Porsche 911 Turbo S versus McLaren 720S in drag race
A quarter mile drag race between the new Porsche 911 Turbo S and a McLaren 720S has been conducted by carwow.com, with the results demonstrating the data as it appears on paper can be deceiving.
The Porsche 911 Turbo S is powered by a 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat six-cylinder engine that produces 478kW/800Nm.
The lightest variant weighs 1715kg.
Pricing in Australia for the Porsche 911 Turbo S starts from $473,500 plus on-road costs.
Meanwhile, the McLaren 720S is powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that produces 530kW/770Nm.
The lightest variant weighs 1419kg.
The McLaren is therefore more powerful (by a margin of 52kW), and carries substantially less weight (by a margin of 296kg).
Pricing in Australia starts from $489,900 plus on-road costs.
Prevailing logic would suggest this power-to-weight advantage should be insurmountable when it comes to quarter mile (400 metre) dominance.
Regardless, the Porsche’s all-wheel drive system, superior launch control, and torquey engine allowed it to overcome these deficits from a standing start.
The Porsche 911 S crossed the line in 10.1 seconds, while the 720S took 10.4 seconds to go the distance.
In the second half of the video the race was repeated, this time with a 50mph (80kmh) rolling start.
Under these conditions the McLaren's power advantage proved too much.
Watch the full video below, and tell us if you think it was a fair race.