Ferrari LaFerrari vs Mclaren P1 vs Porsche 918

True, but it's only one lap on one track that Porsche no doubt optimized the car greatly for. It could be, and I think it will be, that the P1 will put quite a bit of distance on the 918 on other major tracks and in ever other measure of performance.

One thing to note is that apparently the 918 ran out of juice in on the long straight at the end as evident by its lower speed. This would mean that any subsequent laps might be way slower than the first. After all, it won't have a full battery to start with. Someone on the McLaren forum mentioned that apparently the P1 charged and discharged its battery twice during the lap and that might have hurt its time given the length of type of track the Ring is. The 918 weighs a heck of a lot more than the P1, and without a fully charged battery on a flying start, it might not be as quick as it seems.

I think it will be very hard to accurately compare these cars. Lap times would be much different if all companies designed their cars to do a single lap as fast possible without caring what it does afterwards. How consistent is the performance of each of these cars and what are they actually optimized to do. Is a car that can do one 6:57 lap and a bunch of 7:20 laps better than a car that can do a bunch of 7:04 laps? Those numbers are hypothetical, but I doubt the 918 would be able to do consistent laps at such a pace given it's battery was out of juice at the end of the first.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some way to optimize battery usage for a specific track.

 

OK, someone clarified that the P1 did not in fact run out of battery, but rather it used the equivalent of 2 full discharges during its run.

 

What makes you think that? After the latest news, I am willing to bet that the Ferrari will be a good deal faster.

 

Latest news? Must have missed it.

 

7:04. It's a rumor. Not concrete. We will see what time it really did soon enough. And if the P1 is indeed faster it will make it look even better because it did that without all wheel steering and four wheel drive. Let's see.

 

'even better'? 'Even better' than what? Than how good it looks now? The P1 has a tall order to fill for it to remain credible against the 918.

 

Jim
Are you going to Austin for the F1 race? My wife & I will be there; would love to meet up....
Thanks
Kevin
Racer at heart

 

Hi

Sorry no. If you make it to NY let me know.

Best

 

10-4. Thanks - you know; I didn't understand your fascination with the Ring time at first, but I have to admit I have come around on my way of thinking. Not that it's the only relevant time that matters, but rather how it's stature has grown, in part due to the fact that its probably the only track in the world that is so demanding, but also open to anyone to test at. With all the coverage - between fans and coverage (24 hour web cam) - it has really become a great equalizer to prove cars time and drivers ability.
Thanks for sharing the passion
Kevin

 

This will be interesting . . . at some point, some magazine will want to do a side by side test of these cars. I don't think the manufacturers can ignore the request forever.

The question is whether Ferrari will rig the test on a track/course that is suited to the LaF. Politics appears to be the early influence in this car v. car v. car test.

 

Well I suppose that's technically a question... <cough... cough...>

 

You could say Porsche is doing that since they developed the 918 on the Ring.

 

As I found out today after a LONG drive on the highway, through towns, in stop and go and through spectacular twisties developing a car to be fast at the Ring isn't a bad idea to make it a joy on the roads of NY.
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p1 deliveries started now . Congratulations owners

 

I have been reading this blog for a while now, but this is my first post. I think the 918 is an amazing piece of engineering and I am trying to learn a little more about it.

Does anyone know the wh/kg of it's battery? I think most hybrids are around 200, but I know Envia is making one that is closer to 400 now. If the 918's was 200, that would mean the 6.8 KWH battery would "only" weigh 34 KG (unless I am figuring this wrong). That isn't as high of a percentage of its overall 1,634 KG weight as I would of expected. Is the additional weight (compared to the P1 and Laferrari) due to the AWD, AWS and hybrid power train?

I have heard several say that Porsche will support better battery technology as it comes available. This seems to be a great selling point. I wonder what affect having a battery with double or triple the energy density would have on the 918's hot lap time as well as multiple laps. If the battery really is only 34 KG, I wouldn't think cutting the battery weight in half would have much impact on the cars performance.

Also, I heard someone say Porsche did not have their active aero engaged for their 6:57 lap time. Does anyone know why it was not turned on and if this would of had any impact on their lap. Is it possible the additional downforce would of ate up more battery?

Cheers.

 

2x Ferrari LaFerrari Loud Sounds and Accelerations! - YouTube

reposting a video.

so is there still any question on which car one would prefer? this NA v12 with killer soundtrack on light weight chassis or the overweight porker with common v8 engine or clinical soup up 3.8 turbo engine alien looking vehicle?

 

The V8 in the 918 is anything but common.

It weighs just 140 kg while producing 610 hp. It is based on the 3.4 V8 from the LMP2 RS Spyder.

The P1(and 12C) engine is based on a Nissan motorsport engine.

On the other hand, LaFerrari's engine is a souped up F12 engine.

 

Actually it is an FXX engine. You can't beat that!!!

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb-3akls5vs]Chasing Ferrari LaFerrari in a F12 Berlinetta! - YouTube[/ame]

 

The 'ring is not like other race tracks in that it is incredibly bumpy and heavily cambered, it has much more in common with a European country road than a conventional race track (thats because it technically is!).

Having seen some onboard of the P1 I would say that it runs so low and hard in its Track mode that there no way it can be good at the 'ring and the Porsche's advantage may be in being more supple. I would say that on a GP track like Silverstone or Spa the P1 will be quicker than the 918 or the LaF. I also echo the view that almost zero potential owners of any of these cars will be able or willing to drive them at 8/10ths or above... especially at the 'ring.

Still think its a shame any of these cars run heavy electronics, i'll stick to my 'slow' F40 and F50 with steering feel and driver enjoyment.

 

Have you seen the video of the zonda r evo and the huy...whatever running around the ring? It is very very low.

 

The Supercar Kids ? First Customer LaFerrari Delivered apparently first LaFerrari has been delivered..

 

Broken link. :\

 

Not true, too.