Autoblog European Contributor Matt Davis gets behind the wheel of the 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari at the Fiorano Circuit in Italy.
TranscriptMATT DAVIS: Here I am in the car of a lifetime. This is the third in the big series of cars this year that came out that just have blown my mind completely. The Porsche 918 followed quickly not only by the McLaren 650S and Spyder, but also the McLaren P1. That's like a product onslaught of super-premium hyper-cars. And finally, finishing off this hot season with the Ferrari LaFerrari which is the crowning jewel for all of these guys. 915 horsepower. 700 and some pound-feet of torque.
I'm in race right now. Which allows the traction control to insert itself rather liberally, and it keeps you right on target in race. It's still inserting itself. Then CT off-
[ENGINE REVVING]
Oh my god. This is wrong! This is just wrong. Slightly hotter lap. It takes nothing to play around with this car. With all the power it has, you can still play and play and play, and that's what all the drivers say too. And the tires, the 19, 20 inch combo front rear of the Pirellis is just clinging beautifully to this slightly damp pavement still.
And I'm-- it's a $1.35 million USD car. And you saw just there, I can play. I'm playing and exploring and it's not-- it's not complaining. I mean, up to 9000 RPM in this thing. Third, fourth, still a slight bit damp unfortunately, but still. This is faster than any Ferrari I've been in even in these weather conditions. And the brakes-- unbelievable.
The McLaren P1 comes closest. It just does. They have a similar idea, slightly different approach. Even in ABS braking mode it's regenerating the lithium ion battery pack that there is. Small lithium ion battery pack to minimize weight, but give you a little bit of extra boost. The F140FE 12 cylinder engine by itself is in the upper 700's for horsepower. And the electric engine from Magneti Marelli is 161 horsepower, BHP. Total of 950.
It's just so much. And then the torque, total torque, 700 and some, my god. The traction light is always flashing because there's so much happening to this chassis. The carbon fiber tub is so low, the seat is right on the chassis top. There is no system here. The seat is fixed in its position, and the steering wheel and the pedals do the positioning and meet you where you need them to be. Tons of room, they designed it that way for helmets. So there's going to be an FXX version you can guarantee.
But four laps of Fiorano. Thank you Fiorano, thank you Ferrari. Good god. That's the triumvirate of wild hyper-cars. I've done it. And I think I can die really happy now.
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