New Age Holy-Trinity: Where Is Porsche?

There’s a new Ferrari and a new McLaren in town

We have two members out of what could potentially become the new-age holy trinity of hypercars: the McLaren W1 and the Ferrari F80. The Ferrari is the newest of the bunch, while the McLaren has been out for about a week before the Prancing Horse. Let’s talk about the Ferrari F80 first. If you didn’t know, it’s the most potent Ferrari ever made, and that’s true. However, unlike the Enzo and the LaFerrari, which came with fire-breathing V12s, the F80 uses a rather downsized 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6, the one you see in the 296 and the LeMans 499P hypercar. This V6 has been extensively tuned to crank out 888 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. That’s more power than the combined output of the 296’s hybrid system.

If you follow Formula 1, you would know that Ferrari uses a V6 in its F1 race car. This means the Italian automaker must think of this engine configuration as the flagship. But that’s not the end of the story. A trio of electric motors (one sandwiched between the V6 and the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox and the other two set on the front axle) pushes out an additional 296 horses. These e-motors are powered by a rather small 2.3 kWh battery pack, even for a hypercar. Together, the hybrid setup pushes out 1,184 horsepower through all four wheels. But these aren’t the only e-motors driving the F80. For the first time, Ferrari has fitted two e-turbos in a hypercar, the technology we’ve witnessed with the 992.2 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS. So, zero turbo lag.

On the other hand, the McLaren W1 is a different animal on its own. Unlike the F80, there’s no downsizing. So, it still gets a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 mated to a single electric motor. This e-motor isn’t an axial flux unit like you’d get with the McLaren Artura. It’s a rather common radial-flux unit, pushing out 342 horsepower on its own. The V8 produces a whopping 916 horsepower, and together with the e-motor, this hybrid powertrain churns out an impressive 1,258 horsepower and 988 pound-feet of torque.

Unlike the F80 though, the W1 is a rear-wheel-drive hypercar, and all of that power is transferred to the wheels via an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. If you thought the F80’s 2.3 kWh battery pack was compact, the W1’s 1.4 kWh unit is something else. Unlike the F80, the W1 is a plug-in hybrid, and the onboard Level 2 charger can charge the battery up to 80 percent in 22 minutes. The F80, on the other hand, utilizes the combustion engine and re-gen braking to charge the battery pack, much like the 992.2 911 Carrera GTS. Also, you can’t even drive the F80 exclusively in electric-only mode, which you can do with the W1, but only for a couple of miles.

Let’s talk speed. Ferrari says that its spanking-new F80 can reach 62 mph from a standstill in 2.15 seconds and 124 mph in a whopping 5.75 seconds. In contrast, the McLaren W1 can do 60 mph in 2.7 seconds and 186 mph in 12.7 seconds. However, both hypercars top out at 217 mph. The Ferrari is quicker off the line because of its all-wheel traction, whereas the W1 will take a few tenths to manage power in the rear wheels. I think, in a straight line, the W1 will surpass the F80, not only because it’s more potent but also because the front motors of the F80 will limit power when the battery depletes after a charge level. Here’s a quick rundown of the powertrain and performance below:

Where on earth is Porsche?

While Ferrari and McLaren enjoy the spotlight, Porsche has been mostly quiet about the successor to the iconic 918 Spyder hypercar. 2025 is the year of the holy trinity, as it was a decade ago. However, unlike the last time, when Porsche was first to the holy trinity race, McLaren and Ferrari got ahead in the game this time. Honestly, Porsche isn’t late in the game; it already showcased the Mission X all-electric hypercar in June 2023, just like how the 918 Concept debuted way ahead of the production-spec 918 Spyder. So, if that’s the tradition Porsche is going after, the Mission X is what we’ll be getting.

Don’t get me wrong; the Mission X is the pinnacle of an electric hypercar. With a power-to-weight ratio of one horsepower per 2.2 pounds and a 900-volt charging architecture, it certainly isn’t lacking. If the Mission X makes it to production, I bet that it should be quicker and probably faster than both the McLaren W1 and the Ferrari F80. However, given that there is a slowdown in the EV market, both new and used, with their values tumbling down at twice the rate of ICE vehicles, it remains to be seen if an all-electric hypercar will be as desirable as the W1 and the F80 over the long term.