Ferrari 488 Pista vs. McLaren 600LT Has Epic Chris Harris Narration

Long before Top Gear had to replace Clarkson&Co, we considered Chris Harris to be a good eventual replacement. Making cars seem entertaining requires a unique combination of sideways driving skills and narration, which few people have.

Harris says that sliding a 700 horsepower Ferrari is super-easy. However, we're convinced otherwise, knowing that the 488 Pista is unhinged. This wouldn't be Top Gear without somebody making fun of a Ferrari's interior either.

The Pista is the evolution of an old car, the 458 Italia. Sure, the new 3.9-liter bi-turbo V8 making 720 horsepower is so good that it carried over to the F8 Tributo, which is its indirect replacement, but some of the buttons are just nasty. Making fun of an expensive car something makes it more interesting, like Cindy Crawford mole, and we can remember Clarkson doing the exact same jokes in the F430 Scuderia many years ago.

Another Top Gear trademark is making a segway into talking about a rival car. No, it's not the McLaren 720S, but the track-focused version of the smaller Sports Series, the 600LT. Yes, it's got 120 horsepower less than the Ferrari, but that's the kind of thing you need to make a compelling video, the kind that makes a 15-year-old go "McLarens are awesome; Ferraris suck."

Except the Pista is the faster car here, not by a huge margin, but we're already exploring the limits of modern car performance. And while the 600LT is not quick enough, it does feel incredibly exotic, with exhausts that come out the top and sci-fi body design.