I rode to work in a corn-powered supercar and it blew my mind

Kelly Dickerson/Tech Insider

An E85 ethanol-powered McLaren 12C Spider.

On a typical weekday, I squeeze onto a crowded New York City subway car for a 40-minute ride into work. But today I got lucky: I was chauffeured to the office in the passenger seat of a $239,000 green supercar.

To kick off the start of its new BREAKTHROUGH television series on innovation, National Geographic teamed up with Uber to offer rides this week in a fleet of cars all powered by alternative energy sources.

The vehicles included Teslas, Porsches, and BMWs, which run on everything from solar energy, to hydrogen cells, to recycled vegetable oil.

I decided on the raw power of a corn-ethanol-fueled McLaren 12C Spider with a twin-turbo 3.8 liter V8 engine. In practical terms, this means it can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds. McLaren says this model can reach a top speed of 207 mph, but some drivers have clocked it at 215 mph.

Keep scrolling to see what it's like to ride to work in a corn-powered supercar.