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  • The McLaren 650S recently took the best performance car title at our car of the year awards. And

  • now it's time to let you enjoy a full track test of this mighty McLaren. The McLaren 650S

  • Spider costs just shy of £200,000, but it's 3.8 litre twin-turbocharged V8 generates an

  • amazing 641bhp and it will 62mph in just three seconds before going on to a top speed of

  • over 200mph. With its P1-inspired exterior styling, carbonfibre chassis and high-tech

  • aerodynamics, can the 650S Spider deliver around out test track? The current lap record

  • is held by the sensational Porsche 911 GT3 which set a lap time of one minute, zero-six

  • point six seconds. We've got the Corsa tyre, the more extreme of the two tyres you can

  • choose from and I've got all of the settings down here in their raciest setting and the

  • stability control fully turned off. So, we've done quite a few practice laps, I'm just going

  • to do one more practice lap to get some heat into the tyres and it does take a while just

  • to readjust just to how shocking the performance is in this car. So, in second gear there,

  • acceleration is absolutely astonishing. Plenty of noise from the engine, a little bit reminiscent

  • of the P1, nearly 130mph as we get on the brakes for this chicane, even on this warming

  • up lap. Obviously standard setup ceramic brakes in this car so the braking performance is

  • really really good. And to extract a lap time you really have to maximise and really attack

  • into the braking zone and make use of that. And once you get into the corner you get the

  • weight on the nose, get it turned in and you feel the car hopping and skipping as it goes

  • through the corner and over the bumps. There's a lot of grip in this car and you really have

  • to drive it pretty much like a racing car with aero grip - really commit to the corners,

  • carry speed. there's lots of feel through the steering, lovely steering - very positive

  • turn in. The lap disappears very quickly. We've got some heat in the tyres now, going

  • to come round and see what sort of lap time this car can do around our test track. Find

  • out whether it can beat the fastest car we've ever tested. So, out of the last corner, get

  • a nice clean exit, 650bhp under your right foot, hard across the start/finish line, hard

  • on the brakes. Stay in third gear, here. The change of direction through here is astonishing,

  • really good front end, back to the left, loads of grip, little bit of understeer on the exit,

  • but really hard, hard on the power. Up to fourth gear, dual clutch gearbox, lovely lovely

  • gearshift, touching 130mph. Really standing on the brakes, down through the gears, into

  • second into the chicane. Again, traction remarkably good given how much power this car's got - amazing

  • traction. Fourth gear, hard on the brakes. Now these high speed corners, you've got to

  • get the car into the corner, nose in, hard on the power, a tiny bit of understeer, into

  • bunga bunga, this corner is really interesting. First apex let the car run out wide, constantly

  • loading it up, loading it up, amazing body control. Fourth gear on the exit, through

  • this high speed change of direction. This is where it feels really good through there.

  • A little bit of understeer on the exit. Hard on the brakes - air brake coming into play

  • as well. Last couple of corners, the laps disappear so quick in this car. Up to the

  • last corner. Trying to get the power down - really good traction in this gear, third

  • gear and across the line. So, the McLaren 650S is the fastest car to ever lap our test

  • track. Its race car levels of braking, grip and acceleration are really sensational and

  • are even more impressive when you consider how easy this car is to drive on the road.

  • This really is a mighty McLaren. If you want to watch some of the other fastest cars around

  • our test track, click on the video windows to watch the Porsche GT3 take on the Aston

  • Martin V12 Vantage, and the Porsche 911 Turbo S take on the Nissan GT-R. Click on the play

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  • channel.

The McLaren 650S recently took the best performance car title at our car of the year awards. And

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