June 21, 2011

Mclaren MP4-12C vs Ferrari 458, Round 2: D'OH!

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Spring must be Supercar test time in the UK. CAR pits the McLaren versus the Ferrari 458, Porsche GT2 RS, Mercedes SLS, Audi R8 V10 and Lamborghini LP 670-4 PS. This is the way all tests should be, BTW, Same track, same day, same driver, in this case, the ex-Stig Ben Collins.

SLS 1:33.1
Audi: 1:31.06
McLaren: 1:30.1
Lambo: 1:29.92
GT2 RS: 1:28.78
458 Italia:1:28.30

In the video, tires are not specified save for the Porsche GT2 RS' standard Michelin Sport Cup which makes the Ferrari time that much more remarkable. Also, you can't turn traction control fully off on the 12c, really?

As you can see at the end of the video, Mclaren claimed there was a mechanical issue with the car tested and later returned to the same track with their chief test driver and a presumably perfect MP4 12c fitted with optional Pirelli Corsa.

Their time? 1:28.0 ....D'oh!

It's all in the July Issue of CAR

Ouch.
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14 comments:

  1. ByronTuesday, June 21, 2011 9:54:00 AM

    Not bad for the aging Gallardo...but a kick in the balls to the Mac.

    ReplyDelete
  2. t_sTuesday, June 21, 2011 10:08:00 AM

    While I'm the first to hide a smug snigger of satisfaction at the McLaren not being the Supercar Jesus second coming that the Macca PR machine would like us to believe, I have to ask myself if track times are the be all and end all of these cars.

    I know we're talking supercars and the track is their natural habitat, however I would like to see some back to back testing out on the road to see how the Macca stacks up...

    Please feel free to label me as a fool if such tests have already taken place...

    ReplyDelete
  3. CharlieTuesday, June 21, 2011 10:24:00 AM

    I was hoping that the Mac was really going to change the game with its trick suspension, air brake and CF chassis. I can't believe this car is such a dud. All the reviews I've read have put the car behind the 458.

    ReplyDelete
  4. shinroninTuesday, June 21, 2011 3:58:00 PM

    do we really care who's first and who's last? it's a very interesting test and i'm glad it was run. sometimes there are extraneous reasons cars don't shine as expected. you love ferrari and hate mclaren (and lewis). message received. again. ;-) it's just cars, man. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. ACTuesday, June 21, 2011 4:54:00 PM

    @shinronin. So you're saying Hamilton is like an MP4-12c? :)
    Seriously, it was McLaren who went around proclaiming how they were the best and were going to kick everyone's ass... Wait that is exactly like Hamilton!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousTuesday, June 21, 2011 8:44:00 PM

    Regardless, that 458 makes them all like a load of crap! Without a doubt one of these most beautiful cars of all-time.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousWednesday, June 22, 2011 4:48:00 AM

    Interesting too that "the car had a problem" and "later returned to the same track with their chief test driver and a presumably perfect MP4 12c fitted with optional Pirelli Corsa" and ran faster.

    I spent 2 years around some people who were heavily involved in the racing industry and spent a lot of their time around manufacturer related sports cars.

    The one thing I learned is to be suspicious anytime I read the words "at a later date they returned with the car and so and so went faster with a modification not on the car in the original test."

    There is a lot to lose in this game for companies if their products are not portrayed correctly, and as such they will go to great lengths (read: manipulate things you can't even begin to imagine) to ensure the results or speed they display are greater than their competitors.

    Personal opinion:
    Ferrari has really done something special with the 458 in my opinion. If I had the money to spend I wouldn't even consider another car they tested.

    ReplyDelete
  8. CSWednesday, June 22, 2011 4:49:00 AM

    Guys, I really don't understand why you are talking about 458 as the best car here. The fastest and the most balanced car here is GT2 RS. Why? Because it has a MANUAL transmission, and it lost only 0.38(!). Give this car PDK, and it will blow 458 away. No kudos for Ferrari this time.

    ReplyDelete
  9. CSWednesday, June 22, 2011 4:51:00 AM

    Edit: Sorry, not 0.38, but 0.48.

    ReplyDelete
  10. shinroninWednesday, June 22, 2011 9:20:00 AM

    @AC the story spins itself, i just don't see the point of piling on. mclaren will get their act together and do better next time. :shrug:

    ReplyDelete
  11. ACWednesday, June 22, 2011 10:57:00 AM

    Well hang on, everyone was MORE THAN HAPPY to pile on Ferrari whenever they have an issue or when they sent techs to a magazine test

    ReplyDelete
  12. Manly ChefWednesday, June 22, 2011 3:29:00 PM

    Was this 458 a customer car, or one provided by Ferrari with a throng of engineers tuning it for that particular track (Ferrari loves to do this, as Chris Harris has stated in an article not long ago).

    ReplyDelete
  13. BryanThursday, June 23, 2011 7:56:00 PM

    @sherief

    It was either the CAR or the EVO test that reported there were actually more McLaren engineers at the test than Ferrari engineers. Also, the car that McLaren allowed on the track at the CAR test was not the same as the one used on the road test. The road car was a production car, the track car was a pre-production

    ReplyDelete
  14. AndreMonday, June 27, 2011 11:48:00 PM

    Ouch. 5th gear didn't like it either, compared against the 458. The traction control sounds a bit scary as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahsIOVx93zs

    ReplyDelete

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