Ferrari 488 Compared to the McLaren 720s

Why not give one a try?

TG is not something to base an opinion on (its like movie reviewers - useless IMO). Only your bum in the seat can give u an opinion .

 

oh I would have to test 488, 720, huracan before buying but not in market now. prob do a test track event in vegas to try all 3 back to back

 

Unless one is a professional racer it seems to me that emotion is exactly the metric with which one should use to determine the car that is right for them.

Performance stats are meaningless to me. Its what the car feels like when you are in the drivers seat.

 

Agree. That's what it mostly boils down to.

 

yup this is it. huracan and 458 and even 570 had similar stats but all drive completely different! even within same brand the cali drove different to 458.

 

I predict the 720s will have a brilliant driving experience as its based on the 675 which is very engaging. Much different than 12c or 650s. A lot of the excitement comes from low weight, big power and much better software. Lightweight cars are simply more fun to drive. I had a 12c and it was fun to drive but its nothing like the LT. Even the sound is great because McLaren are using an exhaust system designed for sound (tube headers instead of the 12c log header, equal length tubes, titanium metal, no muffler, etc.)

I've had 2 458s, coupe and spider, and they're simply too heavy IMO. I think my spider was pushing 3600 pounds. Yeah it had heated seats and everything. But it was not a great sportscar IMO. The coupe was better but under powered.

I look forward to driving a 488 but unless it went on a serious diet I think it will pale in comparison to the 720. Time will tell.

 

I agree the 458 is not a great sportscar. I blame Ferrari who mistakingly thought spider owners wanted something "softer" and more of a "GT experience".

The 458 is underpowered though? I don't think so!

 

Agreed!

I can admire a car that goes 210 MPH. That might be a great museum piece. But in my world its meaningless.

 

I hate to keep interjecting with pro mclaren stuff but...

458 isn't competitive with other modern exotic cars in the speed department. (huracan, 12c, 650, 675, aventador, etc.).

Red speciale is mine and I didn't even bother...

https://www.instagram.com/p/BR4Km2ODW15/?taken-by=brianzuk

 

Yep it is, especially at altitude. At 5,000 feet at the VC hillclimb it just can't compete with turbo cars. Even the speciale. Makes lots of great noise, but timing don't lie. Its a Ferrari event and no Ferrari in the top 3 despite some very skilled drivers. All top cars are turbo and its been that way for some time. I'm guessing the 458 loses 100hp, combined with its high weight is sloooooow

 

Its plenty, plenty, PLENTY fast enough.

Your view of what is "competitive" is worthless in the real world. Buy a Telsa and all those cars you mention are also "not competitive" -- for only $80 grand.

Meaningless overkill.

 

Have to agree with this....


Sent from my 16M

 

If I use your measurement the Hurcan Performante is non competitive above 5000 feet also.

And your point is...?

Maybe we should judge how well they work underwater. The Tesla wins!

 

Correct. My view.

I don't keep saying it over and over though.

 

Ok.. 99% of 458 owners would agree with me more than you though.


To say it's underpowered is ridiculous. Ok, other cars can go faster. Other Ferrari's can go faster. Its meaningless like the same silly argument that the Nissan GTr made the F430 "absolute".

In fact, and I've said this many times, the F430 is a better car IMO than the softer 458 which is obviously "faster" but not nearly as engaging or as fun to drive.

I am blown away at the claims Lambo has made about the Permonante. But I won't buy one for that reason.

 

What is the reason you wouldn't buy a performante? Because of its speed on track? I don't get your point

 

You misunderstand me.

There are many reasons I would buy one -- looks, driving feeling and emotion, attachment to the brand, features, some assurance of reasonable reliability, etc.

And price as well. If you could buy one for $1000, who wouldn't be marching down there tomorrow to pick one up?

But posting numbers on German race track would not sway me. I'd need the above to tick the appropriate boxes first.

Actually, I think the Performante looks is the best iteration they have done with this car to date. Interiors.... well, not so much.

What I mean is that if tomorrow a basic Ford Crown Victoria went faster than the Lambo I would not be looking to buy one.

 

My point is cars perform under a range of conditions but not others. Same with people. Some like looks, some like sound, some like performance, some like experience. There is no one answer. Its a box of crayons at best. IMO McLaren tick more boxes than Ferrari but thats just IMO. I know ppl that are exactly the opposite. Like the tesla underwater guy lol.

 

My point is that to say the Ferrari (or any non-turbo car) is "underpowered" because it falls off in power above 5000 feet is meaningless to 99% of us.

 

Well here's what you're missing at all altitudes. The big smokey drift that starts pre apex and continues through track out. Yes on public roads. In 3rd gear. Its exhilarating. Never got that feeling in 458. Probably exists in 488. Thats what boost does for you. But I realize not everyone is into that.

 

Probably meaningless to 99.9% of us.

 

They could cut all cars off at 100 mph and I'd never notice the difference.

I'm just an old guy trying to stay out of jail.


Cars:

2013 Ferrari 458 Spider
2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cab

Only 2 that I drive.

 

When the 458 was launched, it had 562bhp, against the 430's 485bhp. That's a significant increase and one of the biggest ever in Ferrari's history. You just can't conclude accurately that that car was underpowered, anymore than you can conclude an F40 was, simply because it has about half the power of a LaFerrari. Isn't this line of discussion a bit infantile? Everyone knows that turbos retain more power at altitude. So what?

Is that why we should want to lose the fundamental and beautiful throttle precision of the 458's n/a motor? Is it why we should forget about the spine-tingling 9k red line? Is it why we should ignore the stunning soundtrack and plump for the gruff, muffled bark of a turbo engine instead?

You're perfectly within reason to decide that for yourself and what you want, but not for others. Some of the best fun I had as a 'younger' driver was in cars with around 120bhp. To have thought then about 562bhp being underpowered, I would, well, have laughed pretty loudly.

 

I have owned (own) many high performance sports cars/supercars.
I can go out and buy just about any supercar on the market today as well (assuming actually for sale), including the 488 Spider of course.

So what did I just go buy last week?

A gorgeous triple-yellow 458 Spider...to keep.

It fits nicely in between my 16M and Speciale on one end of spectrum and F12 on the other.
You can keep you 488 Spider, your McLarens, your Veyrons/Chirons, Aventadors and Huracans, R8s, AMG trash, M garbage, and GTR anime...

My daily? A C7 Z06 with Z07 package in torch red. 😜

and... I do have a deposit down for a 991.2 GT3 Manual

 

Could not agree more with you a gorgeous triple-yellow 458 Spider... YES !