In the name of the P1, the 918 and the holy LaFerrari.
It’s the video we’d all been waiting for. After a bit over two weeks it’s racked up more than 1.2 million views. It’s Chris Harris in three of the most desirable cars ever made.
At almost one hour long the recipe couldn’t get any better. Throw in an empty and excellent Portimao racetrack and, well, yeah, the recipe does get better. And this video is great viewing, it really is.
But is it as good as you were hoping?
Meet Paul Bailey. He’s from the UK and owns a McLaren P1, a LaFerrari and a Porsche 918 Spyder. What a bastard!
In this video Bailey drives his P1 to pick up his new LaFerrari. Not content with taking delivery of one car for the day he shoots straight off to Porsche to collect his 918. Nice work if you can get it!
We’re treated to some of his thoughts on all three cars. This is not a balls out performance comparison that’s going to get him banned by over protective car makers (yet), but it’s still a worthwhile insight into the three best and most desirable hypercars of the moment.
[Source: The Supercar Driver]
Ferrari has announced the extreme version of its LaFerrari, it’s called the FXX K. Designed for track use only and described by Ferrari as a “laboratory-car” the FXX K has limitations only placed by Ferrari, no competition or road standards apply here.
The V12 hybrid produces 772kW (1050CV), a pleasant 64kW increase over the LaFerrari. The bulk of that increase has come from the 6.2 litre V12, which now pumps out a maximum 632kW (860CV), up from 588kW (800CV). Those gains have been made in part thanks to reworked intake manifolds, a modified valve train and the removal of mufflers from the exhaust. Oh yes, it will be loud!
At this stage no performance figures have been published. Although, to be fair, the car is in its early stages here and hasn’t actually been released for sale to Ferrari’s chosen few. For now, we just have to make do with rumours of a previously unimaginable Nürburgring lap time (6:35).
You can see in these few pictures that Ferrari has given the LaFerrari’s aero package a pretty solid makeover. The bodywork is now 30mm lower at the front and inspired by Ferrari’s knowledge gained from GT racing in the WEC. Those small rear wings also do more than it appears they would and complement the extreme rear diffuser.
All told downforce has been increased by around 50% when in low drag spec and 30% in high drag configuration. To put that into clearer numbers, the FXX K creates 540kg of downforce at 200km/h.
Running on Pirelli slicks and with recalibrated electronic control systems designed for trackday fun this is one multi-million dollar Ferrari we would all love to drive!
Good news everyone, Chris Harris on Cars is back! A number of old YouTube clips have been uploaded and are now live and free of charge. Let’s start with the LaFerrari shall we.
Do try and get some work done today.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed truly is one of the motoring world’s great events. It’s becoming increasingly important for manufacturers, who often turn up with world premieres, such as the McLaren 650S GT3 this year.
After the break there’s a collection of clips which showcase the diversity of the cars and drivers on show. Most of the clips have been sourced from the official Goodwood YouTube channel and if you have a spare 24 hours to kill you can watch all the action from the three days of the event.
2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed Full Replay // Day 1 // Day 2 // Day 3
Finally, the LaFerrari has had its media launch, which means we have a selection of videos for you from the A-list motoring hacks who were invited to Fiorano to play.
We have videos from Autocar (Steve Sutcliffe), Car (Chris Chilton) and Evo (Dickie Meaden). The overwhelming feedback seems to be that the LaFerrari is as easy to drive as a 458 Italia. With a lot more power, of course!
Dickie Meaden says the LaFerrari offers a different and more raw experience compared with the McLaren P1, while commenting the feel under braking, when regenerative magic is feeding the electric motor, is superior to the Porsche 918.
Chris Harris has driven the car for Road & Track and says:
Throttle response is, well, electric! I’ve always wanted to say that in the literal sense. Urge is instant and entirely predictable on the throttle input. It just goes from 1500 rpm and keeps pulling, building to 9000 rpm, all the while leaving a rooster of V12 shriek that must be one of the finest noises ever created. This feels profoundly faster than the F12. Traction is superb, and the traction control allows decent slip angles without jagged throttle cuts.
Perhaps aiding the LaFerrari’s high excitement is the fact the 120kW electric motor is there solely to complement the raucous and superb sounding normally aspirated 708kW 6.2 litre V12. There’s no petrol saving electric-only mode here.
In the old money the LaFerrari has 950hp, sent only to the rear wheels, and all who have driven it so far are amazed at the throttle response and outright power. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a go yourself. Sadly, videos like these are as close as you’re going to get.
All we need now is to see who wins the race to review the LaFerrari, the 918 and the P1 in a back-to-back mega test.
Just days before the LaFerrari has its global media launch a rumour has emerged that a track-only LaFerrari XX has lapped the Nürburgring in 6 minutes 35 seconds.
In case you were wondering, that’s a bloody quick lap time. There’s still a way to go, but we’re getting ever closer to Stefan Bellof’s 6:11 benchmark.
So what is this LaFerrari XX? Word of the even more extreme LaFerrari came earlier this month when Antonello Coletta, head of Ferrari’s Sporting Activity Department, confirmed with Drive.com.au: “We are working on the new hypercar for the circuit, the LaFerrari XX. I hope that the new car will arrive on the circuit in January or February of next year.â€
Like the 599XX before it—itself a sub-7 minute Ring hero—the hybrid XX will be track-only and in some ways that renders its Nürburgring lap time irrelevant. Except it doesn’t, not to us anyway, because anything that lap the Ring well under seven minutes deserves repsect and attention. No matter what it is, no matter who can or can’t buy it.
The LaFerrari already has prodigious stats—708kW/900Nm—thanks to its 6.3 litre V12 (588kW) and HY-KERS unit (120kW). So what has Ferrari got up its sleeve for the XX version?
“It is very hard to make a car more fast than a LaFerrari but this is the challenge,” Antonello Coletta added.
“It will be more or less the same but it will be completely different the handling, because it’s normal that the handling is different for the circuit and the road.
“The power is a lot; enough! It is very hard to improve the power. The difference will be the slick tyres, the aerodynamics, the electronics, the suspension, the shock absorbers.”
As the last of the big three hybrid hypercars to get its full public release the LaFerrari has won the Mexican stand-off against the Porsche 918 and McLaren P1. Ferrari now knows what it has to beat to win the schoolyard arguments.
To help win that battle the LaFerrari, like its two adversaries before it, will offer itself to the world’s leading motoring journos for judgement. For a car of this significance the media cycle is a carefully regimented process which relies on agreements between manufacturer and journalist to ensure words and images are fired off in a coordinated assault to gain maximum impact for the manufacturer. That’s the price the gilt-edged invitation brings for the motoring hack.
In the case of the LaFerrari you’re going to be reading all about it next week, from 30 April, as the first of two embargoes is lifted. Steve Sutcliffe from Autocar is one of the lucky A-listers who will be able to tell the world what he thinks about the LaFerrari from day one. He’s detailed the process in a recent blog entry, and explains a second embargo is in place for what we will call B-list media outlets.
The A-listers, those invited to the launch by Ferrari, will be free to publish their thoughts next Wednesday, while the B-listers, the outlets who will syndicate the words of Sutcliffe and his A-list mates, will have to wait another month before they can go public on 26 May. A whole month! It will be old news by then.
The issue here is that Ferrari has changed the rules slightly. Originally the B-list date was 12 May and notice to that effect had previously been issued by Ferrari. We’re not sure why the late change has been made, but as Sutcliffe explains:
“Editors of the world’s car magazines and websites that haven’t been invited to drive the car direct, and who were relying on those who have to provide words and pictures to publish on 12 May, have just gone into a complete flat spin. Hundreds of cover stories that were due to hit the streets globally about the car on or very soon after 12 May have just disappeared into the ether.”
To enforce its new media deadline Ferrari has said it will fine any journalist or media outlet who chooses to break that second embargo. It’s been reported that the cost of that fine will be €50,000.
The question now remains, would a magazine be able to recoup the cost of a €50K fine in extra sales if they go early with a LaFerrari cover story? And if an editor does choose to break the embargo, accepting the fine in the process, what’s to stop them from going live much earlier than even the original 12 May embargo?
If you’ve made it to the end of this article you may well be interested in Jalopnik’s thoughts on the embargo system, which it shared with the world in April last year.
[Source: Jalopnik]
Starting on Friday the Ferrari Racing Days event will be taking over Sydney Motorsports Park right through until Sunday afternoon. This is how event organisers are describing the show:
For the first time in Australia, fans will be able to witness the Ferrari 458 Asia Pacific Challenge series and experience the thrill of the official Ferrari F1 show. For three days the circuit at Sydney Motorsport Park will erupt into life with the sound of the 458 Challenge cars, and the unmistakable roar of Ferrari Formula One cars.
In addition to the on-track racing, the weekend will also be ‘Festival of Ferrari’ with multiple showroom spaces being created to house some of the most priceless and classic Ferrari’s the world has ever seen.
Some of the models expected at the event include the F40, F50, Enzo and the world’s fastest car the LeFerrari—which will be seen in-person for the first time ever in Australia.
It’s pretty cool that a LaFerrari will be at the show, although we understand it may only be on static display, rather than spending any time on track. Still, the roar of scarlet red F1 cars screaming around Eastern Creek, among all the other attractions, is sure to drag an impressive crowd along.
If you’re keen, check out the event website for more information.
Looking at the sequence of media exposure surrounding the Porsche 918 Spyder and McLaren P1 you’d swear there’s some sort of agreement from the manufacturers to let each of these mega hybrids have its time in the sun without stealing the limelight from each other. That leaves the LaFerrari as the third and final of the hybrid triumvirate to catch a few rays.
We’re not sure when the media superlatives will begin to fire from journos keyboards the world over but we do know one thing: the LaFerrari sounds bloody good!
We know this because we’ve watched this video showing the LaFez and an Enzo tearing up the hills outside Monte Carlo. Never mind its electric bits, just wait until you hear the roar from the LaFerrari’s 6.3 litre V12.We think you might like it.
[Thanks to Chris for the tip]
Not long after the LaFerrari was launched Ferrari president, Luca di Montezemolo, warned the chances of buying one of the 499 to be made would be less than 50%. And before we even knew what it was going to be called the company itself said the LaFerrari was sold out. So it’s no surprise to learn of new reports claiming the order book is full.
Marco Mattiacci, the president and CEO of Ferrari North America, launched the car in the US recently with much hyperbole.
“This car is going to be the benchmark of the auto industry,” he said. “The combination of incredible design, Italian heritage, make this car the hottest car in the world right now.”
A total of 120 LaFerraris will be heading to North America and Mattiacci confirmed they’ve all found buyers. Mattiacci also said he expects prices for second-hand LaFerraris won’t ever diminish and will follow the stratospheric prices achieved by the company’s vintage models.
“The trajectory of [the LaFerrari] car is going to follow exactly the vintage Ferrari cars. This is a unique piece, the first hybrid Ferrari,” he added.
We wonder if any of the reported seven Australians interested in the LaFerrari managed to secure one.
[Source: NBC News]
The 708kW LaFerrari is the latest in the triumverate of hybrid hypercars to attack the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
It joins the brief video we’ve seen of the McLaren P1, with a rumoured 7:04 lap time, and the apparently all-conquering Porsche 918 Spyder. Of course, the 918 grabbed headlines recently when Porsche announced it had broken the 7-minute barrier with a 6:57 lap time.
We shall have to wait and see what the Ferrari marketing department deems worthy of publishing in future to see if the 918’s time in the sun is about to be over.