Translation: - We had regular meetings with the other manufacturer(s). - We know what the performance of the other car is. - We all realized the market is big enough for the two (or three, with Porsche) of us. - We agreed to have slightly different targets to make everybody happy. Regards
The 918 is the car I needed back in High School for when I wanted to sneak out of the house without my parents hearing me. LOL Here's my unintelligent predictions for the possible outcome of this 3-way supercar battle: F150 - Most pleasing shape ("classically beautiful" as Napolis says) with best sounding engine. P1 - Best lap times and possibly most comfortable ride/interior. 918 - Best overall driving experience? Not necessarily the fastest or the prettiest, but possibly the car you most want to take out for a winding mountain road drive?
Porsche is building a car that will work without issues in the real world. The extra weight is engineering redundency and more battery storage. This thing will not break down, leave you stranded or burst into flames. It will also come with an 8 year KERS battery warantee. I'm not saying P1 and F70 won't be OK in the real world I'm saying 918 will be much more robust and have a much longer battery output without recharging.
But it's not 400kgs heavier than the other 2 cars, just heavier than what it could have been. The other cars also have hybrid technology and the extra weight that comes with it. Aren't these 3 cars coming in at somewhat similar weights?
No the 918 is heavier than P1 or F70. It will be interesting to see how these batteries hold up under hard use. After our 24 our batteries showed a lot wear. I bet that's why Porsche is packing so many of them so that they are not overstressed. I'm sure McLaren and Ferrari have thought about this and tested but IMO Porsche is REALLY testing. I believe they've made 20 mules and are testing with each one. The 918's 7:14 was from a standing start with traffic. On a regular lap my 918 guess remains at 7:10.
I didn't realize the Porsche was that much heavier. Is the majority of extra weight due to more battery capacity? Will the other cars have the Electric Only mode that the 918 has and with similar range?
Yes and other beefed up engineering. No. 918 can do a full lap at the Ring Electrically. That's why it's mileage rating is 92mpg.
When leaving the Countessa's Villa early in the morning I often had to park on a hill so I couuld coast away without waking up the Count. Electric mode could be very helpfull in similar situations...
We know the 918 is said to weigh in at 3700 lbs. What is anyones guess at the final weight of the P1 now that we know the batteries are 213 lbs plus the drive motors?
I believe that Ferrari has stated that their car won't have an electric only mode. Thank god for that! Other than that, I do not see the 918 as an F150/P1 competitor. It's a much different animal really.
P1 doesn't really have a drive motor like the 918. Its only electric motor is the one built into the bottom of the engine block. Also all the weight of their hybrid system is packaged low and very close to the center of the car. Mclaren have been adamant in all their presentations so far that there is zero fat on the P1. In more candid environments with potential owners viewing the P1 at the MTC they have not supplied an official weight figure, but have suggested the number will be quite close to that of the 12C. I'm expecting 3,200-3,300 lbs. >8^) ER
Why is having less choices a good thing? I can only see that as a drawback. I, for one, would love to be able to drive around in electric mode. That way I could tell all the snooty Prius drivers that I am actually using less gas and polluting less than they are.
its like 2003 again only now with p1 (thankfully) instead of slr. i think the f150 and 918 will be totally analogous to enzo vs cgt. as always, ferrari will be the exotic and porsche the practical. p1 is the wild card. my guess is it will be between the other two, more practical than ferrari and more exotic than porsche. probably the best 3 cars ever introduced at same time. they will be fascinating to compare.
Because that my dear friend would mean more complexity, perhaps more battery weight and surely less "soul". Seeing a Ferrari setting off at a traffic light without any sound would be just pathetic IMHO.
I would never consider driving a Ferrari in electric mode. The video of Harry Metcalfe in the 918 where they drive it in electric mode for a bit was depressing. One of the biggest stimuli for me when it comes to cars/driving is the sound they make.
Agreed. In a sports car electronic power should only supplement or complement the engine, not replace.
Like when the MP4-12C was announced to be a lot faster than the 458..? Didn't turn out this way despite the Mc's 10% better power to weight ratio! Power/weight of P1 and F150 will be equal. How will the downforces compare? Claim for P1 is 600 kg at 200 or 241 kph. Does anyone know? Claim for 2002 Enzo was 335/490 kg at 200/241 kph. Has anybody seen downforce values of the F150 yet?
Ferrari has a funky way of measuning downforce, privatly tested enzos never reached anywhere neer those numbers.... Aumption ferrari measures the downforce with every element aero element shutoff or not functioning. then measures it with them turened on... and releases the diffrence. problem being that with all of the aero off the car the car produces lift.. This would be the only explanation to explain why no ferrari car ever reached the aero figures in a private test that were quoted by the factory. This is only conjecture on my part, I have no inside info or anything like that...