#5: 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari
Up next on our list is a car with a price tag that often fetches more than most homes in Beverly Hills: The 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari. Described as “utterly magnificent” but most who gaze upon it, the LaFerrari is truly one of the Italians’ all-time greats – as it should be, given its name simply translates to, “The Ferrari”. Its 6.3L V12 and battery pack hybrid powerplant work together to make 950 horses and 663 torques in a spaceship weighing just 2,767 pounds when dry. This nets the Laferrari a power-to-weight ratio of 3.32 lbs/hp, beating all cars on this list save for the Ariel Atom V8. This also makes for a blistering 0-60 time of just 2.4 seconds.
But such a feat was not conquered without serious engineering prowess. In order to cram so much power into its spaceframe chassis, Ferrari had to utilize not one, but four different types of carbon fiber to build the LaFerrari – each designed to provide just the right type of strength or resistance to keep things together, while shaving as much weight as possible. Every other consideration was made to ensure the LaFerrari doesn’t just go fast in a straight line. To lower the center of gravity by just centimeters, engineers removed the entire under-seat adjustment motor system.
Ferrari LaFerrari
Instead, the pedals and steering wheel move. This allows the driver to sit lower, in turn making the roof lower. This is all to the benefit of cornering, with reports that the lighter LaFerrari XX (a special track-designed variant of the road-going LaFerrari) lapped the ‘Gring in just 6:35. If this is true, it would make the LaFerrari – or, at least a close variant of it – the fastest production car to ever make the trip, beating the Aventador’s record 6:44.97 by almost 10 seconds.
All these performance claims are good press for the folks in Maranello, because the LaFerrari is officially the first hybrid vehicle ever made by the Italian designers. They certainly had to get it right, and they have done with little to complain about.
