That Ferrari has to be a ringer. I have both the McLaren and the 458 and the McLaren is considerably quicker in a straight line.

 

I'll come out and just say it, never cared for Ferrari - and especially after their shenanigans were made public (refer to EVO's Chris Harris article which resulted in him being banned from driving a factory Ferrari, an act in it'self is ridiculous) has made them even less desirable in my eyes.

Not to bring up old news, but the scene where the ferrari bloke is acting out, made me think of that article.
How Ferrari spins

...then a few days ago this article came out about Ferrari, link below, which nailed it home yet again for me.
How Ferrari Is Losing A Generation Of Buyers

My moral, and yes it is a skewed bias one - I'll stick to Porsche!
Better priced, MUCH better performance, dramatically more usable, cheaper to maintain, more efficient and in every way possible a better daily driver. My 2 cents.

 

that's it!

 

Thats what I was thinking, every example ive seen puts the the McLaren ahead of the 458(at least in a straight line).

 

+1 ... even though I will own a 599 one day.

 

Are you talking about your 458 without the turbos? I imagine its quicker then the MP4 with the turbos.
I have heard the drive feel of the MP4 is too computerized and just does not have the fun factor or visceral feel of the 458. What are your thoughts on this?
Very impressive stable by the way.
Thanks

 

My McLaren is significantly quicker than my 458 stock vs. stock. Putting turbos on the 458 has closed the gap but the McLaren is still quicker. In all fairness though the last time I ran the cars against each other the 458 still needed a little bit of fine tuning and was slipping the trans. I haven't gotten a chance to run the two cars since the 458 was dialed in.

My opinion about the driving feel of the MP4 is that is not quite as visceral or sharp as the 458 but to me that doesn't make up for the fact that the McLaren is a lot quicker and confidence inspiring. The McLaren feels invincible on the road. I've also taken the McLaren to the track and the car was absolutely phenomenal. I wouldn't say that the car felt computerized at all, there was a tremendous amount of driver involvement required to keep the car pointing the right way.

 

That was my first time reading the article about Ferrari losing customers, and I couldn't agree more!!!! That's why Jay Leno doesn't own any Ferraris.

Turbogallardo thank you for posting your impressions of both cars. I enjoy reading first hand reviews by owners.

 

Thnaks for the great informative review. My car felt much faster and handled better then a 458 that I tracked. I still loved the 458 and am considering either a 458 or Mclaren in addition to my GT2. Leaning much more towards the 458, but have not driven the Mclaren myself. All of the feedback I have gotten comparing the two are 50/50 split on preferrence.

 

My first real sports car was the 996TT, I dropped close to $100K on the car to make it look, sound, and drive like the way I wanted, what a money pit and told myself never again.

After that I started my F-car journey: F430 - Scuderia - 599 - 458 (red) - 458 (white) - FF - and now my latest 458 spider. I loved every one of these cars, straight out of box no mods needed. They may not be the fastest but the overall visceral driving experience never disappoints.

I've also gone through the initial F-car "hazing ritual" when I purchased my first F-car from the dealer, but just like everything else in life, after I've paid my dues and shown my loyalty it has been effortless ever since. Whenever a new model came out I would be arranged to have one of the very first deliveries, no hassles ever. In fact, I haven't even been to the dealer in over 2 years.

Maybe I just don't have the luck with Porsche, my latest one, Panny Turbo, a daily that I've had for only about a year now is going to be traded away this week due to endless small irritating issues. I've had better experiences with my past AMG cars as daily.