Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
ONE of the 12C’s unique selling points is its ability to provide a comfortable drive on potted country lanes and still make the heart beat faster with excitement on the open road and on the track.
Can it deliver on its promises and remain true to its sporting heritage and street credibility at the same time?
The only way to find out was to slip inside the acclaimed driver’s carbon fibre Monocell compartment and set off around quaint middle England before putting it to the test on a celebrated circuit made famous on the Top Gear TV programme.
Since 2002, the BBC motoring show, broadcast around the globe, has been recorded at the park using the former paint shop as a studio and parts of the runways and taxiways of the aerodrome as a test track.
Dunsfold Aerodrome was built in 1942 by the 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Engineers and was completed in just 20 weeks. During the war it played host to the Royal Canadian Air Force 400 and 414 fighter squadrons, RAF 98 and 180 Bomber command and latterly the Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service 320 squadron.
As a proving ground for the Hawker Aircraft Company from 1959 it saw many important aircraft tests, most famously the Harrier Jump Jet which first flew there in 1960.
It is now mainly used as a business park and test track, best known as the filming location for the TV series and used for power laps by the show’s Stig, drag races, celebrity challenges and ‘Star in a Reasonably-Priced car’ laps.
A passenger jet lies spookily abandoned and when the landing lights shine brightly cars must keep off the track as small aircraft drop in.
Dunsfold is a village in the picturesque Waverley district of the county of Surrey, around 14 kilometres south of the English county town of Guildford and close to McLaren’s Woking base.
Having had the pleasure of motoring up the highway in Bahrain a few weeks back in the 12C the UK country lane challenge was a totally different matter, especially when faced with large delivery vans and speeding locals taking up all the space.
It was an anxious 30-minute journey but the 12C passed the comfort test with flying colours offering no bone-jarring jolts or nasty squeaks, creaks and groans which often go associated with the sports car driving experience.
It loves to chase up the gears when an open dual carriageway beckons and clicking up and down the seven bars on the steering wheel is as pleasurable as plucking the strings of a bass guitar.
It was an ideal preparation for the thrills awaiting our group at Dunsfold, a particularly tricky little circuit which takes a bit of time to adjust to.
By the third lap, however, with a co-driving assistant by my side, I managed to move this beast with incredible speed thanks to the track mode button.
Although slippery in parts, with snow still settled on the ground in places, the 12C stuck to its task with every twist and turn. It gripped the road despite heavy braking thanks to its automatic active airbrake.
A sweet sensation was made only sweeter when the professional driver took over control and pressed the pedal to the floor with confidence as I sat in the passenger seat.
I smiled gamely as he provided evidence of its capability to accelerate from 0-100kph in little over three and a bit seconds and tried his utmost to power it towards its maximum speed of 330kph.
Wow! And I even kept my eyes open.
