World F1 racing champion, Fernando Alonso, has recently taken delivery of his company car from his new employers, the McLaren racing team. The car is a Mercedes-McLaren SLR 722, a special development of the SLR with more power and a stiffer suspension. If you want one, you will only need in the region of half a million dollars.

For your money you’d get one of the more civilized supercars around. It has been praised for its comfort and handling and is considerably more luxuriously finished than most of its competition. The downside is a weight penalty but, with 650 bhp to play with, performance is still far more than is legal in most states. Keep that foot off the gas if you want to avoid a whole string of speeding tickets.

It’s a mean-looking brute from the front and I’m not entirely convinced by the attempt to combine the traditional Mercedes elements with the swooping lines of a supercar. But, from the side, it suddenly looks just right.

I’m sure Alonso will enjoy driving to work in his new car but it’s not really to my taste. Something a little less ostentatious for me, I think.