The most impressive part of the cockpit is the intelligently arranged center console. There’s a big red button to fire the engine, one knob to set handling parameters, a second knob to adjust powertrain behavior, and five logically positioned single-function buttons. The less critical controls are positioned out of the action zone on column stalks, along the armrests, and on the dash below  the instrument cluster.

Punching the hot button with the brake pedal depressed cues genteel whirring sounds behind your shoulders. Blipping the throttle in neutral conjures no Formula 1 starting-grid fantasies. This V-8 is soft-spoken, polite to a fault. Its initial impression is unimpressive. And with no clutch pedal or shift lever to play  with, there’s risk of  Lexus-like sensory deprivation setting in.

Tugging the right side of the shift paddle engages first gear. The dual-clutch box ­delivers such a clunk- and chug-free roll-off, you’d swear there’s a torque converter at work here. Under light throttle, automatic upshifts are smoothly and swiftly executed. Before you realize it, the digital gear indicator has counted up to six and you’re rolling along at highway velocity with minimal enthusiasm from the tach needle or the engine room. The MP4’s unspoken mantra is speed without the spectacle.

Fortunately, politeness is just one aspect of the MP4’s psyche. The “normal” drive mode—the pride of the development team and as heretical to the supercar cult as the Lamborghini Miura’s mid-engine move was 45 years ago—is merely the appetizer to McLaren’s feast. So, after paying our respects at normal, we moved on through the sport and track settings to liberate the MP4’s mischievous twin.

With a 4000-rpm spread between torque and horsepower peaks and 17.4 psi of boost on tap, the MP4’s 3.8-liter engine feels more like a strapping V-10 than a mini V-8. There’s no hint of  turbo lag or, for that matter, any evidence that this engine is turbocharged except for an occasional waste-gate chortle during shifts. The torque curve is as flat as an electric motor’s.

$349,590