2011 sees the age-old Formula 1 battle make its way onto the streets with the launch of brand new McLaren and Ferrari supercars…

Earlier this year, two of the oldest-rivalling Formula 1 teams revealed new road cars. Ferrari debuted their 458 Italia, while McLaren showed to the world their MP4-12C. The Italian wins the naming round, that’s for certain. So let’s take the two rivals and break them down:

Looks:

Many say the 458 is the best looking Ferrari since the 355, and we cannot disagree with them. Truly a striking design, it combines some elements from classic Ferraris; like the F40 triple exhausts, and adds in some new-Ferrari curves, slashes and ducts. The rear lamps echo those on the California, while the whole car seems much more lithe and road hugging than the F430. That car always seemed (except in Scuderia guise) to be little too high-riding, and bulky.

The 458 looks as if every curve, scoop, duct and gramme of bodywork serves a purpose. If a negative area had to be found, it would probably be the nose – the large black opening apeing a basking shark looking for some dinner. It may not be a truly beautiful car, but it is certainly striking and leads a new way for Ferrari design.

The Mp4-12C is McLarens first road car since the F1 tore up the rule book. And once again they look set to topple the established players off the top. Looks are of course subjective, but in this writer’s eyes, the MP4-12C is a stunning car. Some have slated its looks as boring, bland even. But when you look at it, you cannot help but see a classically proportioned supercar, with a gorgeous sweeping line going over the front wheels, then up to the rear haunches. The Macca (i shall henceforth call it so, as writing MP4-12C is far too time consuming) has large air ducts at the side to channel air to the radiators positioned in the rear, which ape the swooping curve of the Mclaren logo. Intricate hidden LED rear lights, and the central exhausts make for an exciting rear end.

Construction

The 458 continues Ferrari’s long standing relationship with aluminium, using it for the resin-bonded chassis and the body panels. The most ground breaking area of the 458′s design is in the aerodynamics. The scoops, vents and creases all combine with the flat undertray to make a simple design which generates a lot of downforce without the need for spoilers.

The Macca takes a completely different, ground-up approach. The whole car is built around an F1-like Carbon Mono-Cell, which protects occupants in a crash and makes the whole car incredibly stiff. Every aspect of the Macca has been designed to function 100% as well as it possibly could  – pure function over form. The exhausts exit from the body in the centre of the rear not for looks (even though it does look great), but because exiting there meant that the exhaust was shorter, and hence lighter. The Macca is also a thinner car than its rivals, making it much easier to place on the road. This does not come at the expense of the interior though, as with the carbon tub the side sills can be thinner, and McLaren’s boffins made the centre tunnel in the car thinner as well. It truly brings Hypercar construction to the Supercar league.

Power

From the 430, Ferrari have upped their game a lot with the 458. A development of the older engine, it now displaces 4.5 litres, and produces 563bhp and 398lb/ft. The Macca follows the lead of the construction, and packs an all-new 3.8 litre twin turbo V8, putting out 600bhp and 443lb/ft. See the specs comparison below:

As it has not been tested officialy, the Macca’s top speed claim is speculative from McLaren themselves, but it would be a surprise to everyone if it didn’t comfortably eclipse the 458. So the Macca goes into the fight with considerably more torque and power. But that isn’t it’s only trump card – it also weighs a useful 408lbs (185kg) less – so the acceleration from rest and through the gears should be noticeably quicker than the  458.

Both cars come with seven speed dual clutch gearboxes, controlled via paddles behind the steering wheel. Lightning quick changes and throttle blips on downshifts are expected from both.

Interior

Both cars claim to move the game on in terms of their driver’s environment, and though the Macca has some nice touches, the 458 is certainly ahead in terms of innovation. Ferrari have chosen to get their driver as close to an F1 car as possible, by removing the stalks completely, and placing buttons on the steering wheel for lights, wipers, indicators etc. The only things behind the wheel are the exquisitely crafted gearshift paddles. Multi-purpose screens sit in the instrument binnacle, able to show all kinds of information to the driver relating to the car or world outside.

McLaren have gone for a more classically good looking interior, but have not skimped on the innovation. The screen in the centre console which shows the satnav, is oriented in Portrait mode, which shows more of the road ahead and enables the thinner tunnel in the car. To the left of the wheel on the door are the air-con controls, and like the Ferrari, the binnacle holds regular dials and multi-function screens.

Summary

So, the cases have been presented. Both of these cars will be available as soon as they are launched in the Supercar Competition. So the question is – which one would you choose?

Add a comment to let us know!