Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche go to war

Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche all have headline performance cars with more than 525 kiloWatts and 330m/h top speeds almost ready for the road. 

McLaren will set the target in late May with the unveiling of the 21st century successor to its F1, the radical three-seat, V12 powered road rocket that set the world speed record for production cars at 391km/h back in 1998.

Only 106 cars were built and that ensures prices for secondhand cars now regularly top $3 million.

The new mighty Mac shares its heart with the latest MP4-12C, the first in a series of McLaren sports cars intended to take the brand into a head-to-head battle with Ferrari. 

But the supercar will be vastly more powerful and quicker than the 12C, which has created an 18-month waiting list in Australia following the opening of a dedicated McLaren showroom in Sydney by the Trivett Group. 

"The car will be unveiled in the week before the Monaco grand prix," a McLaren insider reveals to Carsguide. "We also have the MP4-12C convertible, which should be ready for sale from June." 

Ferrari will follow McLaren with the successor to its Enzo supercar, building on the work for the latest V12-powered F12. 

The new Enzo - its name is still secret - is expected to have a hybrid power pack capable of generating close to 600 kiloWatts to propel a radical road-racer body to 100km/h in as little a 2.1 seconds and on to a top speed close to the 400km/h of the Bugatti Veyron.

Meanwhile, Porsche is deep into testing the 918 Spyder hybrid supercar that will top its range from 2013. Its performance claims run from a 2.8 second sprint to 100km/h to a 325km/h top speed with incredible fuel economy of 3.0-litres/100km thanks to an electric drive system for low-speed city running.