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AMS Test - 458 vs MP4-12C

2375 Views 14 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Mycroft
6
I make this a win. The criteria they used is a load of tosh. They marked the 12C's engine down on flexibility because the 458's 6th gear is smaller than the 12C's 5th and other such crap, but the performance stats speak for themselves.




1st place: Ferrari 458 Italia
It was a tough battle, but the Italia won, because it's "more mature" and it's faster at the limit.
  • Tyres: Michelin Pilot Super Sport
  • Weight: 1546 kg
  • Vmax.: 326 km/h
  • 0-100 km/h in 3,5 s
  • 0-200 km/h in 10,4 s
  • 0-260 km/h in 19,2 s
  • Quarter mile in 11,3 s
  • Flexibility (80-120 km/h) in 5th/6th gear: 3,3 s/4,6 s
  • 18 m slalom: 68,4 km/h
  • 110 m ISO evasive test: 155,3 km/h
  • Braking (100-0 km/h) cold/warm: 33,8 m/33,0 m
  • Hockenheimring: 1.09,7 min
2nd place: McLaren MP4-12CIt's faster than the 458, but it's also more expensive, it has some quality-issues and it might be a bit more sportier in terms of design and sound.
  • Tyres: Pirelli P Zero Corsa
  • Weight: 1483 kg
  • Vmax.: 330 km/h
  • 0-100 km/h in 3,2 s
  • 0-200 km/h in 9,2 s
  • 0-260 km/h in 16,7 s
  • Quarter mile in 10,8 s
  • Flexibility (80-120 km/h) in 5th/6th gear: 3,6 s/5,9 s
  • 18 m slalom: 68,4 km/h
  • 110 m ISO evasive test: 153,5 km/h
  • Braking (100-0 km/h) cold/warm: 33,8 m/33,8 m
  • Hockenheimring: 1.09,5 min
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Reading the article, the Macca lost 1 sec on Hockenheim due to the jamming of the paddles. That's in line what Sport Auto got. Again, Italia as always gains a second over earlier times. A magical car.
Does it specifically say it lost 1s or just that it would have been faster?

This test was with a passenger!
Does it specifically say it lost 1s or just that it would have been faster?

This test was with a passenger!
They say it explicitly at the end. They say just a bit less than one second ("...somit eine knappe Sekunde kosten...").
It looks positively menacing in Graphite with Carbon and Stealth Pack. Is there any further detail about the "jamming of the paddles" you can share?
It looks positively menacing in Graphite with Carbon and Stealth Pack. Is there any further detail about the "jamming of the paddles" you can share?
They don't explain, or i don't understand. My German is not that great.
It looks like some of the press cars are yet to get the paddle-weight changes.

Here are some quotes from the 2011 eCOTY (Evo Issue 164):



The 12C came 2nd. They said it might have won if it had steel brakes it was so close.

On the road
The grip seems to be never-ending, s0 you commit more and more as you're sucked into looking further down the road (encouraged by the brilliant view out), braking later, turning harder and generally carrying sillier and sillier speeds.

The new paddles, which offer significantly less resistance when you pull them back, are a real improvement.... the lighter action means you don't have to think about or fumble the process of changing gear like you did before,...

- just as the 911 appears round a corner behind me. It's a mark of how fast the McLaren is that I know that only if Walter Rohrl himself has made a surprise appearance at eCoty will the GT3 be able to keep up with the 12C.

Then, we pass the derestriction sign, the McLaren's twin-turbo V8 blares in a way that's angry and loud but strangely unmusical. A couple of yards are pulled down the first straight, but it's the corners where the 12C really opens the gap. After three of them, driven with as much commitment as I dare, the 911 is beaten. I wait at the left turn that leads down the hill onto the bumpy road and we begin again, but this time I know the Porsche won't even be able to put up a fight because the 12C's loose-limbed non-anti-roll-bar suspension will simply glide where the RS 4.0's firmer setup will have the driver backing off.

On the track
McLaren next,and if we'd put a stopwatch on the cars this thing would undoubtedly have set a very rapid lap, one that I'm not sure any of the others would have matched.
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Oh wait. Don't tell me. GT3?
Indeed.

Top 5:

1: Porsche GT3 RS 4.0
2: McLaren MP4-12C
3: BMW 1M Coupe
4: Porshe Cayman R
5: Lotus Elise Club Racer
Wait - given the part that was posted (above), what ELSE happened that the GT3RS won? The guy basically says the 12C kills it, and yet...?
The unbiased tester owns and drives a Porsche GT3 RS 4.0.

Residuals anyone!
Well, I don't think it's about bias. They just have their preferences...and blind spots. The best one was 2008 ecoty , when the gt3 rs won. Mk1 RS was just a tarted up GT3, which lost the year before. That selection was total bs.

Correction: it was 2007 ecoty.
The unbiased tester owns and drives a Porsche GT3 RS 4.0.

Residuals anyone!
Probably more influential would be the fact that the whole eCoty comparo is sponsored by Michelin.
They didn't like the ceramic brakes. They said that with steel ones it would have won. It had some glitches (pre-production model) and was a little understeery on track.

Very high praise to get this close to a 911 RS in Evo. The 458 lost to a GT3 RS 3.8 by a larger margin last year.

A 911 has either won or been runner up since 1998.
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