McLaren MP4-12C: Fastest round the Top Gear track – EVER

McLaren MP4-12C - destroys the Top Gear Track

It’s being reported that the McLaren MP4-12C has achieved the fastest ever time for a production road car round the Top Gear Test Track at Dunsfold in 1.14.1

There do seem to be a few moans about its rather generic design (although that will stop it dating quickly) and some have complained that the MP4-12C doesn’t have the magic a 458 has. Which may have more to do with the different natures of the British and Italians than anything else.

Italians (warning: national stereotyping about to begin. If you’re easily offended please look away now) like a bit of flash. They love the slick cut of an Italian suit; the one-line charm offensive; style over substance.

On the other hand, the more reserved Brits like a Savile Row suit; a constructed persuasion; depth of engineering. And although flashiness has entered our culture, we really prefer substance over style. There, national stereotyping finished (ish).

We’ve said it before (often about Jaguars), and we’ll say it again. A great British car is defined by its ability to waft and wail with nothing more than a flick of the right foot. We don’t want our teeth on edge and a car under us twitching away when we’re stuck in traffic.

We want our cars to be comfy old nags when we’re forced to dawdle, but become thoroughbreds when the road opens up and the mood takes us. That’s how it should be. And that’s how the McLaren MP4-12C seems to be. Light, comfy and quiet when the roads are busy, but coming alive when the road is clear and the twisty stuff beckons.

And if proof were needed that the MP4-12C has the measure of the 458 (and just about anything else that’s built) the news that – according to McLaren London – it’s just become the fastest car ever round the Top Gear track at Dunsfold should silence the critics.

A time of 1:14.118 makes the MP4-12C quicker than the barking mad Ariel Atom V8, the madly expensive Bugatti Veyron Garnd Sport and anything else that’s road legal and has been round Dunsfold. A stunning performance

How good is the new McLaren F1/799 going to have to be to eclipse the MP4-12C?

McLaren MP4-12C Photo Gallery

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Top Gear Test Track Power Lap Times

Source: McLaren Life