Ferrari LaFerrari vs Mclaren P1 vs Porsche 918

Imo the adjustable ride height is its downfall. Either too stiff or not aero enough. And the tyres good only on the bone dry. Did they try too hard where it was cheaper? Slick tyres, downforce, stiff suspensions and increased turbo pressure are no substitute for electronic diffs, better hybrid integration and regeneration, modern engine technologies and so on I believe

 

Uh, what? Those things are not at all required or important. Race cars are all about slicks, downforce, and suspension, with half the power. A race car from 10 years ago will run circles around the 918/LF/P1 on a track, and do it lap after lap, non-stop, for in some cases 24 hours.

 

You're desperately trying to prove that to yourself. Test drives have shown that it doesn't need an LSD and CH wrote a full article about it. I'm sure you've read it but decided not to believe it. Its hybrid system is very well integrated and very advanced (E-motor is being used in Formula E) and it compliments its turbo'd engine perfectly, resulting in an intoxicating driving experience. The engine that it is based on (12C) won the "engine of the year" award last year in its category, ending a 5 year winning streak for BMW. That's a huge achievement on its own and P1's engine can only be better. The suspension and aero will take you as close as experiencing a race car, in a proper road car that you could daily drive. So really, not sure what you're onto.

 

More pointless press release regurgitation, is the marketing spiel really necessary?

Why don't you make yourself useful and ask one of your close, personal friends at McLaren with whom you remain in constant contact with why they have repeatedly pulled the P1 from the TG test.

 

How anyone can complain about any of these 3 cars is beyond me. They are all fantastic. It is amazing that 3 manufacturers can set out to produce the 'worlds best' sports car using the ultimate technology currently available and yet all 3 produce completely different, yet brilliant, results. We are indeed blessed to have them around.

And also - anyone who has the opportunity to buy one of these cars and does it, should be applauded. Enough hating.

 

Applause….

 

Applause….

 

Why is everyone getting so upset about the P1 not joining the 918 on the Top Gear track but let Ferrari slide? As if it really matters if car XYZ is half a second faster or slower.

Ferrari has done this plenty. They refused an Enzo to Top Gear as well. They still refuse cars to well established magazines unless they approve of the other cars in the test.

EVO did a car of the year test a couple of years ago and Ferrari would only give them a 458 or GTO, not both. They would refuse lending a car if they found out if they got another car from third party (Ferrari was the only manufacturer in the test being so difficult).

I just hope someone will lend Top Gear the cars and be done with it...

 

For some reason, I'm not exactly sure why, just general sentiment I guess, but I expected that the P1 would set a lap time on the show. I know top gear acted like they'd be getting a car to test, and I presumed McLaren would be more than willing. I think a P1 has already appeared on the show.

Remember when Clarkson did that review of the Enzo and had to plug that guy's book to do it? I have zero expectation for Ferrari to show up with anything on Top Gear, and I would never imagine them allowing themselves to enter into a fair fight.

 

Ferrari have been behaving like this for years but to be fair they haven't been making the sorts of claims for the Laf that McLaren have made for the P1, specifically about it being the fastest track car. When McLaren failed to release their Nurburgring time they cited safety concerns and said they would put the P1 up for comparison on any other track. To refuse Top Gear a direct comparison with the 918 on their 'home track' (having already said they would), speaks to the kind of duplicity that I'm not sure even Ferrari would be capable of. If this is actually true then McLaren's reputation will be in tatters.

Which is a real shame because the P1 seems like a spectacular car.

 

That's great to know Mark. Any chance either you or Peleton could use your contacts to confirm or deny the rumour that Mclaren have refused to allow a head to head vs the 918 at Dunsfold?

Why do you they have done this (if it is true)?

 

But the games that are good enough for Ferrari to play will never be good enough for McLaren.

Who cares if they skip Top Gear? We already know this "entertainment" program will allow farcical performances like the one from the Pagani Huayra to dilute the credibility of their Power Lap board times. No doubt Porsche didn't roll in with whatever 918 happened to be fresh off the assembly line.

In the end people just want another pointless data element to argue about.

>8^)
ER

 

These cars are all about numbers and data. And so far, only Porsche is proving theirs.

 

Porsche have only shown you what they want you to see.

If we are to believe the latest rumor they sand-bagged their 6:57 Nurburgring lap time by telling the driver to back off on the final straight. It's all a big game and many people are allowing themselves to be played over and over.

>8^)
ER

 

Hey, at least Porsche has released a timed video proving their (sandbagged or not) Ring time.

Unlike some other car company which has been boasting about record breaking performance, but has shown zilch for all their claims.

 

I would imagine it has something to do with Ferrari not really going hard to the public about how well LaFerrari would perform in respects to the other hypercars. Correct me if I am wrong but the only real hyperbolic statement made about LaFerrari before its release is that it would be the fastest Ferrari ever. Right?

Meanwhile McLaren made no bones about how mega the P1 would be compared to any competitor. So people wanna see it do what Ron, and Frank S. (and those who carry the water for McLaren) say it does. It doesn't help that a figure like Clarkson goes public and says P1 will beat 918 and LaF (without testing the others properly). So folks wanna see it do just that.

If you 'talk the talk' and all…

And for the record, this Ferrari lover is willing to believe (much of) what I read about the P1. I believe it is every bit the monster I hear/read it is. But I also would like to see it do what I am told it can do. Its just natural.

 

Well it would appear they are not too worried about it.

perrinnation - I think you have the echo feature switched on.

>8^)
ER

 

that's not how the majority of people see it. More like chickening out.

 

Yup. I fixed it.

Thanks Erik.

 

Yes: we want to know why Mclaren doesn't deliver the car they promised. Catastrophic effect on the Mclaren's image.

“We were testing the P1 at the Top Gear test track and I broke the lap record by 10 seconds.Going back to the Nordschleife, it’s going to be sub 7 seconds.It’s going to break all the records. I’m a little bit nervous to say it but I can say with all belief this is going to be the fastest car in the world. And that includes what has come before today and what will come after. So we’re very very very confident. No one’s going to get close to the performance of this vehicle.”

Hilarious.

 

Yup. I don't recall Ferrari saying anything close to this about LaFerrari.

 

Yep, all they said at a PRIVATE event was that from simulations the car was faster than 7 min at the Ring and they got slaughtered on this forum for not proving it, although it was meant to be private and clearly stated "simulated".

I think they would loose a lot of deposits if the car was objectively tested and reviewed, the XJ220 failure must have thought something after all.

 

Calm strenght: Ferrari... Seriously efficient: Porsche... Boastful with a lot to proove: Mclaren. Cars are simply objects. Marketing people and Fans on forums only extend brands attitude and spirit.

 

It boggles the mind to see this thread is now 517 pages. As I generally prefer to be a lurker rather than a poster I reluctantly would like to make the following observations. I worked 14 years in the auto industry in sales and marketing positions for an American, a Japanese and a European automobile manufacturers.

Most surprising are the posts by the McLaren & P1 defenders. Porsche and Ferrari are the most profitable car companies in the world measured as a percentage of sales. McLaren's first road car, the F1 was an unmitigated financial disaster and their joint venture with Mercedes didn't fair much better. Remember that Daimler purchased equity in McLaren and as a result of the SLR project problems ended in a messy divorce. I seriously doubt the 12C was ever profitable although, they should be given credit for producing a creditable competitor to the Ferrari 458. I do not view McLaren as a true automobile manufacturer as they do not manufacture their own engines but rather subcontract to Ricardo. I understand that their current engines are an update of an original Nissan design. There is nothing inherently wrong with a chassis/ body builder as some of the UK's most famous brands fall under this category including Lotus, AC, Jensen, Morgan, and many others.

Ferrari clearly is a marketing genius in creating demand for their hyper products. They clearly have created an ora around their brand seemingly making price no object. Personally my choice would be the La Ferrari by a wide margin, unfortunately Maranello forgot to invite me to buy one.

The 918, which I did buy, is an incredibly competent car but lacks the cashe of the La Ferrari. The 918 is likely though, to be the model for future super cars in the next decade. If the marketing geniuses at VW had branded it as a Lamborghini with minor styling tweaks they could have added $400k to $500k to the price and sold out. Porsche is not perceived to be a million dollar car brand.

I must admit the P1 I do not get! It strikes me as a tuner 12C. I think the styling will appeal to the under 15 crowd. The rear end look unfinished along with the interior. I'm sure given time the La Ferrari and 918 will prove to be superior in most test categories.

The incredible performance of all 3 of these cars is unfortunately irrelevant, as most of these cars will never see a track, and will be relegated to a life of city driving to the most prestigious country clubs, restaurants, and charity events. They will be "the cars" that the celebrities, entrepreneurs, and socialites will want to be seen in. Personally I am thinking the 918 will make a nice replacement daily driver for my R8 V10 Spider.

 

You never fail to not fail with your critiques.

The XJ220 was a failure because the production vehicle offered by Jaguar did not match the product that was presented at the concept stage. Their engineering team decided they could not deliver on the performance promises with the package that had been revealed in Birmingham in 1988 - the 6.2L bespoke V12 was replaced by a 3.5L Twin Turbo V6 sourced from an Austin Metro rally car; gone were the sophisticated AWD system and the promise of scissor-operated doors, and the car had been shortened in length some 8 inches in the process. Jaguar also raised the price by 15% in the face of a worldwide recession. The depositors, many of whom had been speculators betting on the limited production vehicle's appeal (based on those initial design specs) demanded Jaguar return their money and many legal fights were sparked over the bait-and-switch. This all took place long before any customer cars turned a wheel - performance was not the factor.

>8^)
ER