McLaren vs Ferrari in humdinger hypercar showdown

Fifty years ago McLaren and Ferrari were battling it out on the track as Emerson Fittipaldi and his rival Clay Regazzoni chased the 1974 Formula 1 World Championship. Fast forward to 2024 and nothing much appears to have changed – not in the marques’ marketing departments  at any rate.

Just days after McLaren unveiled its W1 hypercar amid much fanfare and company statements declaring it the “ultimate expression of supercar principles”, the men from Maranello unveiled their own ultimate expression of said principles in the form of the Ferrari F80.

Both cars boast performance stats that would have 1970s racing drivers agog. The McLaren W1 features a V8 hybrid powertrain with a combined output of  a scarcely believable 1258bhp (on its own the 4-litre twin-turbo V8 makes a mere 915bhp). Weighing 1399kg, it means  a power-to-weight ratio of 899bhp per tonne. Top speed is limited to 217mph while 0-62mph takes 2.7sec and 0-124mph  5.8sec. It will accelerate to 186mph in “less than 12.7sec”.

The Ferrari F80’s powertrain is a new version of the company’s hybrid 3-litre twin-turbo V6. It produces 1184bhp and the all-wheel-drive car accelerates to 62mph in 2.15sec while 0-124mph takes 5.75sec. Weighing 1525kg the F80 has a power-to-weight ratio of 776bhp per tonne.

If this all sounds a little Top Trumps that’s because it probably is. And card games are about as close as most will ever get to these cars. Just 399 W1s will be made and 799 of the Ferraris. They are priced at £2m and £3.1m respectively.

Which one comes out on top in the rarefied car collector world is a moot point. But if history is anything to go by then the team from Woking will be quietly optimistic. Back in 1974 Fittipaldi pipped Regazzoni to the title by just three points after coming home fourth in the last race of the season at Watkins Glen.