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NEWS
GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Big dollars are back?
LaFerrari, P1, Veneno and Wraith: four signs that fiscal restraint is getting oldAfter eyeing each other off for more than two years, Ferrari and McLaren have sparked a hypercar war that threatens to pull in most of Europe’s premium car brands.
While the LaFerrari and McLaren P1 hybrid hypercars stole many of the Geneva Motor Show headlines, they weren’t alone in blasting speed into press kits. Maserati, Lamborghini, Bentley, any number of the traditional Geneva Motor Show tuners and even stodgy old Rolls-Royce have shown they are contenders, too.
Porsche’s new 911 GT3 didn’t deliver quite the horsepower to qualify as a hypercar, but the rest did, especially with McLaren and Ferrari continuing their on-track rivalry with their hypercars. That’s particularly relevant, given that both companies are claiming huge swathes of technology transfer from their F1 teams.
Unusually, both hypercars are hybrids, taking the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems) mandated in F1 and adding electrical energy to the stupendous power already generated by their internal-combustion motors.
The Ferrari’s 6262cc V12 has an astonishing 13.5:1 compression ratio, which helps it to generate 596kW of power at 9000rpm and to rev another 250rpm higher before the limiter.
Over at McLaren, they’ve tweaked the 12C’s 3.8-litre V8 to deliver 543kW of power and 720Nm of torque – at just 4000rpm – thanks to twin turbochargers.
Both cars use brake energy recuperation to charge their quick-discharge batteries, which can give them an even greater power, boost whenever it’s needed. The main difference, philosophically, is that the McLaren can be charged like a plug-in hybrid to let its drivers have around 10-15km of zero-emission driving if they need to.
The numbers are surprisingly close and look like this:
| Ferrari LaFerrari | McLaren P1 | |
| Engine | Naturally aspirated V12 | Twin Turbo V8 |
| Power | 596kW | 543kW |
| Torque | 700Nm | 720Nm |
| Electric power | 120kW | 131kW |
| Total system power | 718kW | 674kW |
| Total system torque | 900Nm | 900Nm |
But the numbers are closer than that, because while Ferrari has yet to claim a top speed figure, both car companies claim remarkably similar acceleration figures.
| Ferrari LaFerrari | McLaren P1 | |
| 0-100km/h | Sub three seconds | Sub three seconds |
| 0-200km/h | Sub seven seconds | Sub seven seconds |
| 0-300km/h | Sub 16 seconds | Sub 17 seconds |
Both cars are said to be track-day rockets, with the Ferrari slashing more than five seconds off the Enzo’s lap time at its Fiorano test track.
The sad part is that neither car is likely to ever see Australian shores, with Ferrari importer Neville Crichton admitting the taxes would make the LaFerrari well over $2 million in Australia. Instead, he expects his four confirmed Australian buyers to keep their LaFerraris in Europe, though they could be bounced into Australia and out again under bond.
Both will be about the same money – stupid money – in Europe, with McLaren only using English data to claim an on-road price of £866,000 and Ferrari preferring its own euros to claim, err, €1.2 million. Both are limited editions, though plenty of these sorts of machines haven’t hit their targets – even the F1. Ferrari will build 499 LaFerraris (which it claims are sold out), while McLaren is more modestly targeting 375 customers.
(“LaFerrari” means “The Ferrari” in Italian, though it’s not that simple, because “la” is the feminine version of “the”. McLaren’s P1 simply means what they’d hope to put on a pit board, and follows logically from the classic F1.)
By comparison, Lamborghini’s Veneno (named after a fighting bull from early last century) looks tame. Essentially a rebodied Aventador, it has slightly more power with 552kW from the 6.5-litre V12, though the same torque level of 690Nm.
It claims it will cut a tenth of a second from its sprint to 100km/h, now a 2.8-second exercise, with a top speed of 355km/h.
Lamborghini will build four Venenos, including the Geneva car (which will become its test mule, then museum version), with three of them already sold. And sold at, wait for it, about US$4 million apiece.
All of that starts to make the Rolls-Royce Wraith sound sensible. The victim of about 15 different teaser shots, the Wraith is the most powerful Rolls-Royce ever built with 480kW and 800Nm squeezed from its twin-turbo V12.
It’s also one of the quickest, hitting 100km/h in 4.4 seconds and not skimping on luxuries despite its raked roofline and sportier character.
And at €245,000 in Europe and with no limit on production, it’s starting to sound like a bargain, too.
For our full coverage head to motoring.com.au for the latest Geneva motor show news
Photo gallery of 2013 Geneva motor show at motoring.com.au
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Written byMichael Taylor
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