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The McLaren 12C and a Hummingbird. More Things in Common Than You Think


       Ever since the McLaren 12C and Ferrari 458 Italia made their debut a couple of years back, one word has been exhausted by virtually every automotive journalist out there. Can you guess what that word is? It's “soul”. The 12C has been accused of being a soulless and more clinical machine, often compared to clichés such as a “surgical blade”. Meanwhile, the 458 Italia has had people frothing at the mouth since day one, and journalists left in a hypnotized trance, all of them mentioning the same exact word. “Soul”. Obviously, no inanimate object can actually have a soul, so I think that in this case of two supercar comparison, the 458 satisfies the criteria of a bedroom poster car more. The beautiful Italian styling, the astonishing sound, and the lack of all around perfection. I don't think that I'm alone when I say that supercars are not supposed to be faultless machines. It's the minor imperfections, along with the sounds and styling, which trick people into thinking that supercars have soul. This is why everyone accuses the 458 of being so special, and the12C of being a bit dull. Now, let me make a brave comparison. The McLaren is like a hummingbird, whilst the Ferrari is like a bat. Before you start thinking that I'm a fool, let me explain why. The hummingbird, like the McLaren in relation to the Ferrari, is superior to a bat in every numerical statistic. But, as I was looking out my window the other day, I couldn't help being very disappointed when I saw a hummingbird – after gorging on a sugary concoction from a feeder – go and sit on a branch like every other bird I've seen in my entire life, and start grooming its feathers. It was very anticlimactic. Maybe I was being naive, but I was expecting something more. I mean, a jet fighter – the ultimate form of a plane – can take off and land on aircraft carriers. A hummingbird, which, if you ask me, is the ultimate evolution of a bird, should do something similar. On the other hand, a bat (bare with me on this, as I know a bat isn't an avian, but c'mon... it has “wings”) is not nearly as impressive in flight as a hummingbird, yet it lives a different style of life, one that just sounds, cooler. It flies at night, and once it's done tracking down its prey via sonar, it goes and hangs upside down on a tree to sleep. How awesome is that?

     I think that this is the complaint people have with the McLaren 12C. Yes, it is numerically superior to any of its competitors, but, it misses something. When driven normally, people say it feels and drives like an expensive, non-supercar. It's basically too composed and refined. Nor does it emit the evocative sound that the 458's v8 screamer does, due to the Mac's twin turbocharged, smaller displacement v8. The 12C delivers tremendous performance, one that can't be matched even by the 458. But the overall experience of the Ferrari leaves you assured that you spent your money on the right supercar. True, I am only going by things I have read in magazines, but every journalist can't be wrong now, can they?

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