Teamspeed.com - Bye bye Italian heritage, Hello British heritage

I still remember the day when I took delivery of my Scuderia with the help of Teamspeed.
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After almost 3 years of ownership, it was time let go of my Ferrari Scuderia which went to a friend of mine.
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I picked up the Scuderia almost 3 years ago to go along with my Turbo which I still have. I still love that thing to bits and pieces even after almost 7 years and 44,000 well earned miles. I remember the day when I picked her up as if it was yesterday.
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Fast forward 7 years and this is how she looks
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I'm definitely going to keep her for a while longer. I have a few more modifications in mind for her....but that's not what I came here for. For a very long time I've been a big fan of the McLaren F1 and it was with a special honor that I was finally able to realize a lifelong dream to see a F1 LM in person at the recent Geneve Show.
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I also had a chance to check out the new P1 up close and personally.
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But again...that was only the start for me. I had considered getting the next "supercar" by McLaren which is the P1. I spoke with both Jamie Weir and Marcus Korbach from McLaren at considerable length about the P1 and the future of McLaren. I loved the direction McLaren was going in and they truly have a passion for the cars that they design, engineer and ultimately execute in production form. I've been no less impressed by every one of their creations thus so far. I was so close to placing a deposit for a P1. So close that I could almost taste it. But practicality reared it's ugly head. I could not afford to just plunk 1.3 million dollars (and change) for a car that had an uncertain future in terms of appreciating value against the dollar. It would be both an investment and something for me to enjoy. I wouldn't buy it to keep as a garage queen. I would buy it to actually drive!

I came here to let you folks know that I have joined the McLaren family with my latest acquistion. I realized that it made much more sense for me to pick up a MP4-12C instead. The final nail in the straw was when I met up with a friend who had a MP4-12C coupe.
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I followed closely in my Turbo as much as I could but there was simply no way I could keep up with him as he flew down the highway with my dad riding shotgun. When his ride was over, he was as white as a ghost. That was it for me. I knew that meant I had to get one. I tried to buy his but he would not sell me his so I made the conscious decision to go out and buy one. I had the criteria in front of me. It had to be McLaren orange and a coupe. I let my friend, Alessandro, the sales director at McLaren of San Francisco know that was what I wanted. A few days later, he showed me a few pictures of an orange MP4-12C but it was a Spyder. I had never been interested in droptops but every reviews, everywhere I read, all was said how much the coupe and spyder were alike. There was only 80 lbs separating the two and the performance differences were so close. I had driven the coupe on several occasions but never the Spyder. But it was such a wonderful spec and Alessandro had put together a deal that was just impossible to resist. In the end, I decided to let my Scuderia go and get the Spyder. My friend with the coupe had actually been wanting my Scuderia so he ended up buying it! You can see him grinning from ear to ear as I handed him the keys earlier in this thread.

And so, it is with great pleasure that I introduce to you, boys and girls, my newest pride and joy!
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Alessandro handing off the key to me as I proudly take delivery.
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She is a 2013 MP4-12C Spyder in McLaren orange (my favorite color) with just about every option available from McLaren with the exception of parking sensors and MSO (McLaren Special Operations) parts. I probably will get some upgrades from them eventually but for now she will have to do with a few "mods."

When I flew down to California, that was my first time to see my car in the flesh and my first time to get behind the wheel of a Spyder. I had never thought of myself as a roadster type of fellow so I had approached this with a certain degree of skepticism. Needless to say, within 5 minutes of getting on the road, those concerns had magically disappeared. I drove first with the top up,...the rear splitter windows up..it was as quiet as a coupe that I had driven before but once the window went down, everything changed. She sounded like a BEAST! She had come alive like nothing else I had experienced before. She sounded like a real MACHINE with a hell of a bark! Yeah, I could live with this I thought!

YOW! It wasn't long before I realized that I was going 20-30 mph faster than I thought I was. We all know about how modern cars are so good that they lull us into a false security of thinking that we are safe because of all the safety devices designed. Well, this car does a good job of "coddling" us but at the same time giving us enough feedback to help us "feel" the road ahead. I could feel the steering wheel coming alive as every crevice was felt but not to the point where it'd be considered obtrusive.

It was the perfect balance. McLaren truly has outdone themselves. It truly is magical how I could actually tell the difference in how the car rode, felt, drove and sounded between all the different driving modes from N, S and T (Normal, Sport and Track) modes. This McLaren is a revelation for all.

We all know that Porsche is known for their cold precision efficiency whereas Ferrari is known for its soul. Well, I can safely say that to me, McLaren has managed to somehow combine the two. It may not have the same wailing sound that is so often heard/felt from engines coming out of Maranello or the "sewing-like" precision emanating from the engines from Stuttgart.

Bravo, McLaren..you have done it! You have created, to me, as far as I'm concerned the perfect driving machine. I simply cannot get over how well this car soaks up the bumps yet manages to avoid sudden changes brought on imperfect road conditions. I LOVE this thing! That's for sure! :)

I flew home thinking...I have good things in store with the new McLaren. I'm the first in the Seattle area with such a beast and she is perfect!
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