Not the coop!
1500+kg! What are they feeding it on?

300 to 500 kg heavier than the rest.

That was pretty surprising!

FTO that quick? I always knew the Mivec manual was a great car, But to keep with those 3 is very surprising!

Honda Integra DC2 Type R
0-30mph: 2.7
0-40mph: 4.0
0-50mph: 5.1
0-60mph: 6.7
0-70mph: 8.6
0-80mph: 10.5
0-90mph: 13.3
0-100mph: 16.8
0-110mph: 20.8
0-120mph: 27.3

Mitsubishi FTO GPX (1999)
0-30mph: 2.6
0-40mph: 3.9
0-50mph: 5.4
0-60mph: 6.9
0-70mph: 8.8
0-80mph: 11.3
0-90mph: 14.6
0-100mph: 17.8
0-110mph: 22.5
0-120mph: 28.6

Honda Prelude Gen 5 2.2i VTEC (1997)
0-30mph: 2.6
0-40mph: 3.8
0-50mph: 5.2
0-60mph: 6.8
0-70mph: 9.0
0-80mph: 11.6
0-90mph: 14.4
0-100mph: 18.6
0-110mph: 23.4
0-120mph: 30.6

FIAT Coupé 20v Turbo (1996)
0-30mph: 2.5
0-40mph: 3.5
0-50mph: 4.8
0-60mph: 6.0
0-70mph: 7.9
0-80mph: 9.9
0-90mph: 11.9
0-100mph: 14.5
0-110mph: 18.3
0-120mph: 22.3

Do the Coupes have restricted performance over there? i.e. the type of fuel, emissions etc?

Just a long shot - otherwise you have to blame the driver

The Coupe driver seemed to run wide, let the others through then seemed to give up. Maybe the Coupe being a turbo was getting hot, and the boost was being pulled back after a couple of hot laps. On paper it should walk away from the others.

Really? That's a bit of a mad result but then the Coupe has never been a great handler IMO. The DC2 is still known as one of the best FWD handling cars of all time

3 jap cars, in Japan, on a Jap programme hmmmmm

Not 1 of those 3 should have pegged a VT in a straight line. I agree they are a bag of marbles standard around a corner but the straight line speed would have creamed the rest. Oh and how many apex's can be missed in one lap??

FTO and Prelude are lardy, I'd expect the DC2 to put a good fight up on a track given it's high revving nature and handling.

0-???mph times are not as relevant as in gear times, especially once up to racing speed, but Coupe is not best handling of the group.

Biggest problem is rubbish driver in the Coupe and as said before, Jap cars on Jap program.

A STANDARD coop wouldn't have much of a chance on track against a STANDARD Integra. It's all about weight not power. Or even power to weight. Been there done that. My surprise is that the Integra couldn't leave the other two behind. It's not a slight on the coop, it was designed to be a GT car not a track hack like the Integra.

Comparing the Integra to the coop, it can brake later (doesn't anyone remember how bad coop brakes are as standard ), carry more speed through the corner and not have to deal with being on boost. The coops extra power counts for less then.

Now if you have x amount to spend on both cars to modify them, the tables are turned. We all know what can be achieved- look at what Nigel did with his at TOTB.

The 20vT, as standard, simply won’t handle as well as any of the other three and, on a track, that means it’ll be playing catch-up after every single bend.

The FTO was cited as being the better handling car by Autocar in a road test I have. It is very close to the Integra in terms of handling and straight line.

The Prelude was compared to the 20vT by Top Gear and, with Tiff Needell at the wheel; the coop was only 0.6 seconds faster over a lap. According to the article, the track is well suited to fast cars that can stretch their legs so the 20vT would have had the advantage here…

I don’t find it all that surprising really. The other cars are dedicated ‘sporty’ cars built for handling. The Coupé is really just a GT with a lot of grunt and so-so handling in the scheme of things. Track work like this doesn’t allow it to utilise the straight-line shove. A 1 mile runway would be very different…

Fiat Coupe is a straight-line car ideally, I don't think, even modified, it would hold it's own against a DC2 on a twisty track. Maybe around the Nurburgring it would be a different matter especially on the straight bits.

Agree completely - an integra type R with a few suspension tweaks and an oil cooler will murder 300bhp machines on a track, much quicker than their 180bhp figure suggests.

Would have helped if the Coupe driver used the "slow in, fast out" method of cornering - far more effective than piling in too fast and making the front end push wide.

I agree with Suba's comment above, but to be fair, a Coupe with a few suspension tweaks and better brakes will also murder much more expensive machinery.

Anyone else think the intro was just a tad racist? Fair bit of bias against the poor old coupe me thinks.

Here's another one, 25 mins long featuring a 16vt. Jump to 2.20 to watch the Coupe get done by the FTO. Bad driving I say!!!

Click me

coupe driving was pants, getting a sushi back hander me thinks.

although i have owned a fto and sad to say it eats the coupe for cornering

[image]http://www.freeimagehosting.net/t/n7246.jpg[/image]

I'm surprised at the fto,as I've had a few and don't really rate them ,dc2 however is a fine machine and im not a Honda man, its true what you guys are saying its all about handling/power to weight,Ive got a few coupes,and several calibra turbos,2 of which are 350bhp,and my mgzs track car goes round knockhill way faster!! Its only 180bhp but stripped out and the handling is spot on.I pass cars at Knockhill that the coupe/calibra can't get near,quite an understated track toy,so to anyone on the look out for a track toy,I*d highly recommend one. To give you an idea I was chasing a dc5 intgegra with 888s allround and meant to be 260bhp,,I couldn't pass him but he couldn't shake me off!!

That is definitely not a 16VT, sounds more like a 16v N/A in my opinion.

a 16v n/a would even be quicker than that time on 1/4 mile, my bravo 16v with 100hp did 17.4, i dont believe thats a turbo either or its just one bad driver.

I think they're just anti-Fiat over there in Japan!

My brother had a fto gpx it was not quick and a 20vt coupe would have no problem beating one of them in a straight line and there is not much difference in handling the coupe has better brakes to

I've had my Coupes and a JDM DC2R and they are two completely different animals.

Both cars in standard format there is not a lot between them accelerating in real life but over a ton once the Coupe is into it's stride it's gone. And then just a mildly tweaked coupe is again a different story pace wise.

The DC2 gives a lot more feedback handling wise but it does make it very twitchy and nervous at times, but it's very flick able and does handle superb but it's a nuisance with tyres it's very fussy you put the wrong type of tyre on it and it handles like a pig.

The coupe feels a lot more planted and weightier than a DC2 and I'd say grip levels there really isn't a lot between the two overall but the DC2 due to the lighter weight and lack of torque you can get back on the power a lot earlier. But the coupe is nice and progressive on the limit whereas the DC2 gives a bit then it snaps.

But that's about it I really really enjoyed both cars for different reasons. There Integra was addictive to drive fast because it is such a boring car in normal mode of driving but then it just comes to life when you give it some welly. Whereas the Coupe is a lot nicer in general, it looks beautiful, the interior is a beautiful comfy place to do a journey in, it even sounds nice just pottering about before you open it up, and then blistering pace when squeezed or oodles of overtaking wafting no downshifts etc.
The coupe is a little more wobbly with roll but once you get used to it it really does handle beautifully too. So I can see that out on track it would loose out to a DC2 in the corners. But then if you firmed one up to a DC2 level suspension wise it's game over

Two great Fwd cars I'm grateful to have owned but real world Coupe wins

I've owned 2 Fiat Coupe 20vt's and 2 FTO mivecs (one Auto, one Manual). All I can say is the Fiat would win hands down against the FTO. No question. Even with the better handling, it just wouldn't be able to keep up with the Fiat. Dont get me wrong, the FTO was an excellent car, neither one ever let me down but it didn't have the same power as the coupe.

Cant comment on the other cars cos I have no experiance with either of em but as mentioned above... Japanese program... they're not going let the Italians win!

Ive owned a Prelude FTO and Coupe back in the late 90's. Prelude and FTO I just bored with and sold on after a few months. Fiat, Im now on my third! The other two maybe slightly better on a B road but you have really got to keep the revs up to get anything out of them.

I looked at the Integra before I got my Coupe a few months back. A lot of the ones i looked at were just junk. Both cars are future classics and the Coupe looks so much better!

Yeah there are a lot of ropey examples of all 4 here knocking about, but you can find really nice examples of Tegs on the DC2 forum like you can on here for sale, but I couldn't tell you the last time I see a really nice clean Prelude every now and then I do stumble across a nice Version R FTO still.

Isn't it funny though how the Japanese examples here though have all aged terribly compared to the old Coupe..... People used to think the coupe was a strange looking beast but I think now especially with say a nice set of 18's on it really has come of age and still looks modern in this era

My DC2 had an immaculate interior but apart from the recaro seats it still looked very dated inside Preludes had okay interiors but still nothing on the Italians.

I think that's why the coupe is a future classic as its a timeless design inside and out

Definitely people definitely are starting to appreciate them a lot more now.

I've had an FTO and both my coops would have stuffed it, as far as handling goes, I think the Coop handles fantastically in the bends!