Drove the Mac 12c: so what's it like vs 458?

Gents,
I recently went from a 458 to the MP4. To be clear, it wasn't because I didn't love the 458. I had it for 1 1/2 years and think it is amazing. I put about 4000 mi on it during my tenure. My 2010 car was soon to come out of warranty and I thought about putting it up for sale privately to consider funding a 458 Spider. A Mclaren dealer made me a great trade offer for a 2012 Mclaren coupe which I couldn't say no to. I figured it would be fun to play with for a while, and already significantly depreciated in cost, so hopefully a minimal downside ahead.

Here are a few of my thoughts below. I preface it by saying I've only put about 500 mi on the MP4 in the past month:

Exterior looks - purely subjective. I really like both cars. To each his own. The 458 is amazing, as all here likely agree. The Volcano Red paint on the MP4 is a stunning color. The paint quality seems good to me. With the various carbon accents, it is really nice.

Interior - The 458 is much more spacious and comfortable for me than the MP4. I had the standard seats in the 458, with electric adjustments, and found it great. At a broad 6'5", the 458 is the most comfortable sports car I have EVER driven. Lots of leg room, hip room, knee room.... Ample storage. The Mclaren is a bit tight in seat width and knee width, and I look a bit foolish getting in and out. The controls and layout of the MP4 are a bit cleaner and less busy.

Sound - also very subjective. With 2013 upgrades and the sports exhaust, the MP4 sounds great to me. A bit lower end grunt than the high pitch wail of the 458. I don't prefer one particularly, but think they are both great. I would not call the MP4 dull in sound configured as above.

Transmission - the transmission on the MP4 is noticeably slower to shift to me than the 458, even with the upgrades. The MP4 is nonetheless very quick. The 458 has the best transmission in the world (IMHO).

Steering - both cars are great. Hard to pick a favorite.

Brakes - I much prefer the carbon brakes on the MP4 vs the Ferrari's. To me, a much better feel. Both cars came to me lightly 'pre-owned' so I can't say if they were properly bedded in. Probably the main "plus" column for the MP4.

Power/Speed - both are more than fast enough for me. I haven't driven either to near its' limits.

As the Mayor commented, we are all fortunate to have a competitive marketplace where Mclaren and Ferrari will push each other to be better and better.

 

to Mayor

I drove 458 vs performante version gallardo with them in vegas last yr. No macca when i was there. The ferrari seemed like a future car in comparison. Lambo really needs a new one.

Did you try gallardo too and how did it compare to macca

 

Stunner! =) I recently just got the 10.2 flash...it is truly night and day.

Sadly, I won't get to enjoy the MP4 for much longer...letting her go to fund my first open single-seater project. Don't think anyone from the bay area has one of these yet =)

 

Congrats, are you on McLaren Life? The 10.2 was a huge update, I actually had 10.6 done as well, wish does more with the IRIS/Meridian System.

Congrats on the new car!

 

Thank you Bob, always appreciate your candor. Hope your well, wish I could have been in Vegas with all of you.

 

One of the biggest differences between Ferrari and Maclaren....

Nearly every boy grows up with the aspiration to own a Ferrari. Not a single one of us (yet) grew up with the aspiration of owning a Maclaren.

I wonder if there is inherent bias toward Ferrari in our "objective" opinions of the two cars.

 

John, I always wanted a McLaren F1, but true, Ferrari was, is, and always will be my favorite cars and company. However, it is also good to try different cars, as I see you had a 997TT, I had two 997's and currently have a 991 in addition to a Ferrari. So it is all good.

 

...the orange brake calipers are so iconic! I think Satin Guard would look incredible on your car with the orange calipers.

Has anyone seen it first-hand on a 12C? I tried to order it for my Cali but the installer said none of his 3 Satin Guard sources have it in the 5' width rolls needed for the Cali hood, something about the adhesive not being available in that size. Odd.

He sent me these photos as a teaser. One of them shows a partial application. The matte finish really shows off the lines well, preventing mirror reflections. The 12C has complex surfaces but it looks like someone's wrapped one just fine.
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Great write up and I agree with a lot of what you've said. I do have one question though; do you know if Exotics Racing keeps the cars up to date as far as software goes? In other words, have the MP4-12Cs at Exotics Racing received the new upgrades? I know from first-hand experience that the new software upgrades do make a bit of difference in how the MP4-12C feels; especially with the transmission. As far as the comment you made about the transmission feeling slushy - in race mode, the shifts give you a kick that is pretty on par with the 458. I've always summed it up like this: The 458 is a car that you drive for the event and the theater whereas the MP4-12C is a car that you drive and only focus on speed and the best lap time; nothing else matters when driving the MP4-12C. Glad you had a fun experience.

-Gil

 

Excellent. Thanks for the clarification!

-Gil

 

Michael, thank you for the nice comments, will definitely check it out.

Gil, agree 100%with your comments.

 

To add to the endless debate, here is an interview with someone who races cars and has both,

Ferrari versus McLaren from an owners perspective - San Jose Cars | Examiner.com

He does prefer the Ferrari. It is interesting what he says about torque steer in the Mac with the driver's aids off. He does say the Mac is faster, but the Ferrari is the better car.

 

And to quote Edmunds on their comparison of the two cars:

"Finally
That's what we'd been waiting for. Something, somewhere, to set the McLaren miles ahead dynamically. It has clearly been honed by racing drivers. Perhaps, even, for racing drivers — and nothing else can touch it.

But at the risk of sounding like a victim of the Ferrari's blatant exhibitionism, we'd still take the 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia. This isn't a precision vs. blunt instrument test. Both of these cars are at the absolute top end of the supercar game, and the 458 is a car with deep reserves of ability. It lets you play with it, but is not a toy. Any car that goes, stops and corners the way it does is utterly capable, giving only micrometer-measured increments away to the 12C. On a track we're dealing in percentages you can count on one hand. But as we've mentioned, these are road cars. Outright circuit speed is not entirely the point.

The 2012 McLaren MP4-12C is a technical triumph, a car that engages and impresses in equal measure and is able to travel and corner faster than we thought possible in a supple road car. Truth be told, it is not worse, just different, from the 458 Italia. McLaren evidently knows a thing about making an unbeatably fast, supremely impressive road and track machine. If it floats your boat, the 12C is undoubtedly your car. But for our money, it's Ferrari that better knows how to make a supercar."

 

Let it be written. Let it be done.

 

Hi,

Interested review. What makes you love the ford GT so much over these cars?

 

A friend has one (plus 7 other cars including a new 458 Italia) and asks us to take his racing helmet as there is no room to stow it if his wife is along. To say the interior is spartan would be an understatement. Even older Fcars are luxuriously appointed compared the the FGT.

He showed me a ford video where the FGT was designed to beat the 360 Modena on the track. This it does but without the creature comforts of the 360.

 

fgt has the best hi hp manual trans/clutch combo ive ever driven. thats a good enuf reason to own one in this age of paddles

 

FGT is by far my fav car I have as well. I would sell all my other cars before I would let go of my FGT.

 

Agree 100% the FORD GT is incredible. Iconic, Fast, Beautiful, and one of a kind.

 

I just checked FGT prices. I wish that I had thought to buy a GT with the money put aside for the 458 while I wait for delivery. I could have sold the FGT when the 458 was delivered and made some good coin and scratched an itch at the same time.