DEBUT: 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

APPEARANCE: As track-only concepts go this is hardly among the maddest and most likely to make you splurt your morning coffee all over the chap in front of you on the bus, but it’s drop-dead gorgeous. The completely unnecessary half-gullwing doors and the aerodynamically essential rear spoiler combine perfectly with the deep bucket seats, proper racing car steering wheel and lovely orange paintwork. It’d make a fabulous Scalextric car.

PREDICTION: McLaren describes the Can-Am Edition as purely a concept, with the addition of those three magic words: “at this stage.” Which means that if customers in the GT or American racing series’ want it, they’ll get it. For the sake of weight it’s probably not too likely that any finished production version would have those doors, but it’s a production likelihood if past history has any bearing.

RATING: 8/10