McLaren 720S vs Ferrari 488

What's the difference?

Years ago, McLaren wasn't really making McLarens. The ill-fated SLR was still in production, but was an oddity that made little sense - it was a highly specialised Mercedes and built to sell for crazy money to mega-rich F1 fans. Production was down to a trickle,and  the iconic and legendary F1 had completed its run a decade earlier.

The "new" McLaren Automotive had a shaky start in 2011 with the unloved MP4-12C, which became the 12C and then morphed into the 650S, getting better with each reinvention. 

The P1 was the car that really grabbed the world's attention and was then-new designer Rob Melville's first project for the British sports car maker. 

Last year, McLaren sold its 10,000th car and production numbers are closing in on Lamborghini's. Sales have almost doubled in Australia and Rob Melville is still there, and is now the Design Director. The company, clearly, has done very, very well.

Now it's come time for McLaren's second generation, starting with the 720S. Replacing the 650S, it's the new Super Series McLaren (fitting in above the Sport Series 540 and 570S and below the Ultimate P1 and still-mysterious BP23), and is a car McLaren claims has no direct competitors  from its rivals at Ferrari or Lamborghini. 

It has a twin-turbo V8, a carbon fibre tub, rear-wheel drive and bristles with cleverness. 

James Cleary road tests and reviews the new Ferrari 488 Spider with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

It’s almost inevitable. Tell someone you’re a motoring journo and the first question will be, ‘So, what’s the best car you’ve ever driven?’ 

Without getting into an esoteric analysis of what the word 'best' actually means in this context, it’s clear people want you to nominate your favourite. The fastest, the fanciest, the car you’ve enjoyed the most; the one that’s delivered a clearly superior experience.

And if I enter the room of mirrors (where you can always take a good hard look at yourself) the answer is clear. From the thousands of cars I’ve had the privilege of sliding my backside into, the best so far is Ferrari’s 458 Italia, an impossibly pure combination of dynamic brilliance, fierce acceleration, howling soundtrack and flawless beauty.

So, the opportunity to steer the open-roof Spider version of its successor, the 488, is a significant one. By rights, the best should be about to get better. But does it?