What’s quicker in a straight-line, the new Porsche 911 Turbo S or the McLaren 600LT Spider?

Since hitting the market, the latest 911 Turbo S has proven itself to be one of the most accelerative cars on the planet, beating not only the Porsche Taycan Turbo S but even the McLaren 720S. It would therefore be fair to assume it would easily walk away with victory over the 600LT Spider, right? Well, there’s a little more to the story than that.

Whereas the new Porsche features a 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six with 641 hp and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm), the 600LT uses a 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 pumping out 592 hp. Both use dual-clutch transmissions, but whereas the 911 is all-wheel drive, the McLaren is rear-wheel drive. Working in the favor of the McLaren, though, is the fact that it is considerably lighter than the Porsche.

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On the spec sheet, the two are very evenly matched. Porsche claims the 911 Turbo S needs just 2.7 seconds to hit 62 mph (100 km/h), while the McLaren requires 2.9 seconds. However, whereas the Porsche has a claimed 0-124 mph (0-200 km/h) time of 8.9 seconds, the 600LT easily beats it at 8.2 seconds.

Porsche is known to understate the performance of its models, and that seems to be the same case with the 911 Turbo S as well. With testing the two alongside each other, Carfection was able to get off the line significantly faster in the Porsche, quickly establishing a lead of at least seven car lengths as the McLaren struggled to put its power down to the ground. However, had the race been longer, the McLaren probably would have started to close the gap.