Geneva played host to not one, but
three Hypercars from Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren – Liberal superlative
use, ludicrous performance figures and attendant astronomical price tags come
as standard
The undoubted star of Ferrari’s booth at
the Geneva Motor Show was The Ferrari. No, seriously. Just to clear up any
confusion, that’s what its name means, so called “because it is the maximum
expression of what defines our company – excellence,” says Ferrari’s arch-boss,
Luca di Montezemolo.
Ferrari
LaFerrari
And excellence is no doubt what the 499
buyers of the LaFerrari will experience, because with a price tag of around S$2
million, it’ll be deeply disappointing if it was anything else. This doesn’t
seem to be the case on paper at least, with the car taking design and tech cues
from Ferrari’s Formula One programmer. Built around a handmade carbon fiber
tub, it also has active aerodynamics, which takes the form of vanes and an
active rear spoiler, and its form is informed extensively by runs in the wind
tunnel.
As with McLaren’s P1 (and the upcoming
Porsche 918 Spyder), the LaFerrari is powered by a 6.3-litre V12 petrol
engine/electric motor hybrid system, for a total of 963bhp mated to a
dual-clutch gearbox. Ferrari claims torque figures in excess of 900Nm.
Acceleration figures are similarly ludicrous, with a century sprint timing of
less than 3 seconds and a top speed of “over 350km/h”.
Forza Enzo!
Forza
Enzo
Ferrari certainly loves giving its
hypercars odd names. The LaFerrari’s predecessor is called the Ferrari Enzo
Ferrari, after the company’s founder. Odd name or no, a rose by any other name
would still smell as sweet, and a Ferrari, even if it were named “the
tortoise”, would still be mind-bendingly quick. Its 6.0-litre, 660bhp V12 takes
it from rest to 100km/h in 3.7 seconds – rather rapid back in 2002, as it is
now. Just like the LaFerrari, the Enzo features Formula One technology with its
electrohydraulic actuated single-clutch gearbox, carbon-ceramic brakes and
carbon fiber body. It’s slightly rarer than the LaFerrari with 349 units built,
however, and you had to be invited by Ferrari to buy one.
Lamborghini Veneno
No, you can’t have Lamborghini’s latest
hypercar. For love, money (3 million Euros, to be precise), or a wheedling
letter to Lamborghini’s immaculately coiffed boss and part-time classical Greek
sculpture model, Stephan Winkelmann, because the marque’s only going to build
three of them. And yes, all three have already been sold.
Lamborghini
Veneno
Lamborghini’s 50th birthday present to
itself (and the three very lucky, wealthy buyers), the Veneno is named, as with
most Lamborghinis, for famous fighting bulls (the word also means venom or
poison in Spanish). This particular animal fatally wounded a bullfighter in
1914.
The Veneno just might be as dangerous as
its bovine namesake, too. Essentially an Aventador given a steroid boost,
carbon fiber crash diet, and styling by a pre-adolescent hopped up on too many
Saturday morning cartoons, the Veneno produces 750bhp from a 6.5-litre V12.
And thanks to a 125kg decrease in weight
over the Aventador from its carbon fiber construction, the Veneno has a dry
weight of 1450kg. According to Lamborghini’s effusive press materials, this
“guarantees a performance that is nothing short of mind-blowing. Even the
stunning acceleration figure of 2.8 seconds cannot adequately describe it”.
We’d beg to differ, but it’s doubtful our words could be printed (or at least
not in a family-friendly magazine like this one, anyway).
Jet-Setting
Lamborghini
Lamborghini certainly is in the habit of
releasing extreme (and extremely styled) cars. And we haven’t even gotten to
the limited edition ones yet. When Lamborghini’s flagship was still the
Murcielago (which the Aventador replaced), it released the Reventon, in
open-top Roadster and hard-top guises. Based on the Murcielago, the Reventon’s
650bhp, 6.5-litre V12 was carried over unchanged from the former, though it’s
exterior received a re-style to resemble a stealth fighter jet. Its interior,
too, was reworked to resemble a stealth jet’s instrument panel. Priced at over
a million euros each (with the Roadster commanding a premium over the coupe),
20 coupes and 15 Roadsters were produced, and the rumor goes just under a
handful of each are here. Let them eat cake, eh?
MCLaren P1
MCLaren
P1
This is the McLaren P1, “designed to be the
best driver’s car in the world”. It’s made almost entirely of carbon fiber, and
produces a total of 916bhp from its hybrid drivetrain (3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
and electric motor). It has active everything such as suspension and
aerodynamics, the former negating the need for antiroll bars. It boasts crazy
performance figures, too: Zero to 100km/h in less than 3 seconds, and a top
speed of 350km/h. It can snipe at other hypercars, referring to them as “many
other ‘super sports’ cars”. It’s even friendly to the Earth – its carbon
emissions are under 200g/km, and it can be run in full electric only mode for
over 10km. It’s just like a very, very fast Prius – only which it isn’t,
because it’s faster. And it looks better. It won’t be friendly to your wallet,
however – a mere 375 examples will be built, and preliminary prices are around
a million euros. It’s arriving here in the second quarter of this year, albeit
just for a showcase (it’s a left-hand-drive model).
