[Fullrevs]

Apparently ace footballer Samuel Eto'o was the first person in London to get delivery of the La Ferrari (in black). He has parked it in Paris as it is LHD configuration (dont think la ferrari comes in RHD).

I thought some of the rich arab students living in Knightsbridge would beat him to it.

News link:Click here

[PPS]

LaFerrari in Bianco Fuji.

Source: Alex Penfold Photography

[deetjohn]

Been thinking the LaFerrari is hardcore? Wrong! The 1050 bhp LaFerrari XX is coming this December.

Its track-only and isn't road legal.

Source

[deetjohn]

TG has done it. LaFerrari vs McLaren P1 vs Porsche 918 on the same piece of earth, together.





But, nothing to read just yet. The roadtest and photoshoot will be pushed out over the next 48 hours in TG.

Source

[deetjohn]

The TG verdict is out

Originally Posted by Charlie Turner, TG

P1
The P1 demands respect as any 903bhp hyper-hybrid should. On a damp varicose vein of Italian B-road, the P1 requires your full attention, but in return for focus and commitment it will deliver an adrenaline shot on every short straight as the turbos spool over your right shoulder, and then the scenery wraps about you.

Dig deeper into its capabilities and, as the speeds rise and the aero goes to work, the P1 shines ever brighter. Of all the cars here it's the one that challenges you the most, but mastering that challenge is what makes the P1 so appealing.

It's a car whose potential you would never grow tired of exploring, and which would offer ever-greater rewards as you did.

918
The 918 feels like it answers a wider brief: an all-wheel drive hybrid Spyder that you could genuinely use everyday, in pretty much any conditions.

I love the quality of the interior and the peerless connectivity. OK, those might not be hypercar staples, but they certainly widen the 918's remit. Of the three it's the most overtly hybrid, and, as you push the Porsche harder, you're conscious there are a myriad of clever algorithms being processed as it manages the mass of the batteries and packaged tech.

But if you need to get from your Alpine retreat to your Monaco superyacht in the depths of winter, I doubt there's anything that would deliver you faster.

LaFerrari
For an immensely complex car, it's the LaFerrari's simplicity and focus I admire. Both the P1 and the 918 allow you to personalise a myriad of settings to optimise their monumentally complex drivetrains and aerodynamics to suit your needs.

The LaFerrari doesn't bother with such twiddling, preferring to leave you to focus on the driving itself and how much slip angle you require by dialling up or down the steering wheel's ‘manettino' toggle, safe in the knowledge that very clever stuff is going on in the background to make you feel like a driving god.

Throw in the most sublimely responsive normally aspirated V12 in history, looks to stop traffic, and a soundtrack only Maranello could create, and you have an intoxicatingly infectious cocktail, a fitting swansong for high-performance turbo-free engines and, when push comes to shove, the one I'd have in my garage in that parallel universe. It really is that good.

Ollie Marriage' verdict is also up on that page. Tom Ford' will be updated soon.

[deetjohn]

Tom Ford' review is also up on TG and its a clean sweep for the LaFerrari. Can't wait to get hold of the magazine. Just for this!

Originally Posted by Ollie Marriage, Top Gear

918
The Porsche felt heavier on the tightest roads, but still manages that weight so well. It feels as if all the weight is concentrated directly under your buttocks. But you can't take liberties with it. The massive E-hit and zero lag means that in first and second gear, it'll spike the back tyres instantly.

The more I drove the Porsche, the more I thought I'd be very careful with how I specced it. I'd have it comfy, with carpets and less aggressive seats, wouldn't bother with harnesses, and would use it every day.

P1
Oddly, as a driving experience, I think because it's so mad, it's the McLaren that stays with me the most. It understeered for the cornering unless you got very tricksy with it, riding the brakes and building up boost against them. The steering is too light and it did feel a little sketchy, but it's still a communicative car.

It feels narrower than the Ferrari, but bobs about a bit more on its suspension. And there are all those noises going on too, the turbo whoosh and chatter, the electric flickerings, the exhaust and suspension chatter.

LaFerrari
For me, it's LaFerrari that's the best to drive of these three, and by some margin. That engine, it's just so beguiling and punchy. I thought the integration of the hybrid systems, the way it just took care of those aspects for you - like Rolls' Wraith does by sorting out the gearchanges - was just brilliant. It allowed you to concentrate 100 per cent on driving, and when you did, you realised this is perhaps the best-sorted, most intoxicating hypercar there has ever been.

I struggled to come up with anything it didn't do exceptionally well. The steering is sharp and does take some getting used to, and the sheer amount of power means you can't take liberties with it, but boy oh boy, it's a genuine 950bhp driver's car that you can actually use and exploit.

So supple, but because it's not spiky, I'm not sure it's as luridly memorable as the McLaren, doesn't put hairs on your chest in the same way.

But if it's the McLaren that stays with me, it's the Ferrari that feels so much richer as an experience when you're behind the wheel. If I could take just one away? The Ferrari, but because it feels like the end of an era, rather than the beginning.

Originally Posted by Tom Ford, Top Gear

P1
First up, the McLaren P1, probably the car I'm most familiar with. And a car I'm still learning. I still love the fact that it looks like an alien warship, its compactness, the fact that it looks as if the bodywork has been shrink-wrapped tight against the structure. I still climb into it and find it comfortable, and love the MonoCage's ‘skylights' in the roof. I love the way it starts like a racecar, a rough-edged V8 chainsaw with nothing but murder in mind. I love the fact that it's as easy as the 650S to drive, that it can punt out of an early-morning garage silently on pure EV, that it works. I love it.

And when you get a short straight, I adore the fact that this car simply snatches the ground away, the fizzes and cracks, the whooshes and snaps, the hisses and chunterings. It's like a wild animal. The noise of those turbos building, and the force of the acceleration on offer, is astounding. When you lift, and you see the back of the car light briefly as it spits flame from the spade-shaped exhaust, you know it's serious. It handles, too. There's delicacy to it, to the ride, and the way it arcs around a corner.

And yet... it's the car that makes the least sense, here.

Practically, it's a bit of a handful. Though the hybrid system helps infill the torque curve, this is a car that totally celebrates its turbocharging, and yes, it still gives you a slap of boost when everything gets spinning. This is thrilling - and sounds like a technological apocalypse in the cabin, but out here, on the real roads and with real bumps and cambers and grease and oil, the McLaren makes you concentrate a bit too much. To the point where you don't get out of it exhilarated, you get out of it with hunched shoulders and a slight headache. Especially with fourth gear wheelspin. When it's dry, you get more chance to use more of the power, and going faster you do get more use out of the aero - but I didn't really get to those kind of speeds on the road.

And you can't use the ‘RACE' full-attack aero mode on the public carriageway anyway. What I'm saying is, although I love the fact that the P1 is a roadcar, it's got too much of a track bent for me - it'll shine on track, but I don't really do that. And if I did, I suspect I'd just buy the track only P1 GT-R and driver training programme. People will say that this car is a pussycat, and that you just need to be a better driver, and yes, if you're good, you'll get more out of a P1. I think Ollie will place it first, for instance, because he's a racer, and therefore lacking the fear gene. But you'll get more out of it on a track than the road. So it's not, ultimately, for me.

918
The 918 almost - almost - rules itself out of the process. It feels so utterly different to the LaFerrari and P1. Those two cars are about ultimates, and the 918 just feels like it wants to have a rounder personality, a showcase, a broader set of themes. It's definitively a hybrid, rather than what feels like a hybridised takes on hypercars, prouder of its electrical strength - it's the only one with a ‘Hybrid' badge, for instance.

I kept tooling about in EV mode and marvelling at the silence. At the ease of use, at the connection, control and thought. But then I thought it felt heavy, and a bit dependent on its electronics to feel ‘normal'. Switch them off, and it's quick to bite. Like some sort of fighter jet. And yet, just as I thought the 918 was sidestepping the ‘hypercar' tag, I re-found the ‘Race' setting, sought a decent road, and reminded myself that this is still a 800-odd bhp car. With AWD and a race-derived V8, you could hear that flat-plane crank from four miles away. It's terrific and sickeningly quick. But also less stressful than the P1, with a more solid front axle in the wet - less understeer, less angst. Which, for me, makes it faster. In fact, the 918 feels... strangely seminal in a way that the other two don't. More like the BMW i8. Just listen to the noises it makes at idle - gurgles and whirrs and strange clicks. It's the future.

And yes, you can even take the roof off. Everyone who drove it, marvelled at the Porsche's everyday usability - and that's true. But I'm not the kind of guy who buys a two-seat hypercar for ‘everyday usability'. That's what I'd have a 911 Turbo for. Or a Range Rover.

LaFerrari
The Ferrari, on the other hand, felt resolutely old-school next to the P1 and the 918. A big N/A V12, with the hybrid element only there to help boost the ICE engine, it feels the least hybrid of the three here, the most ‘pure'. But it's not. There's absolutely no way a car could have that kind of throttle response without electric help, no way it could actually be able to handle nearly 1000 bhp with so much ease.

The Ferrari feels like it's entirely natural to have this kind of power on the road, and to use it. It feels like a 458 Speciale on steroids. It rides, it has simply jaw-dropping - though polarizing - looks, and a noise to make knees weak. I love the seating position (much better than the too-upright seats in the P1 or especially the Porsche), I‘m keen on the ultra-fast steering, the gearbox, the throttle response and again the noise. I love the fact that it's such a linear response to every situation. It has all that tech, and yet it doesn't feel like it.

What's more incredible is that I'm not a fan of the Ferrari brand - it just doesn't chime with me. I much prefer the idea of saying that I drive a McLaren. But what you can't deny, is that beyond all the Ferrari-branded tat and faint air of arrogance, Ferrari makes some pretty astonishing cars. And if I had to choose a car to drive, the hypercar to keep right now, then I would have the Ferrari LaFerrari. Stupid name and all.

[mohammedismail]

Saw this Gorgeous Laferrari in London 2 weeks Back. Though does not belong to Saudi/Middle east.

Mods: Did not find any relevant thread. If there exists any, please move

[deetjohn]

Quite a brilliant review of LaFerrari by Charlie Turner of TG UK. Good detail without missing the big picture and everything explained in a very nice way.

LaFerrari: the official verdict and video

Excerpts:

Originally Posted by Charlie Turner

OK, got it. It's very exclusive, very complicated and very powerful. But what's it actually like?
As you open the front hinged swan doors and drop into a cockpit decked wall-to-wall in carbon fibre and leather, the first thing you notice is the seat adjustment. Or, rather, the lack of it.

The seat forms an integral part of the LaFerrari's tub, so each owner will have their own set of seat pads tailored for them before delivery. To get comfy, you pull a lever below your right thigh to release the pedal box and adjust the pedals to the perfect distance, race car style. Shut the door with a hefty thud, adjust the steering wheel, insert the key - yes, it still has one of those -and watch the TFT screens blink into life. Thumb the ‘Engine Start' button. Instantly, the V12 soul of LaFerrari barks into life, a sound that talks of pedigree, potential, and power. This is it.

Truth is, even if you're lucky enough to have driven supercars before, nothing quite prepares you for a moment like this. Emotions? Excitement, no question. Privilege, too. But mostly fear. Quite a lot of fear.

So it's scary to drive, then?
No. Strangely, it doesn't take many minutes on the road before the fear melts away. Supercar rules dictate that size matters, so you expect it to be vast, but LaFerrari, despite its complex drivetrain, is actually 40mm narrower than the Enzo. Which is a good thing, given we're trying to explore the ultimate Ferrari's road car potential on a narrow ribbon of rutted, hairpin-riddled Italian B-road.

But rather than a hair-raising, sweary sweat-fest, the LaFerrari is surprisingly... easy. The seating position, visibility and scale of the car allow you to place it neatly on the road - an unusual sensation in any hypercar. The steering serves up high-definition feedback without ever turning hyperactive, while there's a suppleness to the suspension that allows the LaFerrari to slip over the worst the broken Italian highway can throw at it.

And when you put your foot down?
Forget all you know about fast: this is a whole new stratosphere of performance, a relentless accumulation of speed accompanied by the greatest automotive soundtrack in the world. You don't so much accelerate in LaFerrari as warp scenery. As the V12 screams its way to the 9250rpm redline, the Italian countryside is hauled back and fired out of the rearview mirror.

[Gannu_1]

All 499 LaFerraris recalled by Ferrari!

Originally Posted by AutoEvolution

According to Autoblog.nl, all 499 Ferrari LaFerrari models built are being recalled for a potential fire hazard. To add fuel to the fire, Ferrari is indeed recalling the cars but they claim it’s for a completely different reason, something to do with regular maintenance but get this: it has something to do with the fuel tank. According to various reports, the tanks are being resprayed with a special non-conducting coating which tips the balance further towards the report from the Dutch publication.

AutoEvolution

Originally Posted by Autocar

The Maranello firm says there is no serious safety risk to owners and the procedure is not being treated as an official recall.

The job, which takes around eight hours, can be completed as part of the car’s standard servicing schedule.

Autocar

[gemballa]

Was a good day indeed

[D33-PAC]

Really really dumb question. How light/heavy is the steering wheel in that thing ? Can you turn it with a pinky finger's effort or does it take the entire palm ?

Please share your thoughts on what you think the steering wheel should feel like on supercars.

[Fullrevs]

Gemballa you are one lucky man. Do give us more insights. Did you drive it? Your feelings sitting in the drivers seat, thumbing the starter button etc.

[anachronix]

Not sure if this was already shared!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUHOx-_1xZc

[deetjohn]

Ferrari will build one last LaFerrari - #500 to support the victims of the earthquake that hit central Italy on August 24.

It is not clear as to when the car will be finished or auctioned off.

A really nice gesture!

The 500th LaFerrari to be built to benefit the people affected by the earthquake

[pragvanshsaini]

Hi guys,
I am currently living in Australia and visited the Ferrari showroom today, it was like a dream come true for me. There were many cars in the showroom like 296GTB, 812GTS, F8 Tributo, SF90, also saw a F430 Spider which was a used one obviously. But he most eyes catchy cars were the La Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari and the F40, I was stunned to look at these cars as I wasn't expecting them to be there as they are rare. I found great satisfaction in viewing these cars, evoking happiness within me. Having only encountered them through social media since childhood, seeing them in person has been a fulfilling experience.