McLaren 720S vs 800 Horsepower Dodge Viper ACR Extreme Roll Racing

Once again, we have proof that there is more involved in going fast than horsepower. While most gear heads know and appreciate the value of a lightweight vehicle that slices cleanly through the air and how those factors affect performance, especially when it comes to a straight line acceleration comparison, reading the comments on this video on YouTube proves that some people just don’t get it. Of course, reading YouTube comments on any given video also makes me want to take my kids and move to Mars as soon as that’s a viable option, so maybe that’s not the best place to spend my time.

Regardless, we’ve seen this McLaren 720S – which puts down 690 horsepower – beat up on a new Z06. Now, we have the same McLaren lined up with a gnarly Dodge Viper that has 800 crank horsepower on tap, which translates to 677 horsepower to the wheel. Normally, if you line up two cars that make within 15 horsepower of one another, you’re going to have a very close race on your hands. However, thanks to the McLaren’s lighter wight and more aerodynamic profile, it walks away easily from the Viper.

It’s worth noting that the wing on this Viper creates up to 1,000 pounds of downforce, which will keep the car planted firmly around corners, but simply adds drag in a straight line. The 570S, on the other hand, has measures in place to actually reduce drag at speed to make the car punch more efficiently through the air, and that factor alone is probably where the majority of the difference is between these two cars as their speeds increase during these races.

What would you like to see the McLaren take on next? What car out there would be able to hang with it on a top end run?