CORVETTE'S HYBRID ERAY TAKES ON THE MCLAREN 750S IN AN EDMUNDS U-TURN DRAG RACE. PLACE YOUR BETS.
We’re fans of weird and different things here at SXdrv, which is why we subscribe to the Edmunds Cars channel over on YouTube. They do things differently from the rest, especially when it comes to testing cars. The vast majority of motoring review sites and channels either get a car to test and review and pit it against the clock over a predetermined distance. Other channels get a pair of cars, usually direct market competitors and they unleash them on a test strip or racetrack to be able to pick which one is the best car. The racetrack stuff is usually reserved for the top-tier motoring journalists and reviewers though because there are different costs and insurance and liabilities involved, so the majority of these tests are done over the world standard of a quarter mile. That’s great for testing acceleration, traction, throttle control and some onboard driver-assist tech. We all know there’s a lot more involved in a car test, like handling and arguably the most important part, braking. The chaps at Edmunds Cars created a new way of testing cars that maximises the data collected while minimising risk to the cars and makes the entertainment value rise considerably compared to a normal heads-up drag race. Enter the Edmunds U-Drag race - this way of testing sees both cars heading down the track just like in a regular drag race but things change at 402 meters. Instead of climbing on the brakes to scrub off speed and then coasting until the return road, it’s a case of jumping on the clamps hard to scrub off enough speed to be able to turn the car 180 degrees and head back to the start line which then becomes the finish line. This way tests all aspects of the car, it’s like a track test but not.
This latest U-turn drag race pits two unlikely rivals against each other, one hails from the UK and the other from the US of A. The British contender is the replacement for the McLaren 720S - the all-new McLaren 750S. Looks-wise, the car is quite similar to the 720S, but it has all the right tweaks in all the right places to make it new, and just like the outgoing model the name denotes the power on tap. The McLaren 750S has 750 horses (560 kW) stored under the engine cover, and that comes from a twin-turbocharged 4-litre V8 coupled to a lightning-quick 7-speed dual-clutch transmission that sends power to the rear wheels. The car weighs 1,389 kg and has an excellent weight distribution thanks to the mid-mount engine layout. The British supercar is capable of a 0-100 km/h launch in just 2.8 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 7.2 seconds and has a top speed of 322 km/h. Usually, it would be hard to find an American rival that stacks up properly, but Chevrolet changed things up with the latest Corvette, the C8. The car that conventionally had a front-engined rear-wheel drive layout was changed to a mid-engine layout making it match the Mac. Power comes from a normally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 rated at 369.1 kW. It’s heavier at 1,712 kg, but it has the advantage of an electric motor that sends 113,3 kW to the front wheels making it an all-wheel drive with a combined total of more than 480 kW. This one has an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission in play, and when you hoof it, it’s capable of a 0-100 km/h launch in 2.9 seconds, can hit 0-200 km/h in 10.5 seconds and has a top speed of 298 km/h. On paper, the American sports hybrid has less power, is heavier and also slower, but paper specs are usually different to real-world specs. Which car is your money on in this about-face drag race?
Take a look at the YouTube video that pits the British-built McLaren 750S up against the latest incarnation of the American classic, the Corvette Stingray. In this case it's the hybrid-assisted eRay version that sees power being send to all four wheels. The car is heavier as a result, but does it have enough to overcome what the British cointender has on offer?: U-DRAG RACE: McLaren 750S vs. Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray | Quarter Mile, Handling & More! | Edmunds Cars
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News British American Edmunds Cars SXdrv U-Turn U-Turn Drag Race Drag Race Hybrid Stingray Corvette Corvette eRay 750S McLaren 750S McLaren