As a die-hard Ferrari fan, it is hard to watch McLaren kick ass with their McLaren P1. As a die-hard sports car fan, it is intoxicating to see what is achievable in a street car in 2014. These things (including the Porsche 918 and Ferrari LaFerrari in the conversation too) are just so much more powerful, fast and straight out crazy than ever imagined. When new videos pop up of any of these cars we are quick to make sure we share them so we can all enjoy. 

This Autocar review of the McLaren P1 by Steve Sutcliffe is over three days and included a drag race against an AMG Mercedes, sideways action on a race circuit and airfield and then some road time. If you don't want to watch the video the conclusion is that the P1 is remarkably usable on public roads and is probably the best supercar EVER made. Bold claim but it seems plausible. Turn up the volume and sit back and relax. 

The new McLaren 650S looks like a car with lots of poise and control; it’s not a chore to drive it quickly and neither is drifting it, as Chris Harris illustrates in the video below.In the onboard footage of Harris going around the Ascari track in Spain behind the wheel of new supercar, we can see just how smoothly the car breaks traction and enters powerslides. There’s no snap, no drama but still lots and lots of sideways action.

It’s still apparent that the driver has a place in this car, and there’s no substitute for razor-sharp reflexes and advanced knowledge of car control on the limit – the wheel needs quite a bit of fine adjusting in order for progress to be smooth, though it’s clearly well past the stage of being an analog experience.

The McLaren 650S Spider is more than a modified 12C Spider. A quarter of its parts are new and owes much to the mighty P1. Steve Sutcliffe finds out if it can still thrill.

The McLaren 650S Spider costs some £20k more than the £190,000 coupe version, and it's worth every penny. Why? Because it can do just about everything the coupé can do dynamically yet adds a sizeable hit of extra sex appeal to go with it. And that arrives courtesy of a folding hard top roof that can glide up or down in but a few seconds, and which transforms the 650S into an even more exotic creature on the move. Steve Sutcliffe puts it to the test.

Autocar, the world's leading motoring magazine and website, delivers industry-leading news, the most in-depth car reviews and opinion from our team of experts. Our presenters include some of the world's top motoring journalists who have unrivalled access to the world's fastest, rarest, most exotic and most exciting cars on some of the world's best roads and race tracks.

Can a supercar beat a superbike? Can a Audi A1 outrun a Nissan GT-R on a wet circuit? Can a Porsche 911 slay a Corvette on the drag strip? Autocar pitches the giants of the performance car world against each other to deliver the all-important verdict.