Ford vs Ferrari, Hunt vs Lauda... Motoring’s biggest rivalries

The automotive industry is competitive by nature but some carmakers feud more intensely than others. Racing is often the source of the conflicts that seep into showrooms and enthusiasts have a tendency of escalating them by taking sides. With that said, rivalries are ultimately good for motorists because they force companies to surpass themselves year after year. We’re taking a look at some of the greatest and longest-standing conflicts the automotive industry has ever seen. Some are good-natured but a few got messy: Ford vs Ferrari In 1963, Henry Ford II received a phone call that inadvertently set another of motorsport's great rivalries into motion. After a series of secret meetings, Ford was close to completing a deal to buy a faltering Ferrari - only for Enzo Ferrari to scupper the sale at the last minute. Enzo Ferrari's change of heart was motivated by his reluctance to hand over control of his firm's motorsport department. Henry Ford II was so infuriated that he decided to build his own car to beat Ferrari at Le Mans. That decision led to one of the most storied Fords ever - the GT40. Developed by Carroll Shelby, the GT40 not only beat Ferrari at Le Mans but also won on four consecutive occasions, from 1966 to 1969, marking one of the most dominant periods for a single manufacturer at the famous endurance race. And, yes, the story was so good Hollywood came calling again. The hypercar holy trinity: P1 vs 918 vs LaFerrari Perhaps the defining automotive rivalry of the 21st century came in 2013 with the arrival of a 'Holy Trinity' of hybrid hypercars - the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder - when three of the world's greatest manufacturers went head to head to head. All three machines bolstered their ICE powertrains with at-the-time radical hybrids, pioneering the now ubiquitous tech. That made them simultaneously flagships and visions of the future. Indeed, current hypercars still draw from their developments. More than a decade on, the debate surrounding the three cars is as divisive as ever. It will take three seriously special cars for another rivalry to come close to matching this rarefied one. James Hunt vs Niki Lauda Rarely has Formula 1 had such a pair of contrasting personalities competing so closely for the world championship than when Niki Lauda battled James Hunt in the 1976 season. Two great friends, the pair took the championship down to the wire after a season of drama and controversy. They were very different characters. Lauda was matter-of-fact, methodical and calculating, whereas Hunt was extroverted and outspoken. That served only to make the rivalry more memorable. Ferrari driver Lauda led McLaren's Hunt by a sizeable margin midway through the season, partly because of better reliability. Then Lauda suffered a devastating accident at the Nordschleife, which allowed Hunt to close the gap - despite Lauda heroically returning to the grid just six weeks later. The championship was settled in the final race at Fuji, where Lauda retired due to the torrential rain - allowing Hunt to claim victory by a single point. Hollywood could have scripted it - and later did for Rush. Volkswagen Golf GTI vs Peugeot 205 GTi In 1984, Volkswagen launched the Mk2 Golf GTI, which managed to retain the magic and continue the success of the legendary 1976 original. However, the hot hatch was no longer a new idea and the VW's main opposition came from the Peugeot 205 GTi. Despite both cars sharing the same three letters on the boot, they had contrasting characteristics: the VW was fun but could also play the sensible game, whereas the Peugeot was raw and exciting but unforgiving on the limit. The 205 and Mk2 Golf battled for hot hatch supremacy throughout the '80s and early '90s before VW lost its mojo. The roles reversed in the mid-2000s, when Peugeot lost its GTi magic and VW rediscovered its form. And it is set to go on because both firms are plotting future electric GTI/GTi models. Ferrari F40 vs Porsche 959 The arrival of the Porsche 959 and Ferrari F40 in 1986 and 1987 was a watershed moment for supercars and sparked the first truly great rivalry in this class. The two cars were fundamentally different. The Porsche was the first real example of an everyday supercar, with a complex four-wheel drive system, 911-style 2+2 seating and a set of manners in the wet that no other supercar at the time could match. The Ferrari, on the other hand, was a turbocharged, lightweight, uncompromising race car for the road. Of course, both were immensely fast and impossibly exotic. In the end, the F40 stole the limelight by being the first road car to break the 200mph barrier, bettering the 959's best effort by a small but headline-making margin. Land Rover vs Toyota Land Cruiser The Land Rover (in its various Series and Defender forms) and the Toyota Land Cruiser have been battling for the crown of go-anywhere transportation for nearly 75 years, with both models still going strong today. The first Land Rover was built in 1948 as a robust and dependable mode of transport for any terrain. It was an instant success, both in the UK and in export markets, quickly becoming renowned for both its adaptability and its capabilities off-road. The production Land Cruiser followed in 1953 and the rugged off-roader began to gain a similar reputation for being able to access just about anywhere on the planet. That still stands - although these days the Defender has gone somewhat upmarket. Hot Wheels vs Matchbox Hot Wheels and Matchbox are the two most recognised names in the toy car industry and undoubtedly responsible for creating a great many car enthusiasts around the world. Today, both are owned by Mattel, but much like The Autocar and Motor, they were rivals for decades. Matchbox launched in 1953, with Mattel responding 15 years later with the original 'Sweet 16' Hot Wheels line, which focused on modified and customised models of cars, rather than replicating standard versions. These days, around 100 million Matchbox models are sold every year, whereas, amazingly, more than 700 million Hot Wheels leave the shelves in the same period. That equates to roughly 22 cars every second. Ayrton Senna vs Alain Prost Two of F1's finest drivers peaked at the same time, creating a fierce rivalry. The intense, emotional Ayrton Senna contrasted with the analytical, cool Alain Prost and they pushed each other to the limit. Senna and Prost engaged in some of the most contentious championship battles in F1's history. In 1988, the McLaren team-mates combined to win 15 of the 16 races in the dominant MP4/4, with Senna taking the title by four points (although Prost outscored him over the full season - but only a driver's best 11 races counted back then). The rivalry really kicked in the following year. Battling for the title in Suzuka, the pair clashed at the chicane and Prost took the title after Senna was disqualified for receiving assistance while rejoining the track. Prost declared it was impossible to be team-mates and moved to Ferrari. The next year, they clashed again at Suzuka. This time Senna drove Prost off the road at the first corner to take the title. Mercedes-AMG One vs production In 2017, Mercedes announced plans for perhaps the most ambitious powertrain ever to be placed within the confines of a road car when it unveiled the AMG One hypercar. On paper, the details were spectacular. The One would share the same plug-in hybrid 1.6-litre V6 as Lewis Hamilton's 2016 world championship-winning F1 car, complete with MGU-H turbo and MGU-K E-hybrid elements, for a total output of 1049bhp. Torque? Well, nobody actually knows. The hybrid system in the AMG One, simply put, is too complicated for a torque figure to be calculated. As Mercedes quickly found out, trying to get an F1 powertrain to comply with modern safety and emissions regulations proved to be an almost impossible task - and issues with idle speed, reliability and longevity almost caused Mercedes to scrap production altogether. But AMG persisted and the One finally arrived after substantial delays in 2022. Just don't ask how much an engine rebuild costs... Forza Motorsport vs Gran Turismo Two of the most recognisable names in the video game world, Forza and Gran Turismo have both done their part over the past few decades to convey the excitement of driving to millions across the world. They're not just two of the best-selling racing game franchises ever. They're two of the best-selling games, full stop. They also symbolise a broader, more intense rivalry: PlayStation, represented by Gran Turismo, versus Xbox, represented by Forza. Although, for the first time ever, the latest Forza title became available on the rival console earlier this year. What is the world coming to? Mitsubishi Lancer Evo vs Subaru Impreza This very 1990s rivalry began on the world's rally stages but spread to the road, posters on bedroom walls and even games consoles. It lasted barely more than a decade yet it will be etched into the minds of enthusiasts forever. And everybody had a preference: either the red and white Mitsubishi Lancer Evo or the blue and gold Subaru Impreza WRX STi. The peak came in rallying in the late 1990s, when Colin McRae turned the Impreza WRC into a household name but Mitsubishi's Tommi Mäkinen racked up the titles. Their closest battle was in 1997, when the Finn snatched the title by a single point. Ford vs GM The battle for supremacy between America's two biggest car firms has been going on since 1910 - two years after Henry Ford began production of his game-changing Model T - when William C Durant, head of the newly formed General Motors, tried to buy Ford Motor Company. He was turned down, and by 1921 Ford had triple the market share of GM. But GM sales overtook those of Ford just a few years later, and it's been push and pull ever since. In the US, their key battleground is pick-ups, where Ford's F-150 has led the way since 1982. But the Corvette has comfortably held a lead in pony car sales over Ford's Mustang. Globally, the confrontation has been just as intense. In the UK, it was the Escort against the Viva/Astra, or the Fiesta against the Corsa, while in Australia it was all about the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore. Volkswagen vs the US Environmental Protection Agency NOx emissions from diesel cars had always been higher than those using petrol, but that small disadvantage was offset by the reduced CO2 emissions and better fuel economy that diesel brought. Or so we thought. The US Environmental Protection Agency discovered that Volkswagen had been fitting clever - but illegal - defeat devices to lower NOx emissions in official testing, compared with real-world driving conditions. The fallout shook VW to its core, resulting in sackings and resignations, the overhaul of its management team, around $30 billion (£22.5bn) in fines and the conviction of several people involved. BMW vs Mercedes-Benz vs Audi Although the three German premium marques share 365 years of heritage, they haven't always been pitted against each other. The rivalry really kicked into gear in the 1980s, when BMW redefined how good a saloon could be with the 'E30' 3 Series, Mercedes invaded BMW's price bracket with the 'W201' 190 (a lineage that would become the C-Class) and Audi pushed upmarket with the 'B3' 80 (precursor to the A4). These days, the three compete in virtually every arena, whether that's saloons or SUVs, ICE or EV and even with their respective performance arms. Heck, in the glory days of the Frankfurt motor show, they used to battle over who could build the biggest stand. These days, each brand faces plenty more opposition from the UK, France, Italy, China and elsewhere, but it will always be their German premium rivals they're most measured up to. Lancia vs Audi Lancia is the most successful rally team in history, and in its early days the front-driven Fulvia and the rear-driven Stratos did the heavy lifting. In 1980, Audi shook up rallying forever with the four-wheel-drive Quattro. In its inaugural season of 1981, it won three events (respectable for the newcomer, though hardly revelatory), but once the technology was honed in 1982 - the first year of Group B - it won the championship. For 1983, Lancia vowed to give Audi a closer run. After all, the Italian firm had developed the 037 from the ground up to win. It was tantalisingly close, with 10 of the 12 rounds won by either the Quattro or the 037, but Lancia finished on top (slightly controversially). For 1984, Audi pinched Walter Röhrl from Lancia, helping the team beat its arch-rival. Elon Musk vs Donald Trump US president Donald Trump is an avowed EV sceptic, although having previously owned a Tesla Roadster, he's perhaps more of a fan when not appealing to his base. But he's said that supporters of EVs should "rot in hell" and the peddling of them is "lunacy". That made it even more surreal when Tesla CEO Elon Musk became one of Trump's largest donors and supporters, helping to fund Trump's 2024 election campaign. After Trump was elected for a second term of office, he and Musk staged a Tesla event at the White House that felt like a sales pitch. Musk then took a role heading up the Department for Government Efficiency and the pair were firm friends until Trump pushed a bill cutting all EV incentives - much to Musk's displeasure. Musk has left DOGE and the bromance is off. Range Rovers vs thieves Keyless entry has sparked a new age of car theft using relay attack systems and car makers have sometimes seemed slow to put safeguards in place once crooks had cracked the weaknesses of the system. Land Rover owners were among the most common victims of the hundreds of thousands of thefts that followed, particularly of Range Rover models, which are always in high demand on the black market. In 2023, at the height of the problem, 2% of Velar owners had theirs taken. Insurers began quoting £20,000 for renewal premiums and it started to affect the brand's reputation and sales. A dealership-fitted security update and extra protection in the latest JLR products have meant that just 0.02% of new-generation Range Rovers have been stolen. Bugatti vs all comers Bugatti blew all doubts about the billion-dollar Veyron away when it hit 253mph in 2005 at the Ehra-Lessien track in Germany. It led a renaissance in production car speed records and a flurry of attempts and records were set in relatively quick succession. First up, the SSC Ultimate Aero, which ran a verified 256mph in 2007. To reclaim the record, Bugatti built the Veyron Super Sport and took it to 267mph in 2010. In 2014, Hennessey took its Venom GT to 270mph, although this was run in only a single direction. But in 2017, Koenigsegg officially broke the Super Sport's record with the 277mph Agera RS. Bugatti's response, the eponymous Chiron 300+, is controversial because it achieved 304mph in only one direction and wasn't to production specification. Dacia vs NCAP Dacia is not chasing Euro NCAP stars. That's according to Dacia's previous CEO, Denis Le Vot. The firm received a number of poor results in the voluntary car safety programme but insists that it's not shying away from safety. Instead, it says its standards are high but has spared the expense of developing a car simply to pass a lab test that's not representative of the real world by forgoing systems like semi-autonomous functions. Diesel vs hybrid Why buy a Toyota Prius? Back in 2004, we did 20,000 miles in one and were enamoured. But although the Prius was likeable enough, its novel hybrid powertrain wasn't particularly. Averaging 45.1mpg in that time, it could have been comfortably beaten by a much cheaper Volkswagen Golf diesel, all the while offering superior performance. Sales in the UK's new car market had been touching 50% for diesel in 2015 and 2% for hybrid, but as a result of Dieselgate and the rise of electrification, only 5% of new car sales are now diesel, while hybrids (full and plug-in) account for more than 25%. And with EVs still limited on range, it's hybrids and diesels battling for customers who have to drive long distances.

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Ford vs Ferrari, Hunt vs Lauda... Motoring’s biggest rivalries

Competition improves the breed, but sometimes it gets personal. Here are the most explosive battles

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Ford vs Ferrari, Hunt vs Lauda... Motoring’s biggest rivalries

Competition improves the breed, but sometimes it gets personal. Here are the most explosive battles

More from Autocar

Top 10s

Latest car reviews

Top manufacturers

Quick search

We recommend

Legal bits

About Autocar