MKSGR:
WAY:
nberry:
What I liked about Ferrari was it excited me whether I was driving at 25mph or 120mph. With Porsche it excited me when pushing it but at 25mph it was just another car.
The blending of sexiness, sound and elite branding all caused my to feel the excitement in the Ferrari regardless of speed. That said, when pushing the Porsche it excited me more than the Ferrari because of the confidence the car exuded during difficult maneuvering. Porsche engineering and quality trumped Ferrari sound and styling.
When I owned non GT series Porsches, I used to say the same thing. But never in my GT3, that thing is alive at 25mph or at 150mph.
Now for the McLaren. I am very tempted to order one. Here in Australia, the base price is reasonable (between GT3RS and 458), but I fear I would want all the CF and other options which makes this car rather expensive. So the question is, would you buy a MP4-12C that is pretty standard?
On your first statement I can only agree 100%
Regarding your second point: why not? A good compromise would be to leave all the CF stuff away (which is for looks only anyhow), take one in black with the other useful options. German price incl. VAT would then be like 230k - which sounds still OK?
If I would (will?) order one, I would order it as follows:
The standard car weighs 1.336 kg dry according to McLaren. The best, means lightest version will weigh 1.301 kg, so you can shave off 35 kg with the right extras (some of which will come back when ordering luxury options like IRIS upgrade for example). From this 35 kg the racing seats account for 18 kg and the super lightweight wheels for another 10 kg. The remaining 8 kg can be achieved by ordering the sport exhaust, which should be 20% lighter than the standard item and also the CF rear diffuser may contribute, though I expect its part to be negligible.
So I would order super lightweight wheels as I find them the most attractive wheel option anyway and the racing seats. That will do most of the weight saving. I would not order CF front or rear diffusor, as these parts are quite prone to stone chipping. CF in the interior depends on the chosen colour of the leather, to make a final choice you first have to see the standard aluminium interior in real life. CF mirrors are way too expensive, CF in the engine bay most useless. Maybe I would go with CF vanes, since with them the a bit silly looking side air intakes look a bit better. CF door sills could look good, but only if you go with CF interior, CF wheel arches are unneccessary IMO. Carbon brakes have to be considered, but I'm not sure about them yet. IRIS upgrade is heftily overpriced, but a must.
If the quality of the MP4-12C will be reliable, what we will now after the first year I guess and if the dealer network will be big enough, I could imagine the MP4-12C to be a successor to my Turbo S for example.
--
The secret of life is to admire without desiring.