It's a rare privilege to enter McLaren's inner sanctum, the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC), but on Friday night 600 Vodafone guests got just that... and more.

After signing up to the new Vodafone VIP reward scheme, 300 Vodafone customers - each bringing a guest of their choice - got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see inside the state-of-the-art facility in Woking.

The usually tranquil central boulevard filled with people of all ages, everyone eager to view the spectacular parade of past and present McLarens and to see the workshops where Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button's Formula 1 cars are prepared for action.

An added bonus came in the form of a close-up encounter with McLaren's stunning new MP4-12C supercar. Powered by a McLaren-designed 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8, the MP4-12C is not due on sale until next year and made its first public appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed over the weekend. This was the first time any of the guests had seen the car in any form other than pre-launch images.

However, there was a final surprise in store as a Mercedes-Benz SLR Stirling Moss - the million-dollar special edition version of the last McLaren-built supercar - cruised along the lake's perimeter road with Jenson Button at the wheel. the world champion had swung by on his way to Goodwood and was eager to meet his fans. It was a tremendous way to round off a special evening.

"I'm always grateful to the people who've stayed loyal to me over the years," said Button. "I think it's great that Vodafone is finding new ways to reward the loyalty of its customers."