Acceleration
AWD vs RWD Launch: Exactly Where the Advantage Ends
All wheel drive wins the launch because it can put every kilogram of the car onto a driven wheel. A rear wheel drive car can only use what...
The performance measurement desk
Every performance figure was measured by somebody. We show you how.
Independent coverage of how car performance is measured: acceleration, top speed, lap times, power and weight, braking and grip, and electric performance. Every figure is sourced, and every test method is explained.
60articles at launch
6measurement sections
2+cited sources per article
0sponsored placements
Latest
New on the desk
Every piece answers one question in the first paragraph, then shows the numbers behind it.
Acceleration
Factory Claims vs Independent Tests: Who Is Sandbagging
A manufacturer's acceleration claim and an independent test measure different things under different rules, so a gap between them is normal...
Acceleration
What Every Gearshift Costs in a 0 to 100 Run
A gearshift costs time in two ways, and the smaller one gets all the attention. The interruption itself lasts 20 to 100 ms in a dual clutch...
Acceleration
Launch Control: What It Actually Controls
Launch control is a slip controller, not a wheelspin blocker. Peak longitudinal grip does not occur at zero slip, it occurs at roughly 10...
Acceleration
The One Foot Rollout: How American Tests Shave Three Tenths
Rollout is the first foot, 305 mm, of a standing start, and in American testing the clock does not run during it. The convention comes from...
Acceleration
Quarter Mile Trap Speed: The Number That Cannot Be Faked
A drag strip slip carries two numbers, and they measure different things. Elapsed time depends heavily on the launch, so grip, tyres and...
Acceleration
Rolling Start vs Standing Start: Two Different Cars
A standing start measures the tyres, the driver, the surface and the drivetrain. A rolling start measures almost none of that. Once the car...
Sections
Where the work is filed
Six sections, from the first foot of a standing start to the fifth run of an electric car. Pick the number you are trying to make sense of.
01
Acceleration
Where a 0 to 60 figure comes from, and why the same car posts four different ones.
10 articles
02
Top Speed
Drag, gearing, tyres and rules. What it takes to add the next 10 km/h.
10 articles
03
Lap Times
The Nordschleife and the rest. Which lap times compare, and which never did.
10 articles
04
Power and Weight
PS, hp, kW and kerb weight. The four places a spec sheet quietly changes the rules.
10 articles
05
Braking and Grip
Stopping distance, lateral g and the contact patch that has to deliver both.
10 articles
06
Electric Performance
Instant torque, then heat. How electric cars win the first run and lose the fifth.
10 articles
Method
How we write
01
Answer first
The first paragraph carries the answer. Read one sentence and you are served.
02
Numbers with a source
Every figure names where it comes from: regulations, standards, record certifiers, manufacturer data.
03
The conditions, not just the number
Distance, direction, temperature, tyre, rollout. A figure without its conditions is not a figure.
04
No sponsored copy
No manufacturer pays for a place here. When that changes, the label will say so.