McLaren is our stepping stone, says Ferrari

McLaren’s global sales boom and otherworldly performance might have the supercar guard officially on notice, but not Ferrari.

In 2018, McLaren built more supercars than Italian juggernaut Lamborghini, whose outright sales only eclipsed the Briton thanks to demand for the Urus SUV.

Over at Ferrari, officials say they have watched on with glee at McLaren’s expansion. According to Ferrari Australia chief Herbert Appleroth, the rise and rise of McLaren will only help Ferrari’s cause both here and abroad.

“We love other brands bringing people to the sports car market. They play in a different space than where we play,” Appleroth told carsales.com.au at the Australian launch of the F8 Tributo last week.

“They’re wonderful for us because they’re educating people, almost like a stepping stone. Most people dream of Ferraris, they want a Ferrari one day even though they might be with another brand.

“When finance is available for themselves, they want to be part of Ferrari. We’ve got a lot to thank [other supercar manufacturers] for because they’re educating people about sports cars.”

The new Ferrari F8 Tributo itself lands in a hotly-contested performance segment in Australia. With 720 horsepower (530kW in our money), the new mid-engined V8 Ferrari’s most obvious adversary is the existing McLaren 720S, which boasts the same headline output.

With McLaren set to unveil an even more potent 750LT offering at the Geneva motor show next year, you’d figure Ferrari officials might be looking over their shoulders. Not so, according to Appleroth.

“They may go up and down in sales success as their product range goes up and down, but we’ll just continue doing what we’re doing and say thank you very much,” he said. “We’ll try and bring as many people to the Ferrari brand as possible.”

Appleroth’s sentiments were tempered somewhat by Ferrari Far and Middle East chief executive Dieter Knechtel, who placed Ferrari’s point of difference on the experience of the brand, along with its product offerings.

“It’s a special feeling to be in the world of Ferrari. People tell us when they come from other brands that it feels different to sit behind the steering wheel of a Ferrari and we put so much focus on this family feeling,” he said.

“Ferrari is a brand that you don’t leave once you have engaged with us. People get good experiences like they’ve never had before. Like-minded people coming together is always a good thing.

“It makes us very special.”