Aston Martin DB7
Bentley
Continental T
BMW 750iL
Chevrolet Corvette
Dodge Viper GT2
Ferrari 456M
Ford F-350 V-10
Jaguar XJR
Mercedes-Benz
CL600 n SLP TRANS AM Firehawk
10 of the Most Forceful Cars and Trucks on Earthtorque1 (trk) n. 1. The moment of a force, a measure of its tendency to produce torsion and rotation about an axis, equal to the vector product of the radius vector from the axis of rotation to the point of application of the force by the force applied. 2. A turning or twisting force.
torque2 1. A collar, necklace, or armband made of a strip of twisted metal worn by the ancient Gauls, Germans, and Britons.
Tork, Peter1 (trk, pe_ tr) n. 1. One of four actor/musicians from the mid-'60s comedy television show, "The Monkees," who portrayed the dim-witted band member of the faux rock group of the same name.
Dictionary definitions be damned, to us, torque means that seat-of-the-pants feeling of mammoth acceleration. By the way, most people incorrectly refer to "horsepower" when describing the neck-snapping power of a monstercar like the Dodge Viper. What they're really experiencing is "torque." Torque is what burns rubber, pulls a trailer up a grade without necessitating a downshift, and is the raw force that pushes the corners of your mouth to their devilishly grinning limits. In short, torque is the purest essence of performance-horsepower is merely a mathematical calculation (horsepower = torque x engine rpm 5250).
For this test, we chose 10 vehicles (only one from each manufacturer, though) with engines that produce a lot of torque, at least 350 pound-feet of it. (The SLP Firehawk only produces 345, but it's such a classic tire melter we had to include it.) To understand this concept, imagine attaching one end of a 12-inch ruler to a doorknob and a 350-pound NFL lineman to the other end of the ruler. If you could twist the knob with enough force for the ruler to raise the football player one foot, that's about 350 pound-feet of torque. If you could repeat this task 95 times in one minute, the work you'd have done is about 1 horsepower. So torque is an expression of force, and horsepower is an expression of the amount of work accomplished by a force over time. Don't worry; there's no quiz at the end of this story.
All we really need to know is that torque moves us-greatly-and these 10 tasty vehicles move our emotions more than many we've driven in a long time. So hang on-it's time to twist, shout, and burn some serious rubber.
Aston martin db7
361 lb/ft @ 3000 rpm
The World's Subtlest Torque monster
In an automotive world ever more populated by V-6 engines, it's rewarding to experience an honest-to-crankshaft straight-six once in a while. Jaguar built a fine reputation with its XK twin-cam, and BMW still relies on this classic layout for performance jewels such as the M3. No nasty second-order vibrations to worry about; no balance-shafts required, thank you.
Another tradition-steeped nameplate that ably proved "six in a row can go" is Aston Martin. Before there was Ford ownership, before there was Aston's four-cam V-8, David Brown (the DB in Aston's model nomenclature) relied on a DOHC inline six to power everything from DB2/4 touring convertibles to the LeMans-winning DBR-1. So it's appropriate that today's DB7 employs one as well, though this powerplant shares nothing but the cylinder count from that early Aston six.
The DB7's powerplant gets its basic architecture from the supercharged 4.0-liter unit found in the 1995-97 Jaguar XJR, though it's been destroked to 3.2 liters. With its Eaton blower, four-valves per cylinder, and a sophisticated engine management system allowing 14.7 psi of boost, the 198-cubic-inch six churns out an impressive 335 horsepower at 5750 revs, just shy of its 6000-rpm redline. Torque-the subject of the day-is an equally impressive 361 pound-feet at 3000 rpm. Back it up with your choice of a five-speed stick (yes!) or a four-speed automatic (well, if you must).