I hope... http://img.germancarforum.com/community/attachments/3736cf5d17911599ad20488c00fd95b6-jpg.307096/
Very true. The same can't be said for LF and 918 owners - those that have participated in this thread seem quite happy with their purchase and don't feel the need to try and justify it to strangers on the internet.
LOL You need to keep digging Furlong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvNKGChJIoI ^ The owner shown driving in that video is taking his LF to the Nurburgring soon enough..check out his lap in the Speciale. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WOphASG0qQ
I cannot find it anything less than somewhat seriocomic that an individual apparently so resourceful he has the means to purchase these cars chooses to spend his time digging up ridiculous and banal arguments on an online forum.
Manuma is a great guy and knows how to drive. He and Mann are exceptions. But I bet Morgan Shepherd who has a P1 on order could teach them a thing or two. Are you also a quick Ferrari driver?
I have learn a long time ago to never say never. So future McLaren products are still on the radar if they are especially tempting. McLaren was/is the think different brand, one reason I went for it with my 2012 12C, it was ground breaking tech for a sportscar, mass produced carbon tub, turbo-ed engine that can rev to 8500 rpm, trick active suspension, etc. I still miss that car especially so seeing how McLaren butchered the front end of the 650S. Only reason I swapped the 12C for the Speciale was because I ran out of garage room.
You really need to see the SCG003, I am bound by their NDA so I can't say much, but after seeing it, the P1 is not even close to being the successor to the F1. The SCG003 is. There is no doubt the P1 is a seriously quick car with the sensation of going even faster. Everyone I had talked to said the same thing, the P1 feels really fast. But one problem is that feeling fast and actually going fast is 2 different thing. I 'feel' very fast in my Speciale, it provides all the right sensations to tickle my senses, but I don't feel the speed at all inside my FF even when I am going fast, quite a few times I went above 200km/hr while trying to pass other cars and I thought I was doing about 50km/hr less. It's the same thing with my future F12, which I have driven already, you just don't feel the speed. I think the best description for 12C/P1 is to think the 12C is a Carrera S and the P1 is the GT2RS. There really is no debate that the P1 rides on the same platform as the 12C, same wheel base, same hard points, the basic tub is modified to add the roof, the engine is modified to make more power, etc. Driving sensation between the Carrera S and the GT2RS is vastly different, just like the 12C/P1. It really isn't a bad thing as the 12C platform is one of the greatest in this era. But to me personally, when I pay such a vast sum of money for a car, I prefer a more bespoke car, something that I feel like I am getting my money's worth. Performance is secondary. Same reason that I am moving away from Porsche's 911 Turbo cars after a string of them and towards Ferrari's offerings.
Interesting, my experience driving the p1 was quite different. I didn't think I was going that fast, and then I looked down at the speedometer and said that's impossible. It's a car that hides the speed very well because it feels like the limits are so high. The F12 is the same, though of course not as quick as the P1, and I expect the LF to be similar. We live in a very good era for performance car enthusiasts.
It's interesting that some cars are that way. Another is the Porsche CGT. 140MPH feels like 80. My 60ies Le Mans cars are the opposite. 60 MPH feels like 120 in those. The guys that raced those in the rain were brave? Crazy? A bit of both?
Not putting miles on your Ferrari is like not having sex with your Girl Friend so she'll be more desirable to her next Boy Friend. ; )
The McLaren F1 was the last production based car to finish 1 OA at Le Mans. While I doubt that will ever happen again at Le Mans production based GT based Cars like 458's, Porsche's and ours could finish 1 in class there. It's a bit sad that P1/La/918 will never race in a real race anywhere. Hopefully McLaren will make a GTE version of the 650 so that they too can race at Le Mans again and hopefully Ferrari will race in the top class at Le Mans as it's been way too long (1965) since a Ferrari finished 1 OA there. As an aside the reason LMP1 cars are so fast is that they use the latest aerodynamic principles which are instead of moving air over the car they more air around the car which generates huge downforce with much less drag. The key is the ratio of downforce to drag. This is why SCG 003 looks the way it does. It's LMP1 as GT and as it's the first GT car that is as extremely LMP1 it should be interesting.
Then you should really consider the huayra. Everything in that car screams handmade bespoke luxury. I can relate to the f12, it feels slower than an aventador, but in reality its faster when you put them neck to neck. However i don't agree about the p1. P1 ,918 on HL mode feel fast and are stupidly fast. No street car on pump gas could match them in sense and actual speed. Im sure the LF is as crazy. 900 hp is not slow i can assure you. Apart from a 16cylinder quad turbo engine, you would need some vp racing fuel and a built race engine with forced induction to run these figures reliably all day long. My carrera gt certainly dosnt feel that way. Specially with wheels spinning all the way past 3rd gear. Its one of those cars i drive with all focus and attention. Although i do admit i need to change my tires.
I suspect a good deal of it is downforce and suspension travel. The 599XX feels like it's just loafing through (say)turn 1 at Fiorano even though the telemetry says we are going ~160 mph and pulling >1G of cornering force. The same turn in a 458 feels much faster even though it is actually traveling significantly more slowly. I suspect your new car is going to feel like it is parked. Perhaps you can add a manettino labeled 'drama' on it with settings like 'Ferrari', 'Lamborghini' and 'AC Cobra'
I wouldn't let Porsche's engineers sway my opinions about a competitor's product. After all, these are the same people who publicly called out Nissan on their GT-R ring time, bought a GT-R themselves and attempted to replicate the lap in order to prove Nissan was lying, when it has since been patently shown that they were not. It appears Porsche doesn't have the best engineers or they simply lack the capacity to accept that someone else's car might be faster than their own.
Gtr is a legend, its been spanking porsches since the early 90's and with their latest nismo alteration they really mean business. Rumours about the next gtr are that it is gonna be a hybrid. I would expect it to be close to 918 performance at a fraction of the price.
For old guys like me high downforce cars take a lot of learning to drive fast. I went out in P 4/5 C for the first time. After a few laps I came in. Mika said: Come down the straight flat out. Don't lift and go through the first turn. Head to turn 2. You're braking at 150 Don't break until 50. Stand on the brake pedal as hard as you can and count 1,2,3. Down shift 6-2. Release, go through the turn binging in full throttle as you come out. P1 at TWS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FehBqVEcOC8&list=UUUCIcMFBJrLqomIBFTeOW0A
I think Audi....and its LMP1 program would beg to differ with you. As would Nissan with its all conquering GTR