It's not often you have an instructor in the passenger seat encouraging you – telling you – to mash the throttle and spin the tyres of half a million dollars' worth of carbon fibre and V8 engine, sending up wisps of smoke along the way and enticing the tail to wiggle as it struggles to contain a full 530kW of power.
But the McLaren 720S is no ordinary supercar.
The super of supercars
As well as ballistic performance, F1-inspired aerodynamics and potent cornering ability the Ferrari 488-fighter has a drift control system whereby electronics team with raw grunt to allow the sort of hoony behaviour that would typically have your car confiscated by police by the time you'd grabbed third gear.
Except for this demonstration we're on the challenging Vallelunga race track outside Rome.
The VDC, or Variable Drift Control, uses the stability control system, but allows more leeway with wheelspin and yaw angle (how much the car is sliding). Think of it as a safety net for when you want to do silly sideways things.
It's a neat party trick but by no means the essence of what is shaping up to be one of the fastest cars ever sold in Australia.
Technology = performance
Excluding the three-seater F1 of the early 1990s, McLaren has only been selling road cars since 2010.
Like the Formula One cars it's better known for, all use a carbon fibre tub, something that has been extended to the roof on the 720S.
The McLaren uses brake steer, designed to adjust braking pressure from side to side to help point the car.
Rather than a limited slip differential, electronics send power to each of the 20-inch rear tyres, apportioned depending on driver inputs, available grip and speed, among other parameters.
Beneath the hood
But it's the engine that is the heart of the 720S.
McLaren's familiar twin turbo V8 has been increased in capacity by 0.2 litres, to 4.0 in total.
Total output is 530kW (or 720 old school horsepower, hence the name) and torque is a whopping 770Nm.
They're big numbers and – crucially – bigger than the 720S's prime rival, the Ferrari 488 (492kW and 760Nm).
Combined with that lightweight body it makes for phenomenal acceleration; 0-100km/h in 2.9 seconds (hindered only by a lack of grip in lower gears) and another 4.9 seconds to reach 200km/h.
On the road
Our drive began rumbling over the cobblestoned streets of Rome, dealing with Italian traffic at its loveable maddest.
It quickly became a hotbed of cut-n-thrust and people pointing smartphones for their own personal take-away of one of the world's sleekest, most dramatic four-wheeled shapes. The highlight was one Vespa-riding 20-something bloke who positioned himself inches from our front bumper for an on-the-run selfie of the 720S.
Despite the slow speed challenges, the McLaren was remarkably composed.
Potholes and dips are absorbed impressively with the suspension in its softest Comfort setting.
The main giveaway you're driving something out of the ordinary is altitude. All other traffic is a lot higher – and your bum is inches from the road and there's a persistent hum of a V8, its turbos whooshing and whistling with every squeeze of the accelerator.
Hitting the track
Firing out of the pit lane at the Vallelunga race track outside Rome quickly has the speedo tickling 200km/h.
It does it with the ferocity of, say, a V8 Holden at one quarter the speed, the engine growling purposefully as it spins freely towards its redline, spitting up F1-inspired red then blue lights to prompt gear shifts.
And the numbers don't stop rising; 220, 240, 250 flash up on the customisable digital display before it's time to send out the anchors.
And anchors they are. Enormous carbon ceramic discs resist repeated punishment from big speeds.
The air brake – or active wing - that temporarily pops up to block rear vision pins the tail to the road, ensuring immense stability and further reducing the distance it takes to slow.
Wheels on fire
Our race track cars have the optional Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres. They're stickier and grippier than the regular P Zeros, designed primarily for hot laps on a track.
As heat builds they're clawing the track tenaciously; the 720 has immense mid-corner grip – and stability.
It also showcases its aerodynamics, cornering harder as speed increases.
At one stage I miss my braking marker and bury the nose deeper into the tarmac trying to arrest the pace.
Looking back on it it's easy to do. I was somewhere north of 200km/h. Pressing the firm but reassuring pedal half a second too late places me something in the order of 30 metres further down the track.
New limits
The 720S is not perfect. But the complaints are trivial given the driving talent.
The electric seat controllers are buried out of sight near the centre of the car. And the switchable instrument cluster is more gimmick than useful way to display information.
Oh, and there was the odd minor quality hiccup, something McLaren defends by pointing out they are pre-production cars.
There are also dozens of options which can add hundreds of thousands to the $489,900 price tag – although to be fair that's normal at this end of the market.
But the pace and performance it has suggests it could be the fastest road-going track car when it arrives in July.
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Had a drive of the 720S yourself? Share your experience in the comments section below.
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