Bugatti Vs. McLaren
Many discussions have been made about fast cars, all wheel drive cars, sports cars, muscle cars, and high-performance cars. When we think of fast cars ever produced in the automobile industry, few of the brands that come to our mind are Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Maserati, Bugatti and Porsche. Bugatti and McLaren are two of the best companies which are into the production of the fastest street cars in the market. Also keep in mind that the comparison of Bugatti and McLaren is not easy to come with, as both have their own unique characteristics that outperform each other.
The Company
Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.
Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. is a French giant which started in 2000. However, this company was a result of the reincarnation of 'Bugatti' which was an automobile manufacturer founded by Ettore Bugatti in 1909. Due to financial problems, Romano Artioli acquired the brand in 1987 and named it as 'Bugatti Automobili SpA'. Since this company could not do well, it was acquired by its current owner, the 'Volkswagen Group'. The company is widely known to come up with the fastest street legal car in the world as of now, which is the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.
McLaren Automotive
McLaren Automotive is a division of the British 'McLaren Group', and was started in 1989. It was originally got into business by Ron Dennis from 'Formula One' racing to producing high-performance road cars. The beginning of McLaren is mainly associated with F1 driver Bruce McLaren, who died in 1970 while testing a car. McLaren Automotive is famous for producing a high-performance road car in 1992, which is the McLaren F1. Note that the production of the F1 was stalled in 1998.
Technical Specifications
Bugatti Veyron
The Bugatti Veyron comes in two variants, one with a 987 bhp, whereas the latest 'Super Sport' with a 1,184 bhp. Apart from the cost and power, rest of the specifications are the same in both models. Here, we are going to compare the first variant, and not the 'Super Sport'. The Veyron is mounted with a huge 8.0 liter W16 DOHC quad-turbocharged engine which generates 987 bhp. It also has the all wheel drive as a standard. Not to miss its top speed which is recorded to be 253.81 mph on an average. As per the specifications, it is claimed that it can reach from 0 to 62 mph in just 2.5 seconds, which is amazingly fast.
McLaren F1
First produced in 1992, the McLaren F1 was an impressive machine of its time. It is still considered one of the best supercars produced ever. It has a design which can be seen in most supercars manufactured today. This is a rear wheel drive car which is mounted with a 6.1 liter S70/2 V12 engine from BMW which gives out a power of 627 bhp. It has a 6-speed manual transmission gearbox. This is also one of the fastest cars in the world, with a top speed of 243 mph. When it comes to acceleration from 0 to 60 mph, it reaches the mark in 3.2 secs.
Performance
There was a one-mile drag race held in Abu Dhabi to find more about the performance of both the original Veyron and the F1. Initially, the acceleration of the F1 was far better than that of its rival, and was ahead of the Veyron. However, as both cars reached a speed limit of around 200 kph, the Veyron overtook the F1 easily and raced its way to the finish line. During the start of the race, the driver of the 987 bhp Veyron claimed to have not used the 'launch control'.
Price
Both these vehicles are included in the top 10 most expensive cars in the world. The F1 is presently out of production though. The Bugatti Veyron's price is reported to be around $1,700,000 for the original version, whereas the base price for the 'Super Sport' comes to about $2,700,000. The McLaren F1 price was around $970,000 when it was in production. However, at present, due to the exclusivity of this supercar, it can be sold at twice the original price. In October 2008, the F1 was auctioned for a price of $4,100,000. You need to know that McLaren Automotive still has provisions for the F1's servicing and maintenance.
This was a general comparison between Bugatti vs. McLaren; considering the technical specs, performance, and price. With no new F1s available in the market, prospective McLaren buyers are waiting for the McLaren MP4-12C which is soon to be launched.
