Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren: Small quantities, great performance

E s is for once not a question of money. Anyone who dances to Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren doesn't count every penny, but has enough ashes in their pockets to put it casually. Entering the McLaren world eats at least 160,000 euros from the bank account. A normal mortal person has to work for several years to even earn such a gross amount. Then taxes, rent, living and insurance costs are still waiting. And, and, and.

At least 540 hp

You can live the Ferrari dream from 183,499 euros. To do this, the Italians cart a Ferrari California T into the garage. At Lamborghini, one more bar is due. The entry-level bull Huracán costs a minimum of 201,750 euros. Of course, all three manufacturers are far more expensive. All three also have sports cars that are worth more than one million euros. McLaren the P1, Ferrari the LaFerrari and Lamborghini the Veneno. But they are all already sold out.

Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren are - in terms of their approach - of the same kind. You value exclusivity and manufacture in small numbers. This is reflected in the prices accordingly. All three build exclusively sports cars. Yet. From 2018 Lambo wants to start its first SUV in the race. And all three value performance. A lot of power.

McLaren's weakest sports car is the 540C. Weak in the sense of 540 hp. Lamborghini does not build below 610 hp. Ferrari does: the California T has 560 hp. At Ferrari and McLaren the spectrum for the street models even goes up to 916 (McLaren P1) and 963 PS (LaFerrari). The pure racetrack models P1 GTR and FXX K even have 1,000 hp and more.

Lambo relies on all-wheel drive

What are the big differences between the three sports car manufacturers? Lamborghini only has bulls on its farm who scratch the road with all four hooves. The two racing models LP 620-2 Super Trofeo and the Huracán GT3 are excluded. They throw their power onto the rear axle. We hear that the street Huracán will soon also be available in a rear-wheel drive version.

McLaren's sports cars are all rear-wheel drive. They all have the same V8 engine. Sometimes with more, sometimes with less power. The M838T is a 3.8-liter twin-turbo unit. Is sucked in freelyMcLaren doesn't. In contrast to Lamborghini. The brand from Sant’Agata Bolognese remains true to its puristic principles. Only suckers work in a Lambo. Be it a V10 or V12. Ferrari slowly turns around. After the California T, the 488 GTB and 488 Spider also require forced ventilation. You rely on a V8 biturbo. Otherwise there are V12 units from the traditional Italian brand. Only the Ferrari FF is equipped with all-wheel drive. It offers four seats at the same time. You won't find anything like that at McLaren and Lamborghini.

Of course, there are even more differences between the three sports car brands. Some are obvious, some are in the details. Ferrari, Lamborghini or McLaren: It's probably a question of emotions. Would you prefer an Italian temperament or rather cool English engineering à la Woking? Or all three at once? That's a question of money.

In our photo show we show you the current models from Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren.