First of all, no prizes for guessing the winner of this drag race->ke446 between a Porsche 918 Spyder->ke3629 and Carrera GT.->ke2124 It’s not even close. The 918’s all-wheel-drive, hybrid->ke147 powertrain is no match for the rear-wheel-drive, V-10-powered Carrera GT. The hybrid gaps the GT right off the line and never looks back. But this is a more than a battle between Porsche->ke1 supercars->ke177 from different eras. It’s a meeting of old and new, analog and digital, Pepsi and Crystal Pepsi.

In addition to being the closest thing on four wheels to sounding like a Tie Fighter, the Carrera GT is still an awesome car. With 612 horsepower from its 5.7-liter engine, it’s out-powered by many of today’s entry-level supercars, but, unlike more modern machinery, it isn’t a car to suffer fools. Its ceramic clutch is temperamental at low speeds and, like a race car,->ke148 it’s a twitchy beast, prone to snap oversteer. It even has a six-speed manual transmission (a manual!) with a wooden shift knob inspired by Porsche’s 917 Le Mans->ke1591 racers. Did I mention the noise?

The 918 Spyder is an amazing piece of technology that not only proved hybrids didn’t have to be boring; they could also be brutally fast. Working with its 4.6-liter V-8, the 918’s electric motors, advanced algorithms and sensors all shuffle data around to make it faster than just about anything on the road. Objectively and by every measure it dominates the Carrera GT, which only had traction control to prevent you from looking like a fool.

Call me old-school, but I’ll take the Carrera GT every time. What about you?

Porsche Carrera GT

Read our full review here.

Porsche 918 Spyder

Read our full review here.