We’ve long been fascinated by watching a “lowly” supercar (something in the 400 to 700 HP range) take on the likes of a McLaren P1, Porsche 918, LaFerrari, Veyron, Agera or a Huayra.
We’ve seen stuff happen on the street, on the strip and on the highway. But what about on a track, doing actual laps?
That’s a whole different story, because brute power will indeed help you in a straight line but there’s also other factors involved such as cornering speeds, overall agility, steering feel, transmission, traction and so on.
In this video we’re watching a Z06 Vette with the PTM system set to ‘Race’, trying to keep up with one of the top hypercars of the moment, the McLaren P1.
The Z06 has a 6.2 liter supercharged V8 engine, with an output of 650 PS and 880 Nm (650 lb-ft) of torque. That’s good enough for a 0-62 mph time of 3.1 seconds. Plus it’s an extremely capable track car, which means it’s not easy to shake it in the corners.
The P1’s hybrid powertrain delivers a whooping 916 PS, which pretty much means the Corvette is dead meat in a straight line.
And naturally, when the P1 floors it on the straights, it’s almost like the Z06 is standing still. The Vette does easily keep up in the slow corners but that was to be expected. The thing is, it really doesn’t seem that the P1 driver is being as aggressive as the Z06 driver when cornering.
Plus there’s some traffic on the track too which helps the Corvette catch up to the McLaren, otherwise there’s no way it should have been able to keep up.