The entire Motor Trend "Best Driver's Car"-- you'll never guess what won...

[kaisen]

Okay, I shared one of the videos.... now here's the entire series.

All nine cars:

Subaru BRZ
Camaro ZL1
Mustang GT500
Nissan GTR Black
C63 Black
911 Carrera S
Aventador
MP4-12C
XKR-S


2012 Motor Trend Best Driver's Car - Motor Trend






***SPOILER ALERT -- Winner shown below!!***































1st Place: Porsche 911 Carrera S

It's Unanimous -- Best 911 Yet


Yup, the Porsche. Ferry's ageless squashed Beetle takes top honors in this year's BDC. Don't even bother to stop the presses. Porsche wins another comparison. This time, it's the 991 version of the Carrera S, currently the hottest version of the sixth-generation, rear-engined, "four"-seat luxury sport coupe. It's larger than ever, with the rear engine scooched a bit more toward the middle, and features the electrically assisted power steering system that has kept most of the Porsche-loving world up for months with the cold sweats. Why? Because of the possibility that an ounce of that precious 911 steering feel has been lost. That Porsche won it all.

A much more interesting outcome to this story would have been if one of the hand-built exotics had won. After all, every 12-year-old boy in the world knows a priori that the Aventador must be the winner. Just like how every F1 junkie is positive that the McLaren is the best one here. Or, good-story-wise, what if the little BRZ pulled off an upset? Talk about David cleaning Goliath's clock! Even the AMG would have been a more interesting verdict. But no, the car with the second-least power here, the car that's not even a special performance derivative (like the upcoming Turbo, GT3, GTS, 50th Anniversary Edition 911, etc.) is the 2012 Motor Trend Best Driver's Car.

"That's what I'm talking about! Right there! Holy cow, it makes all these other cars seem stupid! This 911 is so good, it just blows my mind! What a great driving car!" The previous quote is from Pobst the second he pulled into the pits and exited the vehicle.

We all agreed with him. Actually, we really agreed with him. The Porsche 911 received seven first-place votes from the seven judges, and an eighth first-place vote from Randy. In fact, the 911 Carrera S was the only car where we unanimously agreed on its finishing order. Nothing but first-place votes means there wasn't even discussion. Just praise.

"The Carrera S just flows down the road like quicksilver," says MacKenzie. "Elastic thrust, seamless shifts, and effortless transitions. This Porsche moves with a grace no 911 has ever had." Adds Markus, "My favorite car here. Does nothing wrong and a whole lot right." Obviously a unanimous first-placer generates a lot of that sort of talk. Let's discuss specifics, starting with the amazing dual-clutch transmission, the second-gen Porsche PDK. "Just brilliant," coos Kiino. "No matter how you want to drive -- relaxed or spirited -- the PDK just seems to know and it functions perfectly."

So true. I blew turn 6 pretty badly one lap and, at the very moment I was starting to think, "I should probably downshift," the PDK did exactly that. It was almost spooky, like having a co-driver working the transmission for me. And, unlike the unit on the GT-R, the Porsche's transmission software is so good that you don't even need to pull the paddles. Of course, you can and, in Sport+, the relatively weak 911 (just 400 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque, yet hits 60 mph in 3.7 seconds!) mule-kicks nearly as hard as the Aventador when you flick it into second. "I've just been obsoleted!" exclaimed Pobst. "Years of practice and training to learn how to shift a car have now become completely unnecessary. And, in fact, that, to me, is a little bit sad." Sure, if you still feel the need to row your own, Porsche makes a 911 with a seven-speed manual, but please believe me, PDK is the way to go.

"The chassis is totally composed over bumps," says Evans. To me, the suspension is the unsung hero of the new 911 story. I can't remember ever driving a car so well-damped. Maybe the Ferrari 458 Italia, but that's a big maybe. When Kim Reynolds measured the chassis slip angle, the number he got back was so low (0.4!) that he thought his equipment was broken. It wasn't -- the Porsche's suspension is just that good. Sublime, really. Everything about this car is sublime. From the brakes to the throttle response to the seats, the Porsche 911 Carrera S is everything we look for in a driver's car. I'll let Evans have the penultimate word, as his comment typifies our thinking about the latest and greatest from Porsche: "I just can't think of anything this car does wrong." However, notes Pobst, "I don't like the interior color."

[kaisen]

The complete video feature.....worth the 36 minute investment


And, Dave, you get to see Jessi a bit

[biosurfer1]

Is it me, or does the BRZ seem a little out of place?

[Playa76911S]

It wun coz of tha 20" crome RIMZ...tha S rollz on dubz from tha factory!!!

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by biosurfer1

Is it me, or does the BRZ seem a little out of place?

I was going to say, a very wide delta in pricetag there.

[McLovin]

That is a surprise.

I always thought MT was contractually obligated under their advertising contracts to pick an American car.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Nice to see VW winning some shootouts, finally.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by BlueSkyJaunte

Nice to see VW winning some shootouts, finally.

Low blow, but damn funny

[javadog]

Price $123,840....

JR

[speeder]

Originally Posted by McLovin

That is a surprise.

I always thought MT was contractually obligated under their advertising contracts to pick an American car.

A glitch, for sure. maybe they're under investigation from the justice dept. or something.

[MarkRobinson]

Surprised the Aventador didn't win this: incredible car, incredible performer, handler, etc.

I guess it's just not refined, smart enough yet.

M.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by McLovin

That is a surprise.

I always thought MT was contractually obligated under their advertising contracts to pick an American car.

Originally Posted by speeder

A glitch, for sure. maybe they're under investigation from the justice dept. or something.

The first winner was the Porsche Cayman S PDK

Last year it was the Ferrari 458 Italia

This year the Porsche 911 Carrera S

Three out of three, not American cars. Two out of three, Porsches.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by MarkRobinson

Surprised the Aventador didn't win this: incredible car, incredible performer, handler, etc.

I guess it's just not refined, smart enough yet.

M.

If you read the article and watched the video, they said exactly why it didn't win, or even place.
They said it was unpredictable and the transmission wasn't very good.

[Dottore]

That's the beauty of the new 911s. They do everything so incredibly well, and never piss you off. This result doesn't surprise me at all.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

That was a fun video. I feel they did a good job justifying what, in the end, really is a subjective rating system.

And I admit, for the first time in my life I actually find myself considering a Benz as a contender for future ownership (as if I could afford that C63).

[scottmandue]

In veiw of the recent thread here on the Subaru BRZ...

It came in third beating out cars costing four or five times as much!

The more I see and hear of the new subie the more I like it!

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by speeder

A glitch, for sure. maybe they're under investigation from the justice dept. or something.

Did Mr Murdoch purchase the magazine or something?

An MT best list without a BMW on it?

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by Tobra

An MT best list without a BMW on it?

In 2009 a BMW 135i placed 9th of 10

In 2011 a BMW 1M placed 10th of 11

They weren't invited back this year

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by Dottore

That's the beauty of the new 911s. They do everything so incredibly well, and never piss you off. This result doesn't surprise me at all.

and...

you can still load bags of manure in the front

[Bill Douglas]

Sure, it sounds a great car. But I'd like to see it up against the SC for a real challenge.