i think that id like to make a few points based on my experience with very high powered cars. Keep in mind that I have a street legal car with around 490 horsepower.
1. Getting the tires to stick. After 500 HP good street tires begin to fail and extra hp is moot and a waste of money.
This is not true, at all. I know several people who daily drive cars with over 500 WHEEL horsepower. Very cheap tires are not as good as a high priced tire as far as traction, but all tires sold in the US meet a standard of safety. A friend of mine had a 1967 GTX with a built 440...it ran in the 10s, and was making WAY over 500whp.
2. It takes a skilled driver to control 500 hp effectively and safely on the street!
I think that the problem is that it takes a skilled driver to control any car safely on the street, but most people arent that skilled...[&o]
3. 500+ HP in a muscle car is alot different then 500 HP in a exotic car, cheaper suspension, tires, brakes, makes it more dangerous.
Again, the suspension parts on every car in the US has to meet a standard of safety. Have you ever seen the damage caused by a Gallardo hitting a wall? they disintegrate...now, while a 99 Camaro SS may not be as fast as a Gallardo, and may not corner as well, hitting the same wall wont do nearly the damage. Many high performance cars built in the US (or at least any car with over 400 stock HP) have suspension and braking setups which mimic, if not exceed, the supercars. Also, the engineers of the American performance cars are aware of what they are being used for, so safety is taken into consideration. And if you want to talk about the current 500hp cars in the US..the viper, Z06, and GT500...the viper and z06 are competitive in every manner shy of price with the exotics. the mustang..i question.