First Exotic advice please

[big bobs beans]

So I am in the market for a entry level supercar for a trip across Europe so the main things i would like are reliability and comfort. the main areas I'm looking are:

- McLaren
570s or 720s

- Lamborghini
Huracan perf

- Ferrari
F12 or 488

Iv heard horror story's on McLaren reliability but iv also heard some good things so any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Drl22]

You’re about to get a load of information which ultimately will not help you at all, you need to go and drive them it really is that simple.

The McLaren reliability debate will rage on and is in many threads, I have never had one so can’t comment.

The other choices on your list you cannot go wrong with in my opinion, they are all excellent but probably if your main aim is touring Europe I would exclude the Perf as it is quite raw. Unless that’s the kind of touring you mean, tearing from one place to the next. The other two options from Ferrari will do that but also be a bit more civilised when you want them to be. That said I’d take any of the non McLaren options for a tour across Europe but that’s just my personal preferences.

Edit: you’ll also need to consider luggage space which will be sorely lacking in the Perf, better in the 488 and better still in the F12.

Edited by Drl22 on Tuesday 2nd March 11:52

[Trev450]

An R8 Plus is hard to beat for reliability and comfort.

Agree with the comments above about the Huracan Perf.

[big bobs beans]

thanks guys really appreciate it

[Ferruccio]

Heart - The only way to tell is to drive each. Normally you just know.

Head - Reliability is a function of the general build quality of the make and the luck of your individual car

[rjg1966]

I have a Huracan Perf and with comfort seats and in Strada it’s absolutely fine on a long journey, it is a bit tight for luggage but you can fit a travel case in the boot and two behind the seats which is perfect for a long weekend !!

[px1980]

rjg1966 said:

I have a Huracan Perf and with comfort seats and in Strada it’s absolutely fine on a long journey, it is a bit tight for luggage but you can fit a travel case in the boot and two behind the seats which is perfect for a long weekend !!

I drove a Huracan 610-4 Spyder (so not Perf) once for a day and there was no space whatsoever behind the seats. The front boot would only fit a small squishy gym bag, not even a hand-luggage sized suitcase.

Are Perf and/or coupe cars any different?

[rjg1966]

I believe the spyder has less room behind the seats and also much less headroom !!

[Mezzanine]

Invest in some decent driver tuition.

Spend good money on tyres.

Make sure you put some decent miles on whatever you buy before you leave, this will hopefully help some niggles to uncover themselves when you are not in the middle of Poland at 3 a.m.

[petjam]

rjg1966 said:

I have a Huracan Perf and with comfort seats and in Strada it’s absolutely fine on a long journey, it is a bit tight for luggage but you can fit a travel case in the boot and two behind the seats which is perfect for a long weekend !!

I agree with the above, not harsh at all in Strada. No space behind the seats if you get the Spyder though, so no space inside at all (unless your passenger doesn't mind a bag on their lap!).

Edited by petjam on Tuesday 2nd March 15:02

[Bispal]

Done many Euro trips, here is my summary of the 3 best cars I had:-

996C2 targa - several trips. no breakdowns. loads of luggage space.
McLaren 12C coupe - possibly the best touring car ever, did 2 x 3,000 miles trips. No issues, lots of appreciation, 30mpg, very comfortable & very fast
981 Spyder - really great 1 x 3,500 miles trip, no reliability issues but only car that used some oil (in Cortina where it was £50 litre!!!) Great fun when going slow up mountain passes due to sound and manual gearbox, with convertible roof and 2 boots! Also comfy and 30+ mpg overall.

Have done trips in other cars but these are the 3 best. If you gave me £70-90k and said buy a car for a euro trip my money would go on a 12C / 650S wih the 981 Spyder a very close 2nd. I considered a Lambo but boot very small and also 2k of the miles are on motorways and at £2 litre doing 30 mpg in a McLaren or Porsche beats 15-20mpg in a Lambo or Ferrari. If you were to ask my wife which she preferred she would say 12C all day long and would even take the 675LT now over the 981 Spyder as its comfier! Cant wait for that road trip once life is normal again.

Thing is anything can break down, literally anything. Closest I came to it was a burned out clutch in an MX5 on the autobahn (which I nursed home) and a stuttering RS4 which I never got to the bottom of, and a leaking roof on an F355 GTS and my wife wasn't happy holding a bucket on her lap through Belgium!