After 3 years of blissful ownership of highs and not so highs, the fastest thing I’ve ever owned has to go.

The McLaren 720 is a genre defining car. There’s simply nothing like it and even if you choose to categorise this as hyperbole, add the price point to it and there’s simply no basis for an argument against my case; it is untouchable.

It is a car beset with prejudice though. I frequently find myself fighting my corner on social media against the keyboard crowd who have clearly more experience than actual owners in stating McLaren’s are made of cheese, catch fire at the hint of heat, break down frequently and often are found to have the front end of a McLaren and the rear end of a 1982 Ford Cortina.

Yes, the build quality leaves a lot to be desired. Shut lines vary in width, double sided tape can be frequently found in between gaps and sponges are used to stop vibrations. You look directly downwards when above the exhaust pipes and you’ll notice one is longer than the other. And things fail. Frequently. But none of these things make the car ‘unreliable’. Perhaps.. quaint.

In addition to this, there’s a lot of work to do at McLaren automotive also. Frequent leadership changes and lack of any cemented process creates cracks and you can very often fall into those. Porsche are, frustratingly, good at this stuff with decades of experience defining process and expectations. I’ve been left frustrated with McLaren numerous times as their amateur and inexperienced people both at dealer and manufacturer level don’t have the experience that would ensure as a customer you feel part of an established, luxury brand.

However, and this is a big however, there’s a legitimate connection between the company and the customers. The leadership team are accessible and there’s a refreshing transparency in the ambition and intent of the company. I have personally sat and had dinner on separate encouters with both Mike Flewitt, ex-CEO at McLaren Automotive, and also investor and Vice Chairman Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa – both occassions proving to be informative, insightful and incredibly privelidged encounters. The company feels like a small, successful start up – they know they have a fantastic product and they are excited to be part of this journey where they are taking on genuine giants in the industry.

And speaking of the product, my god. I bought the 720s at a good price point – just under £170k, most of the depreciation had occured and the previous owner had taken the brunt of it. Depreciation on new cars is, and should still be, a concern to interested buyers. They don’t quite yet limit the numbers of the cars so volume pays the price as exclusivity is compromised. Where there’s abundance there is a buyers market and at that price point nothing comes close.

It is a ferral, visceral tool that did much to redress the status quo of the super car world. Not only was this 700bhp + car bewilderingly fast, it was also a joy to behold as it contained the collective know-how of decades of race car expertise. Everything, and I mean everything, was perfectly matched. From the rifle bolt gear box which chose to ignore any reservations the car may have in favour of your direct instructions, to the sublime handling of a chassis born to serve any road in the world. This marriage of disciplines proved that ultimatey none of the reputation mattered as it was clear that this car was a team effort from a collection of engineers who not only knew exactly what they wanted but were clearly passionate about the challenge ahead of them.

It was a car that felt it sacrificed nothing when making any of its gains and utilising any of its core tenets did not leave me wanting in other areas. A typical British masterclass here, as the 720s enjoys a chassis thst is as playful in handling as it is explosive in it’s delivery. Incredible damping and perfect NVH play a critical role in providing driver feedback and a seemingly perfect match in tranmission and engine allows you to exploit this car in almost any given scenario. Almost, because it can, and often is, dangerous.

McLaren’s partnership in the competitive world with Pirelli tyres compells them to fit them to the road cars as standard with the P Zeros being the default choice, a terrible tyre for UK roads. They lack in grip, taking a while to gather any heat and often create surprising moments that are best left for the track. In a rear wheel drive car with over 700bhp, weighing around 1300kg, your tyre choice is critical for trust, enjoyment and ultimately safety and the Pirellis gave me none of those. I changed the tyres over to Michelin MP4Ss and it transformed the behaviour of the car, providing more immediate, accessible grip and ultimately more usable in wet weather, something the Pirellis were absolutely not suitable for.

As an ownership prospect, the 720 is absoutely divine in giving so many rewards. Its looks are subjective, yes, but whether you like them or not you cannot deny its road presence. It gets looks absolutely everywhere and I’ve not had a car like this in many years that attracts so much postiive feedback. Every petrol station still garners a new conversation, hotels and restaurants guarantee you the best parking spots and the black colour provides some subtlety in a car already screaming extremeties over its design.

Yes, it’s not all plain sailing and there have been repeated visits back to the dealer. Repeated (all these photos are of separate collections). Damien at McLaren Guildford (a new service only dealership concept by McLaren) was on speed dial. But, again, accessible via Whatsapp and always happy to provide immediate insight to any issues I may have had. There were plenty of niggles. The seats and windows would stop working one day, or the gorilla glass in the roof would suddenly show stress cracks or a new, random vibration somewhere would need a sponge shoved in. But none of these stopped play, they were niggles that were resolved with a quick visit to a dealer.

I did have one big problem that ended play and that was when my entire coolant system decided to dump its guts all over my drive. With a puddle of blue liquid running down the road, McLaren very quickly collected the car and started work which would take 3 weeks to complete. But my experiences were not dampened as I was given a brand new 720s to play around in for that time. When you have that kind of experience, who cares.

After all this, I look back and somewhat regret selling the car. It was the most exhillerating thing I’d ever driven and the closest thing to my Panigale on four wheels that I’d ever driven. That says a lot as ultimately, the role of a sports car is to bring you as close to the tarmac via all senses as possible. The 720 is untouchable.