I rented a 12C Spider for about 500 miles through Wales. Since I’m no professional driver, I’ll comment mostly on the everyday usability of the car; plenty has been said elsewhere about its performance.
As background, the only performance-oriented cars that I’ve driven more than several hundred miles are: 2006 Honda S2000, 1998 Lamborghini Diablo SV, 2004 Mustang 5.0, 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet, and 2012 Ferrari 458 Italia. So my observations can only be compared against these examples.
Engine
It’s hard to overstate how quickly this car accelerates. I was most amazed by how effortlessly it went from 70–120mph on the highway without even crossing 4,000 rpm (when redline is nearly double that, at 8,500). You can feel the power come on as low as 2,500, and it seems to just stay on and on.
You can open the little window that leads into the engine compartment, which lets the sound of the engine directly into the cabin. While the V8 engine’s little burbles and the turbos’ whooshy sounds are amusing at first, I find the engine noise overrated or underwhelming, at least compared with the Diablo’s V12. I closed the little window after a while.
Drive
The wider rear track is noticeable and needs care when piloting the car in the city. Similarly, there’s little rearward visibility, especially with the spoiler up (which happens in Sport mode); but this is fixable via proper mirror adjustment (unlike the Diablo, for which you could never achieve a zero-blind-spot setup with standard mirrors). However, reversing is always a matter of prayer if you don’t have the reverse camera.
The paddle-shift transmission is remarkably jolty in traffic and at low speeds (e.g. in parking lots), even in Normal mode. This got to the point of being annoying during my day of driving; I can’t imagine what it’d be like to be the passenger during stop-and-go traffic. At highway speeds, downshifts are fast and upshifts are slow; neither direction feels as quick as Porsche’s PDK.
The steering ratio seems to increase progressively as you increase the steering angle. This is no doubt intentional, and was easy enough to get used to after the first few parking lot exits.
Ride
The 12C Spider feels rock solid and vibration-free even at 120mph. The dampening is good in both Normal and Sport modes (I didn’t try Track), though I find it less glorious than several professional reviewers have effused. For instance, the 991 Porsche Cab rides just as well, or perhaps arguably even better with PASM in Normal.
Finish and Interior
Whereas the Diablo’s interior felt completely kit car, the 12C feels like a finished car.
Seating position is a highlight — the steering column is adjustable in and out as well as up and down, with good range in all directions, such that it’s easy to get into a good driving position. The seats themselves were comfortable even after 12 hours of driving, though the side-bolstering wasn’t as supportive for someone my size (5’9”, 170 lbs) as the Porsche, Honda, or Lamborghini. The seating position is also very low; so low, in fact, that I was staring directly into a Prius license plate ahead of me. This felt great on the open road, but odd in traffic.
There were lots of little rattles and squeaks while driving. Wind noise at highway speeds was significant from the window gaps, side mirrors, and tires. Interestingly, the car seemed to have resonance frequencies at 40 and 80mph, where the car would hum/vibrate noticeably at those two speeds.
The Meridian sound system was fairly terrible. I’m no audiophile, but this was pretty bad. I hope the original buyer didn’t pay extra for it.
Practicality
The 12C Spider blended in much better than I expected, hardly getting noticed. It got much less attention than the Diablo SV and much more than the 911.
Parking is hard. It very wide, and its seating position makes judging front and rear distance difficult compared with the S2000, 911, and Diablo SV (front; rear is equally impossible). In addition, the doors open outwards and upwards, which needs extra clearance. In some parking lots, you can get locked out (unable to open your door) by other cars parking too close on driver side.
Getting in and out isn’t bad if you’ve gotten in something like a Lotus Elise or a Lamborghini Diablo; but if you haven’t, you might find it awkward. There’s a lot of contorting because the sill of the car is so high relative to the tub. It helps to go foot-first and back into the seat. When getting out, it helps to put a hand on the sill.
Fueling is easy, particularly in comparison with the Diablo. The nozzle points nearly straight down; it’s also the first car I’ve driven that doesn’t have a fuel cap.
Overall, at least for me, I find the 12C Spider to be too much car. On regular roads, it’s easy to accidentally hit 100. I never went beyond 3–4,000 RPM in 12 hours’ driving, but was often going way too fast (sometimes without noticing). The joltiness, parking shenanigans, and difficulties around ingress/egress all make it less practical than a 911 (and the 991 Porsche gets much better gas mileage).
Things would likely be radically different if you’re looking for a track car. But I can’t recommend the 12C Spider as a road car, unless perhaps you’re a big McLaren fan.
