the steering back the other way. Trying to chase the steering and body roll always seemed to get all out of sync right when I needed to reach for the shifter. Zero steering feel to tell what's happening at the tires, since it had some aftermarket pump setup on it. It would probably have been better if it were light out and I could see what bumps were coming.

At 40 mph it felt like you were pushing the limits of safety. I'm sure it is just me not being used to tall, soggy off road vehicles with super short wheelbases, but I was mentally worn out after a half hour of that. I don't know how people drive jeeps with that much scrub radius. I think with more appropriate offset and narrower tires it would have been okay.

I haven't driven anything super sketchy, but I've been in something sketchy.

Back when I was like, 10-12 my sister had a wannabe boyfriend who was determined to show off to the entire family and I got to ride in his father's drag ford, which was some scarcely-legal caged out monster. I don't remember what it looked like at all, but what I DO remember is it was a 3-speed with a 460 and a turbo I could loose my head in. Each time I try to remember power figures, it gets bigger. Middle of a midwestern summer, and I was trying to get over my fears of new events to spite all my families illnesses that were keeping me visiting hospitals.

I couldn't see over the dashboard in the sunken, barely-there aluminum bomber seat. That thing teleported between lights, violently. I only remember quite a bit of fear and not being able to hear the owner at all. To be frank, it scared me from cars for years. We'd go around a turn with the rear tires shifting, hit a straight on the interstate- and the water in my eyes would be pushed back from the G's. I think he only took it to 100 for my sake.

A 70's Caterham that had a K24 swapped into it. It was like riding a laser beam.  Mash throttle and instantly change speed. 

It made the Roush 427 powered Backdraft Cobra replica I had driven earlier that day seem like an old man's car.

Trent said:

A 70's Caterham that had a K24 swapped into it. It was like riding a laser beam.  Mash throttle and instantly change speed. 

It made the Roush 427 powered Backdraft Cobra replica I had driven earlier that day seem like an old man's car.

That must have been one exciting day.

In reply to B13Birk :

155mm howitzer derringer. Hand grenade toothbrush. Thermonuclear leafblower.  1100 hp Ariel Atom...

I built a 502 BBC with an 8-71 blower for a customer's 70 El Camino. Almost 1000 hp at the wheels.  Of course we did that part first and had to drive it to the dyno about 6 miles away.  Problem is, it had 40 year old bushings, 235mm radial all season tires, steering slop, blown shocks, and all kinds of craziness.  

Good thing the seats were being replaced.  They likely became soiled on that trip.

I used to own this below.  86 S10 short bed single cab.  The ultimate stripped down version.  We called it The Landscaper.  Under the hood was an LS1/T56 with a carb intake and an MSD 6LS box.  Big shiny Holley carb.  Notice the 185mm whitewalls?  Probably the only thing keeping it from exploding the 7.5" rear.  You could stab the throttle at 65 mph in 5th and light them up.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

That's awesome!

Jay_W said:

In reply to B13Birk :

155mm howitzer derringer. Hand grenade toothbrush. Thermonuclear leafblower.  1100 hp Ariel Atom...

What he said.

That's like the power to weight of an F1 car qualifying during The Turbo Era, without all that pesky downforce and tires.

First time I actually drove this in anger.  800hp, 1500lb spring rates on slicks, 1800lbs of downforce (allegedly) First time diving a properly setup car I built on the track and the transition from no grip, to more speed to all the grip from the wing, back to no grip when you slowed for a corner and it shook me up hard. First time where small changes in setup had massive changes in how it drove. Just a hateful hateful thing to get sorted out, once it was sorted it was a sweetheart. 

I also got to sit in a 917-30 when they were firing it up for a vintage race series. People who drive those at speed are made of much better stuff then me. 

Jay_W said:

In reply to B13Birk :

155mm howitzer derringer. Hand grenade toothbrush. Thermonuclear leafblower.  1100 hp Ariel Atom..

This made me literally laugh out loud. You are not far off. The car was absolutely nuts. Got to 140 before I could think about it. Your comparison is valid. 

I used to race my MGA against a guy with a C2 Corvette (I was 0.1 sec. a lap faster at Portland but of course he would motor off at every straight, which is where the start/finish was....)

Fred Yeakel switched to running a Cheetah and commented that it was the scariest car he had ever run - oddball handling, drum brakes and too much power.

https://www.cheetahcars.com/AGcar2page6.html

My buddy has a 475whp Corrado VR6 turbo. I have driven it in anger and it scared to e36m3 out of me.  Lighting the tires up and changing a lane at 125mph was code brown.  Very cool but yikes.

No, but I sat on a Huyabusa once and thought "nope, that is not for me".

In reply to wspohn :

I've talked to two Cheetah owners/drivers and they used the words  respect and sketchy a lot. I think both cars were making 500-600hp at the wheels.

Two cars come to mind:

2017ish Tesla Model S P90D: Co-worker's car. There were three of us in the car, and I felt weightless during acceleration. No car I've driven before or since is faster than that thing, and I've driven some fast stuff over the years. It's pee-your-pants fast.

1992 Plymouth Laser RS: This was a friend's car. I didn't drive it, but I did ride in it. He gutted the interior save for two seats, the steering wheel, the front seat belts, and the shifter. No dash (except gauges), gutted door panels, etc. Stock engine and turbo, but he had a manual boost controller and a full turbo-back exhaust with a tuned ECU. The thing was pulled from a junkyard, complete with steelies with winter tires. Still had the yellow junkyard pen writing on the damn thing. That stupid car pulled HARD. Handling was sketchy, and knowing that instant death was around the corner if something went wrong scared the crap out of me. But man, that thing was FUN!!!