Ferrari vs. McLaren - you couldn't ask for a much more exciting drag racing scenario. Both brands focus hard on raw performance, mainly offered from twin-turbo V8 engines. But at first glance, the 600LT seems under-gunned when going up against the 488 Pista.
When McLaren started offering its twin-turbo V8s supercars, Ferrari had no answer. For many years, the normal V8 supercar from Maranello just couldn't keep up, and Ferrari tried to discourage people from posting drag races. On paper, at least, the 488 Pista is supposed to compete with the more expensive 720S, not this small model.
The 600LT is part of the Sports Series, which starts with the 540C, but we've seen it take down a lot of powerful supercars and modified monsters. It's got the perfect combination of launch technology, horsepower, and lightness. Also, it happens to be one of the interesting McLarens ever, thanks to a lot of carbon fiber and crazy exhausts mounted on top of the engine.
The 488 Pista is a few years old, but remains a very desirable and potent Ferrari. Underneath that glossy red exterior is basically the same new 3.9-liter twin-turbo engine they put in the F8 Tributo, making 720 horsepower. Official specs suggest this will be the winner of the drag race. It's got a slightly quicker time to 62 mph (2.85 s vs. 2.9 s), a higher top speed (211 mph / 339 kph vs. 204 mph / 328 kph), and a superior power-to-weight ratio (520 hp per metric ton vs. 442 hp per ton).
But as the Lovecars intro always says, "in the real world, anything can happen." And that's exactly what we get in this amazingly surprising drag race. The more powerful 488 Pista builds an early lead, but the plucky little McLaren starts to claw its way back. By the end of the runway, it actually manages to secure a convincing lead that makes you doubt McLaren's official numbers.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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