Ferrari 488 Compared to the McLaren 720s

A name bestowed on me by friends at Fchat for throwing "events" in this glorious town for out of towners.

I have to do another one... Maybe when the new Towbin Ferrari showroom opens up...

 

Can you point me to the release date of the LT?

 

Well said. A friend of mine is a respected car journo and was telling me the other day that in his professional opinion the 488 annihilates the 650. I agree with him.

 

LOL!!!

If they are announcing it NOW you know they are already telling people privately it's coming soon.

McLaren didn't "announce" the LT spider was coming until all the so called "500 limited edition" LT's were sold out. I wonder why??? They just woke up one morning and said "hey, let's make a spider! That sounds cool!"

 

I can vouch for this. I had been kicking the tires of buying an exotic for a couple of years. Loved the 650 and figured that prices had dropped so much, get one on the cheap. Late last year when I finally pulled the Trigger, I drove both the 488 and 650 back to back. 650 is a great car. Probably faster than 488. But the drive isnt even close. 650 was cold and distant. 488 you felt attached to the car. A more visceral feel.

Despite the 488 costing 100k more, it was the easy choice for me.
I still think the 650 is an awesome car. But it's not even close to the 488 imho.

 

Nah, it's just the power delivery that deceives mate. The 488 is linear, just like a N/A engined car. The 650 is a typical turbocharged car that dishes out all the torque at once and then flattens out.

PS: I have a car with two thirds of the power of another car of mine, but which feels just as quick in the mid range due to the turbocharger kicking in. Should you go above 5K RPM though it's a night and day difference in favour of the normally aspirated car. Same principle applies to the 488 vs the 650 IMO.

 

I guess I was trying to say it doesn't matter which is the faster car. 488 is "better"

 

You're nuts. How can you not know the typical release pattern for exotic cars, yet you spend so much time on the forum?

You think the 720S LT will be out next year. Got it. Check back here in a year and update us on it.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if there is a 715 or 735 in a year.

Mark....by sold out I mean the common term as in nobody could get one when it became public, as in sold out by dealer to special clients. That was not the case for the 675lt.

Also, Every car sells out....the manufacturer doesn't take the cars back. They get discounted and sold. Same for the 675lt where coupes offered new below msrp.

 

The only thing that can possibly matter anymore with any of these cars is emotion. If you can tell that any car is .1 second faster to 60 than another, then kudos to you. Where exactly in the real world does a 720S outperform a 488, or a 458 for that matter? We are talking fractions of seconds, tiny degrees of performance difference. That is why sound is so important, why steering feel is so important ... The way the wheel feels in your hands too. The way it looks parked in your garage. And for the love of God it should be fun. At any speed! Yes many of you track your cars but even then are you seriously left lacking by a 488 just knowing that the 720S is fractionally quicker? In 20 years, or maybe 10, even Ferrari will return to a manual,gearbox because the laws of physics can only be pushed so far and by that time everything else will be so robotic that drivers themselves will be optional.


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Thats a great post and I agree 100% and it applies to ALL of the exotic manufacturers, not picking on Mclaren.

 

What indication is there that such a thing would ever happen? Hasn't happened in the past, so why would it happen now?

 

Aw Mayor, alas I have dealt with Towbin and they are a complete mess.
I offered them good $$ on their LP670SV and I know they ended up selling it for $30k below my offer.
Frankly, they are pretty bad at selling exotics.


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Agree--found them worthless this past week on a 488. Pass.

 

IDK, maybe the 570 series points the way.

 

As far as I know, 570S, 540C, and 570 GT were all known about well ahead of time and expected. I don't think anyone was surprised by the introduction of those.

 

McLaren is certainly determined to compete with Ferrari. Their cars are improving in every aspect, styling, performance, and technology.

McLaren needs to improve their service center network in the US market. Opening more centers, goes hand-in-hand with selling more cars. I heard that McLaren sold 1,000 US cars last year. Compare that with FNA which probably sold 2,800 here last year.

Ferrari has better service and dealer coverage.

 

I kind of get why some people seem to suggest that the 720 leaves the 488 in its wake, metaphorically as well as physically. But that is just not how I see it.

A 2 year newer, new generation car ought to feel like a technical advance over its 2/7 year old competitor, especially since very few people doubt McLaren's ability to build a good car.

What makes the 488 a car that is NOT outgunned though is that the arrival of the 720 does nothing to negate the reason for owning a 488.

A bit like the M3 GTS v CLK Black review Clarkson did a few years ago. It doesn't matter that one is more sophisticated, or that one has more power etc. When you look back now, all those things don't matter. What matters is do you want to own one, and will you enjoy driving it the way it wants to be driven (balance and rhythm for the BMW, noise, speed and brutality for the Merc)?

Looking back now, if you had to choose one, which is best? You can easily make an argument for either and I doubt actual performance would come into the equation. It ultimately boils down to which brand you like, which car's image fits your own self-image, which car's set of 'values' most closely meets your own, and perhaps most importantly - which one you want to buy on the day. There is no real point in comparing Nurburgring times, 0-60 or 0-100, or even 100-0. It all makes almost zero difference.

It is only about how you feel buying and owning the thing. And that's why I can't be persuaded that the 720 is better. I prefer Ferrari, I prefer the look of the 488, I prefer the engine in the 488 and the fact it is their own engineering and design, with, I suspect, a greater focus on a more linear power delivery than in the Mac, I prefer the slightly more lairy and 'emotional' feeling that Ferraris tend to have.

And some other people could quote the above paragraph directly substituting 'Mac' for 'Ferrari'.

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/jeremy-clarkson/clarkson-head-head-c63-amg-black-and-m3-gts

 

Spot on! Performance differences have been irrelevant for some time, certainly on public roads. All it comes down to is which car appeals to you on an emotional level. There is no "right" answer. If your only concern is 0-60 time or top speed bragging rights, you will be buying a new car every year. 458 owners may concede that the 488 is faster, but many are so in love with their cars that they don't view the 488 as an upgrade. Same goes for 360 or 430 or FF or F12, etc. If the same ultimately holds true for Mac, that will be a good day.


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Great post.

This is exactly why it was such BS when Mclaren said that the 12c was better than the 458 "in every measurable way" (we all know how that one turned out), and why that is again being rehashed about the 720s vs 488 by some people. One car may have better numbers attached to it but unfortunately it really doesn't say anything about what it's really like to drive or why it's the better car for the individual customer. We only have to look at our own little domestic fight over the 458 vs 488 to see that. The things you can measure have very little effect on why you prefer one car over another.

I have no doubt that the 720s will set a new benchmark when it comes to performance in it's class, Mclaren are saying some pretty wild things about it and I don't think they would do that if they weren't sure the car would deliver. But just the looks of the thing leaves me stone cold, I wouldn't want one even if it could humiliate a 918 round a track or drove like a Phantom on the highway. I'd take a 488 or a Huracan 580 every day of the week instead, despite them being "worse" and slower.

 

I'm so tired of naming cars after numbers. It's confusing and unimaginative.

 

And at the end of the day, you can't ignore the depreciation issue. A 2015 650 coupe is now asking price for 195k. Not too long before spiders follow suit and go sub 200k.

 

Why not? Most people ignore the depreciation issue. Only people on exotic car forums talk about depreciation.

 

But if you are comparing two cars- 650 and 458 or 650 and 488 - depreciation is a big factor here. If you go by this history, the last two Mclaren Super Series cars have tanked. - 12c and 650s. Doesn't bode well for 720 hence my decision to sit tight for now and be content and happy with my slower, weaker 488.

 

I would imagine a good number of people who can afford the price tags on these cars didn't get to where they could afford them by throwing their money away. Perhaps not all of them, but I would imagine a good number of them.