It's the
supercar battle of the decade! Ferrari's new 458 Italia represents the
legendary Italian marque's bid to reassert itself as the world's premier car
manufacturer. But the 'Prancing Horse' brand faces a surprising new challenger
for its sports car crown in the form of McLaren, a plucky British motor racing
rival.
Like
Ferrari, McLaren have enjoyed huge success on the Formula One racetrack,
securing 12 driver's and eight constructor's titles since the team was formed
in 1966. But it seems that rivalling Ferrari on the racetrack is no longer
enough for the former team principal of the McLaren Formula One team, Ron
Dennis. From specification to price, in every respect McLaren's first
independent foray into supercar development since the legendary 1990s F1 seems
aimed squarely at Ferrari. The company appears to have spotted an opportunity
to put more Formula One-style expertise into a road car than Ferrari have yet
found necessary in order to keep their products wheel-spinning out of the
showrooms and has ensured its new car has benefited from the input of the
company's grand prix drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
However,
unlike the original F1, McLaren's new MP4-12C will be no 'hypercar', aiming to
be the fastest in production and with a similarly hyper price tag. While the
company's stunning new lightweight sports car is expected to demonstrate
similarly cutting edge design and engineering to its illustrious predecessor,
it will be a standard two-seater rather than the novel three seat design of the
F1 that put the driver right in the centre of the car.
Whether in
construction, like the carbon fibre 'MonoCell' chassis, or underpinnings like
the advanced electro-hydraulic suspension that permits tight track performance
yet allows a comfortable ride on the back roads, there's no doubting McLaren's
commitment to ensuring the MP4-12C sets new supercar standards.
Another
innovative feature of the new McLaren that will make the leap from racetrack to
the road is 'Brake Steer'. This is an innovative system that slows the inside
rear wheel when the car is entering a corner too quickly in order to hold the
car on the racing line, but will also operate when the car is accelerating out
of a corner to prevent the inside rear wheel from spinning.
For the
first time, Ferrari faces competition from a manufacturer with a racing
pedigree similar to its own. But will McLaren's best be enough to beat the
latest and, many are claiming, the greatest car yet from the famous Italian
marque?
Design-wise,
beyond the arrangement of their headlights, the profiles of the Ferrari and
McLaren are strikingly similar. From the flat nose and front grille to the tail
haunches, the similarity probably owes more to both companies' race-bred
expertise with computers and wind tunnels than the designer's eye.
McLaren
design director Frank Stephenson has said that his aim was to produce a car
that "will still look great in years to come" and the British car is
clearly the more understated of the two. Under the skin, McLaren have done
better squeezing power from their car's engine, gaining 592bhp from a 3.8
litre, turbo-assisted V8 compared to Ferrari's 562bhp from a normally aspirated
3.5 litre.
Both
represent a significant power advance on rivals like the Audi R8 GT and
Lamborghini Gallardo, which glean their lesser power outputs from much bigger
5.0 litre V10 engines, or Aston Martin's DBS and Vantage models which are
fitted with 6.0 litre V12s. The McLaren even boasts nearly 100bhp more than
Porsche's 911 GT3 RS. In power terms, only Mercedes's extraordinary SLS AMG
comes close, yet, in a much heavier car.
The result
for the McLaren is class-leading acceleration at 3.1 seconds for the 0-60mph
sprint compared to 3.3 seconds for the Ferrari. The McLaren also has the edge
on top speed, at 205mph compared to 202mph for the Ferrari.
Prior to
the MP4-12C's launch, Ron Dennis told the world that the rules in the sports
car world were "about to be rewritten". Technically, the McLaren has
the edge over its Italian rival. It's more powerful, faster not just in a
straight line but also around corners and grips the track like nothing else yet
offers silky smooth comfort when on the road. The McLaren is also slightly
cheaper to buy.
But its
dynamic advantages over the Ferrari 458 are only slight. The proof is always in
the driving and in a supercar's ability to thrill. The Italian car overcomes
its slight technical disadvantages with bags more character. The Ferrari is not
just similarly brilliant to the British car on the track, but offers an
entertaining driving experience whatever the speed.
Audi may be
about to spoil British and Italian plans for world supercar domination with a
storming Audi R8 RS and Lamborghini are working on a replacement for the
respected Gallardo.
