More news from McLaren few days before my big drive – The 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 petrol engine has upheld the honour for McLaren Automotive, having won the ‘3-litre to 4-litre’ category at the 2014 Engine of the Year awards. The success marks the second consecutive year McLaren has claimed the prestigious title, having been named the first new winner of the accolade for five years in 2013.

According to a spokesperson, the M838T engine has been extremely successful since it was first introduced, and redefined the benchmark in terms of performance, refinement, weight and efficiency. It has recently been further enhanced with the launch of the 650S, with the power and torque figures both increased to optimise driving engagement and further enhance performance.

Ricardo, has recently undergone significant changes to produce a class-leading 650PS and 678Nm of torque in the McLaren 650S Coupe and Spider. Acceleration from a standstill to 62mph (100 km/h) takes just 3.0 seconds, with no compromises to efficiency or emissions, returning 24.2 mpg (11.7 l/100km) on the combined cycle, emissions of just 275g/km, and no gas guzzler tax in North America.

The International Engine of the Year awards were presented at Engine Expo 2014, and voted for by an independent panel of leading automotive journalists from around the world.