I had posted this on another forum over the weekend, and I felt I should post it here as well, Top Gear Magazine's July Edition have tested the P1 & the 918 (WS package) on the Parcmotor Castelloli circuit near Barcelona and on the road back to back and some of it will feature on the TV Show. They have recorded their lap times, though not published them in the magazine, it will be used on the TV show. Other performance cars, 16 in total have been also tested, amongst them the McLaren 650S which was the fastest apart from those two with a 1:54.5 mins lap time. Both the P1 & the 918 were more than 4 seconds faster on that 2.5 mile circuit. ( 'The Stig' set the times, make of that what you will).
Verdict by Top Gear (journalist Tom Ford): "Which leaves us with the P1 and 918. (...) one fact became clear over Top Gear magazine's Speed Week on road & track: at my level of driving skill, I am faster in the Porsche 918, simply because it's easier to drive on the limit, for more of the time. The McLaren P1 is undoubtedly as brisk, but to access the outer limits of it's capabilities, you have to spent way more time in it, and very possibly take some race-driving instruction. You don't get comfortable with downforce in a week. It also means in a real head to head with a pro the winner will be circuit dependent - they're that close."
The author (and I got the impression he may not have been alone in this view) came away after having spent a week with both cars that the P1 is much more edgy to drive than the 918 on track & on the road. He gave an example. He went into one corner (on the above circuit, "left-hander onto the back-straight") what felt too quick at 80 mph and thought he overcooked it and lifted off the throttle, something he admits was rather daft, and the P1 spins. He then did the same section in the 918 at 80 mph and again lifted off the throttle to see how that car would respond and "a bare shimmy and a tug from the front" was all that happened. He went on to take that corner with 95 mph in the 918. This does not imply that the 918 is boring as the author explains: "and yet, the 918 is anything but boring. There is glorious feedback through the steering and, though not as hysterical as the P1, the chat is more comforting."
The following data was measured during the week's testing:
Criteria: P1 918
0-60: 2.7 2.5 seconds
0-100: 5.0 5.0 seconds
0-100-0: 9.5 9.4 seconds
60-0: 28.9 26.7 meters
100-0: 76.3 71.1 meters
30-70: 1.9 1.7 seconds
Lateral G: 2.15 1.87
Max Speed
on track: 151.9 153.5 mph
You may be wondering what 'Jennifer' makes of all this, well, here he, ehm, she is giving her impressions:
http://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/the-clarkson-review-porsche-918-spyder-weissach-pack/
Verdict by Top Gear (journalist Tom Ford): "Which leaves us with the P1 and 918. (...) one fact became clear over Top Gear magazine's Speed Week on road & track: at my level of driving skill, I am faster in the Porsche 918, simply because it's easier to drive on the limit, for more of the time. The McLaren P1 is undoubtedly as brisk, but to access the outer limits of it's capabilities, you have to spent way more time in it, and very possibly take some race-driving instruction. You don't get comfortable with downforce in a week. It also means in a real head to head with a pro the winner will be circuit dependent - they're that close."
The author (and I got the impression he may not have been alone in this view) came away after having spent a week with both cars that the P1 is much more edgy to drive than the 918 on track & on the road. He gave an example. He went into one corner (on the above circuit, "left-hander onto the back-straight") what felt too quick at 80 mph and thought he overcooked it and lifted off the throttle, something he admits was rather daft, and the P1 spins. He then did the same section in the 918 at 80 mph and again lifted off the throttle to see how that car would respond and "a bare shimmy and a tug from the front" was all that happened. He went on to take that corner with 95 mph in the 918. This does not imply that the 918 is boring as the author explains: "and yet, the 918 is anything but boring. There is glorious feedback through the steering and, though not as hysterical as the P1, the chat is more comforting."
The following data was measured during the week's testing:
Criteria: P1 918
0-60: 2.7 2.5 seconds
0-100: 5.0 5.0 seconds
0-100-0: 9.5 9.4 seconds
60-0: 28.9 26.7 meters
100-0: 76.3 71.1 meters
30-70: 1.9 1.7 seconds
Lateral G: 2.15 1.87
Max Speed
on track: 151.9 153.5 mph
You may be wondering what 'Jennifer' makes of all this, well, here he, ehm, she is giving her impressions:
http://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/the-clarkson-review-porsche-918-spyder-weissach-pack/
