488 Replacement

I’m not sure simply making a car faster will mean you sell more cars. Ferrari are the standard bearers of the industry, McLaren are the new boys on the block trying to upset the establishment. The problem for them is their brand is not that rich in romance and heritage so all they have to play on is performance and it’s technology expertise. Which is great for YouTube and Instagram views but in the real world of luxury buyers (not hardcore petrolheads) it’s about sexiness, status and heritage. I don’t think Kylie Jenner cares about 0-60 times but she’s a Ferrari VIP customer. Owning a McLaren is not quite the same as owning a Ferrari or Lamborghini. Atleast not yet

 

LOL...you are propping up Kylie Jenner as ambassador of Ferrari VIP's. Nice--I don't think she has ANY clue about Ferrari 'heritage or history'.

I've owned all three Lambo, Ferrari and Mac. I get the 'heritage' but Mac is hands down my fav. out of the three. Have you owned Lambo and Mac as well in order to make a real world decision or are you just reading about Mac on internet? I will look for Kylie's latest in depth discussion and track drive of her Ferrari stash.

They are all amazing cars, why all of the hate for Mac always...I think many haters are scared about what Mac is doing to F.

 

I have also owned all three and I can sympathize with the sentiment towards McLaren. My 650/675 were cars I would happily drive all day, every day. Incredible fit, build quality, ergonomics and performance. I don’t even find them lacking soul, anyone who says that probably hasn’t spent enough time with a Mac. It grows on you, fast

Having said that, I want to have a relationship with my favorite car maker and I want to be able to get their special cars every now and then. Sports car ownership is so much more than writing a cheque and driving away in your new car. Ferrari -despite being a superior brand have- demonstrated to me that they care about these multi-decade relationships. McLaren prefer to sell Sennas to Shmee. I m sure that is a better way of getting new clients, but it doesn’t work for me. Doesn’t make the Macs bad cars, on the contrary they are fabulous


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Just a short dose of reality. I may have posted this before but it bears repeating. In my group of 8 close friends- there are Mclarens, Porsche’s, Lambo sand I own the lone Ferrari. Not a single person is looking at purchasing a Ferrari anytime soon except for me as I’m planning on getting the 48& replacement pending my like m or dislike for the model. No one else, or one has any interest in Ferrari but a buddy has a 720 on order, another has a new SVJ he just purchased and another is looking to add a 720 in the future.

I have another friend who just sold his conpnay, wants to reward himself with a new car- bought a Mclaren 600lt.

Have another friend in the process of going through an exit with his company- is planning on adding a Mclaren.

Skewed results? Possibly. But please understand that Mclaren is gaining owners at a fast clip. Does this mean that Ferrari is in trouble or going to lose sales? Not at all. I love my 488 and the Ferrari brand. But comments like yours may not be all that accurate based on the real world.

The point is as IPO stated, there are lots of great brands and there doesn’t need to be hate towards any of them.

 

Very fair post and I think this is where Mclaren can get a bit of help to improve their brand image.

 

Great write up George--thank you for honest feedback.

I think Mac has to sell some of these halo cars to get the buzz indeed (as such a new brand). I think Shmee has bought more F cars than Macs, but probably close. The one thing I have found with Mac is that they are all about their engagement with clients (at least more so than F did with me). Their track days (I'm headed to one later this year) from what many have told me are a blast. Where else are you going to get access to the CEO at a track day for feedback?

They are pushing the envelope which causes other brands to continue to do the same. All good stuff for those looking at all brands. 720 changed the game and pushed everyone and I expect they will push back. Not bad for a 9 year old brand.

Your post is honest and level headed from an actual owner.

 

But the McLarens generally aren't hard to get anyway. It was super easy to get the P1, same for the 675 LT. I believe even the most average customers could have gotten a Senna if they inquired early enough. The reality is that McLaren doesn't have massively oversubscribed special cars yet. They don't very easily sell 500-1000 $1M cars. Some guy on here is saying how you better hurry up and start buying McLarens if you want a 750LT or whatever. Yeah right. You'll be able to walk in and order one just like the 600 LT.

Also, Schmee owned a 675LT and 675LT Spider, so prior to the Senna he owned two of the most expensive and most significant McLarens to date. The only bigger car was the P1.

You owned a 650S and 675LT, he owned two LTs. Doesn't that mean he should out-rank you? Why shouldn't he get a Senna? McLaren has only made like 4 different cars. McLaren hasn't even existed a decade, therefor no customers are really able to stand out much aside from F1 and P1 owners, and as we know, F1 owners are in a different bracket all together, hence the even more limited Speedtail.

If you wanted a real significant connection with McLaren, all you had to do was buy a P1. They were super easy to get. Took them forever to sell out.

 

ferrari invested/will invest about € 637 million(until 2022), in order to develop new technology and electrification of the product range and in 2018 the R & D has allocated €120 million, a figure that will grow as early as 2019. with all these investment we can definitely expect more superior products in future.

 

I couldn't disagree more with ALL the points you just made in this post.

 

Supercars are Not a dying breed but are actually proliferating Every brand's product portfolio is expanding due to global wealth exploding

 

McLaren is investing about £1 billion into R&D over the coming years on their "Track 22" program. I wouldnt be so fast to say that the € 637 million is going to solve Ferrari's issues as it appears to be approximately 50% of what McLaren is spending. Both are going after hybrid technology. One has heritage behind it, the other has a jump start on the technology.

 

Companies investing money is good for us. The one who produces the best cars will get my money!

 

Ones things for sure, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and Mclaren are all going through major changes. Whether you like Mclaren or not no one can argue the effect it’s had on the industry. It’s raised the performance bar by 1.5-2 generations. Ferrari is doing some atypical things right now like coming out with a face lifted 488 and a new platform that’s going to be very expensive. I’ve owned many Ferrari’s, , Mclarens and Lamborghinis and I like them all but believe me the 720s is anything but boring. Mclaren has its problems for sure but they are definitely starting to steal market share and gain major momentum. Also, Mclaren has built far more cars than just 4. 12c, 650s,675LT, 570s,570 spyder, 600LT, 600LT spyder, 720s, 720spyder, P1, Senna, F1 , Speedtail just to name a few . And all of those within 7 years (excerpt the F1)!! Sure they have some problems still but not a bad start!

 

I agree with you. I was responding to the guy that was talking about how popular the 720 is. We both know that they have been easy to get from just after launch. I considered one, you bought one, no issue here. As I have stated, it is just different, but the popularity thing is a bit silly - as other posters have acknowledged.

I don’t think many of us buy these bcause they are “popular”. Most of us are enthusiasts which is why we spend silly money to fulfill our passion.

 

Very good post. No company is perfect and Mclaren has had its issues but their current generation of cars are pretty amazing- 720 and 600 but what’s most impressive is how each model corrects the flaws of the previous- 720 vastly superior to 650. 600. Vastly superior to 570.

I’m very curious to see the Geneva show to see what Ferrari has up it’s sleeve. You are right in that introducing a facelift is atypical given their past history.

 

Amen, amen.

Lambo is smart, in order to fund their R&D of super cars, they built the Q8...urr mean Urus (just kidding Gh) in order to double volume of units sold. Ferrari will be building an SUV which will help top and bottom line. McLaren is too early to get into the SUV game IMHO, so they have to laser focus on cars only--which I like.

I'm with you, whomever tickles my fancy gets my money...no loyalty to any brand.

 

No doubt you can get an allocation for most macs very easily. I personally hope it stays that way cause my Mac buying experience has been better than other brands. Don’t even get me started on Porsche. Ugh- worst dealer games ever!

 

McLaren is surely doing pretty good job but they still need to improve a lot, last week I was on a road trip with couple of friends and I took us almost 20mins to open the fuel lid of 720S as it got jammed. The car just had 1600kms on board that time.


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Fs are a passion, Macs on a mission.

 

Interesting. Same here, brrrh!

 

They invest but finally want their money back as a return and profit. The company which invests wisely will lead and is the one to follow, not necessarily the one which invests more.

PS. Sometimes you have all the money needed, but still you can't get a newest Ferrari. Funny

 

I asked for a P1 a week after they sold out...No luck, but also not McLaren’s fault. I bought a 650S, then a 675LT, then a 675LT Spider and also got the first 720S in town. I asked for a Senna 2 years before it was launched when it was still known as P15. I was not even given a heads-up when it was about to launch and when I asked about buying one I was told “sorry we haven’t got enough cars, they all went to P1 GTR and F1 owners”. Then I discovered various celebrities (YouTube and real ones) who got the car with little or no McLaren history...


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Yes, just to name a few . McLaren is just "too much".
For me one McLaren counts: the F1. Design wise. Not the best driver's car but then the F1 GTR was a great racing car. If only McLaren didn't fake the speed record with modified gear ratio ... the F1 would have been a "true" legend. (Never mind its price though)

 

Unless it has a prancing horse some won't like it--we get it.

It's a shame some can't see there are plenty of great brands out there.

It makes life much more fun to drive all brands--imho. Certainly gives one the ability to make real judgements.

 

Yes, 20+ minutes "pit stop" to refuel disqualifies a seriously fast car . In "Senna", on one side you have to push the cover on the left side to open it, but on the other side you have to press on the top of cover to open it. Great design. Saves designers time to think