McLarens are known for their drag racing proficiency, especially when said drag racing is done in one of two ways: over the longest possible distance - the British supercars don't favor quarter-mile races - or with a rolling start.
That's not to say they don't do pretty darn well in other situations too, but the way they're set up means these two conditions provide the ideal circumstances. The McLarens have very little problem finding grip, especially when you consider they are rear-wheel-driven, and once they get going, there's not much an opponent can do to keep them from winning.
Of course, you can say almost the same about the wonderful Ferrari 488 Pista. The track-oriented version of the Ferrari 488 GTB is both lighter and more powerful than the stock model, squeezing 720 horsepower from the 3.9-liter V8 engine and 568 lb-ft (770 Nm) of maximum torque. Meanwhile, the total weight sits at a lowly 2,822 lbs (1,280 kg).
The McLaren 675LT has similar figures. The power output is no secret since the model wears it on its sleeve, but this particular car had an engine tune that pushed the value to an estimated 770 hp. With a single move, the Brit went from being the underpowered heavier contestant to having a very similar but better power-to-weight ratio (580 hp per ton for the McLaren compared to 562 for the Pista).
Considering the race was going to have a rolling start, all the conditions were there for the 675LT (or should we say 770LT?) to showcase its supremacy once more. Except out there in the real world, things rarely turn out the way you expect them to.
After three races dominated by the Pista, DragTimes' Brooks Weisblat suspected something about his contender was off. The McLaren just wasn't accelerating as we all knew it should, so he went in and started fiddling with the vehicle's configuration. It turned out that because of the engine tune, the car was limiting the power output to maintain grip but was being a bit excessive about it.
Sadly, there was no time left for another set of races once the discovery was made, so we're left with these three showcasing Ferrari's clear supremacy. Well, we say that, but you can never really make an assessment based on this type of confrontations where you can't make sure the two vehicles get an even start. A fraction of a second early on can make the world of a difference in the end, and none of these races look to have had a clean start.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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