McLaren reviews begin
07-13-2011, 12:57 AM
#151
Burning Brakes
The Top Gear run was filmed literally last week. The review was supposed to appear on episode two of July 3rd but was pulled at the
last minute (this is per the TG website) because mclaren wanted to provide a more sorted out sample after the pummeling in the initial reviews. As JC mentions the sorted included various tweaks like throttle response, exhaust loudness and who knows what else.
Make of that what you will
last minute (this is per the TG website) because mclaren wanted to provide a more sorted out sample after the pummeling in the initial reviews. As JC mentions the sorted included various tweaks like throttle response, exhaust loudness and who knows what else.
Make of that what you will
Nord - By tight track, I was referring to the lack of run off. Not the best descriptor in retrospect. I can’t say for sure there wasn’t some ulterior motive for the Mac to be sliding around, looking out of shape and crashing off the course during their private session. I suppose they could have rented the track just to ham it up for the cameras. Enjoy your visit to the factory.
07-13-2011, 03:58 AM
#152
He also made the 'fun' joke which I liked
I don't expect the 4.0 RS to get down to 1:16 at their runway -- it doesn't carry the same horsepower, it doesn't have a robot making the gear shifts and it's a tad heavy still. Any further driving comparisons will be pretty much redundant, the new McLaren is nothing to do with the old McLaren -- the MP4-12C is conclusively "boring, but very fast" ... there's plenty of cars out there already that meet that definition.
Here's to the 4.0 RS for winning this comparison between Ferrari and McLaren!
Here's to the 4.0 RS for winning this comparison between Ferrari and McLaren!
07-13-2011, 04:02 AM
#153
SQ - Thanks for posting the video review. I’m not sure when this episode was shot, but as recently as the end of May, the Mac still had unresolved handling gremlins at the Nordschleife. It was visibly struggling in the hands of Maclaren’s test driver (rumored to be an F1 backup), particularly through the slower corners. The car appeared to be out of sorts, the tail wagging dramatically, tires howling loudly in protest, as the driver pushed it right to the edge of its limits. Despite all the drama, the pace through the corners appeared slow, especially the lower speed corners. Toward the end of Maclaren’s private session, they crashed the car and it was hauled off on a flatbed. My observations were admittedly without the benefit of a stopwatch, but it appeared that quite a number of cars immediately following in the public session were noticeably faster in those same slower corners.
So how does one account for this declaration of “mathematical” superiority to the 458 in the TG test? It could be that Maclaren has sorted out the handling problems in the last 1.5 months, assuming this TG episode was shot during that time. It could be that this car favors the long, high-speed sweepers of the TG “track,” especially if that’s where its designers set up the suspension, but not so much a tighter track with no run off, such as the Nordschleife. Or it could be that TG and Clarkson are trying their British best to include something positive in their review of the home team’s product. I honestly don’t put a whole lot of stock in their reviews, including their published lap times, but they are entertaining to watch.
So how does one account for this declaration of “mathematical” superiority to the 458 in the TG test? It could be that Maclaren has sorted out the handling problems in the last 1.5 months, assuming this TG episode was shot during that time. It could be that this car favors the long, high-speed sweepers of the TG “track,” especially if that’s where its designers set up the suspension, but not so much a tighter track with no run off, such as the Nordschleife. Or it could be that TG and Clarkson are trying their British best to include something positive in their review of the home team’s product. I honestly don’t put a whole lot of stock in their reviews, including their published lap times, but they are entertaining to watch.
07-13-2011, 04:09 AM
#154
the tg review didnt make me want that car - why? the sound of the ferrari makes me tingle
07-14-2011, 06:56 PM
#157
07-15-2011, 12:01 AM
#158
New write up on by Top Gear - MP4 vs. 458 vs. Honda Fireblade on Isle of Man
http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/mcl...7-14?imageNo=0
http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/mcl...7-14?imageNo=0
07-15-2011, 12:13 AM
#159
New write up on by Top Gear - MP4 vs. 458 vs. Honda Fireblade on Isle of Man
http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/mcl...7-14?imageNo=0
http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/mcl...7-14?imageNo=0
07-15-2011, 04:10 AM
#161
Drifting
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New write up on by Top Gear - MP4 vs. 458 vs. Honda Fireblade on Isle of Man
http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/mcl...7-14?imageNo=0
http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/mcl...7-14?imageNo=0
Tom Ford perfectly illustrates my thesis that muttering rotters can't drive nails in butter. Have you ever been in a car at 153 mph when its driver is clenching his hands on the wheel with knotted calf muscles pressing the accelerator. And as for the a15 simile.......
I recall one evo shoot where ther were wild claims about driving at 200mph + speeds at night, i had set off after them, stopped for gas and arrived before said high speed journos, and I hadn't gone more than 185.
This sort of nonsense is not to be excused as journalistic license, its not its poppycock and dangerous. He may well have been driving fast, but if what he has said is true, he should be locked up and if not true, then his pen taken away.
Motoring journos appear to have many of the same flaws their main stream colleagues have with few if any redeeming qualities.
I wonder if Mclaren realises that they will be replacing turbos under warranty once or twice a year on each of the cars it sells to the folk who drive them properly. Porsche and Audi understand this and dont quibble, even when they are no longer 'standard'.
R+C
07-15-2011, 02:05 PM
#162
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I just got my copy of Evo.
Huge gigantic article on the MP4-12C, worth reading if you are considering the car. Lots of testing done on roads, daily driving, racetrack against 997 Turbo, SLS, F458 and Noble M600.
At the end the F458 triumphed. Ferrari brought a staff to setup the F458, McLaren brought an even bigger staff, including the chief engineer for the road car. Evo allowed them to setup the cars, but they didn't not allow the cars to be touched after, and they began a 5 days test.
At Bedford, the F458 dropped another full second from the last test performed by Evo, with only two cars ever tested being faster: Caparo T1 and Radical SR8 (if you can call them cars). Lap time 1:19 beating the Gumpert Apollo (ultra light and more powerful than a F458).
McLaren got beat badly, so they fitted the car with the optional sticky rubber (Pirelli Corsa System), dropped the lap times, but could not touch the F458 on street tires (Pilot Sport K1).
I'll happily wait for the F458 Corsa, due in 2013, unless Ferrari puts the car on a $350k price tag, in which case I'll wait even more for the $150k price hit.
Great column from the Great Chris Harris !!!
Huge gigantic article on the MP4-12C, worth reading if you are considering the car. Lots of testing done on roads, daily driving, racetrack against 997 Turbo, SLS, F458 and Noble M600.
At the end the F458 triumphed. Ferrari brought a staff to setup the F458, McLaren brought an even bigger staff, including the chief engineer for the road car. Evo allowed them to setup the cars, but they didn't not allow the cars to be touched after, and they began a 5 days test.
At Bedford, the F458 dropped another full second from the last test performed by Evo, with only two cars ever tested being faster: Caparo T1 and Radical SR8 (if you can call them cars). Lap time 1:19 beating the Gumpert Apollo (ultra light and more powerful than a F458).
McLaren got beat badly, so they fitted the car with the optional sticky rubber (Pirelli Corsa System), dropped the lap times, but could not touch the F458 on street tires (Pilot Sport K1).
I'll happily wait for the F458 Corsa, due in 2013, unless Ferrari puts the car on a $350k price tag, in which case I'll wait even more for the $150k price hit.
Great column from the Great Chris Harris !!!
