Top Gear Names Winner Of Hypercar Wars

on July 13, 2015 at 10:27 am

Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1. These three monikers represent the fastest and most technologically advanced road cars in the world. Despite this, execs from Ferrari and McLaren have made arranging a comparison test between the three hybrid hypercars a Herculean task. It seemed impossible.

Until now. Top Gear, through a combination of its persistence and tremendous popularity, was able to get all three cars driven by the same three drivers on the same road on the same day.

Ferrari has long put off a direct juxtaposition of its ultimate road machine against its two direct competitors, and even in this test the journalists weren’t allowed to use a track for any portion of their analysis.

With all of the red tape out of the way, Top Gear was free to unleash its drivers on the snaking roads above Maranello, Ferrari’s hometown. After days of driving and careful consideration, Top Gear’s three drivers unanimously named the LaFerrari the winner.

Top Gear’s comparison is best summarized as follows: Porsche built the best representation of the future, McLaren built the most exciting car, and the LaFerrari is the most fun to drive.

The reviewers repeatedly commended the excellence of the 918’s interior, lauding it for its “technological capability” and quality of finish. It also won on the hybrid front since it best integrates the electric drive-train with the 4.6 L V8. The reviewers couldn’t choose it as the best because it just isn’t insane enough. It doesn’t quite stir the soul as well as its competition. Sounds like a German car to me.

In terms of sheer excitement and thrill, look no further than the McLaren P1. Top Gear reported it as having the steepest learning curve of the three, and its Race mode is so crazy it can’t even be used on a normal road (if you use it the suspension lowers 50 mm, making it too low for the bumps and dips of normal pavement). You’ll find this description in the dictionary for “ultimate British sports car.”

This leaves us with the LaFerrari. Its 160 hp electric motor only exists to fill out the bottom end of the torque curve, and this makes it the most old-fashioned contender. Ferrari’s computers do nothing more than add to the driver’s experience, providing no sense of nannying. It merely lets the driver feel like a god. Because it offers the most pure and enjoyable driving experience, Top Gear’s drivers came to the joint decision that the LaFerrari is the best of the group. Oh Italy, you’ve done it again.

I won’t be getting behind the wheel of any of these beasts in the foreseeable future, but fortunately I’m a proud owner of all three in Forza Horizon 2. I prefer the Porsche myself, but as the Top Gear reviewers said in their world-exclusive, “they are all so fast that you might as well pick the car that you prefer the look, or the brand image, of.”

So there you have it, even though all three are awe-inspiring and undoubtedly the pinnacle of 21st century automaking, Ferrari walks away with the victory; it made the most fun and most pure car.

Car Facts:

2015 Porsche 918 Spyder

MSRP: From $845,000
Horsepower: 887 HP
MPG: 20 city/ 24 highway
Powertrain: 4.6L V8 + two electric motors
Drive: All
Curb Weight: 3,602 to 3,692 lbs

2014 McLaren P1

MSRP: From $1.15 million
Horsepower: 906 HP
MPG: 16 city/ 20 highway
Powertrain: Twin-turbo 2.8 L V8 + electric motor
Drive: Rear
Curb Weight: 3,411 lbs

2015 Ferrari LaFerrari

MSRP: From $1,420,112
Horsepower: 950 HP
MPG: 13 city/ 16 highway
Powertrain: 6.3 L V12 + electric motor
Drive: Rear
Curb Weight: 2,767 lbs

Featured Image and Source: Top Gear

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