xander71:
You are completely right with that. What i hear from this forum and tallking around here it seems that the benchmark which was ferrari now is the mclaren. So it will not take many years to catch up, just remember that people have short memory. A 348 was not even close to a 993... Today porsche are not the benchmark any more. We have to admit that todays ferraris are probably the best ever in their history, but are loosin a bit in charm and exclusivity, and the suv will not help in this aspect, but im just an super car lover, and are seeing the ferrari suv as if my dream girl would be a transexual.....i m old style car guy.
Ferrari's benchmark IS Ferrari itself. It's the Mclaren fans that voices their opinions that their cars are the benchmark right now.
In a way, that is true. Pound for pound, nothing out hit a McLaren in their respective categories. But a car is more than the performance department, the looks, the ergonomics, the tradition plays a big part too.
Looks department, well McLaren still ahem a long way to go. Tradition? McLaren is behind by 70 years to everyone. Ergonomics. That's tough one. Mostly McLaren got it right. the doors definitely get the looks, but they do get negative marks for usability.
Porsche, well they aren't the fastest (except the GT2RS), they are always perhaps one category down comparatively on pricing, but they are the most practical of them all. Mostly they are the most reliable too. And the most non-eye-catching and hence suitable for most people. Overall, accounting for every metrics, Porsche always comes out on top, they may not excel in any one area but they are consistently up there.
The black horse is Lamborghini. Who stand to gain or lose the most from McLaren. It used to be Lamborghini is the only alternative to Ferrari, if you can't get a Ferrari you go and buy a Lamborghini and be happy with it. Now the option is there to buy a Mclaren too. But it also works the other way around, for people that got turn off by McLaren's styling and the doors, and they couldn't get a Ferrari, they could just go and buy a Lamborghini instead, especially consider the Performance is the 2nd fastest car around the Ring ever, that's a big draw.
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