You're never as well-known as you think you are. When I helped the nice people at Road&Track select the C7 Corvette as their 2013 Performance Car Of The Year award, I had the amusing experience of being told that I was "on GM's payroll" and a "shill for GM" by hundreds of people who were disappointed by our choice. In a perfect world, I could put all those people on a Staten Island ferry, put all the TTAC readers who claim I'm unfairly persecuting GM on another Staten Island ferry, and give each group a trigger that would blow the other boat up. Original idea, huh?
Anyway, it's time for 2014′s PCOTY which means that I'll be spending the next four days living my childhood dream of driving brilliant cars for free and possibly getting the magazine to pick up my Ketel One tab at dinner. Click the jump to get the list of all fifteen contenders, along with my early thoughts on each.
1. BMW M3. I drove the new M3 during photography for this article and I was impressed by the massive shove from the turbo six. The M3′s never been more like a Trans Am for the snob set, and I mean this in a very loving way. But the Trans Am rarely won driver's-car comparisons.
2. Alfa Romeo 4C.. Probably the most eagerly awaited car of the past year, the American version of the 4C has added a few hundred pounds. Will the resulting power-to-weight ratio prove to be the Alfa's Achilles heel?
3. Viper TA. Lightly revised for this year, the Viper TA was my favorite car in R&T's "Z/28 Vs. The World" test. In fact, the Viper is pretty much my favorite car, period. Since my vote is just one vote out of fifteen drivers, however, the outcome of PCOTY 2014 probably won't be up to me.
4. BMW M235i. Some people have higher hopes for this car than they do for the M3. It's arguably closer to the classic idea of a performance Bimmer, in size and power. More satisfying? Maybe. But how long would you be satisfied waving the bigger car by on every back straight?
5. Subaru WRX STi. Ooh, this is one I have not driven — but my drive of a TTACer's 2015 WRX has me feeling quite hopeful. Certain to get smoked at the Motown Mile track, but very likely to display depth of talent on the roads.
6. Camaro Z/28. It's the STi on Opposite Day! But if any ponycar can win the thing, this is probably the one to do it…
7. Jaguar F-Type Coupe R. …unless the Jag is the ponycar to win it. Some of my fellow editors object to my calling the F-Type a ponycar. Duh, it sooooo obviously is.
8. Ferrari 458 Speciale. I thought the Ferrari F12berlinetta more or less ran away with the track portion of the comparison last year. Unfortunately, it didn't hold up on the road. This eight-cylinder Ferrari is the other kind of Maranello sled. My grandfather would have identified it as a Dino. I'll be curious to see how it compares to the Viper around the Motown Mile.
9. Dodge SRT Challenger Hellcat. My love for the Hellcat is already on the record. I think it might prove superior to the Z/28 and F-Type as a road-going proposition.
10. Ford Mustang GT. The unknown factor in the mix for sure, the 2015 Mustang won't have the power of the Camaro but it's a full development cycle ahead so on Ohio roads it might just shine the brightest of all.
11. MINI Cooper S. The Cooper JCW Works didn't capture our hearts last year — the Fiesta ST was just more fun to drive for less than two-thirds of the cost. This year the MINI's new from the ground up and the early reports are very encouraging. Remember that PCOTY is a subjective thing and that it's not just a time trial.
12. Nissan GT-R NISMO. Can it smoke the Viper and the exotics around the Motown Mile? You'd be a fool to bet against it. My experience driving Switzer GT-Rs at full chat on twisty roads suggests that the NISMO might also have a chance off the track, as well. I've enjoyed each revision of the R35 more than its predecessor so this could be a contender.
13. Lexus RC-F. Our own Alex Dykes rated the IS350 pretty highly, an opinion shared by my son as well. The RC-F is the two-door version of that car with a 467-horsepower five-liter Toyota V8. This will be better than anyone expects, I think, and if it can't match cars like the Z/28 around the track you just know it's going to be better on the long freeway hauls.
14. Volkswagen GTI. Derek loves it! I love it! Great car! And, don't forget, driving a slow car fast is better than driving a fast car slow. The question is whether driving a GTI at the ragged edge is better than driving a Viper at the ragged edge. Assuming you can get to either nowadays; today's GTI would give the first-gen Viper RT/10 a hard time on some racetracks.
15. Porsche 911 GT3. If you must have a 991-generation Porsche, this is surely the one to have. Some editors already think it will crack the road-and-track, pun intended, equation better than the Ferrari or the Viper. I've already been warned that I'm allowed to "whine about the *&%#$ing Metzger motor thing" exactly once during the entire test, said whining being confined to my hotel room while I'm alone.
We're not allowed to pick a winner until we've driven them all — but you, the reader, are under no such constraint. Place your bets below. The first three readers to accurately predict the winner will receive a TTAC Racing shirt in size XL, because that's all I have left!
The post The Insider Handicapper's Guide To 2014′s Performance Car Of The Year appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
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