Veyron as being a car of concord-like prowess, but it wasn’t a car of my generation, and it does cost both kidneys and a blood diamond. Whereas the McLaren costs £195,250, will retain its value like a Fabergé egg, and be a prized collector’s item in a matter of minutes. If you’ve seen one, you already know, but for those of you reading this without eyes on knowledge, I shall embellish. The 650S does indeed bear a resemblance to the 12C – after all, it uses several body panels and has a similar silhouette. It features unique boomerang headlights, a nod to the P1, and large single air vents on each side. Not to mention the air brake that deploys at a 32-degree angle under downforce or heavy braking. If you want to know that you were showing off, just look in the rear view mirror as you brake, if it rises, you’re probably looking at points. The 650S generates 650 horsepower in PS, all in the name, from a twin-turbo 3.8 litre V8, and with 678 Nm of torque, it really doesn’t
matter what is staring you down at the lights. Having driven back from London to Bristol, I was invited to put the window down in the city centre as a group of teenagers in a VW Golf next to me felt like exchanging vitriolic abuse. Apparently the car was so impressive, it warranted asking me to wind my windows down to receive confirmation that I was indeed a lucky git and should be made aware of the fact. I responded with complete verbal silence, stopping only to put the window back up and leave a Backto-the-Future set of flaming tyre marks behind me. The McLaren 650S is a far better negotiator than I am. So, what is it like to pilot? Well, opening the dihedral doors is an act of theatre. The factory-defined way to enter is much akin to a stop-drop-and-roll procedure, but does leave you transformed from the outside world into a scene from Tron Legacy. A lot of people asked me what it was like to park, expecting the 650S to get into
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