DRAG RACE: McLaren 765LT gives 911 Turbo S a look at its quad-pipes
Great Britain takes on the best of the Germans in a rivalry that is steeped in history books. Carwow in their usual fashion have paired two astonishingly quick supercars together to see which will reign supreme in their consumer-advice driven tests.
The V8 powered rear-wheel driven McLaren 765LT must defend itself on home soil against the menacing flat-six all-wheel-drive Porsche 911 Turbo S (992).
The contenders may very well be the best representation from their respective countries so here are some stats on them. Weighing in at an airy figure of 1 399 kg, the McLaren 765LT is powered by a brutal twin-turbocharged flat-plane V8 which puts out 570 kW while developing a peak torque of 800 N.m. All of this is channelled through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, sent directly to the rear wheels.
Things are mostly different on the other side of the stage with the podgy Porsche tipping the scales at 1640 kg which hosts the driver and the twin-turbocharged 3,7-litre flat-six engine and delivers 485 kW and the same 800 N.m through an eight-speed PDK transmission to all-wheels. It is the cheapest of the lot at just under R4 million, with its British counterpart priced at more than double…
As can be expected, the Porsche and its intuitive all-wheel-drive system enabled it to get off the line first and momentarily held the lead before the 570 kW powered McLaren 765LT passed it at a rate of knots eventually finishing the quarter-mile in 10 seconds flat while the Porsche managed it 0.2 seconds slower.
Removing the Porsche advantage in the two rolling races, the McLaren 765LT rocketed ahead and delivered substantial gaps to the Stuttgart masterpiece. Finally the brake test, where the lighter Mclaren would have presumably ended the event in a whitewash had it not been for Porsches reputably good brakes and despite both stopping in relatively short distance, after a full emergency stop at 100mph the McLaren overshot the Porsche by half a cars length.
Britain once again held off the German onslaught but despite putting their best foot forward, the Turbo S just seems ridiculously good value for money if spending R4 million on a tangible asset was considered good value!
Words: Alex Shahini
