Who says a McLaren's not a girly car?

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Awesomely powerful, scintillating to look at, and a performer like absolutely no other.

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It might not be the biggest car I've ever driven, or the most spacious, or the best bundu-basher, but it is totally and utterly the most divine. Finish and klaar.

The McLaren MP4-12C is the kind of car most of us dream about - awesomely powerful, scintillating to look at, and a performer like absolutely no other I've ever piloted. It's the stuff of which fantasies are made.

And that engine sound: oh my word. Gut-wrenching and heart stopping.

With 'scissor' doors opening upwards, it's not the easiest machine to lock yourself into, particularly when you're wearing heels, but once you're in this low-slung beast, you're on another planet altogether.

The twin-turbo, 32-valve, four-litre V8 motor delivers 441kW, accompanied by a soundtrack you'll want to hear again and again: apply light pressure to the accelerator and it'll emit a roar to quicken your pulse. Expect a muscular 600Nm anywhere between 3000 and 7000rpm.

The McLaren is fully automatic: there's a D for drive button, another for reverse, and one for neutral. And it boasts one of those tiny little handbrakes on the dash.

From this picture it is clear that the McLaren MP4-12C is an eminently suitable car for a lady.

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It has a seven-speed, seamless-shifting dual-clutch transmission, and does the 0-100km/h sprint in a blisteringly quick 2.9 seconds (with semi-slick tyres) and 3.9 with normal tyres. Top speed is 340km/h.

For those women who thought McLarens were Formula One cars that you only ever saw on race tracks, the MP4-12C was specifically designed as a road car, and has been brought into South Africa by the Daytona Group, which also sells the Aston Martin and Rolls Royce brands, as well as Mini, BMW and Audi.

So what's it like to drive?

Unbelievable. The centre of gravity is such that you feel almost invincible, planted centrally and low to the ground. Ground clearance is minimal so you won't be going off-road much - even over-enthusiastic speed bumps and steep driveways can become hazardous to your.

Nor will it do for school lift clubs, unless you want to raise your child's playground cred by squeezing them in the limited ledge space behind the front seats! Rear vision wasn't totally fabulous for me, but then, such is the presence this car exudes that other motorists respectfully move out of your way anyway.

It's awesome. There's no doubt the first pure McLaren road car to hit the market will sell up a storm among the moneyed class.

Daytona director Ryan Barnwell says there's already a waiting list. The dealership opened five months ago, and 28 orders were taken before the first one even arrived. “There are 14 on the road at the moment, and more coming.”

He'd told me that once you've driven a McLaren, you can't stop smiling. He said even the grumpiest, most expressionless nerd would grin like a child with a new toy after the experience.

“You can't describe what the car is like to drive,” he told me. “You have to actually drive it yourself to know what I'm talking about.”

He was right. And I do.

Cost? Eish, you had to ask: A cool R3 million to R3.5 million.

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