To mark its official launch in the US, the McLaren 12C Spider took to the notoriously dangerous Loveland Pass in Colorado to demonstrate its supercar credentials and to challenge X-Games professional snowboarder, Chanelle Sladics, in the process.

In a specially made video, Pikes Peak International overall record-holder and 2008 Drifting World Champion Rhys Millen races Sladics downhill in the convertible supercar, managing to keep its 3.8-litre V8 twin turbo engine in check through descending hairpin turns along roads caked in snow and ice.

At 11,990 feet (3,655 m) above sea level, Loveland is the highest mountain pass in the world that stays open during the winter months and is one of the most treacherous stretches of road in the US.

But somehow Millen not only keeps the car under control, he also manages to beat eight-time X-Games competitor Sladics to the bottom of the hill, despite her taking the most direct route.

The McLaren 12C Spider officially goes on sale in the US this week, priced at $265,750 excluding titling, tags and taxes.