McLaren MP4-12C. Guest Blog. Acquired Taste

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I recently had the opportunity to borrow McLaren’s new MP4-12C for a weekend, a gesture extended by Al Habtoor Motors, McLaren’s agents in the UAE.

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I picked the car up after a visit to the showroom, which was supposed to include a 15 minutes familiarization session with the car’s features. I ended up spending over 3 hours there! We did not feel the time passing by as we discussed one of man’s best topics (besides women and football), namely cars. I was so happy to find the team at Al Habtoor Motors very well informed about not only their car’s technology and features, but about the motorsport industry and its history.

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It was already evening by the time I left the dealership. On my way out, I was told to drive at 80km/h over the speed-bumps opposite the showroom. The sales team sounded so confident with this challenge that I decided to try it. To my surprise, the car crossed the speed bump so smoothly in its suspension’s comfort mode that I hardly noticed it. It was almost like a saloon car.

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The first evening was spent cruising The Walk in Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach Residence – the car driving very comfortably in automatic mode – before we stopped for dinner and coffee. I noticed that the car was not grabbing as much attention as I had expected. The fact that this is McLaren’s first ‘mass production’ car – a lesser-known animal than say a Ferrari or Lamborghini – probably had a lot to do with it. Perhaps it was the understated white paintwork, or the VERY quiet exhaust valves. I use my Maserati GranTurismo S on a daily basis, so you can imagine the type of symphony I am used to while driving.