McLaren MP4 12C: Supercar of your dreams

If there are two things McLaren engineers know really well, they are advanced technology and weight reduction. These are areas where all that race car experience helps.

First of all, this car's body is built almost entirely from carbon fiber. That's become almost de rigueur in supercars these days. No self-respecting manufacturer of outrageously fast and expensive two-seat sports cars would use anything else.

But then there's the engine. The McLaren gets its 616 horsepower out of a turbocharged 3.8-liter V8. That's an enormous amount of power out of a little engine.

And that small engine is mounted right behind the car's two seats creating an automobile that's not only light and quick but perfectly balanced. Everything feels as if it's, literally, centered around you, almost as if you're wearing the car rather than driving it. See turn, think turn, car turns. It's easy and it's beautiful.