BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
BIMMERPOST Universal Forums General Automotive (non-BMW) Talk + Photos/Videos Road & Track Unveils 2022 Performance Car of the Year

View Poll Results: What Car Should Win Performance Car of the Year?
Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series 3 2.63%
Porsche 992 911 GT3 65 57.02%
Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ 7 6.14%
Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing 26 22.81%
Volkswagen Golf GTI 0 0%
Bentley Continental GT Speed 0 0%
Lamborghini Huracán STO 4 3.51%
BMW M4 Competition xDrive 9 7.89%
Voters: 114. You may not vote on this poll

Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      09-30-2021, 04:50 PM   #1
stein_325i
Ring Leader of G8X Haters
stein_325i's Avatar
No_Country
25051
Rep
8,761
Posts

Drives: A Car
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: All-Around

iTrader: (0)

Road & Track Unveils 2022 Performance Car of the Year

Update: 1/23/22
Porsche 992 GT3 Revealed as R&T Performance Car of the Year Unveiled
Quote:
Originally Posted by Road & Track
Our three finalists for the PCOTY title represent different performance formulas, but each had six forward gears, three pedals, and rear-wheel drive. Coincidence?

Name:  Final.jpg
Views: 776
Size:  335.4 KB

Ultimately, the debate was less a sober litigation and more a reflection on what Performance Car of the Year actually means. The Cadillac may be the last V-8 stick-shift sport sedan ever to lay two greasy slabs of rubber down an American blacktop. Isn’t that worth celebrating? Or do you reward the 911 for its race-car soul and life-affirming flat-six? And what about the Toyota 86, that ear-to-ear grin on wheels?

In the end, we were left with a near dead heat. There are no losers in this bunch. But Road & Track doesn’t award participation trophies; there can be only one winner. And what a winner it is.

The Champ: God's own Porsche

The 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 emerges from a spiritual imagination. Its heritage is a misty past. It’s born facing an uncertain future. It is both transcendent and instantaneous. It is the Feast of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit indwells as a car. It is the incarnate faith of the Church of What’s Happening Now. It’s so close to begotten and not made.

It’s barely a 911. The other new 911s have turbos. This GT3 doesn’t. All the other 911s have a strut front suspension. The GT3 uses double wishbones. All-wheel drive? That’s for timid dilettantes. There are faster 911s, but this is the best. Porsche has set the GT3 apart, something for true believers. Drivers. Buyers who would drain their veins to pay in blood if Porsche demanded it.

This is about inspiration and meaning and their substantiation. The GT3 draws on an ancient, deep faith that communion with machinery is in itself worthwhile and ennobling. It validates that faith with its avid character. And it’s as real and tangible as German steel, aluminum, and carbon fiber on a set of French tires.

The GT3 has become a quicker, faster, and more extreme track tool with each generation. But it remains a road car with livable ride quality and excellent outward visibility.

The catechism of GT3 is known and often memorized. The pure heart here is a 4.0-liter, 502-hp flat-six that wails to 9000 rpm. Electrics and modern turbo engines make consistent torque almost instantly, but the GT3 needs to reach 6100 rpm to find its peak. But turbo motors hum and electrics are silent, while the GT3’s engine makes joyous noises rising up unto God.

The central tachometer, Alcantara-covered steering wheel, and manual shifter speak to the GT3’s traditional performance-car priorities.

It’s an engine built for glory with a dry-sump oiling system, a relatively short 81.5-mm stroke, a 13.3:1 compression ratio, and an individual throttle for each cylinder. Blip the accelerator pedal and the first sound is those intake pipes gulping a slug of atmosphere. Then arises the distinct exhaust sound of an opposed six tuned to the baroque luster of Johann Sebastian Bach’s sacred organ music. It’s a car that leaps forward not just across pavement, but in progressive, mathematically precise, artistically structured octaves.

Name:  P1.jpg
Views: 784
Size:  306.3 KB

In the 21st century, there’s no avoiding computers. And the GT3 is loaded with devices controlling everything from valve timing to suspension behavior and all the usual nav-this and hear-that entertainment frippery. It’s all incidental. The bedrock of greatness here comes from the time-tested commandments of performance.

The first among those is weight reduction. There’s less sound deadening than in other 911s. No pretend rear seat, no motor to move the rear wing up or down. The trunk lid and front and rear fascias are lightweight plastic, the glass has been thinned to drop 10.4 pounds, the stainless steel exhaust system is practically anorexic, and those center-lock hubs mean 16 fewer fasteners holding the wheels to the car. Lightweight carbon-fiber bucket seats are available, and an optional car- bon roof knocks off a couple more pounds. In total, Porsche claims that this GT3, when equipped with the PDK transmission, weighs 3164 pounds. With the six-speed manual, it’s an even slimmer 3126 pounds. In contrast, the base 911 Carrera—rear drive like the GT3—has a stated curb weight of 3354 pounds. That’s a massive 228-pound difference.

The Porsche 911 GT3 Approaches Motoring Perfection
Despite the SlimFast edict, the GT3 goes big where big is a commandment of its own. Like great tires that are also great big tires. As in 255/35R- 20 front and wicked wide 315/30R-21 rear Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R rubber. Same size as on the 640-hp, all-wheel-drive 911 Turbo S, but more radically adhesive. Behind them are giant 16.1-inch front and 15.4-inch rear carbon brakes that could have stopped the Romans from entering Judea.

Finally, the greatest commandment is simplicity. Computers are relentlessly logical, but lack imagination—at least in terms of the artistic, sometimes inchoate, often passionate and inexplicable ways that human imagination works. Yes, the GT3 generates numbers, but that’s not its appeal. It’s the sound, the instantaneous bite of those big Michelins, its graceful rotation at apex, its astonishing thrust exiting a curve. It’s so good that it elevates the human spirit without the mediation of ones and zeros. The GT3 isn’t a simulation; it’s science and engineering harnessed to the pursuit of human aspiration. It is so many eternal virtues wrapped up in one Porsche that allows us mortals to reach out beyond our temporary presence.

Yesterday is behind us. Tomorrow remains a mystery. The GT3 is the best of What’s Happening Now. And so, it is Road & Track’s 2022 Performance Car of the Year. Get in good with the Lord and He may bless you with one.

—John Pearley Huffman
Quote:
Originally Posted by Road & Track
Crowning the Road & Track Performance Car of the Year is not an easy task. Each fall, we gather every new or revised performance car that we can get our hands on. While some of these candidates naturally worm into our hearts, this is more than a popularity contest—the award doesn’t simply go to the machine we like the most or the one we think is the coolest. PCOTY is about looking to the future and finding the car that provides the most hope for the enthusiast: a machine that offers everything you expect of a modern vehicle yet still tugs at the heart.

To pick a winner, we used the following criteria:
  • Outright speed and testing numbers are part of the package, but they don’t determine the winner. Beyond sheer pace, a car has to bring emotion to the table.
    The car must embrace track duty while still being enjoyable on the road.
  • The car must embrace track duty while still being enjoyable on the road.
  • Technology has to be used in service of the driver, not just added speed. Feedback and sensation via complexity is great, but complexity alone doesn’t cut it.
  • Lastly, we ask ourselves, would any other manufacturer build it? Does the car feel uniquely of its story and brand, with a personality all its own?
The Nominees for 2022:

Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series

Name:  AMG GTBS.jpg
Views: 1575
Size:  335.8 KB
Quote:
Originally Posted by Road & Track
"The new motor’s appetite for revs is huge. True, the redline is only 7200 rpm and not the 8k-plus of the GT350, or the McLarens and Ferraris that also employ flat-plane crank V-8s, but the energy you feel on the way to that 7k redline and the machine-gun braaarppp that goes with it makes this feel like so much more than an AMG GT R with the wick turned up." - R&T October 2020

Price: $326,050 (base)
Engine: 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-8
Output: 720 hp/590 lb-ft
Porsche 992 911 GT3

Name:  992 GT3.jpg
Views: 1558
Size:  430.1 KB
Quote:
Originally Posted by Road & Track
"Here’s the headline: the 992 GT3 is bigger in every dimension than the old car, makes no more power than the old car, and has either the seven-speed PDK or the six-speed manual from the old car. And yet, it’s substantially faster, to the tune of 17 seconds a lap around the Nordschleife. Somebody, as the kids say, has been Doing Science." - R&T April 2021

Price: $162,450 (base)
Engine: 4.0-liter flat-six
Output: 502 hp/346 lb-ft
Toyota GR 86/Subaru BRZ

Name:  GR86-BRZ.jpg
Views: 1508
Size:  528.7 KB
Quote:
Originally Posted by Road & Track
"According to Subaru, the center of gravity is now lower than that of the C8 Corvette and Porsche 718 Cayman. The electronically assisted steering system has been reworked as well, managing to feel more direct than before. Subaru could’ve left all of these things alone, electing to simply improve the engine and nothing else. But it didn’t, and that’s significantly to the dynamic good." - R&T August 2021

Price: $28,955
Engine: 2.4-liter flat-four
Output: 228 hp/184 lb-ft
Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing

Name:  CT5BW.jpg
Views: 1531
Size:  995.2 KB
Quote:
Originally Posted by Road & Track
"The CT5-V Blackwing will also make you wonder why modern performance sedans have embraced all-wheel drive. Despite managing 668 horsepower with just two wheels, traction is rarely an issue. Bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires no doubt help, but this ultimately speaks to how approachable this car is. It's a razor-sharp car that will never cut you. It wants to be your friend." - R&T August 2021

Price: $84,990 (Base)
Engine: 6.2-liter supercharged V-8
Output: 668 hp/659 lb-ft
Volkswagen Golf GTI

Name:  GTI.jpg
Views: 1482
Size:  518.4 KB
Quote:
Originally Posted by Road & Track
"The car feels alive, willing to get silly. One of the paradoxes of the GTI is that it comes across as so junior-Audi refined, yet it’s at heart a rowdy brat ready to lay down rubber (and some axle hop) on the one-two shift." -R&T

Price: $30,540
Engine: 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4
Output: 241 hp/273 lb-ft
Bentley Continental GT Speed

Name:  GT Speed.jpg
Views: 1485
Size:  738.6 KB
Quote:
Originally Posted by Road & Track
"The Speed squeezes 24 more horsepower out of the same twin-turbo 6.0-liter 12-banger. It makes that new power by keeping the turbos at full boost higher in the rev range, meaning you'll find the extra oomph on the good end of the tachometer. Still, the GT's eight-speed dual-clutch automatic shifts twice as fast as in a standard W-12 car, improving the 0-60 time by a tenth of a second to 3.5 seconds." - R&T March 2021

Price: $277,625
Engine: 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged W-12
Lamborghini Huracán STO

Name:  STO.jpg
Views: 1526
Size:  476.7 KB
Quote:
Originally Posted by Road & Track
"The STO’s uncompromising nature means it won’t be for everyone, but it’s the perfect weapon of choice for track-day regulars as it’s blisteringly fast on a circuit, or the right mountain road. It could also be a future collectible as there’s every possibility that upcoming Euro 7 emission regulations will force the Huracan’s successor to ditch the V-10 in favor of a downsized twin-turbo V-8. If that’s the case, the STO will forever remain the ultimate iteration of this charismatic and sonorous recipe." - R&T November 2020

Price: $331,133
Engine: 5.2-liter V-10
Output: 631 hp/417 lb-ft
BMW M4 Competition xDrive

Name:  M4x.jpg
Views: 1471
Size:  412.4 KB
Quote:
Originally Posted by Road & Track
"But none of those things mattered, because at the M4’s essential core is a 473-horsepower twin-turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine, a poised and aggressive rear-drive chassis, and the superstar 275/35ZR19 front and 285/30ZR20 rear Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires it wears. It’s the mechanical substance, not the electronics and not the decorations, that makes this car so good." - R&T March 2021

Price: $79,795
Engine: 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged I-6
Output: 503 hp/479 lb-ft
__________________
Current Garage: 2022 Mercedes-Benz S 580 / 2023 Genesis GV70 2.5T / 2007 Mercedes-Benz E 350 / 1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata
Retired: '95 E36 325i 5MT / '04 E46 330i 6MT / '05 E83 X3 3.0i / '11 E90 335xi / '17 G30 540i / '19 F87 M2C 6MT / '19 MB CLS 53 / '20 MB GLC 300

Last edited by stein_325i; 01-23-2022 at 09:39 AM..
Appreciate 0
      09-30-2021, 05:36 PM   #2
6oclockshadow
Private First Class
6oclockshadow's Avatar
United_States
452
Rep
252
Posts

Drives: 2021 M340i
Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: Boston; Clifden, IE

iTrader: (0)

CTS-5 Blackwing. The Americans are back!
Appreciate 6
stein_325i25051.00
swanson733.00
jmack548.50
nicholasn261.00
par__m3451.00
      09-30-2021, 06:31 PM   #3
BMWILUVU
Lieutenant Colonel
809
Rep
1,597
Posts

Drives: 340ix
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: The Boibs

iTrader: (0)

Nothing on this list beats the GT3!
Appreciate 3
Germanauto9665.50
Cos270608.50
      09-30-2021, 06:57 PM   #4
RugbyBro
Brigadier General
RugbyBro's Avatar
7573
Rep
3,595
Posts

Drives: M3
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Seattle

iTrader: (0)

Not sure any of these cars are going to beat the GT3
__________________
Current: F80
Prior: F82, F32
Appreciate 0
      09-30-2021, 06:58 PM   #5
stein_325i
Ring Leader of G8X Haters
stein_325i's Avatar
No_Country
25051
Rep
8,761
Posts

Drives: A Car
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: All-Around

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by RugbyBro View Post
Not sure any of these cars are going to beat the GT3
The GT3 is definitely a top runner, but there could always be an underdog winner, as I'm sure everyone was shocked last year when the Veloster N had an upset win among strong company.
__________________
Current Garage: 2022 Mercedes-Benz S 580 / 2023 Genesis GV70 2.5T / 2007 Mercedes-Benz E 350 / 1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata
Retired: '95 E36 325i 5MT / '04 E46 330i 6MT / '05 E83 X3 3.0i / '11 E90 335xi / '17 G30 540i / '19 F87 M2C 6MT / '19 MB CLS 53 / '20 MB GLC 300
Appreciate 1
RugbyBro7572.50
      09-30-2021, 07:06 PM   #6
inTgr8r
Lieutenant General
inTgr8r's Avatar
Canada
2422
Rep
11,665
Posts

Drives: M2 Comp
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Toronto

iTrader: (10)

Which one has the biggest advertising budget.
Appreciate 1
wtwo317864.00
      09-30-2021, 07:23 PM   #7
dgoldenz
Lieutenant Colonel
1840
Rep
1,748
Posts

Drives: Vanquish, FF, 392 Wrangler
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Las Vegas

iTrader: (1)

GT3 forever reigns supreme
Appreciate 1
Murf99314114.00
      09-30-2021, 09:26 PM   #8
BMWILUVU
Lieutenant Colonel
809
Rep
1,597
Posts

Drives: 340ix
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: The Boibs

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by stein_325i View Post
The GT3 is definitely a top runner, but there could always be an underdog winner, as I'm sure everyone was shocked last year when the Veloster N had an upset win among strong company.
Rigged. Lol.
Appreciate 0
      09-30-2021, 10:47 PM   #9
Humdizzle
Brigadier General
6024
Rep
3,610
Posts

Drives: GT3 + M2c
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Missouri

iTrader: (0)

For their criteria its probably gonna be the GT3 again. Its just such a usable car on the road. which is what separates it from the STO which probably isn't too fun just running errands around town. same with the AMG... front engine performance cars usually ride very stiff.

i expect the ct5 and 86 rank highly too. maybe 2 and 3.
__________________

2018 Porsche GT3 6MT
2021 M2C DCT
Previous: Ferrari 458 | R35 GTR | F80 M3 | E46 M3 | E36 M3 | Scion FRS
Appreciate 0
      09-30-2021, 11:23 PM   #10
Germanauto
Major General
Germanauto's Avatar
United_States
9666
Rep
6,075
Posts

Drives: Alfa Romeo Giulia, Rosso
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: LA

iTrader: (0)

My vote goes to the GT3 for sure. Props to Toyabaru and Cadillac on their efforts.
__________________
Former
-2008 E90 328 black/brown
-2012 Lexus IS250 black/black
Appreciate 0
      09-30-2021, 11:26 PM   #11
Bimmersandmopars
Lieutenant
526
Rep
469
Posts

Drives: M8 Gran Coupe Comp
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: Texas

iTrader: (0)

Very odd comparisons.
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2021, 04:13 AM   #12
jradon
Private
18
Rep
90
Posts

Drives: 2series
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: SC

iTrader: (0)

I'm a big fan of Porsche.
Appreciate 1
Murf99314114.00
      10-01-2021, 07:48 AM   #13
6oclockshadow
Private First Class
6oclockshadow's Avatar
United_States
452
Rep
252
Posts

Drives: 2021 M340i
Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: Boston; Clifden, IE

iTrader: (0)

If I were buying one, it'd probably be the Porsche. (minus that silly Matchbox rear spoiler)

But kudos to Caddy for creating the Blackwing in this automotive climate. It's the one that meets the last criteria the most.
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2021, 08:26 AM   #14
heavyD^2
Colonel
heavyD^2's Avatar
Canada
3684
Rep
2,955
Posts

Drives: X3M Competition
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Too close to Santa

iTrader: (0)

GT3 should win but knowing how they do this comparison it seems pretty obvious to me that the CT5-V will win. I have no issue with that as it's a great car and worthy of the praise. The Alpha chassis is maybe the best platform GM has ever made and this generation they finally implemented an interior that isn't terrible.
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2021, 09:31 AM   #15
jmack
First Lieutenant
jmack's Avatar
549
Rep
384
Posts

Drives: OG M2, E70 X5M
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: TN

iTrader: (0)

I'm sure the GT3 is a better car, but I still voted Blackwing for the being the last manual V8 RWD sports sedan.
Appreciate 2
stein_325i25051.00
nicholasn261.00
      10-01-2021, 09:34 AM   #16
KennyFSU
Captain
KennyFSU's Avatar
1103
Rep
736
Posts

Drives: Lexus RC F
Join Date: Nov 2019
Location: Florida

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
The GTI and Toyobaru seem very out of place here lol.
__________________
Estoril Blue E36M3
Mineral Grey M235ix/12.02 @ 115
Ultra White Lexus RC F
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2021, 10:08 AM   #17
stein_325i
Ring Leader of G8X Haters
stein_325i's Avatar
No_Country
25051
Rep
8,761
Posts

Drives: A Car
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: All-Around

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by KennyFSU View Post
The GTI and Toyobaru seem very out of place here lol.
The criteria is important, while the Toyobaru and GTI are down on power they fulfill all the qualifications. Remember the Veloster N won the title for 2020.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Road & Track
Outright speed and testing numbers are part of the package, but they don't determine the winner. Beyond sheer pace, a car has to bring emotion to the table. The car must embrace track duty while still being enjoyable on the road.
__________________
Current Garage: 2022 Mercedes-Benz S 580 / 2023 Genesis GV70 2.5T / 2007 Mercedes-Benz E 350 / 1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata
Retired: '95 E36 325i 5MT / '04 E46 330i 6MT / '05 E83 X3 3.0i / '11 E90 335xi / '17 G30 540i / '19 F87 M2C 6MT / '19 MB CLS 53 / '20 MB GLC 300
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2021, 10:15 AM   #18
damnitBobby
Major
991
Rep
1,370
Posts

Drives: 2018 M3 ZCP
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Houston

iTrader: (0)

Easily the GT3 but the CT5-V Blackwing definitely gets a honorable mention. Would be the perfect garage if I could own both.
Appreciate 2
stein_325i25051.00
selbyp93163.50
      10-01-2021, 10:25 AM   #19
RM7
Brigadier General
RM7's Avatar
2870
Rep
3,445
Posts

Drives: Camaro SS 1LE
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Alaska

iTrader: (0)

Is this GT3 that much better than the outgoing one? Seems like a pretty small incremental step?
__________________
Current: 2018 Camaro SS 1LE, 2023 Colorado ZR2. Former: BMW 428i Gran Coupe.
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2021, 01:47 PM   #20
stein_325i
Ring Leader of G8X Haters
stein_325i's Avatar
No_Country
25051
Rep
8,761
Posts

Drives: A Car
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: All-Around

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes View Post
Is this GT3 that much better than the outgoing one? Seems like a pretty small incremental step?
While it doesn't seem like much of an upgrade, they were able to shave 17-seconds off its ring time which is pretty impressive considering how much is similar to the 991.2.
__________________
Current Garage: 2022 Mercedes-Benz S 580 / 2023 Genesis GV70 2.5T / 2007 Mercedes-Benz E 350 / 1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata
Retired: '95 E36 325i 5MT / '04 E46 330i 6MT / '05 E83 X3 3.0i / '11 E90 335xi / '17 G30 540i / '19 F87 M2C 6MT / '19 MB CLS 53 / '20 MB GLC 300
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2021, 07:24 PM   #21
Redd
Brigadier General
3851
Rep
4,133
Posts

Drives: 2010 BMW E92 M3 Dakar Edition
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Malaysia

iTrader: (0)

I hope the AMG wins. Just because #NotGT3
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2021, 07:41 PM   #22
Alfisti
Brigadier General
6453
Rep
3,009
Posts

Drives: 2008 Saab 9-3 Combi
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Toronto, Canada

iTrader: (0)

Does price come into the equation?
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:27 AM.




5post
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST