ADias

That's what appears to be. Governments designing cars.

Carrera GT

I had the seat all the way down and at an ordinary back-rest angle. You're taller than me -- maybe I "fill out a suit" a little more than I should ... : ) ... and I was certainly "eXXaggerating" the cramped cabin height for the camera (my daughter was holding the camera at a normal height for her nine year-old nose, but it was enough to obscure my face, so all I did was straighten myself up in the seat ... I don't think McLaren can file suit against me for misrepresenting their product ... : )

In any case, if you were in a typical 993 driving position (at least as I described it, above) then your head would have been too close to the headliner for a helmet and roll-over spine-compression safety. It's only once you really harness up with a sub-strap and get your hips into the shell and your back supported and your hands and elbows correctly positioned that you start to realize that the slouching, straight-armed "Ferrari" driving position is all show and no go ... and most cabins don't accommodate much past a 42 regular suit. In my humble. I think the idea of the roof bubble is cool ... only if it incorporates a halo in the rollover bar of the cage, too. As I think I mentioned here or in another thread, once McLaren sorts out the DOT seat issues and offers their "super light shell" seat (presumably with a removable cushion and prepared for a sub-strap and six-point) then the problem is gone (and replaced by the issue of how to put in roll-over protection with a CF monocoque tub ... )

Tacet-Conundrum

Yup need a Gurney bubble on this one for me!!!

Don't think I will be getting one of these just being a hair under 6'5".

Which makes me disappointed since I was looking forward to sitting and taking a test drive one the LA dealership is up and operational. Hope their other models will accomadate tall folk. Makes me sad like when I was in high sleek and in love with the last RX7 that came to the states; too damned tall for that one too!

mdrums

So if you can not take the car on the track for a DE with out voiding the warranty....then what is the splitter and difuser for? They will not matter driving in the suburbs..............oh yeah, forgot they will look good at a Cars and Coffee event.

Carrera GT

Where there's a will, there's a way ... the guy driving this Corvette had a custom Kirkey race seat and a bubble (extending beyond any roll over protection) so you have to admire the determination to drive on the track (even if you question the compromises.) He was, I'd guess about 6'6" and 350 lbs.

Tacet-Conundrum

That dude has to be taller than 6'6"! Last LA Auto Show I sat and fitted in a ZR1 Corvette just fine. Even with a helmet I think I would have been fine. Now trying to get into a Dodge Viper, that is a different story all together.

Carrera GT

I was being conservative. The guy was big enough to create his own gravitational field ... small objects were orbiting around him like the rings of Saturn ... the compass on my iPhone was pointing straight at his belly ... he created a permanent eclipse instead of a shadow ... you get the idea ...

mdrums

Yeah must be way over 6'6"...I am just a hair shy of 6'6" and I fit great in the new Vettes and the current 997 Porsche. I just with Porsche would let the steering wheel extend farther toward me since I have the seat all the way back and all the way down...my knees still get in the way sometimes.

C.J. Ichiban

the talk about the 235 base and 300 with options gig has me a bit worried on this car- but I don't see how at 600hp you can say the 435-450hp gt3/rs is going to beat it or come close around a track? I LOVE my RS but with 150 extra HP and a sweet paddle shifter gizmo tranny I've got to think it's going to get spanked.

Carrera GT

The McLaren M838T engine, as the name suggests, is a V8 flat crank, 3.8 litre turbo at a claimed 592 HP. Probably not dissimilar to the 911 Turbo S in the driving of it. Is the 530 horsepower Turbo S quicker than the RS? Does the lower centre of gravity or mid-engine polar moment give it the edge? I imagine it all adds up in favor of the car at 2x the price with 140 horses and forced induction torque in the hands of a pro driver extracting those high limits. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. I don't expect the 3RS will suffer a spanking and that hp is present only in acceleration and top speed, it doesn't matter a jot in apex speeds. I still see the new 3RS as being hard to beat even with the HP advantage. If McLaren can keep it light, that will be the trump card for the 12C. Here's hoping McLaren throws down the gauntlet and Porsche responds.

ir_fuel

Where did you read this?

Ritesh

Thank GOD I am only 5' 11".

I personally don't feel that the MP4 competes with the 911 RS. The reality is that the MP4 is going to be limited to 6000 units. How many 911's did Porsche sell last year? I really think McLaren is the new Ferrari. A company hell bent on racing and selling cars/engineering to fund their racing addiction. I don't see too many "poseurs" looking for nice valet parking spots buying a MP4. I see guys like me growing up watching Senna drive a Mclaren, dreaming about the F1 GTR looking at the MP4.

Carrera GT

That's the answer from the US sales person on the topic.

Tacet-Conundrum

Truthfully at that price point, and with all the add ons, what is Porsche's competition to this car? Outside of an 2RS it does not exist! Horsepower wise on down the line, including tranny, does Porsche even want to offer a true competitor at this point? I think Porsche will be sitting on the fence and seeing how well the McLaren will do before reacting to it. And besides being so close to the next model coming out can you blame them? Maybe Porsche will finally come to their senses and offer two extra cylinders. I mean with 100 mm Added chassis space it won't be an issue; the space is kind of there now in the current version. I would love to take that RUF V8 for a drive around Laurales Grade in the next two years in Carmel!

Carrera GT

At the price point, Porsche doesn't need more than one competitor and the 2RS will give the 12C a run for its money in the horsepower and Nurburgring laptimes. I doubt McLaren can afford the insurance to risk having Lewis drive the 12C at the ring other than for grandstand novelty, so they'll have to pit a works driver against whomever Porsche puts in the seat of the 2RS. Porsche will proceed with their product plans without concern for a new niche vendor trying to sell 1100 cars worldwide in 2011-2012 into the Ferrari customer base. Anyone wanting scissor doors and a body design easily mistaken for a Lotus Evora is unlikely to be a GT2 RS driver, I think.

The 911 is a rear engine 6 cylinder, that's what the Porsche buyer wants and that's all there is to it and Porsche finally learned that lesson with the 928. Case closed.

Any additional wheelbase does not necessarily provide additional space behind the rear axle where the engine resides. Rear overhang would be unwelcome to say the least, so the space will be to (lord, let's hope) push the front wheels further forward in body/chassis. This might increase cabin space or just provide mechanical room for hybrid drive components. Who can say? Porsche managed to develop the 918 without anyone discovering their work -- they can use the same stealth to be testing the 991 on the ring today and how would we know? I imagine the spy photo types are now using range finder measurements to check the wheelbase of everything on the track no matter it's shape or apparent make or model.

If Porsche does want to offer a flat 8 or at least flat crank 8 variant of their rear engine platform, the solution to affording more cylinders with optimal center of gravity and polar moment is to move the clutch assemble of the PDK box forward and sandwich the diff between the engine and the input shaft (like a front engine AWD in some ways.) This would put the first pair of cylinders between the rear wheels. That Ruf V8 is certainly an appealing proposition and my delicate Porschephile sensibilities can withstand the thought of a 911 variant with 8 pots.

In any case, as mentioned in other posts, there's racing homologation considerations and the 9A1 is already ample for the Carrera and forced induction applications. For the 3RS alone in the next generation 991 chassis, we can only hope they retain the GT1 and we'll have to make do with 450-500hp in a 3.8 or 3.9 ... and a Turbo variant of the 9A1 can do battle with the 12C in the horsepower stakes. McLaren will note that Mercedes tried the horsepower game in the early 2000's to no avail. They were building some monstrously powerful cars, but nobody seemed to care.

It seems to me that McLaren wants to challenge Ferrari, just as they do on the F1 circuit. If Ferrari is prepared to deliver a misbegotten thing like the 458 Italia, I think they need the competition to stir them up and get them trying harder.