After dropping hints for several months, I was finally given the chance to drive a Hypercar. To be honest, I wasn't fussy. Any of the hybrid-powered trio made up of the LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 would do.
Ironically it's the rarest of the three here in New Zealand that came available to drive and even better, we were handed the keys to the Porsche 918 at Hampton Downs race track.
I'll get to the tech shortly, because the most mind blowing aspect of these cars is that they're sold out, despite being some of the most expensive automobiles ever made.
By the time you've got it in your garage in New Zealand, a LaFerrari would have cost $2.2 million. If you think that's a hard sell, think again because 2500 people expressed an interest in buying one.
And don't expect to see one on Trade Me, because owners have to sign a contract which gives Ferrari first option to buy the car back for the same amount you paid for it.
However, that may turn out to be a rarity, as second hand LaFerraris are fetching $4 million and the same goes for the Porsche and McLaren Hypercars
Two of the 499 LaFerrari's built are here in New Zealand and the same applies to its arch rival - the McLaren P1. Two of the 375 built, sold here for north of $2 million.
Which makes the 918 around $1.4 million despite current values being $2.4 million.
But these cars are more than expensive and exclusive, they are also the most advanced, and in the case of this Porsche, the most environmentally friendly sports cars ever built.
Yes, it has a V8 and yes it will hit 340 km/h, but it's also electric. You can even plug it in to get 25km of zero emission motoring.
And it's still fast, top speed using just the batteries is 160 km/h.
But the best part is when the V8 and both electric motors work together along with four-wheel-drive, to get this from zero to 100 km/h in 2.6 seconds.
For all the computing power at work though, nothing matches the sound of that V8 at 9000 revs per minute.
I'll be honest, the combination of value, power and rarity made me pretty damned nervous behind the wheel on the Hampton Downs track. I nudged 200 km/h - or a little over half of the 918's top speed.
But that was enough to qualify as mind blowing. The car has near F1 levels of power and technology and you can still drive it to the shops.
Pretty much every number that has anything to do with a Hyper-hybrid is insane. You could say the 918, LaFerrari and P1 do no more than give rich folk a chance at bragging rights, but this is more. Sure it's not the most practical ride, but it is utterly awesome. Seriously a 340 km/h top speed and official economy figures of 3.1 litres per 100 km.
Okay so it doesn't do that at the same time, but what do you expect for 1.4 million?
Newshub.
