Crowned: the Year's Best Fast
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Crowned: The Year’s Best Fast Car PCOTY by DAVID MORLEY pics NATHan JACobS/CRISTIAN BRUNELLI 2014 64 The Road Performance in the real world 72 The Strip Survival of the fastest 80 The Track The hot-lap torture test 88 The Countdown How’d they stack up? 96 The Top Three The podium placings 110 Behind the Scenes Behold, the 10 hottest Cockburn’s daily diary cars of 2014. But only one will emerge as... of PERFORMANCE CAR the YEAR ’14 58 january 2014 motormag.com.au d motorofficial f motor_mag 59 PCOTY THE FIELD HSV GTS Maloo Audi RS7 430kW, 1875kg, $90,490 412kW, 1995kg, $238,500 Will it be as impressive as the sedan? Will A beautiful package with plenty of power it be mobbed by enthusiastic locals? Will it from its twin-turbo V8, but will its dynamics ever be driven in a straight line? match its incredible straight-line speed? Porsche Cayman GTS Subaru WRX STI 250kW, 1345kg, $167,190 221kW, 1525kg, $49,990 Editor DC gave it a rare perfect score It blew us away on the circuit at Bang For when he drove it earlier this year; ever the Your Bucks, but it’ll have to repeat the trick bridesmaid, is it the Cayman’s turn to shine? on the road to earn PCOTY success. ome years are definitely better than of new cars, is also a chance to examine with its upgraded chassis, because price the silverware. In Mk VII form the R has others when it comes to the world of where the world of engineering and still matters at PCOTY… just not quite never been sharper, and even though its new performance cars. But, in reality, innovation is taking us. And whether as much. specs remain similar to the Mk VI model, every 12-month period in this crazy those same things match the expectations Nothing really goes head-to-head, you simply can’t ignore its pedigree nor industry of ours has something to offer of the end-user, or whether the hype engineering-wise, with the Clio, but underrate its chances of upsetting some and something to be remembered by, has overtaken the reality. Sure, PCOTY from the same country comes a (perhaps) more fancied runners. and always serves to leave us with the is a blast-fest and one hell of a way to slightly unlikely contender in the form Subaru’s WRX STI has a similar strike Renault Clio RS200 Cup Jaguar F-Type R Coupe impression that things just get better turn 1000 litres of PULP into km/h and of the Peugeot RCZ. Okay, so the rate when it comes to podium finishes 147kW, 1218kg, $31,790 405kW, 1665kg, $219,130 each year. decibels, but it’s also some kind of a basic RCZ platform perhaps wouldn’t in comparison tests, including the big We wanted a Megane RS275, but sadly one The Convertible was found wanting during Okay, so the impending end of car- report card for the industry. make the cut here, but 2014 has seen ones: PCOTY and BFYB. I first saw the wasn’t available. Its baby brother, the Clio RS, last year’s competition; can the lighter, stiffer, making in Australia puts a bittersweet So what are the contenders making up the release of the emboldened RCZ-R wraps come off the STI at the Detroit is certainly not a bad second choice, though. sharper (and even faster!) Coupe do better? twist on things for 2014, but when you sit the field for PCOTY 2014? Let’s start model, with no less than 199kW from Motor Show earlier this year, and my down and draw up a list of candidates for with the smaller, cheaper cars – the ones essentially the same 1.6-litre turbo motor. heart sank as the presentation revealed Performance Car of the Year, you soon that traditionally do well at Bang For The packaging might seem a bit odd, no extra power or torque over the old realise that, regardless of who’s making Your Bucks, but can also be steamrolled but if the spec sheet is to be believed, model. What about the rumours of a them, the current crop of road-going by the big hitters at PCOTY. And of the Peugeot should be a right little high-boost, smaller-capacity engine? hotties are among the best we’ve ever those, none has done better at BFYB firecracker once unleashed. They turned out to be just that: rumours. seen. A champagne year? Probably. than the reigning sub-$50K champ, the I’m not sure how many times we’ve But then you drive it. Wow. Hats off Umbrellas and PCOTY, as well as putting an Renault Sport Clio 200. We’ve opted for tested a Volkswagen Golf R, but just to the Subaru engineers who, working high-vis vests. Drag strips make SOH&S? Tick exclamation mark on another 12 months the more expensive Cup version here about every time we have, it’s cleaned up with pretty much zero budget, managed VW Golf R BMW M4 Hulk angry! 206kW, 1435kg, $54,490 317kW, 1537kg, $166,430 If you think the Golf is maybe a bit soft, Our manual example may be a little slower consider this: 10 years ago you’d need an down the strip than a DCT-equipped M4, but Audi RS6 to get this level of performance. we’re betting it’ll be more engaging. Porsche 911 Turbo Peugeot RCZ-R 383kW, 1595kg, $366,500 199kW, 1355kg, $68,990 It’s been eight years since the 911 Turbo’s last Peugeot Sport’s first road car was possibly PCOTY appearance. It’ll undoubtedly set the the surprise of 2014; will it continue to pace, but will the judges be able to keep up? impress in the heat of battle? d motorofficial f motor_mag 61 Bludger Jag stopped for smoko a little too often for our liking PCOTY JUDGES Curt Dupriez Scott Newman Softly spoken and a demon driver, Curt Amazing he could organise PCOTY given refuses to confirm or deny that he was the the state of his desk; calls for a ‘driftability’ basis for Ryan Gosling’s character in Drive. criteria to be introduced fell on deaf ears. Dylan Campbell David Morley Warren Luff Five years at Auto Action, two at Top Gear Incredible wealth of road-testing experience Expert at fending off “what are youse and six on-and-off for MOTOR, Grand undermined by driving to PCOTY in his VS doing?” enquiries during photography; also Poobah can’t resist a big-power rear-driver. ute and declaring it odds-on favourite. happens to know his way around a racetrack. to update the car and significantly than the Murray River. Yes, it’s expensive efficiency of something like a 911 Turbo? improve it. Don’t know how they did it, but, equally, experience tells us that Perhaps the most anticipated but they did. ‘shattering’ is unlikely to be too strong performance car in a long time, the BMW Speaking of PCOTY furniture, what a term for the 911 Turbo once it’s let off M4 was a cinch for selection. Okay, so would our annual Festival of the Fang the leash. a year or two ago, it would have been be without something from the haus of Audi’s RS7 might seem an odd called an M3 Coupe, but names aside, Porsche? In 2014, it’s a deuce of Porkers choice… until you check the spec this is a 3-Series BMW with an M badge. MOTOR’s mum knows starting with the Cayman GTS. Powered- sheet. Don’t be fooled by the tuxedo how to pack a tasty And that means serious performance. But up over the Cayman S, the GTS also presentation; with more than 400kW and tuckerbox can the switch back to an inline-six (albeit suggests overall prowess based on the all-wheel drive, this big fella can really with multiple turbos) help it reclaim the fact that, in pretty much every Porsche get on with it. And hey, anything with an high ground? model line-up, the GTS version seems to Audi badge followed by an RS badge has And finally, we couldn’t have a PCOTY nail the sweet spot. got to be a chance, right? hootenanny without an Aussie V8. The In the heavyweight division, of course, Jaguar’s F-Type wowed us last year, Maloo GTS just happens to be 6.2 litres 2014 is also the year of another 911 but this time around, with the help of a of alloy bent-eight, and the blower bolted Turbo. The 991 911 has overcome all supercharger, the Coupe R has thrown its on top is just icing on a fairly lairy cake. criticisms of its extra bulk, its electrically hat into the ring. It’s another big-numbers Yes, the days of the local big car are assisted steering and all the other changes power-output car, but does it have numbered, but until the curtain falls, to a formula that’s been running longer the personality to overcome the sheer we’re making the most of it. M MISSING IN ACTION The cars that didn’t make it – and why Ferrari 458 Speciale Nissan GT-R MY14 Lambo Huracan Might’ve won but Nissan said it couldn’t Didn’t quite arrive in victim of Maranello’s get us one for the time; fingers crossed ‘no comparo’ policy. dates we wanted it. for PCOTY 2015. FPV GT F Audi S1 BMW i8 The media test cars Despite much chewing Just missed out this are now all sitting in of fingernails, S1 just year, but here’s hoping private garages.