McLaren F1 vs Bugatti Veyron - the Top Gear Video
Last week’s Top Gear featured a drag race between the McLaren F1 and the Bugatti Veyron on a closed road in Abu Dhabi. Both the Supercars of their time. But what was the result? Well, in all probability you already know, but just in case you don’t – or you want another chance to see it – we thought we’d put the video up here for you to have another look.
On paper, you would expect the Veyron to crush the McLaren F1. After all, it’s a much newer car and much more powerful, with 1,000bhp as compared to the McLaren F1’s relatively paltry 627bhp. But the McLaren is lighter and nimbler, so it’s less unequal than the numbers on paper may first suggest. And sensibly the TG team had the far-easier-to-drive Bugatti Veyron piloted by the Hamster, whilst the Stig (who is of course Michael Schumacher!) took the more skittish McLaren F1.
But what about performance per Pound Sterling? Well, based on original list price, they cost about the same. The Veyron is around £1,000,000 – £1,000 per bhp. The McLaren – when it was new – was around £650k – again, around £1,000 per bhp (‘horses’ do get expensive at this level).
But if you look at current values the sums change. The Veyron – as it’s still available – stays the same. But the McLaren becomes much more expensive. If you take the ‘average’ price of a decent McLaren F1, you are probably looking at around £3,000 per bhp – 3 times the new cost. If you look at the cost for the best McLaren F1 for sale at the moment, that figure jumps to somewhere in the region of £4,000 per bhp!
But the Veyron is depreciating (at least for the next few years) whilst the McLaren is continuing its inexorable rise in value. You pays your money and takes your choice.
The TG Video is below for you to enjoy. But be warned. The BBC can get a little shirty about highly-viewed clips on YouTube and pull them down. It’s working today – but who knows for how long.
Have your say - leave a comment