No stranger to perhaps the most brutally expensive, technical, and intellectually difficult racing series in the world--Formula One--McLaren has taken the first produce of its road car division and kitted it out for racing duty in the form of the MP4-12C GT3. The race car has enjoyed reasonable success in GT3 competition around the globe, and now Chris Harris has driven one for the latest episode of his online series Drive.

The version as tested retails for approximately half a million dollars, making it one of the more expensive cars featured on Drive. As Harris points out, there are quite a few differences between the racing version of the 12C and its road-going cousin, with the biggest being the disparity in output. The race car is limited to 493 horsepower while the road car benefits from a 616-horsepower output.

The 12C GT3 also misses out on the road-going 12C’s brilliant ProActive chassis control system, which negates the need of an anti-roll bar. Instead, the 12C GT3 features a configuration comprising race-specific roll bars and dampers. It also has a regular limited-slip differential and a sequential gearbox instead of the trick seven-speed dual-clutch ‘box of the road car.

Go ahead and click play to see what’s like to drive.

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