I drove the $300,000 McLaren supercar designed to beat Ferrari

McLaren 720S First Drive

Forget about the Ford GT or the Lamborghini Aventador. When it comes to supercars and rivalries, it’s all about McLaren versus Ferrari. On Formula One’s racetracks, the two have been duking it out for half a century. In fact, Ferrari and McLaren are, by far, the two winningest teams in the history of the sport.

In 2010, Woking, England-based McLaren Technology Group launched McLaren Automotive — the division of the company focused solely on building road-going supercars. This added a whole new dimension to the rivalry.

In the years since both companies have unleashed supercar after supercar. Each time besting the latest efforts of its rival.

The latest salvo in the battle for supercar supremacy is the McLaren 720S. Recently, Business Insider attended the launch of McLaren’s futuristic supercar at the demanding Autodromo Vallelunga near Rome.

As part of the festivities, I got the chance to take the 720S on a two-hour-long drive from our hotel in Rome to the racetrack north of the Italian capital.

Here’s how it went.

(Business Insider paid for travel and lodging associated with this trip.)