It would seem to many that 2014 was the beginning of a new era in motoring. With the Earth’s oil supplies running low, and everyone being concerned about carbon emissions, many a motoring enthusiast thought the days of genuinely mind-blowing supercars were behind us, and that the only cars that would be produced would be boring hybrid, polar-bear friendly, Toyota Prius rip-offs. Well they were right about the hybrid part, perhaps about the polar-bear friendly part, but certainly not about the boring part.
Late 2014 saw the release of 3 game-changing hybrid ‘hypercars’ which have an electric engine coagulate with the internal combustion engine, much like the famous Toyota Prius. However, in the Prius, this ‘hybrid’ technology is used to reduce the impact on the internal combustion engine and thus making the car, more eco-friendly, McLaren, Porsche, and Ferrari have taken this idea and run with it. They have flipped it on it’s head to have the electric engine increase and enhance the output of the regular internal engine to create staggering speed and acceleration.
McLaren came out with P1, which they’ve labelled the “spiritual successor” to the McLaren F1, which was not only the fastest production car ever (at it’s release in 1993) but it was also an important motoring achievement with ground breaking technology, much like the P1 of today. Porsche then followed it up with ‘918 Spyder’, which they claim “heralds the future of the sports car” and to be honest, I tend to agree considering it clocked Germany’s notorious Nurburgring in 6 minutes and 57 seconds. Ferrari followed suit very late in 2014 and unleashed ‘La Ferrari’ which has a v12 producing 788 horse-powers working with the electric engine creating 163 horse-powers. All up, La Ferrari’s engines produce 949 prancing horse powers, resulting in “the most extreme performance ever achieved by a Ferrari production car” according to Ferrari.
With these cars boasting such ridiculous numbers in terms of speed and power, it’s so important to remember what they have in common. They’re all powered by hybrid engines. Hybrid cars have saved the supercar for tomorrow. Gone are the days when Hybrid cars were all about being eco-friendly, gluten free, vegan boring cars, and gone are the days when Supercars were only powered by the regular car engine which goes against these principles. Finally, the greenies and rev-heads can unite and celebrate the same cars. We really have entered a whole new age of motoring. And it’s not just Ferrari, Porsche, and McLaren. Mercedes-Benz created an electric version of the SLS only recently as well. Koenigsegg have joined the Party only weeks ago, unveiling their new hybrid supercar, the ‘Regera’, at the Geneva Motor show which creates a staggering 1500 horse-powers! And rumour has it that Bugatti, creator of the legendary Veyron, are currently working on a new car which also incorporates this hybrid technology, a car which I’m sure will be featured many times on this very site upon it’s release.
This technology really has opened up the future of motoring, and we must thank McLaren, Porsche, and Ferrari for getting the ball rolling. As to which is the best, well you’ll have to work that out for yourselves. But for me, as tough as it is to go against that 918, I have to do my Nonno proud because I just can’t say no to the Prancing horse from Maranello.
