McLaren Artura Crosses Swords With Ferrari F12, Winner Might Surprise You

Recently, we've witnessed an Artura smacking the living drag strip out of a Z06 hillbilly. Brooks Weisblat from Drag Times YouTube channel accepted the honor of launching the Michigander and lost three out of three sprints against the imperturbable Brit.

Another post from the same speed-avid YouTuber demonstrates that the McLaren is not bowing its air-carving front spoiler to anyone, be they riding a prancing horse of the V12 European lineage. A Ferrari F12 is a stronger opponent than the C8 Corvette from two weeks ago, but is it up to the challenge?

This time, the YouTubing vlogger with a heavy right foot took the wheel of the McLaren. The paper says the hybrid supercar is somewhat on the downside compared to the pretentious clockwork mechanical magic of the Berlinetta. On the other hand, McLaren has always left scandalmongers speechless with piston witchcraft (remember the F1 from three decades ago).

On the other hand, Ferrari made its name on the track – not necessarily winning every time (thank you, Mr. Shelby) – and it came to represent the absolute unit of measurement for the supercar universe.

Over the years, an ardent rivalry flamed the race circuits when the two names clashed in a perpetual quest for supremacy. However, in the era of instantaneity and sunk patience of 2023, complicated jousts over many laps and tracks are only a tiny part of the guerilla war between the two makes.

Practicality and simplicity are the preferred means for piston-preaching apostles to convert gearheads to one of the many wheel-spinning gods of horsepower and torque. Americans, in particular, excel at solving complicated equations involving camshaft variables and clutch logarithms with first-grade arithmetic.

For residents from the Land of the V and the Home of the 8, anything above or below the V8-gold-standard rule of combustion is a waste of cylinders. They devised a straightforward tool to prove a car's worth.

"Straight" and "forward" are the keywords here because the simplistic separator has quickly gained worldwide acceptance. It's the drag race, the preferred scale to measure the exact differences between all things automobiles.

Right – a McLaren Artura parrs with a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. Half as many pistons, less than 50% in displacement, but 287 lb (130 kg) lighter – thanks to the carbon fiber extravaganza – the British supercar is a wolf in wolf's clothing. After all, a twin-turbocharged hybrid powertrain putting down 680 hp (689 PS) to the rear has zero chances of being mistaken for a lost sheep.

The Ferrari – being born a decade before the rival of this event – is a venerable naturally-aspirated V12. 6.3 liters spinning the wheels at a rate of 740 hp (750 PS) per full-throttle session. This particular machine received an engine tune and an exhaust upgrade, thus explaining the ten extra hp over its factory rating. A regular Ferrari F12 "only" produces 730 hp (740 PS).

The list could go on for countless megabytes of internet traffic, but cars are made to be driven in the real world (or so we like them most). Hence, the 1,320-foot-long leg-stretching session. The tune for this showdown is played by Ferrari, but conducted by McLaren.

The least expensive of the two rockets (that would be the Artura) follows the lead of the F12 on the start line, but it takes over mid-way and pushes ahead for the win. While it may look like the Z06 scenario is reinterpreted in this event, with the McLaren slower to get going, keep in mind that the two racers agree to have the F12 launch first, with the other car hot on its tail.

Hot indeed, as the McLaren Artura blasts over the trap at 135.47 mph (217.99 kph) in 10.487 seconds, just under six-tenths of a second quicker than the F12 (11.087, at 128.86 mph / 207.36 kph). The Italian Stallion settles for the Best Score Academy Award – that V12 is nothing short of mythological.

If Vulcan and Apollo were to play a duet, this is what it would sound like. An Italian masterpiece in "Prestissimo" tempo, played by hell-forge hammers and Olympian lyres. (Prestissimo is the fastest rhythm in music, indicating a playing speed of three beats per second or more).