Ferrari LaFerrari vs Mclaren P1 vs Porsche 918

Subjectively, the P1 will be the better car. Objectively, the 918 is. Simple as that.

The P1 just provides that much more sensory input to the driver that it seems to go faster than it really is, the 918 on the other hand is clinical, clinically efficient. It just goes where you want to no matter what kind of input you give it.

It's the same thing with my GT3RS. It is way down on power but I honestly enjoys driving it more. I haven't touch my 918 since I took delivery of my RS 3 weeks ago. Every time I looked at the keys, my hands go straight to the RS one. Hell the gas pedal vibrates in sync with the intake roar, I can feel the car's intake pulses from my right foot up, what more can I ask for in a car?

 

It's a logical and educated guess. If the P1 has no chance to put all that power down on 2 wheels during corner exits, what else can we expect from the more powerful LaFerrari? The 918 just gained so much more distance on exits that both the P1 and LaFerrari are playing catch up for the straights even with a superior top speed.

 

Thanks! We were rolling along in practice when a car in front crashed, the driver got out without setting the brake and the car rolled backwards down the hill into us. Crazy place the Ring is. We repaired over night and raced successfully the next day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEOgmAhNZbk
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Whoopsy,
Have you thought about taking your 918 to a local drag strip for some quarter mile sessions? I have seen several on Youtube and the car really looks very impressive when run against other cars.

 

I meant to but never got around doing it, local track is really strict about NHRA rules, so at most I will get 1 run before getting booted off.

Within our owners group there are a few who did. Best time among them was a [email protected], but it will run pretty much 10 flat all day long.

 

It appears that Mr. Glickenhaus was correct - they are going to remove the speed limits at the Ring next year as per article below. Apparently they will smooth out some bumpy sections. Will these small changes make future lap times comparable to the previous ones?

Speed Limits on Nurburgring to End Next Year - Motor Trend WOT

 

Agreed on the RS. It's my favorite car and mine is just a 2007.1 - but with a stick.

 

I find it VERY revealing that owners here who have multi-million dollar P1's, LaFerrari's, Enzo's, 918 etc ALL adore their GT3/GT3RS and in many cases favour them over and above their hypercars as an outright driving experience.


I must confess, having had a series of "supercars" myself, the one car that I always hark back to is my own GT3RS (which was the most extreme one they ever built - never shipped to the USA - the 996).

Outright performance isn't everything. When will these manufacturers learn?

 

I believe there is room for both the ultimate driver's car as well as the ultimate (technologically advanced) car in the marketplace, and it is up to the consumer to decide which is best for them. Having a near race car setup certainly tests the driver more and can be more enjoyable for the better driver.

Equally, having the technology push the limits of road cars so far that the thought of driving around a 900hp car around your local streets comfortably and without white knuckles is just mind blowing. Can you think back to the 80's and how a 300hp car would be considered from another planet?

 

A manual transmission for those who don't intend to race it . . .

Congrats on the acquisitions -- Enjoy!

 

"Embargo" - that's right! Never could understand the reasoning of Ferrari to go to such lengths as to send letters to customers threatening consequences if they allowed their LaF to be instrumented and tested??? (as was stated and published in Top Gear) After all it is a performance hypercar, why not let it duel with its competitors! Guess what people would say about Porsche or McLaren if they had done something this ridiculous?

 

Haha, I wished I had bought the 997 4.0RS back then.

Was talking about the 991 RS

 

Quite a statement considering what you have access to. I love my 07 GT3.

 

This is a good post. And I'm with you to some extent. A 300hp car in the 80's was outrageous. It's probably for this reason that the F40 was so far "beyond the pale" - near 500bhp in 1987 is utterly ridiculous.

However, it wasn't the performance alone that made the F40 so special. It was the involvement. The immersion in the experience. I've driven the car on many occasions and although I'm not the F40's biggest fan (I believe the F50 is a MUCH more fun place to be), the F40's race-car tech/race setup utterly draws you in and engages you.


This no-nonsense, no frill PURE driving is what Porsche's GT3's and RS models did (and perhaps still do as I've not driven the latest generations).

These hypercars keep adding more BHP whilst excluding the driver... Which means the latest gen GT3's with more "moderate" power outputs are able to deliver more involvement making them actually more enjoyable to drive than a 1000hp ECU (like the 918/LaF.)

Just my 2 pennies.

 

The LaFerrari has been named a 1000 horsepower Speciale. The Speciale is an extremely immersive car. Just saying...

 

A gt3 more enjoyable than a laf? I really don't think so.

One thing I do hope is that manufacturers bring back the stick. Not gonna happen in Hypercars but atleast across the range.

I recently drove a singer 911, 4.0 390hp engine. Power/weight equal = latest gt3. It wasn't enjoyable it was perfection.

 

Slightly perhaps.

 

It does become a tradeoff at some point - outright performance vs driver's car. In this technologically advanced era, double clutch transmissions are so much quicker shifting than the old stick, that the manufacturers feel it necessary to only provide the newer technology in order to be competitive.

Other advances, like torque vectoring, on the fly computer adjusted suspensions, etc do provide performance (and safety) advantages, but do not require input from the driver (these things adjust far too quickly for human input).

So it really comes down to what the purchaser is after - ultimate performance or ultimate driver's car. In Porsche's case, both the GT3 RS (driver's car) and 918 (ultimate performance) are sold out, and in many cases to the same buyers. So there is room for both.

 

Yep! I'll take the other side of that trade

I'll stick to my guns. I bet, if push came to shove, a keen driver on a great winding ROAD will have more fun in a 996/997 GT3 than a LaFerrari. (you'll notice I said ROAD - as these ARE road cars).

The combination of being actually able to access the redline, the manageable size, the manual gearshift, heeling/toeing etc and massively reduced electronic interfacing between driver inputs and actual vehicle outputs, together with a real connection to the road, will yield MORE fun and MORE enjoyment....

.... than a 7ft-wide, $5m, 1000bhp spaceship that is moderating your throttle inputs, braking inside and outside wheels independently whilst comparing trajectory to steering angle, juggling traction through an Electronic diff via a massive computer, in an effort to keep you on the road and going in the direction you want to go...

I'm not being confrontational. I'm being realistic.

We can't all drive like Chris Harris. (and the manufacturers know).
These are road cars.
The fun is going out of them.

I reckon it's why although 918 may be faster, I think the P1 may be more fun and a LaFerrari somewhere between the two....

And yet all of them shaded as a fabulous road driving experience by the Carrera GT or an old 997.2 GT3RS which make YOU do the work and allow YOU to be rewarded.

Just a thought!

 

I wonder what ChalStrad and Manuma have to say about that...

 

As much as I consider ChalStrad/Manuma thorough gents and an incredible enthusiasts, not least terrific additions to Fchat, I wonder whether even their opinions may not be prejudiced by their ownership of their hypercars.....

Truly, how honest can anyone be?
Indeed can you EVER admit that you prefer your £120,000 911 VS your £1.2m Ferrari?

To do so takes objectivity and a clear sense of what constitutes a great driving experience. (Well done Whoopsy!)

Chalstrad/Manuma - no offence intended please!

 

Totally honest. There is just no comparison. As much as I love my GT3 RS, it is just no way a better drive than the LF. Get a ride in a LF and you will understand.

 

Yup I'm onboard with this. Though it would be tough to say no to a LaF, the combination of everything makes it a truly fascinating car and the experience of it all does make up for a lot.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRvcobW-LN4[/ame]

This video shows exactly what you're on about. Able to push the RS all the way. With a LaF you'll be mostly ''cruising'' and not really pushing the car I would think, as it's simply too fast.

 

Again a presumption. Having driven two events with the LF in the road I have had a different experience. The LF is easy to drive on the road and yes you are much faster than the GT3 RS. But that is not an issue (except maybe for your driving license, but that is also gone at GT3 RS speed) as the car feels suburb on the road. It is really addictive. We drove many of the Mille Miglia roads and mountain passes towards Rome and you can rev it through the gears all the way. And in CToff the car still has plenty of grip. You just need to carefully monitor the road surface as you go along as the heavy torque of the hybrid requires intelligent throttle input. It also feels at home on the tight bends. And it certainly was not cruising.

I think many in this forum would be suprised how drivable the LF actually is.

 

Interesting take, but nonetheless carries with it as much assumptions as the alternative view. This argument does not require objectivity (as this would require an objectively quantifiable metric, which a preference relating to driving enjoyment is unlikely to be), but rather an honest assessment of priorities regarding driving enjoyment.

By most accounts, a lack of driver enjoyment has not been a quality levelled at the LF. Indeed, most seem to be in shock how accessible its performance is made, enabling drivers to really push themselves to their limits. The suggestion that a gt3 RS is that much more engaging than a LF is a bit hard to believe given the comparisons of the LF to a speciale, too.

Instead, what you seem to advocate is for an analogue experience, along with lower grip levels. There, I agree with you. Having said that, even a gt3rs would be a poor choice given its enormous capabilities and reserves of grip. If we equate driving engagement with analogue cars, well, nothing in thr last decade (save for a few specials, Ariel and the old Ford gt) really do the trick.

While I'd concede that a gt3 rs (not a 991) is of course more analgue than LF, I don't know if that actually translates to a difference in engagement given qualities like Ferraris sound, looks, driving position, ect... At best, it's a subjective exercise to make such a comparison, rather than an objective understanding that older and slower is more engaging than newer and more complex.

While I tend to value (seemingly like you) more mechanical attributes of cars requiring greater skill as opposed to integration of systems, I really think Ferrari did something special with the LF. If anything, I think it's light has been dimmed by ferraris relatiinship with media and restrictions on testing. However, just as the F50 eventually broke free of its assumption-laden shackles after many years, I think the LF will do the same, in time.