Ferrari vs. McLaren

You probably already know a bit about the legacy of Ferrari, founded as Scuderia Ferrari, the racing arm of Alfa Romeo in 1929. Enzo Ferrari spun his racing excellence off into its own brand in 1939, producing elegant, refined, and powerful automobiles ever since. Each model sports a hand-built engine, assembled in the same place Ferraris have always been assembled: Maranello, Italy.

McLaren’s Formula 1 founder — Bruce McLaren — was born just before Ferrari broke off from Alfa Romeo, in 1937. Like Ferrari, McLaren initially existed solely in the racing world, debuting in 1963 and eventually forming McLaren Automotive in 1985. 

When it comes to a legacy of performance and production cars, McLaren simply hasn’t been in the game for very long. 

Italian supercars tend to have a few similarities (even the sharp Lamborghini has a few curves to it), but you could write a book about the stylistic differences between McLaren and Ferrari.

The new SF90 Stradale is almost all soft, aerodynamic curves while vehicles like the McLaren Senna and 570 look as though they were designed almost entirely with a ruler, with sharp angles bent and curved slightly, as an afterthought. 

Performance: McLaren vs. Ferrari

• The McLaren Senna sports the most powerful engine the automaker has produced: a 4.0L twin turbo V8 rated at 789 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque.
• Drivers familiar with the SF90 Stradale know that its hybrid powertrain eclipses the McLaren Senna, rated at 986 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. But Ferrari also makes the most powerful naturally aspirated engine of all time in the 789-hp 6.5L V12 on the 812 Superfast.