Ferrari LaFerrari Review
Ferrari LaFerrari
Quite simply, the most evocative hybrid hypercar in the world
£1,150,000
What is it?
The Ferrari LaFerrari - or just LaFerrari if you will - is the apogee of Ferrari’s current roadcar programme: a carbon, two-seat hypercar that melds a 6.3-litre Ferrari V12 with a KERS-esque battery pack and electric motor to give 950bhp and 663lb ft of torque. As you might expect, it looks like a spaceship, and drives like the best Ferrari ever made. Which in terms of useable horsepower, it is. Only 499 have been built, available only to serious Ferrari collectors, and they’re all sold out. A car so fantastic the company decided to make it definitive (it is literally called The Ferrari), neatly annexing the Italian company in a weird little semantic cul-de-sac when it comes to naming its next car…
What is it like on the road?
You’d think getting on for a thousand horses would make the LaFerrari all but undriveable on the road, but it simply doesn’t. The V12 has been optimized for high-rev horsepower, the resulting hole in the torque curve (the V12 engine doesn’t do its best work until north of 5,000rpm) filled by the electric motor. That means instant throttle response, razored responses and the most natural-feeling hybrid in existence. In terms of on-road driving, after a while, and if you can forget the limited-edition status and million pound pricetag for long enough, it’s no more intimidating to drive than a 458. It rides well, you can see out of it and the 7-speed F1 ‘box works beautifully. Find a decent empty stretch of road though, and you can warp the weft of spacetime with the LaFerrari’s acceleration. It handles fabulously, too – with the delicacy you expect of a Ferrari, but the punch of the Space Shuttle. Really though, it’s not a hybrid – it’s a V12 megacar with electric nitrous.
Layout, finish and space
Carbon and lots of it. The ‘seats’ are actually just pads attached to the carbon tub, with the controls adjusting to suit. The pads are bespoke-fitted to the driver, and you sit shoulders low and knees high, like in a racing car. Saying that, it’s very comfortable, and vision is good. There’s a full digital dash, swathes of Alcantara and not an awful lot else. The only thing you should really be interested in is the steering wheel, which houses the big red – slightly tacky – button to rouse the drivetrain and the Manettino dial, which allows you to figure out how much of a hero you want to feel like on any given journey. It’s quite noisy thanks to all the bare carbon, but you’ll forget all that as soon as the V12 gets singing. There is literally nothing quite like it.
Running costs and reliability
Looks like a pretty safe bet. If Enzo prices are anything to go by then this car will be an appreciating asset. Servicing and general maintenance will be terrifying (and absolutely vital), and you won’t see much more than 5mpg if you thrash it (putting paid to any idea that the hybrid aspect is there to aid economy), but if you could, you’d sell your least favourite child just to have a go. source by topgear.com
Ferrari LaFerrari
Quite simply, the most evocative hybrid hypercar in the world
£1,150,000
What is it?
The Ferrari LaFerrari - or just LaFerrari if you will - is the apogee of Ferrari’s current roadcar programme: a carbon, two-seat hypercar that melds a 6.3-litre Ferrari V12 with a KERS-esque battery pack and electric motor to give 950bhp and 663lb ft of torque. As you might expect, it looks like a spaceship, and drives like the best Ferrari ever made. Which in terms of useable horsepower, it is. Only 499 have been built, available only to serious Ferrari collectors, and they’re all sold out. A car so fantastic the company decided to make it definitive (it is literally called The Ferrari), neatly annexing the Italian company in a weird little semantic cul-de-sac when it comes to naming its next car…
What is it like on the road?
You’d think getting on for a thousand horses would make the LaFerrari all but undriveable on the road, but it simply doesn’t. The V12 has been optimized for high-rev horsepower, the resulting hole in the torque curve (the V12 engine doesn’t do its best work until north of 5,000rpm) filled by the electric motor. That means instant throttle response, razored responses and the most natural-feeling hybrid in existence. In terms of on-road driving, after a while, and if you can forget the limited-edition status and million pound pricetag for long enough, it’s no more intimidating to drive than a 458. It rides well, you can see out of it and the 7-speed F1 ‘box works beautifully. Find a decent empty stretch of road though, and you can warp the weft of spacetime with the LaFerrari’s acceleration. It handles fabulously, too – with the delicacy you expect of a Ferrari, but the punch of the Space Shuttle. Really though, it’s not a hybrid – it’s a V12 megacar with electric nitrous.
Layout, finish and space
Carbon and lots of it. The ‘seats’ are actually just pads attached to the carbon tub, with the controls adjusting to suit. The pads are bespoke-fitted to the driver, and you sit shoulders low and knees high, like in a racing car. Saying that, it’s very comfortable, and vision is good. There’s a full digital dash, swathes of Alcantara and not an awful lot else. The only thing you should really be interested in is the steering wheel, which houses the big red – slightly tacky – button to rouse the drivetrain and the Manettino dial, which allows you to figure out how much of a hero you want to feel like on any given journey. It’s quite noisy thanks to all the bare carbon, but you’ll forget all that as soon as the V12 gets singing. There is literally nothing quite like it.
Running costs and reliability
Looks like a pretty safe bet. If Enzo prices are anything to go by then this car will be an appreciating asset. Servicing and general maintenance will be terrifying (and absolutely vital), and you won’t see much more than 5mpg if you thrash it (putting paid to any idea that the hybrid aspect is there to aid economy), but if you could, you’d sell your least favourite child just to have a go. source by topgear.com
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