2011 Motor Trend Best Driver's Car
From the September, 2011 issue of Motor Trend
By Jonny Lieberman
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I played dumb, so our Ferrari-obsessed associate photo editor Mike Shaffer continued, "You always start your stories with some sort of anecdote. What's it going to be for Best Driver's Car?" Well, young Shaffer, how's this for an anecdote: Over the course of six days in June, I had the keys to 82 cylinders, more than 5000 horsepower, and 4000 lb-ft of torque split between 11 performance cars worth more than $1.5 million. Most folks would happily give up a limb just to sit in and sniff the interior of any one of these monsters.
Forget sitting. I got to drive all 11 of our contenders very hard on some beautifully twisted California back roads; put 'em through the gauntlet of our test track; sit in the passenger seat as former GT2 world champ and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Justin Bell went nuts around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, before swapping places so I could do the same as close to flat-out as I dared with every circuit of electronic assistance shut off. How's that, Mike? That's right, boys and girls, after a two-year hiatus, Motor Trend's Best Driver's Car is back, and bigger and better than ever.
But is there really a single best driver's car? Really? Is there actually one car that so puts the driver first and foremost, we can point in agreement and say, "Yup, that's the one." Well, for the sake of all the time and effort our 23-man and one-woman team put into it, we'll argue yes, there certainly is. And by the time you're done reading this lengthy discourse, you will not only know the which of the 2011 BDC, but the much more important part -- the why. I'm going to let bossman Angus MacKenzie explain:
"What makes a great driver's car? It's not brute performance or gut-wrenching grip. A great driver's car is about balance and finesse, about the quality of the interaction between man and machine. A great driver's car has the chassis and powertain and brakes and steering that enable the enthusiast driver to confidently explore the limits of its performance envelope on the track, yet remains engaging and entertaining when driven on the road. A great driver's car doesn't dare you to tame it; instead, it helps you maximize your potential."
Got it? The hard part of the this story was actually narrowing down which cars to bring along. We invited all the hot new metal we could think of currently on sale here in the U.S., plus a couple of previous BDC winners. Sadly, some of the obvious competitors (Lamborghini, Aston Martin) didn't want to play. Luckily, there were 11 cars that did.
Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/features/p...#ixzz1Y5SqHaTy
Link to drag race
