It’s time for the heavy hitters. We’ve gone to the top shelf to put together one of our closest drag race results to date. It’s the $5 million Lamborghini Sian up against the carbon-bodied McLaren Senna hypercar.
In addition to being built in different countries, the Lamborghini Sian uses a naturally aspirated V12 and all-wheel drive, while the McLaren Senna uses a twin-turbocharged petrol V8 but only sends torque through the rear axle.
So there was only one way to settle which was fastest, and that was with a drag race across the quarter mile, plus a rolling race to crown a definitive victor.
We need to give a massive shoutout to our mates at Caltex for helping us cover the cost of putting this event on. It’s an incredibly expensive undertaking and none of this would be possible without their support.
The cars we are running are powered by Premium 98 Caltex with Techron. Caltex with Techron has been scientifically proven to help clean and protect engines. A clean engine helps maximise power and acceleration, while also delivering better fuel economy, reliable performance and a smooth drive. Head to Caltex.com/au for more information.
The cars
Lamborghini Sian
Limited to just 63 units, the Lamborghini Sian was launched as the precursor to the born-again Countach (you can watch us drag racing the Countach here) and eventually the Revuelto.
It uses a platform from the Aventador and an engine from the SVJ, but the key difference is that it’s hybridised. The small electric motor teams with a super-capacitor to provide charge for the motor (a super-capacitor can deliver something like three times the amount of energy compared to an equally sized lithium-ion battery), which produces a combined 602kW of power and 760Nm of torque.
The base engine is a 6.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol V12 and is mated to the Aventador’s ISR automated manual transmission. Lamborghini claims a 0-100km/h time of 2.8 seconds.
McLaren Senna
The Senna is powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that produces 588kW and 800Nm. It uses a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission to sends torque to the rear wheels.
It has a top speed of 335km/h, which is just nuts! But while the official 0-100km/h time is 2.8 seconds, it’ll struggle to get traction on our unprepped airport runway surface.
It’s also worth noting that once the speed tips over 100km/h, the Senna is likely to have the weight advantage, so it’ll be an extremely close finish.
The results
As predicted, the standing start race was one of the closest drag races we’ve ever done. It was down to the absolute wire!
The pace the McLaren has once it has traction is otherworldly; it just accelerates like nothing in this world. It’s just getting it off the line on a regional airport runway that’s the issue.
| Car | 0-100km/h | 80-120km/h | 0-200km/h | 1/4 mile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamborghini Sian | 3.23s | 1.64s | 9.57s | 10.73s @ 213.13km/h |
| McLaren Senna | 3.96s | 1.48s | 9.50s | 11.02s @ 219.50km/h |
Click the images for the full gallery
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