When the offer came from Mark Haynes at Scottsdale McLaren to drive the MP4-12C, the order was, to "Take it to some of my favorite roads and go have fun". I cleared my schedule! Wouldn't you?

I'm probably like most of you with regards to the latest offering from F1 legend McLaren; I've read lots of articles and seen the stats: carbon fiber chassis, 3.8l twin turbo V8, 617hp, 7-speed double clutch pre-cog gearbox, 8500rpm red line, active suspension and aero. 3.1 seconds to 60, 124 in less than 9, and a 207 mph top speed. They all sounds very tasty, but it's a car done by a specialist British manufacturer. Surely, you'll have to follow it with a flat bed and a pick up truck to gather the bits that it sheds, followed by the inevitable tow truck ride home. So, I was a bit surprised when I was handed the $1000 key and asked nicely to, "Bing it back in one piece"!

With the Macca, the show starts with those dihedral doors. Just watching them go up makes the thing feel special and I haven't even wedged myself in. As the door opens the first thing you are hit with is the smell of some obviously well tanned dead cows. A smell I never grow tired of in my Ferrari. Getting in requires a bit of coordination, and I think a female companion in a short skirt might make for some entertainment, but once inserted McLaren's emphasis on the driver AND driving makes it heard loud and clear. I think my resting pulse just doubled.

The electric seats adjust in enough directions that you would have to be of some fairly odd proportions not to find a comfortable driving position. Once settled in, I'm faced with a huge business-like tach with an 8500 rpm red line and surrounded by a wrap around cockpit that made me feel like I was in a very well appointed race car with lots of leather, alcantara and carbon fiber to satisfy. It is definitely an 'intimate environment', but by no means claustrophobic. The car tends to 'shrink wrap', and you feel like one with the car, as if wearing it, rather than sitting in it. The Meridian stereo, touch screen controls for the radio, GPS, iPod interface, etc, etc etc, are all there, look great, but frankly I could care less about. The 12C says, "Drive Me", and that's all I want to do!

Whenever I'm in an exciting car for the first time, the expert on the car starts explaining all the systems and how they work, and it's generally too much for the 8 year-old boy inside of me to remember anything. As hard as Mark tried to guide me through how to operate all the systems, setting this and that, it managed to go in one ear and out the other. When asked if I understood, my first question was, "How do you start this thing"? It turned out to be as straight forward as foot on brake and press the mandatory 'Start' button on the center console, with the bi-turbo V8 settling in to a gruff, businesslike idle.

At first I thought, because of the variability of the ability to set the car up in so many different ways, that there would be a steep learning curve, and I was honestly feeling a bit intimidated. We started out in the basic setting, which was fully automatic. That lasted about 200 yards before I asked for manual, please!

On the freeway, other than being in a bright orange supercar, with all the attention that attracts, it was laughably easy. Good sight lines and big windshield makes seeing out a breeze. Many mid-engine cars, especially some from the Audiized Lamborghini make lane changes a bit of a prayer. Not so in the 12C. The twin clutch 'box' swapping cogs at the mere thought of the next gear. The seats providing some of the best support and comfort that I have experienced, all says that I could drive this car across the country, knocking out 1000 mile days and get out feeling fresh. Not bad for a thigh high supercar. We are definitely off to a great start, this 12C and me.

Once off the freeway and heading for some back roads, the car starts to feel at home. The route I chose started out with some nice sweepers to familiarize myself with some of the basics of the handling and then onto a 20 mile stretch of technical road, with turns that mimic every great race track in the world, add to that some possible questionable surface changes, I should get a good idea what this Macca is all about.

So, what's the 12C like to drive? When the road starts to get interesting, the first thing you notice is the steering and front end. That thick-rimmed leather wheel feels great in your hands and the feedback and weighting is near on perfect. At the hint of a corner, the turn-in is instant, without any understeer, even when you inevitably overcook an entry. The ride was Mercedes smooth, even on the worst of surfaces, and when the road gets serious, there was zero body roll. I don't know how fast the gear change goes, but in the real world, on a challenging, give-and-take road, it does exactly what you ask of it, every time, at a speed that is just about seamless.

Once I got the car in a manual set up, I was comfortable inside of 10 minutes and at one with it in 20. To me, that's the sign of great engineering by guys who really are about the driving experience and know what a driver's car should do. Well-done boys from Woking!

When the road gets challenging, the car just works with you, never against. I found myself instantly left foot braking (a product of good ergonomics). Braking later and deeper into each ensuing corner (never fading, even under the hardest use), with that nose homing in on apex after apex like a blood hound on the trail and rolling on the throttle earlier and earlier, because of the confidence that the car inspires. On a public road, you would have to be a maniac to run out of grip, and it is so easy to drive fast, you would have to have hands and feet that are all thumbs to lose control. Never once did I feel turbo lag and the power band is so broad that you never feel that you have to keep it on the boil, like in an F40. In that car, if you aren't in the power band, there is nobody home, which can lead to some interesting situations mid corner. Not so, in the 12C. The power is there when you want it, and in a very predictable way, not the bang that is expected from turbo delivery.

Fortunately, there was very little traffic, so I had a clean shot at one of my favorite Arizona roads. And when there was a car to pass, the 617hp and 443lb ft of torque made the smallest gap seem like the Grand Canyon.

Criticisms? They are few and far between. I would like to have a real speedometer, rather than a digital read-out as I like to glance at the needle to give me an idea of where my speed is, especially in a car that looks like this and hides its speed very well. You can find yourself at 'go to jail' velocities very quickly. The only other thing was the feel on the paddle shift. They feel like switches, and I personally like a more mechanical feel. And, Mr. Dennis, while you are at it, I would also like them a bit bigger, thank you. None of these would be a deal breaker for me, and are more of an adaptation issue.

My previous idea of a British Supercar was Lotus and I've had several.   As good as they were, they just felt, for lack of a better word, fragile... and they always turned out to be exactly that, which is what I expected going in to this test. I was dead wrong. The McLaren conversely, felt substantial, well engineered, developed and all of a piece. The appointments and controls are made of quality materials, and well positioned, making the cockpit a very good place to be, with one thing in mind.... The Joy of Driving! 5/5 Stars from me! My personal request for Ron Dennis would be for a more hard-core version, like my Ferrari Challenge Stradale. My mouth is watering!

At the end of the day the 12C left me wanting more, I didn't want to give it back. I just wanted to drive and that's what a Supercar should do.

A great thanks to Mark Haynes at Scottsdale McLaren for allowing me the privilege to experience what is surely one of the best cars in this segment. My advice is that if you are looking at the Ferrari 458 or Lamborghini Gallardo, you owe it to yourself to drive the 12C. It is a very well engineered and executed piece of kit, and you won't need a flat bed and full time mechanic to enjoy one.