Well good luck with getting a teenage driver insurance cover in some big old Euro-tank…
While you might believe the driver is as safe as they are in a modern l.0 hatch, they’ll make a huge hole in the landscape when the inevitable happens!
The specifications of the XJ-S compared well with both Italian cars; it was able to accelerate to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 7.6 seconds (automatic) and had a top speed of 143 mph (230 km/h). this is taken from the one in production to the 1990’s
Corsa VXR
Launched mid-April 2007
1.6i Turbo 16v engine A16LER (Z16LER <2010)
189 brake horsepower (141 kW)
0-62 mph (100 km/h) 6.8secs
Maximum speed 140 mph (230 km/h)
sorry carryfast but I think its time the rose tinted glasses came off.
war1974:
The specifications of the XJ-S compared well with both Italian cars; it was able to accelerate to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 7.6 seconds (automatic) and had a top speed of 143 mph (230 km/h). this is taken from the one in production to the 1990’sCorsa VXR
Launched mid-April 2007
1.6i Turbo 16v engine A16LER (Z16LER <2010)
189 brake horsepower (141 kW)
0-62 mph (100 km/h) 6.8secs
Maximum speed 140 mph (230 km/h)sorry carryfast but I think its time the rose tinted glasses came off.
So not the type of Corsa the average 17 year old would be driving.Just as in the day the average 17 year old wasn’t driving an expensive XJS.But as in my case they were often driving cars which could still get them into trouble.Probably moreso than the average 17 year old today.
IE 1.0 Litre Corsa 57 bhp 0-60 16 seconds 90 mph ish max v Triumph 2.5 PI 132-150 bhp 110-115 mph 0-60 around 9-10 seconds or V8 3.5 Rover 120 mph and similar 0-60 as the Triumph.Then usually by our 20’s it was a case of looking for something even quicker like a big BMW or Jag or some type of American kit or converted domestic with American engines.
While as I said its going to take something small and light with forced induction to sort out an old 3 speed auto box XJS.Now look for the manual figures for the XJS let alone a modified engine bearing in mind that as I said in the 1970’s/early 80’s speed limits were treated with contempt by old and young alike.While with the exception of radar traps other types of detection hadn’t been invented and the law generally played by the rules with marked vehicles only.
Then added to that you can add all sorts of other cars like old school Fords with big tuned American V8’s dropped in them used for illegal street or strip racing in which they’d have been falling about laughing at anything with a 0-60 time of 6 seconds.Trust me it really was a different world of still quick to proper quick cars and virtual anarchy in regards to the speed regime.
As I said the difference in our case being that the speed was usually the result of putting a lot of power in a big heavy car.As opposed to less power in a lot less weight.Ironically that difference combined with the extra awareness and skill levels resulting from that anarchic speed regime probably saving many of our generation.As opposed to quick light cars which fold up easier when they hit something driven by drivers that don’t seem to know how to handle speed which seems to characterise that of today’s. 
I know best case scenario of new transverse engine type in offset head on with an old marginal longitudinal engine set up.That’s always going to be a worst case scenario for the big v small.Probably arguably to the point of providing a false sense of security for any parent deciding on that choice between slightly older E class Merc v newish Corsa.
GasGas:
war1974:
having grown up playing the original gta etc don’t think that’s any argument at all am afraid (its no different to serial killers who people say were influenced by shoot em ups).I just think too much is placed on how safe cars are these days which will inevitably de-sensitise people.
still say modern smaller cars are safer than some old jag or rover from the 80’s
Fact is that functioning airbags will make a huge difference to the occupant in a crash…any car from the 1980s is unlikely to have these.
But the cost of replacing deployed airbags can often increase the cost of a crash repair enough to write an otherwise repairable car off!
Re; the video games. Prince Harry made some quite telling remarks about how machine-gunning people from a helicopter on-screen was good training for the same in real life. I suspect that many younger people have a real issue with ‘games’ and ‘reality’ becoming blurred.
School run then to shops and back home repeat. Audi q7s range rovers big strong powerful cars no road sense parked on zig zagz. what chance has a small car got (to me its like I’m a crap driver with some dosh but if I make a mistake im ok). I’ve seen it…■■■■ boiling
Carryfast:
I know best case scenario of new transverse engine type in offset head on with an old marginal longitudinal engine set up.That’s always going to be a worst case scenario for the big v small.Probably arguably to the point of providing a false sense of security for any parent deciding on that choice between slightly older E class Merc v newish Corsa.
i personally prefer 90s cars and not poxy little things
the silver galant is a 2.5 V6 and the mauve legnum is a 2.5 V6 twin turbo and my insurance company is aware of all modifications including the LSD front diff from an EVO 5 RS which was the only thing to add to my premium. i did ask if upgrading the brakes gave me a reduction since its a safety upgrade but it does not work like that 
nice ^
must admit after owning several imprezas have to say am jap all the way.
and carryfast whilst yes a few people will have ‘modified’ their cars I grew up in the 80’s and don’t recall all these 6.0 v12 hybrids that you seem to have. I know a couple but most for me in the late 80-90’s were fords and gt turbos etc which all were small light turbo cars.
As has been said, one thing that makes people feel invincible is all the safety devices on modern cars.
A sure way to slow people down and think would be to replace the steering wheel air bag with a big spike!
war1974:
nice ^must admit after owning several imprezas have to say am jap all the way.
and carryfast whilst yes a few people will have ‘modified’ their cars I grew up in the 80’s and don’t recall all these 6.0 v12 hybrids that you seem to have. I know a couple but most for me in the late 80-90’s were fords and gt turbos etc which all were small light turbo cars.
I know as I said there seems to have been a turning point from making heavy cars go by adding engine capacity to create more power ( more like torque ).As opposed to increasing power to weight ratios by going for smaller capacity forced induction engines and ( a lot less weight ).I’d guess late 1980’s-90’s sounds about right in that regard.
While in general those of us who grew up with the former formula stayed with it or sometimes managed to pass it along to the later generations and are most likely to be those of us who’ll refer to the latter culture as the ‘ricers’.That former culture having its roots in stuff like this at its top levels.
youtube.com/watch?v=egq5W9e5qjo
youtube.com/watch?v=ssPLm7Je2SA
While that translated in the Jaguar scene in the day as the products of tuners like Forward Engineering.In which case a capacity increase to just 6.0 litres was generally a good starting point. 
Which then just leaves that issue of which is best from the point of view of young driver fatalities if/when their sometimes high power to weight lightly built cars,or even just lightly built cars,hit something.In which case our best case in the form of that big V12 Jag saloon etc was probably a lot safer than the new generation’s worst case in the form of that Corsa etc.
In addition to the fact that the ‘old school’ would have been more likely to have been taught ‘to drive’ in their own cars by parents over a much longer period because in that case time obviously didn’t translate as money.
As opposed to taught to pass the test in as few hours spent actually driving as possible.
Give in people, the great motoring oracle has spoken.