McLaren San Francisco setup a track day demonstrating the new McLaren 650S to some potential customers and ended up running it up against a MP4-12C down the straights with a GoPro on the back of the 650S.  With an extra 25HP a little less weight along with a host of other upgrades, take a look at how much faster the 650S than it’s predecessor from a 40 – 140 MPH roll race.

They also put the 650S up against a Porsche 911 Turbo S and Ferrari F12, take a look at the videos below:

During our first test of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale we has some issues spinning the aged Pirelli PZero tires when using launch control both on the street and at the drag strip with a best time of 11.34 @ 125.5 MPH.  We swapped out the Pirelli’s for a new set of Toyo R888 tires and hit Palm Beach International Raceway again to see how the car performs with some better traction.

Weather was great with temps in the mid 60′s with a DA of almost even.  We arrived a little late and with some of the track prep gone, the R888′s we spinning just a bit with the 5,200 RPM launch control setting.   After the track  was re-prepped, we lined up to make the first pass out to see if we could get a pass with no wheel spin.  While the car dead hooked with no spinning, the LP570′s naturally aspirated 5.2L V10 rated at 570HP and 397 ft-lbs of torque just didn’t have enough torque down low to pull through first gear resulting in a slight bog and drop in RPM at launch.  We ended up making 3 passes all in the 11.2x range with the best being 11.205 @ 126.52 MPH.

Some other stats from the VBOX were 0-60 MPH in 3.2 seconds and 0-100 MPH in 6.9 seconds.  Weight came in at 3,348 pounds with 1/4 tank of fuel.  Lamborghini states the car weighs in at 2,950 pounds dry, after subtracting 35 pounds or so for the 1/4 tank of fuel, we’re not sure where the extra 360 pounds comes from.

We used our new GoPro setup with external microphone  to record the dash along with the awesome exhaust sound from the Super Trofeo Stradale’s launch control, take a look at the video below:

Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale Timeslip Data

In this article we’re going to detail the parts and methods we used to get some great exhaust sound clips from the 2012 Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale we’ve been testing.  We used a GoPro HERO3 action camera with an external stereo microphone placed strategically between the two exhaust exits of the Lamborghini.

What you’ll need:

• GoPro HERO3 Action Camera
• GoPro Skeleton Case
• GoPro 3.5mm External Microphone Adapter
• GoPro Suction Cup Mounts (2)
• Olympus ME-51S Stereo Microphone
• Microphone extension cable
• Microphone Windscreen

Since we need to connect an external microphone to the GoPro, you’ll need the Skeleton case since it has cut outs for the ports.  Put the GoPro in the skeleton case, mount the case to the suction cup mount and plug in the 3.5mm microphone adapter.   Next connect the microphone extension cable to the adapter and then plug in the Olympus microphone to the other side of the extension cable.  Now secure the microphone to the other GoPro suction cup mount using tape or a strong clip.  Finally pull the microphone windscreen over the microphone.   Since the microphone is mounted on a fast moving car with lots of wind, the windscreen is essential to minimizing the amount of wind buffeting in the video.

The assembled setup should look something like this:

Next we mounted the GoPro to the top middle of the Super Trofeo Stradale’s large rear wing, this allowed us to have a great view of the Lamborghini with plenty of microphone cable to mount the microphone between the exhaust exits.  Depending on the car your recording you might want to experiment with different microphone placements for the best combination of sound with the least amount of wind buffeting.  While the windscreen certainly helps, it will not totally eliminate the buffeting so microphone placement is key in getting the best possible sound.

GoPro and external microphone mounted on the Super Trofeo Stradale:

Video of the Super Trofeo Stradale’s exhaust through a few gears:

)

[Show as slideshow]

Congrats to Bill running high 10′s in his 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 with a Procharger D1 making 700 horsepower.   We’re sending him a brand new GoPro HERO3 along with the suction cup mount.   Keep those links up as we’ll be giving another GoPro away on November 30th, 2013 and you can win more than once.  If you haven’t entered yet, ENTER NOW.

Take a look at the specs on his car:

2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 Procharger D1

Congrats to Fred from DodgeTalk.com running low 12′s in his 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT with a 5.7 Hemi and a 100 shot of nitrous.   We’re sending him a brand new GoPro HERO3 along with the suction cup mount.   Keep those links up as we’ll be giving another GoPro away on September 30th, 2013 and you can win more than once.  If you haven’t entered yet, ENTER NOW.

We put together a video of some races we’ve had with the McLaren MP4-12C along with some other clips and pictures, enjoy!

We had some time this weekend at the StreetCarDrags event at Palm Beach International Raceway to line up a couple of the most competitive super cars out today, the McLaren MP4-12C and the Ferrari 458 Italia from ADV.1.  The McLaren MP4-12C comes into the ring weighing in at 3,118 pounds with a 3.8L Twin Turbo V8 pushing out 616 horsepower through a 7 speed dual clutch seamless shift gearbox while the Ferrari is a little heavier at 3,200 pounds and a naturally aspirated 4.5L V8 pushing out 562 horsepower through a 7 speed dual clutch transmission.

Both the McLaren MP4-12C and Ferrari 458 were using their launch control systems which come off the line at 3,000 RPM,  but extra low-end torque from the McLaren’s turbocharged engine proves to be an advantage allowing the MP4-12C to bolt off the line and use it’s extra power and less weight to keep on pulling away.  The McLaren MP4-12C was running 10.5-10.6 @ 133-134 MPH for these races and Ferrari 458 was running 11.2 – 11.3 @ 124-126 MPH.

Take a look at the 3 races below:

We had some time testing out the 2012 McLaren MP4-12C to get some real world all out drag racing and performance results at Palm Beach International Raceway.   The McLaren MP4-12C is powered by a 3.8L Twin Turbocharged V8 pumping out 616HP through a 7 speed dual clutch transmission.  The car we tested had the 2013 updates provided by McLaren that brings the 2012 to the 2013 spec which includes a bump in power from 592 to 616HP as well as reprogrammed transmission logic.

This McLaren was equipped with the carbon ceramic brakes, sport exhaust and super light wheels which saves precious weight coming in at just 3,118 pounds with 1/4 tank of fuel.  This puts the power to weight ratio at 5.06 pounds per HP.

We used the McLaren’s launch control system which held the RPMs at 3,000 and catapulted the car from 0-60 MPH in just 2.9 seconds, 0-100 MPH in 5.9 seconds and a 1/4 mile time of 10.55 @ 134.56 MPH.   The in car VBOX also recorded a 60-130 MPH time of 6.59 seconds.

This was done on the factory provided 305/30/20 Pirelli PZero tires and the launch had a decent amount of wheel spin.  With some sticker tires and no wheel spin we’re confident this lightweight British monster will go even quicker into the 10.40′s.

This real world actual drag strip 10.55 run puts the McLaren MP4-12C ahead of the $450k Lamborghini Aventador and makes the McLaren the quickest stock production car in the world bested only by the $1.6M Bugatti Veyron.  This is a pretty amazing feat considering the McLaren is rear wheel drive.  Take a look at the pictures, videos and timeslips below.

Stock 2012 Mclaren MP4-12C 1/4 mile

Here is a heads up race between a 2005 Ford GT and a 2010 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 at the recent StreetCarDrags Event at Palm Beach International Raceway.   The Ford GT has a pulley and tune upgrade by Heffner Performance and the ZR1 is stock.  Both were running on street tires and struggling a bit off the line with the best run of the day for the Ford GT at 11.09 @ 131 MPH and 11.3 @ 128 MPH for the ZR1.  We also weighed both cars with the Ford GT coming in at 3,430 pounds and the ZR1 3,299 pounds.