Top Gear Hypercar showdown!
Discussion
Am I the only person who is getting right p*ssed off with the drivel that Top Gear seem to be broadcasting now.
So, they apparently have a line up of the 3 current favourites, McLaren P1, La Ferrari & Porsche 918, but claim that McLaren scuppered a showdown of the three and Ferrari did the same.
Twitter is full of retalitory remarks on the subject, including one from the McLaren HQ, stating that they WERE ready with a car, and that it was Top Gear who cancelled the showdown. Who are we to believe?
Also, what clown dreamed up that stupid waste of 5 minutes, driving around and deliberately wrecking two perfectly good (but boring) Peugeots?
I, for one think that Top Gear is no longer a factual motoring programme, but simply easy watching for today's "chavvy" culture!
So, they apparently have a line up of the 3 current favourites, McLaren P1, La Ferrari & Porsche 918, but claim that McLaren scuppered a showdown of the three and Ferrari did the same.
Twitter is full of retalitory remarks on the subject, including one from the McLaren HQ, stating that they WERE ready with a car, and that it was Top Gear who cancelled the showdown. Who are we to believe?
Also, what clown dreamed up that stupid waste of 5 minutes, driving around and deliberately wrecking two perfectly good (but boring) Peugeots?
I, for one think that Top Gear is no longer a factual motoring programme, but simply easy watching for today's "chavvy" culture!
This article written by motoring journalist Chris Harris may spread some light on the issue - well worth taking 5 mins to read it...
http://jalopnik.com/5760248/how-ferrari-spins
http://jalopnik.com/5760248/how-ferrari-spins
Unlike the Italians to cheat ?! Not like us honest Brits
When McLaren were asked for a 12C to be tested on the track they gave them a spider only to be asked don't you want to give us a coupe ? So confident of the carbon tub and their engineering they said No take the spider you won't see any difference in performance
When McLaren were asked for a 12C to be tested on the track they gave them a spider only to be asked don't you want to give us a coupe ? So confident of the carbon tub and their engineering they said No take the spider you won't see any difference in performance
Top Gear would have gotten huge viewer gains being the first motoring program to compare the 3 cars on the same track.
I would err with the view that the manufacturers have indeed stopped it.
The whole "Ferrari said the owner would never be allowed to buy a limited edition Ferrari again" combined with CH's article above rings true.
OP - If you don't like Top Gear, don't watch it and stop whining.
I would err with the view that the manufacturers have indeed stopped it.
The whole "Ferrari said the owner would never be allowed to buy a limited edition Ferrari again" combined with CH's article above rings true.
OP - If you don't like Top Gear, don't watch it and stop whining.
xjay, thanks for your comment. Sorry if it seemed like I was whining. I love to watch the Top Gear tests of supercars, and genuine petrolhead content, but am starting to get a bit fed up with valuable broadcast time being stuffed with Minis playing football, caravan demolition derby, and off roading through Australia in a Lotus Esprit and Mustang! Bring on the P1, La Ferrari, 918 shootout, and I may eat some of my words. And L33, that article was very interesting. Thanks.
xjay1337 said:
Top Gear would have gotten huge viewer gains being the first motoring program to compare the 3 cars on the same track.
Top Gear is already one of the highest rated shows in the world, and hugely profitable for all involved in making it, so I doubt that is too much of a consideration for them.Maybe Clarkson is just genuinely worried about his impending name change.
Watch from 7.00 mins on if you want to find out which you like most
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06L6dz2Kf40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06L6dz2Kf40
L33 said:
This article written by motoring journalist Chris Harris may spread some light on the issue - well worth taking 5 mins to read it...
http://jalopnik.com/5760248/how-ferrari-spins
The same Chris Harris who bought an FF and raved about it, then raved about the F12 being the best car on the planet? .... surely can't be the same guy, given he sold his 575 in protest.http://jalopnik.com/5760248/how-ferrari-spins
(Don't doubt what was written btw).
S1M VP said:
L33 said:
This article written by motoring journalist Chris Harris may spread some light on the issue - well worth taking 5 mins to read it...
http://jalopnik.com/5760248/how-ferrari-spins
The same Chris Harris who bought an FF and raved about it, then raved about the F12 being the best car on the planet? .... surely can't be the same guy, given he sold his 575 in protest.http://jalopnik.com/5760248/how-ferrari-spins
(Don't doubt what was written btw).
Personally, I can understand Ferrari's approach. It seems like they have a standard policy of wanting to be involved whenever a key test is suggested, comparing lap times against competitors. They are a racing team after all. To leave your extremely valuable reputation in the hands of a 'customer' car, which may have a performance deficit on account of tyres, brakes, engine tune compared to when it left the factory gate would make little sense - especially before all cars are built and sold. Ferrari gave a standard 'corporate' answer. No doubt they think "why should we change our approach to accommodate a TV programme - our business is about selling cars not TV entertainment". Make up your own mind if you think that's arrogance or defeat or whatever.
McLaren admitted their car was not as quick around Dunsfold (their development track) as the 918 - which is pretty staggering. They then suggested a test of customer cars on a track of their choice (knowing full well this would never happen because Ferrari would never agree to it - otherwise why bother to put it into the purchase contract of all their customers?) I'm a McLaren as well as a Ferrari and Porsche owner and think my 12C is brilliant, but it does seem that McLaren know their car is not faster than the 918, as they previously predicted. So what? The P1 is an amazing car.
Despite all this, it seems like the three cars are very closely matched and would return differing results depending on track and weather, so Dunsfold would prove only a small part of the story. My own personal gut feel if it wer ever possible to run the test over multiple tracks is that the Ferrari would be quickest more of the time, with the P1 and 918 sharing the remainder equally.
McLaren admitted their car was not as quick around Dunsfold (their development track) as the 918 - which is pretty staggering. They then suggested a test of customer cars on a track of their choice (knowing full well this would never happen because Ferrari would never agree to it - otherwise why bother to put it into the purchase contract of all their customers?) I'm a McLaren as well as a Ferrari and Porsche owner and think my 12C is brilliant, but it does seem that McLaren know their car is not faster than the 918, as they previously predicted. So what? The P1 is an amazing car.
Despite all this, it seems like the three cars are very closely matched and would return differing results depending on track and weather, so Dunsfold would prove only a small part of the story. My own personal gut feel if it wer ever possible to run the test over multiple tracks is that the Ferrari would be quickest more of the time, with the P1 and 918 sharing the remainder equally.
sone said:
S1M VP said:
L33 said:
This article written by motoring journalist Chris Harris may spread some light on the issue - well worth taking 5 mins to read it...
http://jalopnik.com/5760248/how-ferrari-spins
The same Chris Harris who bought an FF and raved about it, then raved about the F12 being the best car on the planet? .... surely can't be the same guy, given he sold his 575 in protest.http://jalopnik.com/5760248/how-ferrari-spins
(Don't doubt what was written btw).
D1ckie said:
Do you think some of this is to do with the re sale value of the cars.
If the P1 beats the La Ferrari you may have a lot of pissed off Ferrari owners who may see the value of their cars drop!!
I doubt it would make any difference tbh theyre all iconic and will continue to gain value for years to come.If the P1 beats the La Ferrari you may have a lot of pissed off Ferrari owners who may see the value of their cars drop!!
So on the topic of the actual lap times then... what do we think would win?
My favorite of the bunch is the P1. I think it's the most mental. Ferrari, while making some undeniably great cars, for me - it's too cheesy and boring, more of a franchise to sell T-shirts and baseball hats. I have no doubt The Ferrari The Ferrari would put in a stonking lap time... but perhaps it's a little bit of a handful? Relatively ... so doing repeatable fast laps may be... tricky? Im guessing..
The 918 seems the most stable from watching reviews, but it's so heavy compared to the P1 perhaps less agile..and slower accelerating once the initial gains from it's 4wd have been lost...
Remember watching an Autobore video where the P1 was something like 7 seconds faster to 200mph than the 918 was. And I suspect the P1 is more track focused with it's downforce etc.
Then again the 918 has a nicer "daily drive" aspect... with better trim.
My favorite of the bunch is the P1. I think it's the most mental. Ferrari, while making some undeniably great cars, for me - it's too cheesy and boring, more of a franchise to sell T-shirts and baseball hats. I have no doubt The Ferrari The Ferrari would put in a stonking lap time... but perhaps it's a little bit of a handful? Relatively ... so doing repeatable fast laps may be... tricky? Im guessing..
The 918 seems the most stable from watching reviews, but it's so heavy compared to the P1 perhaps less agile..and slower accelerating once the initial gains from it's 4wd have been lost...
Remember watching an Autobore video where the P1 was something like 7 seconds faster to 200mph than the 918 was. And I suspect the P1 is more track focused with it's downforce etc.
Then again the 918 has a nicer "daily drive" aspect... with better trim.
AtlantisWeb said:
xjay, thanks for your comment. Sorry if it seemed like I was whining. I love to watch the Top Gear tests of supercars, and genuine petrolhead content, but am starting to get a bit fed up with valuable broadcast time being stuffed with Minis playing football, caravan demolition derby, and off roading through Australia in a Lotus Esprit and Mustang! Bring on the P1, La Ferrari, 918 shootout, and I may eat some of my words. And L33, that article was very interesting. Thanks.
I understand what you mean. 
Some of it is a bit boring but some of it is genuinely funny.
I hope they do the shootout soon too.
xjay1337 said:
I understand what you mean.
Some of it is a bit boring but some of it is genuinely funny.
I hope they do the shootout soon too.
I think we all probably feel this way as Top Gear really has dumbed down, but to be honest, what else are we gonna watch on a Sunday evening?!Some of it is a bit boring but some of it is genuinely funny.
I hope they do the shootout soon too.
I for one can forgive them for their segments of 'entertainment' as I still quite enjoy it
I'd love to see them do more road trips that involved less silly challenges and more discovery, such as properly exploring the Alps etc - something we can all go and try out...xjay1337 said:
So on the topic of the actual lap times then... what do we think would win?
My favorite of the bunch is the P1. I think it's the most mental. Ferrari, while making some undeniably great cars, for me - it's too cheesy and boring, more of a franchise to sell T-shirts and baseball hats. I have no doubt The Ferrari The Ferrari would put in a stonking lap time... but perhaps it's a little bit of a handful? Relatively ... so doing repeatable fast laps may be... tricky? Im guessing..
The 918 seems the most stable from watching reviews, but it's so heavy compared to the P1 perhaps less agile..and slower accelerating once the initial gains from it's 4wd have been lost...
Remember watching an Autobore video where the P1 was something like 7 seconds faster to 200mph than the 918 was. And I suspect the P1 is more track focused with it's downforce etc.
Then again the 918 has a nicer "daily drive" aspect... with better trim.
One of the oft-missed points about the 918 is that the front e-motor disconnects at about c.165mph. This is because Porsche decided, for weight reasons, not to fit a gearbox to the front axle, so the motor would overspeed beyond 165mph.My favorite of the bunch is the P1. I think it's the most mental. Ferrari, while making some undeniably great cars, for me - it's too cheesy and boring, more of a franchise to sell T-shirts and baseball hats. I have no doubt The Ferrari The Ferrari would put in a stonking lap time... but perhaps it's a little bit of a handful? Relatively ... so doing repeatable fast laps may be... tricky? Im guessing..
The 918 seems the most stable from watching reviews, but it's so heavy compared to the P1 perhaps less agile..and slower accelerating once the initial gains from it's 4wd have been lost...
Remember watching an Autobore video where the P1 was something like 7 seconds faster to 200mph than the 918 was. And I suspect the P1 is more track focused with it's downforce etc.
Then again the 918 has a nicer "daily drive" aspect... with better trim.
As a result, the car loses around 130bhp at that speed, and hence its rate of acceleration will inevitably slow. Up to 165, I think the car is very closely matched with the other two; faster up to 60mph thanks to traction, but then slightly falling behind. But, as I say, the large gap appears once the front e-motor is disconnected.
Away from the drag strip, out on the track, my bet is that different circuits would produce different results. The 918 clearly has better low speed traction and significantly more torque, so I can see it performing best on tighter circuits. The P1 (in race mode, which is arguably not a fair comparison) has loads of downforce - much more than the other two - and hence would probably win at tracks with many fast corners (Spa?).
Cheers
Isn`t this just more hype from the TG team so everyone keeps watching and talking about it ?
I would predict that before the end of the series it will happen and they know it already but will keep banging on about it for a few weeks more ?
Personally the more I watch it the less engaged I am with it, however I watch it in the hope of a quality item like the Lancia and Senna features which were some of the best TV ever.
I would predict that before the end of the series it will happen and they know it already but will keep banging on about it for a few weeks more ?
Personally the more I watch it the less engaged I am with it, however I watch it in the hope of a quality item like the Lancia and Senna features which were some of the best TV ever.
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