Ferrari vs Lamborghini and the importance of the concurrence (+Bmw Mercedes Alfa)

Mercedes Vs Bmw

The true was became with the 190E 2.3 16 that was released on the 1983 Frankfurt auto show.

This car broke a lot of speed endurance records in the following years, but it wasn’t the speed, Mercedes has always made fast cars.

The 190E was the first same small size sedan Mercedes, a real declaration of war against BMW and his beloved 3 series!


Remember that Stuttgart is only 200km (or 45min of autobahn) away from Munich!

Mercedes was literally pissing on BMW face! But it was the best thing that could happened to BMW because the answer has been the first M3 three years later.


When the Giulia Quadrifoglio was released, it made the best times ever on the Nürburgring in his category.

BMW was so upset that soon after this event they released the first pack competition for an M3 in an attempt to reduce the gap with the Giulia QF.

Italians was pissing on all Germans industry, and BMW have to release the next M3 generation (G80) to be compete against alfa.

(Happy or not for them the Giulia development was more or less abandoned since them, but it is another story)



Let’s be back to Ferrari now!

Other than the famous argument between Enzo and Ferruccio, we have always to remember than Sant ’Agata Bolognese is only 35km away from Maranello!

Literally next door!


So, in 2003 when Sant’Agata released the Gallardo, it was a shock at Maranello.

First, the rear mid-engine v8 segment had now a direct concurrent next door.

Second, despite a “bad” handling compared to the rwd 360 Modena, the awd Gallardo had an engine way more powerful with already 500hp and 510Nm with his NA 5.0 V10.

Even the F430 released in 2005 didn’t matched these numbers (although the handling gap was now a galaxy away better)

With “only” 490hp 465Nm, it was still a little humiliation, Ferrari was not able to match the famous 500hp barre, even 2 years after...

Remember Sant’Agata Bolognese is only 35km away, literally in the face of all the Ferrari guys!

The next year the Gallardo got even 520hp 510Nm.

Lamborghini keep his power advantage in this segment 12 years.


Sure, it was V10 vs V8, and the hp / liter was better, but Ferrari never matched up the Lamborghini V10 with the F136’s (my second-best engine)

Ferrari finally took back the rear mid-engine power battle with the F154 V8 488gbt.


I really think that the influence of Lamborghini was great and pushed Ferrari to surpass oneself.

Is the 430, 458, 488, F8 would have been less good without the existence of the Gallardo, Huracan?

For sure!


Is these mid-engine V8’s would have been even better if the mid-engine V10 were better?

I think so.


And this is the drama.


It’s now 20 years since the release of the Gallardo, and ever since the only iteration that have a handling comparable to Ferrari have been the recent STO (we can include the Tecnica as well)

Better late than never, but in the meantime the mid-engines F. V8 are already turbocharged since 2015 and the rear mid-engines L. NA V10 are not in the game anymore.

The sound is good for sure, I am happy they’ve been around so long, but the STO version should have been a great concurrent to the 458 Speciale, in fact the numbers are close despite the years afar.

The STO isn’t worth to be compared to the Pista, not even on paper.


The Aventador have never been a challenger nether for the F12 or 812 in the handling department.

But, and it’s a big BUT, the engine did!

Yes, the only F140 concurrent was and still is the L539 (by the way respectively my 1st and 5th preferred engines)

Do you think that the displacement increases from 6.3 to 6.5 was accidentally a match to the L539 displacement?

Remember, 35Km! These figlio di putt*na from Sant’Agata have a (off center^^) 6.5l V12! We will increase the F140 displacement to 6.5l too!


The influence of Lamborghini can also be detrimental, do you think we would have had a SUV without the Urus?

I don’t.

Even with the Marchionne’s death, nobody would have dare to do it without the commercial success, and social acceptability of a Lamborghini heavy 4 doors SUV.

Unfortunately, the Urus is so bad, we can thank God we have still the F140 and a mid-front engine position in the Puro.

If you want to know how bad the Urus is, just give a look at his engine bay!

It is not only an Audi engine, it’s also an Audi “all in front” engine...

Witch is really sad, because a L539 mid front-engine would have been great (for a sh*tty SUV).

The fact is that all the Urus owners I met don’t know sh*t about that, don’t know sh*t about anything, other than the L. logo.

These people are the real enemy, they will make the worst sh*t ever a commercial success.

No need to have a crystal ball to know than the purosangue will probably have a v8 version (as the wonderful GTC4L sadly got) and why not no more v12 for the next SUV?


Conclusion

My point is simple, the better Lamborghini is, the (even) better than best Ferrari is.

I truly believe that some Ferrari’s would have been not as good without Lamborghini, especially our beloved rear mid v8’s.

And I firmly believe that they would have been even better if the mid rear v10 were better.


Where will be the challenge for Ferrari?


SUV

I have no hope at all about the SUV segment, it is too close to Audi products to get more than a rebadged Audi in the Lamborghini line-up and quite frankly I dislike every SUV whatsoever, even the F140 “Purosangue” and its sarcastic name.

The Lanzador? Well, at least the Urus had an engine lol!


V12

It’s too earlier to judge the Revuelto, although in regard of his weight it’s stay in the line traced by the Aventador

A frustrating awd, way too heavier. (And impractical but we can forgive that).

So unfortunately, the mid rear v12 Lamborghini will always be for people that don’t know how to drive, but this time without the drama of the good old single clutch. Not a shadow of a challenge for Ferrari front mid v12’s here in the handling.

But still some good concurrence in the V12+Ev power/technology battle numbers.


Rear mid V8

For the next Huracán, I have great great hope.

We got an RWD STO and in it’s final iteration Tecnica the Huracán was only proposed in RWD (+ Sterrato for off road fun), Lamborghni made a big step toward the handling / drive focus!

I really hope the future Huracan to be a real driver car, and finally a real concurrent to the V8 mid-engines F.

Unfortunately, the V10 seem to be gone, and I have little hope, but still, I hope that it will not have the 4.0l TFSI...

Let’s dream just a second, why not a specific new v8 for the next one? (and only in a Lambo body this time) With something like 10 years on the catalogue the development cost could be amortized in one single model lol.

Joke apart, the better it will be, the better the Ferrari-answer that will seat in my garage will be! We’ll see!