hesperus

i need some tissues...

Der-Schwabe

I don't!....:-)...they clearly say that the 918 had room for more and that with the roof OFF and McLaren having to come back with semi-slicks to best the 918's time...

heynow

Yeah why was the roof off on the 918? Also why didn't they push it harder, or put semi-slicks on it?

wtdoom

Bit sad really
Porsche faster on one set of tyres ( with the roof off and "a chunk to come off with tyre pressure setting " lol) then video gets held off until Mac go back with "super sticky" tyres and set a faster time .
Embarassing for Mac if you ask me

Whoopsy

Cause the 918 can be driven with the roof off and the P1 can't? LOL

There is no need to push the 918 harder, at less than 100% it is already faster than the P1.

stefan einz

I guess the Cup 2 tyres and Trofeo's are similar in performance / grip levels (both the most track focused, road legal tyre from their respective manufacturers), whilst the Cup2s would have 5-10% grip advantage over the standard Corsas.

Fantastic video review (JB can surely drive), but we are still waiting for a real, same-day, same-tyre, back-to-back track test.

And I am still intrigued to find out what the P1's time around the Ring was. With these cars, the extent to which the batteries are depleted on track becomes a real factor - with the 918, it was clear the battery charge was gone by the main straight (as the car was faster up Kesselchen which is seriously uphill!). I wonder if the P1 lasts as long, or runs out of battery puff earlier?

home7271

Don't care what the British press says, 918 is a better car. To all the 918 owners (now all sold out), you have made the right choice.

What a car!

xybyx

Trefeo R is much grippier than Cup 2, generally 1-2 seconds faster on a 1-min circuit.

brake dust

Lame. Do the test properly or don't do it at all.

TopspeedPT

P1 lost fair and square.
Now coming back with semi-slicks is laughable.
When 918 has track tyres available it will demolish P1 again

WernerE

+1.

I'm really excited for the 918 owners who are taking delivery. It's a marvel of engineering with looks to turn more heads than a supermodel in a mini skirt.

Well, almost...

Whoopsy

P1 won't run out of juice. It's operating mode is like Race mode on the 918, so whenever the battery is low enough, the ECU will siphon off engine power to recharge the battery to keep it topped up. While the 918 will retain the regen charging, the P1 can only rely on engine power. On the 918 in Hot Lap mode, recharging is only done with regen braking, not a single drop of engine power is used to recharge.

Stephen Pitts

wtdoom makes the salient point here: why hold off the test until the P1 comes back? Release the video as one result and then another separate one to make the point. Because Mac learned of the 918 run and needed to get in the semi-slicks. In the end, the 918 will apple-for-apples be slightly faster (without hanging on for dear life either). But that brings up another point...

I know that for racetrack enthusiasts, every second is very significant but it is interesting to me that a 911 Carrera is only a "few seconds" behind the 458 and likewise the 918/P1 (I don't own a 911, but the new 911 GTS probably isn't probably that far behind and you can truly put the groceries in the back). Yet all of these cars are in some ways so different in the various types of enjoyment they give you when driving (and lets face it, all here do in there in exceptional way--except for perhaps the GTR). Its like measuring the length height of a woman's ear to argue about how good a lover she may be (and yes, there are societies where the ear is stretched to great limits).

Lastly, I think three other qualitative points came out of this video as well: the sound of the 918 being far preferable, that the PDK double clutch gear shifting is the best he has ever experienced and that there was slight turbo lag on the P1. Anyhow, both are great cars for sure and it is a shame that they had to ham fist this test. I wonder how it is going to go down on Top Gear? I dearly love Mr. Clarkson, but he must now realise that the 918's performance is better than the simple maths that he probably is regretting his name change bet right now. Fortunately, he will have the Stig to wring everything out of the P1 to take advantage of its better power-to-weight ratio -- but they will need a perfect dry day, some special tires (as witnessed here) and some basic luck. The 918 is definitely competing on the P1's home turf.

neanicu

Just like the reviewer I'd like to see the LaFerrari in the same test. What's the secrecy? Sending a full factory race team with tires for some track test like they did with the Speciale seems exaggerated...

Stephen Pitts

As I remember it from earlier reports from Chris Harris, I thought you had to sign a confidentiality agreement that you wouldn't reveal that Ferrari went to all these lengths to showcase their cars. Well, the good thing is that they obviously car about the EVO tests and the annoying thing is that it doesn't really represent the "showroom car" if one can put it that way. Indeed, the 918 was the only one really off the showroom floor onto the street or track here. Anyhow, Ferrari will never show the La Ferrari this way because they believe they only have downside here (their reputation versus the ultimate outcome of the race). Cheers