We’ve seen McLaren’s mighty 720S take on a wide swath of opponents including Ludicrous Mode-enabled Teslas, its own 600LT little brother, and the Nürburgring. Its latest challenger? An electric Porsche 944.
Brought to us by DragTimes, the extensively modified P-car in question boasts a pair of 11-inch DC electric motors good for around 980 horsepower and 1,500 pound-feet of torque going to the rear wheels. It weighs just 2,450 pounds. In contrast, the stock McLaren supercar makes “just” 710 hp and 568 pound-feet from its twin-turbo, 4.0-liter V8 and weighs a relatively chunky 3,180 pounds.
With those stats, you’d probably assume the hum-drum looking Porsche would trounce the British exotic on the dragstrip. And you’d be right.
Skip to around 2:30 for the quarter-mile showdown.
Crossing the finish line in 9.411 seconds at 142.72 miles per hour, the volt-powered 944 clobbers the 720S which did the same distance in 10.156 seconds at 140.33 mph. Even if the driver of the McLaren had gotten in a better run, it’d still likely be beaten by the Porsche. A previously achieved best quarter-mile time for the stock Macca was 9.98 seconds.
And before the supercar apologists snarkily point out that the faster, modified car will likely make its way home on a flatbed while the McLaren owner gets to cruise away in supreme luxury and style, this particular Porsche is actually street legal, apparently. Okay, so the 944 probably doesn’t have a digital gauge display that folds away, a variable drift program in its center console, or dihedral doors. But when you’re just cruising along casually down an Interstate, how much does that stuff actually matter?
H/T: Motor1