Running the hypercar numbers
Thursday August 22, 2013
Hypercars
Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren are all readying their latest hypercars and should have them available to the public in the next 6 months. With the Frankfurt Motor Show 2013 looming large for September, let's run the numbers that we have on these ultimate performers. Each of the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder represent the pinnacle of the respective manufacturer's technological prowess within the confines of current regulations for selling road-legal cars, albeit in extremely limited numbers. Considering that no-one who has driven any of these cars is able to comment publicly on that aspect of their personae, we'll have to settle for looking at them through the numbers alone.
Firstly, the overall layout of the three is similar: all three hypercars utilise some sort of hybrid drivetrain, a combination of petrol and electric motors. The similarities don't end there: following long-established racing practice - and don't forget, each of these legendary marques has unimpeachable racing pedigree - the primary engine is placed longitudinally amidships and drives the rear wheels. All three of them all employ a seven speed automatic gearbox to get the power to the tyres. Both Porsche and Ferrari have opted for naturally-aspirated engines; the Ferrari using a big V12 of 6.3 litres capacity, and the Porsche a slightly smaller V8 of 4.6 litres in volume. The McLaren retains the 3.8 litre displacement of the McLaren MP4-12, but power is boosted to 737 PS at 7500 rpm. The Ferrari and Porsche petrol engines produce 800 PS at 9000 rpm and 608 PS at 8600 rpm respectively.
The implementation of the auxiliary electric power differs greatly between the trio. Ferrari employs 2 electric motors: one that powers the rear wheels and another that drives the ancillaries; McLaren has a single electric motor that is continuously operating in tandem with the petrol engine and Porsche has 2 electric motors - one positioned ahead of the front axle and the other in front of the rear axle, with the front-mounted motor only engaged for speeds up to 235 km/h. Between these three hypercars the various permutations available through the coupling/decoupling of the electric motors, plus the settings available to the driver for various conditions make it almost impossible to make sense of. Once all three have been thrashed around the Nürburgring by competent drivers we'll at least know which works best for that scenario.
In terms of vehicle size there is a little more variation again, with overall length for the three ranging from 4702 mm for the Ferrari to 4588 mm for the McLaren, with the Porsche slotting in between them rather neatly at 4643 mm. Wheelbases are in the opposite order, with the Porsche having the longest wheelbase at 2730 mm and the Ferrari the shortest at 2650 mm, and the McLaren just a little bit longer at 2670 mm. All are close on 2 metres wide, and are between 1100 mm and 1200 mm high.
Some performance details have been claimed, with McLaren and Ferrari quoting sub 3 second times for the 0-100 km/h sprint, and Porsche 2.8 seconds. Top speeds for the three are all around the same mark, at 350 km/h for the Ferrari & McLaren, and 340 km/h for the Porsche.
The specifications that have been released for these performance giants are incomplete and subject to final confirmation, with Ferrari lacking any mention of weight, McLaren only quoting the dry weight of the P1, and Porsche not yet divulging the details of the 4.6 litre V8 that powers the 918 Spyder, so further speculation based on these characteristics will have to be done at a later stage.
Firstly, the overall layout of the three is similar: all three hypercars utilise some sort of hybrid drivetrain, a combination of petrol and electric motors. The similarities don't end there: following long-established racing practice - and don't forget, each of these legendary marques has unimpeachable racing pedigree - the primary engine is placed longitudinally amidships and drives the rear wheels. All three of them all employ a seven speed automatic gearbox to get the power to the tyres. Both Porsche and Ferrari have opted for naturally-aspirated engines; the Ferrari using a big V12 of 6.3 litres capacity, and the Porsche a slightly smaller V8 of 4.6 litres in volume. The McLaren retains the 3.8 litre displacement of the McLaren MP4-12, but power is boosted to 737 PS at 7500 rpm. The Ferrari and Porsche petrol engines produce 800 PS at 9000 rpm and 608 PS at 8600 rpm respectively.
The implementation of the auxiliary electric power differs greatly between the trio. Ferrari employs 2 electric motors: one that powers the rear wheels and another that drives the ancillaries; McLaren has a single electric motor that is continuously operating in tandem with the petrol engine and Porsche has 2 electric motors - one positioned ahead of the front axle and the other in front of the rear axle, with the front-mounted motor only engaged for speeds up to 235 km/h. Between these three hypercars the various permutations available through the coupling/decoupling of the electric motors, plus the settings available to the driver for various conditions make it almost impossible to make sense of. Once all three have been thrashed around the Nürburgring by competent drivers we'll at least know which works best for that scenario.
In terms of vehicle size there is a little more variation again, with overall length for the three ranging from 4702 mm for the Ferrari to 4588 mm for the McLaren, with the Porsche slotting in between them rather neatly at 4643 mm. Wheelbases are in the opposite order, with the Porsche having the longest wheelbase at 2730 mm and the Ferrari the shortest at 2650 mm, and the McLaren just a little bit longer at 2670 mm. All are close on 2 metres wide, and are between 1100 mm and 1200 mm high.
Some performance details have been claimed, with McLaren and Ferrari quoting sub 3 second times for the 0-100 km/h sprint, and Porsche 2.8 seconds. Top speeds for the three are all around the same mark, at 350 km/h for the Ferrari & McLaren, and 340 km/h for the Porsche.
The specifications that have been released for these performance giants are incomplete and subject to final confirmation, with Ferrari lacking any mention of weight, McLaren only quoting the dry weight of the P1, and Porsche not yet divulging the details of the 4.6 litre V8 that powers the 918 Spyder, so further speculation based on these characteristics will have to be done at a later stage.
