458 Italia vs McLaren MP4 Blighty - The UK press decides | FerrariChat

458 Italia vs McLaren MP4 Blighty - The UK press decides

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by JazzyO, Jun 15, 2011.

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  1. JazzyO

    JazzyO F1 World Champ

    Jan 14, 2007
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    #1 JazzyO, Jun 15, 2011
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2011
    Today I found 3 new editions of car magazines here in Jersey (Channel Islands) with the long-awaited head-to-head tests of the McLaren and 458.

    I was utterly astonished to see the result:

    [size=+3]458 - McLaren[/size]


    [size=+3]3 - 0[/size]​

    In the UK press! We can be safe to say that the UK is (rightly) proud of McLaren's achievement and I, for one, am convinced that there has been a bias in the UK reviews like you would expect an Italian magazine to have for the Ferrari.

    Nonetheless, the 3 magazines (AutoExpress, AutoCar and TopGear) each came to the same conclusion:

    The McLaren is the technically superior, and slightly faster car. But it lacks soul. The Ferrari is fun below 60mph, the McLaren needs very high speeds to feel really special. Now I could have told them that before the test, but it is very cool to see 3 reviews come to that same conclusion. All three said the cars were very close in all respects. The TopGear review was fun - they tested on the Isle of Man with the 2011 TT bike race winner, and since there are no speed limits on Isle of Man.... :)

    Conclusion for all three: given the choice, the 458 please!

    Hats off to Ron for his achievement, but it's not so easy to engineer passion into a car, is it? ;)

    Well done Ferrari!


    Onno
     
  2. krzys@earthlink.net

    [email protected] Formula Junior

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    The only problem is that MC12 is not just slightly faster but significantly so. Autocar, for example, acknowledges that, it just calls several second difference on the track a micro one.

    The overall gist of the reviews is that the sound of Italia makes the experience. Too bad it is so slow and so lardy.

    And for the best part: one of the participating companies would not allow its car to be directly tested against the other by Autocar . I wonder which one it could possibly be ;)?
     
  3. DeSoto

    DeSoto F1 Veteran

    Nov 26, 2003
    7,482
    This is good.

    But don´t get overexcited: if technology does not meet passion, sooner or later Ferrari will be in the same corner where Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin were just a few years ago.
     
  4. lchavet

    lchavet Karting

    Oct 26, 2010
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    Laurent Chavet
    I quite surprise since the McLaren has very good perf numbers and there definitely seems to be a British bias in the UK press; for one I can't understand why Top Gear goes on and on about Aston Martin; personally they don't like that good to me.
    I am delighted because I have ordered the 458; it wouldn't haven't changed my mind but it might have made the car a bit less sweet.
     
  5. amenasce

    amenasce Three Time F1 World Champ
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    I have mixed feelings about this because while it's great the 458 provides more thrills than the Mclaren, it is significantly slower (The 458 is 18 months older , part of the reason??) but on the other hand, a few magazines have said the 458 isnt as exciting as a GT3 RS which is an amazing car and could be daily driven without a problem.

    So its not the fastest nor the most thrilling to drive.
     
  6. CarreraCaballo

    CarreraCaballo Karting

    Apr 5, 2011
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    I never bought a car to what Reviews say! I do my own research, test drive the car and either I like what I see/feel or I simply do not and move on to the next candidate. A car tester is also a biased human being, isn't he/she?

    Greetz,


    Joseph ;) :)
     
  7. JazzyO

    JazzyO F1 World Champ

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    Sour grapes, if you ask me.

    51kg extra does not make a car "so lardy". And to describe it as "so slow" seem the words of someone who hasn't driven one. Time and time again the articles say that there is very little between the cars.

    As I said - kudos to McLaren. But it's still the lesser sportscar. Because you spend GBP200k to get excited, not to have the Top Trumps car. And let us not forget that the 458 is a year older, and the McLaren was specifically designed to top it. So that it's a bit quicker is the very least Ron Dennis could do.

    I agree with DeSoto that Ferrari needs to up their game for the next installment. But I think it's pretty clear that Ferrari is, for the moment, still doing fine.


    Onno
     
  8. JazzyO

    JazzyO F1 World Champ

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    If the McLaren was 3 - 0 to the 458 I would still buy the Ferrari if the opportunity presented itself.

    Reviews are just for happy banter. Nothing more.


    Onno
     
  9. jokr

    jokr Karting

    Nov 30, 2010
    126
    Does anyone know if any MP4-12C's have been delivered yet?
     
  10. Terrence

    Terrence Formula Junior
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    IMO, the 458 is better-looking inside, better-looking outside, and supposedly sounds better too. That would be all the need to know. I don't go to the track often, and when I do, I enjoy the interaction with my car and its sound, and not compete with my friends for an extra few seconds a lap, so the actual driving excitement and tactile feedback would be much more important than actual speed around the track. At some point, a car is just fast enough for my abilities and any more would be moot. Away from the track and back on the streets, all I care about is the appearance and sound and a nice driving experience, not outright cornering g-force or acceleration. Again, at some point those become high enough that anymore is useless on the streets.
     
  11. Rcktrod

    Rcktrod F1 Rookie

    Dec 21, 2010
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    +1 Very well said.
     
  12. isuk

    isuk F1 Rookie

    Nov 11, 2005
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    The 458 featured in the Autocar test is the Ferrari Northern Europe UK press demo car. It has the licence plate 458 FNE.
     
  13. deppi0

    deppi0 Formula 3

    Jun 30, 2010
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    Totally agree with your last comment
     
  14. krzys@earthlink.net

    [email protected] Formula Junior

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    First of all, I have driven Italia twice when my dealer kept trying to convince me to take an allocation. Second of all, we discussed it to death here, the difference in weight will be hundreds of pounds, since the 1485 kg quoted weight is only real in Ferrari press releases.

    The performance gap is huge as clearly indicated by Autocar: several seconds on the track is not a small difference, even though Autocar chooses to call it micro. 1.5 secs to 200 kmh is a very large difference.

    Italia might be a better super car by giving you a more extroverted experience. The sound of Italia is great. However, it is definitely a lesser sports car. On a racetrack, it will not know which way McLaren went. This is strongly hinted at by both TopGear and Autocar reviews. In 11 days, McLaren will be driven by the Stig, so the story should be much clearer, then.
     
  15. Rcktrod

    Rcktrod F1 Rookie

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    #15 Rcktrod, Jun 15, 2011
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2011
    The 458 is so much more attractive inside and out that what the MP4 can do better, IMHO, becomes meaningless in comparison. For the kind of money these cars cost, they should be gorgeous.... at least for me to consider buying one.
     
  16. deppi0

    deppi0 Formula 3

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    Makes me laugh when people talk about things as if they knew all about everything....

    How do you say that the difference is in the hundreds of pounds? They are both pretty light cars and I am sure that not one person out there could feel the difference in weight between the 2 apart from a professional racing driver.

    Same thing applies to the fact that it is faster on track. So what? If that was the only thing that counted it would make it very easy to decide which car is better than the other.... Most people IMO buy a supercar like this for lots of other reasons than the car being faster on track.

    Let's just agree to disagree...you prefer the McLaren and you think it is a better car but other people prefer the 458 and think it is a more enjoyable car.
     
  17. greyboxer

    greyboxer F1 World Champ

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    There was a post in the McLaren thread about a 6-8 week delay for the first cars from about a month ago - I think the UK showrooms are opening in the next couple of weeks so presumably they'll get demo cars pretty soon
     
  18. krzys@earthlink.net

    [email protected] Formula Junior

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    As your brakes and tires get eaten very quickly on the track and you have to drop major coin to replace them over and over again, you will notice the weight.

    No, Italia is not a pretty light car. In standard trims in the US it comes close to M3 (over 3600 lbs).

    No, track times are not the only things that count, BUT if your car does not get a sniff of the Macca on the track trailing it by several seconds, then you don't have a sportscar anymore, you have a great sounding toy.
     
  19. mixxalot@yahoo.com

    [email protected] Formula Junior

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    I need to drive both cars to make a decision. However, overall I do like the Ferrari 458 better as the McClaren looks kinda ugly. However, it does have the cool scissor doors and Ferrari does not. Frankly, I am surprised that Ferrari forgot to give their flagship car the scissor doors that the McClaren and Lamborghini Aventador have! If I am paying 300k for a car, I want cool doors too!
     
  20. deppi0

    deppi0 Formula 3

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    As in previous threads regarding this argument it seems impossible to have a sensible discussion with you.... so I will leave you to your very informed and knowledgeable opinion.

    Enjoy your McLaren ;-)
     
  21. mikebrinda

    mikebrinda Formula Junior
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    Dec 21, 2008
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    Nobody has yet beat Ferrari in the "engine sound"--- aka: music, department. In any comparo that includes points given for a subjective such as "engine sound", Ferrari of today can accumulate enough of those subjective category points to prevail.

    The Ferrari of tomorrow may have more trouble, as they are everyone's benchmark and target.

    Mike
     
  22. Lesia44

    Lesia44 F1 World Champ
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    Are you 14 years old? Because it's only 14 years old boys who give a crap about lap times.
     
  23. krzys@earthlink.net

    [email protected] Formula Junior

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    I know, I know, sophisticated men are all into great looking cruisers. Enjoy your "sports" car.
     
  24. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if it were 3 - 0 in favor of the McLaren

    The only thing that matters is the 458 excites me and the 12c only interests me as a car guy.

    That's the only test I care about.
     
  25. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    I can tell the McLaren police and marching society are out in force today!
     

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