| Re: Best Allante to buy?
I own an '89 with the 4.5.
I do like the Northstar. A lot. However, if you check prices, it tends to come at a premium, whether because it is the Northstar, or because '93 was the final year of Allante production.
If I could pick any Allante, I would be torn between a '91/'92 and a '93. By '91/'92, as with most model runs, just about all of the production issues were sorted out, and all the refinements had been integrated into the line. With '93's, you're getting newly revised electrical and other systems, and the first-year run of the powertrain.
The performance differences between the 4.5 and N* really weren't that vast, especially when you consider where the torque peaks are. As the saying goes, HP sells cars, but torque wins races. While the N* had 295HP @ 5600RPM vs the earlier Allante's 200HP @ 4400RPM, the N* torque peak of 290lb-ft occured at 4400RPM, vs the 270lb-ft @ 3200 RPM of the 4.5. When you add it that the '93 Allante weighed 300lbs more than the previous model years', I don't know if the extra $$ you pay for a Northstar is worth it if you're only looking for performance.
I can tell you my 4.5 barely, if ever gets wound up to 5600 RPM. It probably would get up there if I drove at 100MPH, but I don't spend much time up there, even though the Allante can easily do more. I'd easily give up 20 lbft to get my torque peak 1200rpm lower, especially with 300 less pounds to haul around, but I'm an old-school pushrod guy at heart - I want my torque and I want it down low in the RPM band where its usable at a stoplight.
The Recaro seats in the pre-'93s are also pretty darn awesome.
I do like the colored softtops and some of the colors that came on '93's... |