Pretty much an opposite to the question made in this post. Now, many people on this sub are enthusiasts so this question may sound like a little bit crazy to ask on here. However, you may have a spouse, parent, friend, or some other person you know that isn’t really that big of a car person and may feel differently. Maybe mom is terrified to get behind the wheel of your 707 hp Challenger Hellcat, for example. Even among some enthusiasts or petro heads, I find some of them will set limits. I know some people will get behind the wheel of a 305 hp Civic Type R, but feel the current American Muscle/Pony cars are too powerful for their platforms to effectively use that power (as opposed to something like a mid-engine supercar).
Most cars aren’t driven hard at all. You can usually get away from a pack of stopped traffic in a Camry with screaming CVT because most drivers are finishing their texts before driving.
You need 300 or so hp because when people are being stupid and you need to get away, mr 50mph blocking the left lane will wake up and floor it as soon as traffic clears, so your easy 50-70 pass is now a stupid 70-90 roll on. You want a bit more than the average for easy placement in a pack and to avoid clumps-this isn’t a slow car fast thing.
Beyond 400 hp, you don’t gain much. I find cars like this frustrating, as there are only so many highway on ramps.
The limit does not exist.
I’ve never driven anything with substantially better power to weight than my car, but I already have to roll onto the throttle even in 2nd/3rd if I don’t want traction control interfering. I personally would have no problem driving something like an R8 or Huracan with the 5.2 V10 that’s been twin turbo’d to make 1200hp. A little self control with throttle application is all you need.
400hp in a 600kg car. Put simply tempting fate. My buddy has a 1970’s era Civic with a k24 …again p/w is a scary scary thing. 600kg is before he stripped it, strangely his wife is AOK with it though.
I got no limits, the only difference is how slow and gentle I want to take it at first just to get acquainted.
If there’s an opportunity to take it on a skid pad to see how it handles, I’d do that first before hitting the road.
The non car people I know don’t have horsepower limits either, but generally they don’t touch anything low slung, loud, or with 2 doors. My estimate is they don’t want to be in anything more than 250-300hp.
I drove a friend’s A45 AMG with ~450hp and that felt like more than enough! Granted, mine is a little underpowered but it’s just enough for my driving and commute. The A45 just felt like bonkers.
I love my 117 Honda fit, but would be fine in a car with less power if it was light.