IOTD: McLaren MP4-12C visits the old banked Monza circuit (w/DOWNLOAD)

Today’s image of the day is one that’s perfectly suited to a Friday evening. Last weekend McLaren Automotive opened its first ever showroom in Milan, Italy – the same weekend as the F1 circus visited nearby Monza circuit for the Italian Gran Prix.

What better excuse to wheel out McLaren’s new supercar, the MP4-12C and cruise around the town pursued by Milan’s indigenous paparazzi.

If you’ve ever been to Monza circuit then you’ll probably have visited the remains of the heavily banked section of the old track, as it gently decays in the surrounding woodland. I’m fortunate to have visited a great many tracks around the world, but Monza is the only one that sends chills down my spine whenever I visit, especially on a non-race day.

To describe the sensation as haunting would be an understatement, there’s something so steeped in history about the place that you can almost still hear Fangio and Moss dicing just inches apart as they fight for the win. Little remains of the 4.25 km high-speed banked ‘speed circuit’, but you get the feeling that what does, retains the very essence of motor racing – all the reasons why young men risk their lives in pursuit of the chequered flag. Distilled into one stretch of track.

So, it’s fitting that we look upon a photo of McLaren’s MP4-12C, a car which in McLaren’s own words, “..captures everything McLaren has learned in Formula 1 – distilled into a road car”.

I like to imagine Fangio looking on at this image, knowing that it was men like him who contributed to making modern supercars, like the MP4-12C, the great machines that they are.

Feel free to download a copy of the image for your own personal use, and then immerse yourself in the full gallery of McLaren’s MP4-12C in Milan.

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(Click to download in size 1920 x 1280 px)

Bonus Gallery