Aventador. 458 Italia. MP4-12C. The Avengers.

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As we continue along this fantastic, very high speed bit of perfect tarmac, it’s clear that the Ferrari is a very focused bit of kit. As the straights turn into left-right waves, gently rising and falling as we cross the Arabian peninsula, I’m chasing Mo in the Aventador. But despite the Lambo’s ferocious power in a straight line, Mo’s backing off through the corners and I soon blast past, the V8 singing its shrill opera into the mountains, the Ferrari feeling utterly dependable with pinpoint front end control and a screen on the dashboard telling me that the tyres are ‘green’, or up to operating temperature. There can’t be many machines without wings out there that can cross country so quickly and assuredly. I glance back to see how far behind Mo has fallen, but being quite tall in the cockpit my rear view is limited. All I can see is the red engine cover. Oh well.

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As we reach Fujairah, food and car washes are the order of the day in preparation for more photos and tighter, more winding roads. Bassam loves the Aventador already. “It feels like a proper supercar,” he says. “I love the way it looks in that matt black, it just looks evil. There’s such a sense of drama. When we put our feet down the Aventador isn’t that much quicker than the other two, but it feels so much faster. I’m quite addicted to that Corsa mode. I’m putting up with the back pain just to enjoy the gear changes.”

“It’s like a baseball bat to the skull,” agrees Mo. “It never ceases to amaze, each time you change.”

“Not having a double clutch box gives it much more drama, which I like,” continues Bassam. “The engine note in the McLaren isn’t as spine tingling as the Italians’, but it’s still pretty cool, more muscle-car-meets-giant-vacuum-cleaner. I like the looks too. You wouldn’t feel embarassed to drive around in it, but you might in the other two. It’s a lot more grown up. The steering feels awesome. But it doesn’t go sideways because of the electronics, and you’d have to be nuts to go sideways in that,” he says, gesturing at the Aventador. “I’m looking forward to having a play in the Ferrari.”

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Mo reflects that the interior quality in the 458 is a step ahead of the 430, and disagrees with me about the steering wheel. “Once you’re used to it, it’s nice that everything’s there as you never have to move your hand off the wheel. The engine note’s beautiful and the gearshift is so fast. Taking it on those fast sweeping bends, it just inspires confidence. The faster you go, the more planted it is, it’s amazing. It gave me so much more confidence in the high-speed bends than the Lambo. In the Aventador when you go through the corners you start to feel the weight and the four-wheel drive, and it feels softer. I just found it floats more, there’s not as much feel from the road as you get in the 458.”

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Bassam raises an eyebrow at this. “I reckon if you stuck slicks on the Aventador it would go just as fast as a GT3 car. When it’s in Corsa the ride is so uncompromising, you can feel when you drive over a painted line, literally. Through the corners it genuinely feels like a race car and I like that. There’s so much drama. But could I drive it every day? There isn’t even somewhere to put your phone.”

Cars cleaned, we get back on the road. Our destination is an area deep in the mountains, all but deserted, with vistas that get photographers Moe and John quite excited. It’s time to give these babies a workout. We take it in turns to do runs down some frankly epic stretches of tarmac, winding in and out of peaks, rising and falling through every shade of brown rock as the sun heads downwards in the sky.

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I take the Lamborghini first, and stick it into Corsa mode. I’ve experienced this before, but I’m nevertheless reeling as I put the gearbox to Manual, floor the gas and head for the horizon. The first pull of the right paddle is brutally violent, the most energetic change I’ve experienced in a road car. Lamborghini has eschewed a dual clutch transmission in favour of this automated manual, presumably because a seamless shift would utterly change the character of the car. It’s sensory overload, much like the rest of the Aventador. And boy, is it fast. There’s not a trace of wheelspin as 690bhp goes to all four wheels and the wide Pirellis dig into the tarmac. So violent is the gearshift that I barely have time to register the acceleration, but it’s there and it’s fast. Boy, is it fast. Through the corners, it feels more skittish than I expect when close to the edge, but that edge comes after an awful lot of grip. Body roll is virtually non-existant and only in the tightest bends does it feel its weight – the Aventador’s dry weight is some 100kg heavier than either of the other cars with full fluids.

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Next up, the McLaren. I’ve only ever driven this in anger on a track, and I’m intrigued to see how it feels on a real road, with real bumps and elevation changes. Initially a little odd. I’ve got everything set to Sport mode, and the ride is still so soft that it creates an experience that I’m not really used to, a sense of riding on a cushion that makes all the glitches in the surface disappear. It’s impressive, but it’s mildly disconcerting, slightly disconnected.

But once again, it’s bloody quick. The pickup from the engine is instant and the gearshifts are lightning fast and smooth as silk thanks to the twin-clutch transmission. That huge forward view and beautifully accurate steering means I can place it to within millimetres of where I intend to at quite ludicrous speeds. The centre of the front wheels coincides exactly with the highest point of the front wings – it’s the next best thing to driving an open wheeler. After another game of musical chairs, Bassam agrees. “I think I could beat anything in this car,” he exclaims, exiting the McLaren.

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But then I get in the Ferrari, and prove him wrong. We go for a final thrash as the night draws closer, with Bassam taking the lead in the MP4-12C, hammering through tight and widening corners, working tyres and brakes hard and getting on the gas as soon as possible between bends. I follow in the Ferrari, with Mo in the Lamborghini. The Aventador is left behind quickly – it can’t keep up with the two smaller cars through the bends and the straights are too short to reclaim its advantage. That’s no surprise, but what does raise my eyebrows is how easy I’m able to stay with the McLaren. Bassam is an experienced racing driver, and he’s working the British machine hard. I’m not an experienced racing driver, and yet I have no issues staying behind the MP4-12C. It’s a great place to be, especially in the fading light as blue flames leap from the twin exhausts. The McLaren is clearly working hard, but the Ferrari is astoundingly light and nimble on its feet through these roads – almost telepathic steering directs a front end with phenomenal amounts of grip, and the rear end skips around behind, more than happy on the edge of adhesion and never feeling like it’s going to slip out. I can brake later in complete confidence and get on the noise earlier, and I’m glued to the back of the McLaren all the way back to base, much to Bassam’s astonishment. And my own, if I’m honest.

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The sun hits the horizon, and it’s time to head for home. Conclusions?

“To be honest, all three are amazing. They’re the three best cars on sale today,” says Bassam. “Dynamically, nothing can compete with them. The 458 is so confidence inspiring through the corners. But it’s probably my least favourite of the three. The McLaren’s ride is incredible, as is the gearbox. The brakes are incredible too. The Aventador is a crazy, brutal animal, but it’s easy to drive, it’s so stable. It’s been a while since I’ve had a day as good as this.”