Shouldn’t the hybrid Ferrari 296 be taking on the hybrid McLaren Artura? Nope, it’s stepping up a division to fight the 750S, in a supercar battle for the ages

WORDS OLLIE MARRIAGE

PHOTOGRAPHY OLGUN KORDAL & MARK RICCIONI

“THESE TWO NOT ONLY RULE THE CLASS, BUT HAVE COME TO DEFINE IT”

Testarossa vs Countach. I look back over the history of the supercar and that 1980s ding dong is the only time I think there’s been a battle to match this one – 750S vs 296 GTB. These two shouldn’t be in the same division should they? The Ferrari 296 should line up against McLaren’s Artura – they have largely identical genetic make-ups after all, right down to the angle of their cylinder banks. But their personalities are miles apart. You drive these two back to back and they just want to knock lumps out of each other.

You’re now thinking of other titanic struggles at the top of the supercar class. Maybe 458 vs MP4-12C? Nah, that was Ferrari in its pomp while McLaren was getting its eye in. Woking might have had a few financial and quality wobbles since, but the engineering has matured beautifully. How about F355 vs NSX? That’s a goodie – the F355 was Maranello’s riposte to Honda’s NSX after the lazy 348. But they came at the supercar from very different perspectives.

These two are only as good as they are because each has directly influenced the other. Each has hunted for advantages through technology, engineering and design. Raw competition has driven them – to nab the Olympic motto – citius, altius, fortius: faster, higher, stronger. They are the Senna and Prost of supercars, all others have been left in their wake. Maserati, Lamborghini, Porsche, Corvette – all build cars that line up against these on paper, but fall short. These two not only rule the class, but have come to define it.

But is the 750S just a 720S with another 30bhp and a dash that no longer does the cool flip thing? Essentially yes – seven years on from the 720, it’s more facelift than all-new car. Which must make it a hard sell. However, the more time I spent in it, the more I realised how well resolved the 750S now is. It’s like it used to be ever so slightly blurry around the edges, but now it’s pin sharp. The improvements have mostly come in the background and it’s my subconscious that picks up on them.