McLaren Depreciation 12-C: a nightmare- werewolf?

Motor Trend: Best Drivers Car 2011 (12-C commentary next)

01. FERRARI 458 ITALIA
Raising the Supercar Bar To Never-Before-Seen Heights After ruining each and every windshield filming our epic, 11-car drag race, the whole crew was standing in the parking lot of an Italian restaurant waiting for our 24-person table. It had been a long, grueling, yet utterly fantastic week, and to celebrate we were drinking beer and whiskey out of plastic cups. Markus and MacKenzie were regaling us young 'uns with tales of lousy Ferraris of yore, in particular the 348, which Lucca had earlier explained was developed by famed Ferrari test driver Dario Benuzzi with one arm in a sling. Both Frank and Angus told how the old-school Fezza had tried to kill them. The conversation moved to the F355, the F360, and the F430, and how each generation represented a huge improvement over what came before. "But you know, this car is more like the NSX," said Angus, leaning against our bright yellow 458 Italia. "It changes everything. The rest of 'em are now playing catch-up." "Angus," I said. "Have you ever driven a better car?" "Well," he started. "There are certain cars better suited to other situations." "Never mind all that," I said. "Have you ever driven a better car?" "No," MacKenzie replied. "Never." The same goes for me. Based on 24 hours I'd spent with the exact same yellow steed last year, my sense was that Best Driver's Car was Ferrari's to lose. And while numerically some contenders came close (the sticky-tired Corvette was faster around the track), digits don't tell a story. People do, and the praise lavished on the Ferrari is basically never-ending. "It was just so much fun," beamed Reynolds when he described flinging the 458 Italia around our figure eight. I asked for more, but Kim could only crack a goofy smile and re-proclaim, "Fun!" Driver Randy Pobst had so much fun, he forgot to talk during one of his laps and "had to" do an extra. He poured it on. "Steering is super accurate. The gearbox really makes those H-patterns feel like antiques. These brakes liked the heat. Yeah, the hotter I got 'em, the better they worked, and they held up just fine. An extremely well-behaved car. A real favorite of mine." Everybody else's, too. From Febbo: "When Jesus was young, he turned water into wine. After his training on Dagobah with Yoda, he turned wine into 458s. There is no perfect sports car, but this might be the closest mankind has come." From Lago: "Could you drive the 458 daily? Yes." And even with that damn worthy praise, the 458 remains a true performance machine. If the GT3 RS is a sparring partner and the GT-R a supercomputer that happens to drive really well, the 458 is something in between. Lago also points out that if you get on the throttle at 70 mph in seventh gear, the resulting downshifts are the first three notes of a major chord. Jurnecka might have best summed up the 458. "For the first time ever, perhaps, nitpicking a Ferrari is nigh impossible." That's the tricky part when talking about this mid-engine Ferrari. There aren't any flaws. The 458 has the best seats, the best steering feel, the best engine sound. It even has the best ride. Climbing out of the Nissan and into the 458 Italia on our road loop was eye-popping. Compared with the Ferrari, the GT-R rides like a garbage truck. Everything is harsh, uncomfortable, and rackety. The 458 feels polished, cozy, almost relaxed. Angus kept noting how smartly soft the bushings were, whereas the GT3 RS and the GT-R seemed determined to knock the filling from your cannoli. The Best Driver's Car shouldn't beat up its driver. The Ferrari doesn't. It cossets you, begging you to drive harder, faster, and for longer. With the exception of the Corvette and its race-compound tires, the 458 was the fastest car around Laguna Seca. It was the second-quickest to 60 mph (3.2 seconds), and the second-fastest through the quarter mile at 11.3 seconds, just a tenth behind the GT-R and its AWD drag-racing advantage. More telling, the 458's trap speed of 125.6 mph was nearly 5 mph faster than the Nissan's. If you look at the chassis' slip angle, the difference between average and maximum is identical to the GT-R's at 1.2 degrees. The understeer angle between the two cars is virtually identical (52.3 for the Ferrari, 53.0 for the Nissan). Point being, a tenth here and a tick there, sure, but the two cars perform in virtually the same manner. But it's the way the Ferrari does the deed that's so special. It's the fine quality of its actions, the satisfaction it gives to its pilot, and the simple sense that nothing else even comes halfway close that make the Ferrari 458 Italia the 2012 Motor Trend Best Driver's Car. As Loh quipped, "This car's perfect. Let's eat."

 

Motor Trend: Best Drivers Car 2012

5th Place: McLaren MP4-12C
"I Think That Bald Spot Makes you Look Sexy." A friend asked me about the results of this year's Best Driver's Car competition. While I couldn't (and didn't) reveal the results, I did tell him, "Ninth, fifth and first place are really going to piss people off." With that in mind, I present to you this year's fifth-place finisher, the McLaren MP4-12C. Yup, the latest product from the F1 wizards of Woking finished behind a $28K Subaru. I should also tell you that Randy flung the MP4-12C around Mazda Raceway in 1:34.5, a time good enough to bring home the gold from this year's event and just one-tenth of a second slower than our all-time Best Driver's Car champ, the Chevy Corvette Z06/Z07. And I should point out that this one wasn't even a 2013 MP4-12C -- that car gets a 24-hp bump to 616. Poor Randy and the rest of us had to make do with "only" 592 twin-turbo ponies. There's no doubt in anyone's mind that the MP4-12C would shatter the Corvette's time if the power bump were combined with a set of tires similar to the semi-slicks the Z06 was wearing. Who knows, it might even get within spitting distance of the Dodge Viper ACR's 1:33.94 Laguna Seca production-car record. And the active air brake is the coolest thing since NACA ducts. So why only fifth? As Evans so wonderfully and crudely said, "It's like paying for sex." The 12C is whispering all these nothings in your ear, "Oooh, you brake so hard! You turn in so fast! I can't believe how good you can drive." Aside from the fact that the new McLaren whispers nothing (it features Lexus LFA levels of interior aural assault), you're really not driving it that well, bub. The car is doing all these things for you. You might be asking yourself, doesn't the Nissan GT-R do all these things? Short answer is no, it doesn't. The GT-R smartly routes torque all over the place, but it doesn't amplify your inputs. A few degrees on the wheel doesn't equate to massive turn-in like on the McLaren. The gain on every one of the MP4-12C's controls is turned all the way up and the actual car-ness of the car is lost as a result. Explains MacKenzie, "When driven fast, the McLaren forces you to completely recalibrate your brain because the relationship between driver input and machine output is never quite linear. It's almost as if the car figures out what you're trying to do and just goes ahead and does it, leaving you slightly surprised and amazed at the result but also slightly guilty because you know you're not that good behind the wheel." Pobst, who only drove the MP4-12C on the racetrack and did a session with the electronic safety nets turned on, agrees. "I like it and I hate it. This McLaren raises the level of stability control to a whole other realm. There's a lot of computing at work, but the car's not driving exactly the way I'm driving it. I even find myself getting a little bit stupid, like I know I have these crutches so I lean on them. They work so smoothly it's almost invisible, except I know I just turned the wheel 20 degrees and the car's not turning 20 degrees. Something else is happening and that something else is very effective, but I'm not the guy really driving the car." There's a pause before he says, "It is amazing."

Please don't get us wrong -- the McLaren MP4 12C really is amazing. As Markus says, "Brakes feel fantastic. They engage right at the top of the pedal, totally firm, feel great. The handling limits are nowhere in sight of my willingness to push on a public road. Spectacular steering feel, great throttle response." He's not alone. Adds Kiino, "Power is amazing. Still have dreams about the launch control and rocketing through the quarter mile at over 130 mph." Evans: "So nimble. I feel like I'm right on the front wheels. Feels like I'm going a million miles per hour." And Lago: "The McLaren is a brilliant driving car, and the team should be proud of their accomplishments. It's fabulous, lithe, loud, and bonkers fast. It stumbles because it's more car than driver. Humans are woefully inefficient at limit driving, so removing them from the process makes the car go faster." But only Lago and Markus had the McLaren ahead of the BRZ. You heard right: Around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Randy Pobst preferred the $28,000 Toyota/Subaru to the $267,545 British hypercar. Truth, as they say, is stranger than fiction.

 

Motor Trend:
9th Place: Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4
Getting to know the Countach's Torchbearer Oh dear. I can already read the "For the third time in as many months, I'm cancelling my subscription!" hate mail as I type. But the fact is, the Lamborghini Aventador -- the most expensive, powerful, fastest, and rad of the bunch -- finished dead last. Before we get to the specifics, please know that we all love the fact that this car exists, how bloody fast it is (the fourth-fleetest vehicle we've taken around Laguna Seca), and the entire extreme package. The only problem with the Aventador is the way it drives, especially in a Best Driver's Car competition. Despite its heavy reliance on carbon fiber, the LP700-4 was the weightiest car of the test at 4109 pounds. That's 15 pounds fatter than even the big-boned Camaro ZL1. And here's the really inexplicable part: Lago flew to Italy to test a European-spec version of the big-dog bull -- and weigh it -- and that car weighed 300 pounds less. What? Why? How? We don't know. Speculation is that the Italian Aventador prototype (3817 pounds) was constructed of hand-laid pre-impregnated carbon fiber, which is considerably lighter than the injection-molded stuff Lambo is baking up for its customer cars. But we don't know the reason. Not only was this white U.S.-spec Aventador slower than the orange one Lago tested, but, according to him, it handled worse. The rest of us weren't very impressed, either. "Sometimes big cars feel like they shrink when you push them hard," explains Mortara. "Not this one. You are reminded every step of the way just how big this thing is." Being so wide (79.9 inches -- a Cadillac Escalade is 79.0 inches wide), the Aventador was difficult to place accurately. Worse, when you did manage to correctly put it where you wanted, the Lambo sometimes did something unexpected. Says Kiino, "Feels like the car is doing something different in every corner." At times, the big bull would happily pull through a corner. Other times, the blinky yellow traction-control light would flare up. Mortara muses, "The front end and the rear end don't seem to be working together. I almost get the sense that they're fighting each other. Not confidence-inspiring." And that -- the ability to inspire confidence into the mind of the person behind the wheel -- is one of the major things we look for in a best driver's car.

We universally loathed the Aventador's transmission. "A major letdown," notes MacKenzie. "In Street mode, the shifts are slower than a wet weekend in Cleveland, and in Corsa, it's like you're getting hit in the back of the head with a shovel." He ain't lying about either part. When left in full auto and Street mode, the Aventador's "independent shifting rod" automated single-clutch manual is plain awful. Worse than the Aston Martin Vantage S and approaching Smart Fortwo levels of terribleness. Lambo claims it went with the ISR solution over a dual-clutch to save weight. Big mistake, say all of us. The car already isn't the sharpest-handling knife in the block. And would the 691-hp V-12 even notice a 2 percent increase in mass? Doubtful. Then there was the little issue of complete and total brake fade on Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Randy did his usual three fast laps, pulled into the pits, and got out of the car saying, "Jonny, there are no brakes left at all. You're going to have to pump the pedal three times to get any stop." I turned and looked at poor Jessi Lang -- she'd just volunteered to be my passenger. And yes, the fluid was completely boiled and I ran Jessi around Laguna Seca in a $400,000 Italian exotic with boiled carbon-ceramic brakes. I almost stuffed only it once. In conclusion, the Aventador was a big (seriously), fat (surprisingly) disappointment in how it measures up as a driver's car. However, as Kiino points out, "There's no doubt it's the best arriver's car." Commence with the hate mail.

 

Where are the MAC fans that complained that depreciation does not matter? We have both Motor Trend and 5th gear preferring the Ferrari on matters exclusive of depreciation. In other words, the 458 is THE car, money be damned! The icing on the cake is that the 458 also holds it's value better. The MAC is a good car. But, for many buyers they can only have one. Therefore, the need to choose requires one to buy the better car. We may each define better differently, but it's nice to see race car drivers preferring the Ferrari in addition to most of us here.

 

Are you a more accomplished driver than they are? I doubt it. In any event, the analysis was based on a combination of road and track. Therefore, if you only track your car then your needs are different. The MAC is a good car. It's special. I hope you enjoy it. I hope McLaren succeeds.

Of course there should be more people that prefer the Ferrari on a Ferrari forum. If you read through the posts here and in other strings, e.g., "Ferrari quality control" you will see that the "wolf" and others were knocking the 458 and stating that it's obvious the 12-C is the better car. Well it's not obvious and it's wrong. It's not just Ferrari owners that prefer the 458 but objective race car driver/ journalists as well.

If I had a fleet of sports cars I would also own a 12-C. I can only budget for two. Therefore, I have a chosen a Ferrari and a Porsche. At the rate the 12-C is depreciating I may someday be able to add it as well.

 

Silly. Your answering the wrong question. If your racing each 1/10 of a second matters. In the real world, where I'm not racing it's abouth the combination of speed, handling, looks, sound, reliability, service, etc. In other words, it's the combined pleasure of all of those things and overall cost of ownership as I do not have unlimited means. From this view a large contingent believe that the 458 is unmatched. When I'm racing for money I will want the car that gets me to the finish line first or pays the most. When I'm not, which is always, I'll choose the Ferrari.

 

Objective is black and white. Subjective isn't, but it still counts and may be more important. When valuing subjective criteria, the credibility of the reviewer matters. The better the expert the better the subjective opinion.

If subjective didn't matter the best car would always be the fastest (e.g., the fastest version of the Corvette or Viper, etc.). These cars can be uncomfortable and punishing to drive. They're imperfections do not show up in the objective numbers. Also, turbo charged cars that require high revs may be faster on the track but not in real world driving situations where their performance cannot be extracted. Cars that are rewarding to drive do not show up in the objective numbers. I drive for pleasure. The fastest car does not provide the most pleasure. Why is that not objectively clear?

Your art comparison would only apply to garage queens that are not driven. I presume this discussion applies to those that derive pleasure from driving. Therefore, your analogy to art does not apply as we are not discussing the looks. Of course if we were to discuss the aesthetic beauty you know which car most people would prefer. I hope you are not in denial on that one.