It’s been seven years since McLaren launched the MP4-12C (later simplified to just 12C), the vehicle that kicked off the British brand’s three-tiered assault on the supercar market. The Sports Series is currently made up of the 540, 570, and 600 lineups. The 720S is the only member of the Super Series, one rung higher up the ladder from Sport and one below the Ultimate level of the McLaren Senna.

The McLaren 720S is powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine that spins out 710 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. That’s sufficient to push the sinewy supercar from 0-60 in 2.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 212 miles per hour.

Comfort mode softens the 720S nicely for bumpy, potholed roads. Sport mode stiffens everything up perfectly, and Track mode loosens up the electronic nannies so far that I wouldn’t use it on the street. It is Track mode, after all. Another impressive parlor trick: A push of a different dash-mounted button pops the rear spoiler up high on its hydraulic stanchions. A slam of the brakes moves that spoiler vertical and turns it into an air brake.

Like any proper spaceship, it also attracts oodles of attention when driven among the common cars. Everywhere I went, people were gawking, and cell phones would whip out for photos. In fact, along Woodward, a lady in some nondescript crossover I can’t remember nearly hit the car in front of her as she tried to get a photo. That snafu aside, it’s a great feeling that just seeing this car brightens other people’s days.