Yes, the owner is guy called Matt and the car is the same one seen at V Max. Both the P1 and the Laferrari come with Pireli P Zeros Corsa System tyres as standard. P1 vs 918 - Page 76 - McLaren Life Only four laps were attempted and the tyres had already been used on two track days previously.
Matt leant the car to Evo who published an article comparing it to the Enzo. But they also took it to Anglesey and did a few laps. It was on different day (autumn) to the P1 (summer), certainly colder which may have helped power but reduced grip. Pretty impressive considering the tyres were part worn and it was a customer car with no technical support whatsoever.
I know there are plenty of variables, but for someone who has some experience, how much time would likely be gained conservatively from using brand new tires rather than tires used at two track days? Again the time isn't entirely confirmed, but it is coming from the owner so at the very least we know the LaFerrari is in the same ballpark as the p1 and 918.
Doing just 4 laps (essentially 1-2 fast laps plus a warm up and cool down) on nearly shot tyres on a cool autumn afternoon with the sun setting, having limited light and still being the fastest of the three is just mind-blowing.
With all due respect, it's easy to show up alone after the fact, when you've declined numerous track visits against the competition. Color me unimpressed (though I have nothing against Ferrari, and respect their right to do so).
Ferrari haven't shown up after the fact, this is a customer car tested completely independently of Ferrari. More impressive than the usual factory optimized results.
Ok; cool. So I guess I meant it metaphorically (the whole idea, disappointingly after the fact). However, it sounds good. Thanks.
I agree that it is a shame that Ferrari declined to put the Laferrari up against the P1 and the 918 in the various tests that we've seen and I'm disappointed that the planned Top Gear head to head does not look like happening any time soon. Having said that, if the Laferrari had performed well in those test we would have had the usual accusations of Ferrari cheating. So in that sense it's actually more important to see what the customer cars are capable of. One piece of good news is that it looks like the Laferrari, P1 and 918 will all be at V max later in the month so hopefully we'll get to see a three way drag race.
The source is the owner himself, a well respected poster on multiple forums. Moreover he regularly attends V max events and has posted several videos of his car in action (the drag race against the Veyron etc). Don't think we'll be seeing Evo confirming the time. If they do it will give all the other magazines carte blanche to go around testing customer Laferrari's which unfortunately is something that Ferrari aren't willing to let happen.
Yes it is as good as we will get unfortunately. Not saying I do not trust owner's words, would be awesome to watch it though. Still that time in the conditions described (slightly worn tyres) sounds incredible. I honestly did not think LaFerrari would beat 918. I am very impressed.
Does anyone know anything about this P1 lap time at Spa posted on Fastest Laps? According to the data, it was posted a few days ago, on the 15th of March. McLaren P1 lap time at Spa Francorchamps - FastestLaps.com
Not a very impressive time unless it was done by a non-pro driver. I would suspect in a pro's hands it should be considerably faster than 1 sec over a Ferrari 430 Scuderia.
Btw do we have any information regarding Mat's LaFerrari options? For example lift system, hifi etc. that affect the overall weight?
One of the P1 owners on Mclaren Life did a 2.33 at Spa. He posted some of the telemetry so no reason to think it unreliable Official McLaren P1 thread - Page 119 - McLaren Life