Can Jackie Chan kick Stone Cold Steve Austin's ass? Can Oscar De La Hoya beat up Butterbean? Is a Lotus Elise faster than a Mustang Cobra R? Does anyone care?
We decided to find out.
Now we know some of you will hate us for this. But some of you will love us. Either way, this test will light up Internet forums and turn normal, peace-loving car enthusiasts into deranged defenders of their cause. Which is exactly what we like.
We chose these two cars because they cost about the same, and we figured the two combatants needed at least one thing in common to justify our time out at the test track. That meant that pitting a Viper vs. our Project Rally Beater just wouldn't cut it.
So read on, and learn once and for all if size matters.
The Combatants
This is a clear game of David vs. Goliath.
Tipping the scales at 3,590 lbs., SVT's limited-production, 385-hp Mustang Cobra R weighs more than twice that of Sun International's Integra Type R-powered Lotus Elise (1,629 lbs.). It's also a full 3 feet longer, 6 inches wider and 7 inches taller than the diminutive Elise.
Loyal readers will remember our last test of the Sun International Elise from the June '01 issue. In that test, the car was in an early configuration without all the go-fast goodies fitted this time. Sun International founder Tom Cahalane brought out the big guns.
Naturally, the car was fitted with the usual 1.8-liter Integra Type R engine and transmission. This time it was making even more power, thanks to a titanium muffler and stainless-steel exhaust, which Cahalane claims cut between 25 and 30 lbs from the weight of the previous exhaust system. The petite Lotus also wore oversized Yokohama A038 rubber at all four corners which no doubt increased its already immense lateral grip.
Other than these rather significant changes, the car remains the same as it came from Lotus. A British lightweight inspired by Colin Chapman with the heart of a high-strung sprinter from Honda. We like.
On the complete opposite end of the performance car spectrum lies SVT's Mustang Cobra R. Relax, we know this car is a 2000 model. We know there's a new Mustang Cobra on the horizon and we know this story doesn't make any sense. That's the point.
When Special Vehicle Engineering manager John Coletti set out to build the Cobra R, his goal was to create a Mustang that could outshine any previous Mustang. He did an impressive job. The Cobra R is unlike any pony car we've ever driven.
It packs a 5.4-liter, cast-iron version of Ford's Triton V8 with a forged crankshaft, Carrillo billet steel connecting rods and forged aluminum pistons yielding a compression ratio of 9.6:1. Even more impressive are the engine's aluminum DOHC cylinder heads, which were inspired by those of Ford's Rough Riders off-road truck racing program. Combine this with more aggressive cams, tubular exhaust manifolds, larger throttle body and low-restriction intake manifold and the parts list looks more like something found in a racecar than a production machine. Impressive hardware regardless of your loyalties, and that's just the engine.