Legends of GT: 5
McLaren MP4-12C '10
I was told this week that we would be reviewing the McLaren MP4 this week for the magazine and a good friend of mine by the name of
@ThrasherDBS had a McLaren that we could use for the test.
I had something special in mind for this article however, and with a little bit of constant begging, I was able to persuade the higher-ups to rent out a Ferrari 458 for us two to use as a sort of benchmark. The special event I had lined up for us was a simple two-lap race of the local Midfield Raceway.
Naturally, I would be piloting the Ferrari 458, because that is my favourite supercar of the past 10 years. Thrasher would be driving his McLaren 12C like any good owner should. Also, we put down a few ground rules before the run: I would have to test the McLaren MP4 if I lost and see the light that it's a better car, and if I scratched the paint it was my arse. Seeing as these two cars are surprisingly similar, I thought I had a decent shot. I also had Thrasher assure me that his racing lessons were far superior than mine.
With a countdown of three, we were off! A lot of wheelspin from the Ferrari, and not too much from the McLaren.
Down into the first straight and I had pushed ahead of Thrasher slightly, you need to wake up buddy, the race is on! He was yelling at me over the in-car radio that he would make up for his lousy launch later in the race.
Through the first few corners and the Ferrari was lifting off quite a lot in typical 458 fashion, the McLaren insisted on staying very well planted through the first two corners. We headed down the second straight with me still leading by a good few-hundred milliseconds. Down into the mid-straight chicane, the Ferrari decided to oversteer into the next straight still in the lead.
We approached the turn that takes the bridge over the main straight, with Thrasher taking the time to tell me about how the Ferrari made me look more like a D1GP drifter than a racing driver.
The Ferrari took a huge powerslide over the bridge, with Thrasher finding this an opportune moment to close the gap a little. The Ferrari was a fast car, sure, but the McLaren just has leagues more grip thanks to the crazy traction control system McLaren has developed for it. The McLaren stayed planted through the corner like an orange Jello stuck to a violently shaking plate in an earthquake.
I finally managed to find some grip in the long corner coming around to one of the final straights before the Pizza Place curve.
The rest of the lap was more of the same snarking from Thrasher as I desperately struggled to maintain the lead over the planted McLaren. I was convinced that he was trying to pressure me into a mistake. Down the start/finish straight heading in to the second lap, I could see him in my rear-view mirror lining up a move into the first corner.
I tried to brake late to maintain a decent lead, but I overshot my racing line allowing him to slip through the space I left in the inside of the corner. Coming out of the corner I was oversteering like a madman.
To summarize, the rest of the race looked and awful lot like this:
Finally we had reached the final straight, and the whole way down Thrasher was laughing at me through the radio while he crossed the finish line a good 500 miliseconds before me.
Stopped at the end of the straight, I was tapping my head off the 458's steering wheel in shame. I had failed my favourite car of the last 10 years and now I would have to review the McLaren like I promised. This has to be one of the low points of my career.
Back in the Midfield Garage, I reluctantly took the keys to the bright orange 12C like I promised. Now it was time to review this bad boy whether I liked it or not. Time to be seduced by my bitter rival's pace and performance. Thrasher offered to drive me to another close race track to help test this car.
This time, I decided to review the car where it could be properly evaluated. It was a local circuit I was after, and Local Circuit was just what I was looking for. A decently sized track two hours from the office beside a little town of no more than 12,000 people. It was a decent track with all of the usual amenities. Too bad when we got there it started to rain, but Thrasher assured me the fun was just starting with the rain.
Before I took the 12C out for a run, I decided to take a look at the design of the car up close in person. I haven't had the chance to do this yet.
The front of the car is a very odd spectacle, it looks fine and there's nothing bad going on, but it looks too much like the car was meant to look like that from a scientific point of view. There doesn't seem to be much art going on whatsoever. All of this body was shaped by McLaren to be as aerodynamic as possible and to provide maximum downforce for the car.
Around the sides and top of the car we see sculpted lines that show how much influence the wind tunnel had on the final design of the car. The side vents are the optimum shape for cooling and the active aerodynamic airbrake on the back of the car elevates to provide the car with maximum stopping power.
Around back is a very strange series of horizontal black bars that accentuate the rear and hold the exhaust ports in place. The car's rear as a whole is very different and looks quite good compared to the rest of the somewhat uninspiring and scientifically optimized exterior.
Now I decided that I fancied myself a drive, so with my confidence in the car that it wouldn't crash in these slippery conditions, I pushed the gas pedal down and headed towards the track.
Now, the first thing you need to know about the McLaren is the acceleration, it feels very punchy and has the same "kick to the back of the head" feel that most supercars nowadays have. With 0-60 times dropping in most cars now, the McLaren needs the brutal acceleration to match the competition. The acceleration is produced by a twin-turbo V8 that must be swallowing quite a lot of water right now through these huge side vents. The V8 is noted for having a complete lack of any distinct exhaust note, it sounds like a very generic V8, it growls a bit at higher RPMs but is somewhat forgettable compared to the 458's 9000rpm banshee of an engine.
As you just saw there, I passed the McLaren through a couple of hard corners in heavy rain without any fuss at all. This moves me onto the second point about this car: the Traction Control System. I'm pushing the car near the limit, and it's onboard computers are sending the appropriate amounts of power to the rear wheels at the precise time when I need it. This combined with the MP4's use of computers instead of anti-roll bars ensures me that no matter how hard I push the car, there will always be grip at any point through a curve. It's truly an amazing system that McLaren has developed.
After throwing the 12C through those corners, I can safely say that it is one of the best handling cars in the buisness. There's been a lot of superb super cars with great handling, but none really tear your face off in intense corners like the McLaren does.
This track is just being eaten by this car! What an astonishing peice of engineering, this one!
All of this scientific precision has been poured into a car-shaped body and unleashed onto the track. McLaren has built here one of the seven technological wonders of the world. It's maximum attack at all times with this car and it's technology, no letting up at all anywhere, no loosing time sliding about or loosing high-end torque. The MP4 is at full acceleration at all times when the gas pedal is planted.
I think that's about enough time with the car to form my final opinions. I could drive it all day without having to worry for my life or the car because of a crash, and this is where I start to have problems with this car.
Glancing at it back in the garage, seeing the shapes reminds me of how clean and sterile this car feels. It doesn't do dirty or reckless driving, it's too sophisticated and refined for that, too grown up. I love this car from a techincal standpoint, I really do, but I feel like this car and McLaren played it too safe when releasing it. It has too many technologies to help you drive the car that it starts to feel like a mid-engined GT-R at times with all of the performance but a detached feeling of driving. This car is trying too hard to use science to help you, it feels like it was made by engineers instead of artisans. It feels like it lost its sense of joy and fun during the pursuit of ultimate performance.
I handed Thrasher the keys back. Maybe some day I'll appreciate this car for what it is instead of the joyless machine that I perceive it to be. Maybe I'm just missing the point here, but I'd much rather drive or race the Ferrari 458 any day over the McLaren just for the simple fact that it's more fun.
But hey, it's all about what people perceive as fun in the end, right?
Oh well, I've gathered enough resources for my article and I'm ready to head back to work from Midfield, my ride is still waiting after all...