At the 2024 Performance Vehicle of the Year
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00:00You've got a little smudge on your lens, there you go.
00:29Welcome to Motortrend's 2024 Performance Vehicle of the Year.
00:44Our annual celebration of all things cool, quick and exciting.
00:48We're here at the fantastic Chuckwalla Valley Raceway.
00:51Do I look as cool as I feel?
00:54Probably not.
00:55Three days of cold starts, quarter miles, desert smiles and hot laps.
01:02Let me tell you a little bit about what we've got going on.
01:05We've chosen 21 of the finest performance vehicles on sale today.
01:11I did the math earlier and worked out that we've got 118 cylinders, 8 electric motors
01:17and get this, 10,990 total horsepower.
01:23That's pretty cool.
01:24I forgot about this, that's 10,990.7 horsepower.
01:27What we're going to do is lap the cars, we're then going to pick which are our favourite
01:34seven.
01:35We're going to take those on an epic road trip and then we're going to pick a winner.
01:40This year's field is as varied as it gets.
01:43We've got everything from the 181 horsepower Mazda Miata to the 1,234 horsepower Lucid
01:51Air Sapphire and a bit of everything in between.
01:55Let me show you around in no particular order.
01:58First up, the Maserati MC20 Cello.
02:03621 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque from this beautiful, sonorous, in-house developed,
02:16engineered, built Maserati twin-turbocharged V6.
02:21This engine really is an absolute cracker, very surprising.
02:26The performance is magical.
02:28Look at this, 6,000 rpm, 7,000 rpm, 78 and shift.
02:34It's just pulling all the way.
02:40This beautiful drop-top manages to tread the fine line between stripped-out supercar and
02:46continent-crushing grand tourer to perfection.
02:50It is as raucous as it is refined, as apocalyptic as it is approachable.
02:55Speaking of approachable, this pair of Subarus, the BRZ TS and the WRX TR, are either Performance
03:03Vehicle of the Year with a point to prove.
03:06Performance isn't all about straight-line speed.
03:09In fact, our PVOTY field will be judged against six key criteria, Advancement in Design, Engineering
03:17Excellence, Performance of Intended Function, Value, Efficiency, and Driver Focus and Engagement.
03:23Subaru will be hoping that the BRZ TS, an already great handling car now tuned by STI,
03:31and the track-ready WRX will impress our judges.
03:40Up next, it's something of an enthusiast special.
03:46We've got the quite charming Lotus Emira.
03:52Now, Lotus, of course, is a company founded on Formula One technology, winning glory,
04:01and their road cars have always, pretty much always, reflected that.
04:06Though, they did have a tendency to be a bit unpredictable at times.
04:10The interiors weren't great either.
04:12Oh, and they like to break down a lot.
04:15Thankfully, we see no such problems in the Emira.
04:18I'm happy to report, it's a little bit more sorted than the Lotus's of old.
04:26Yeah, this is cool.
04:28And speaking of enthusiast specials…
04:37Right then, little Miata, let's see what you can do.
04:43You can't talk about great handling sports cars without mentioning the Mazda Miata.
04:48For over three decades and across four generations, this compact two-seater sports car has been
04:54the antidote to everything that's grown to be wrong with the performance car industry.
04:59Put simply, this RF Club Edition is one of the best handling cars here.
05:06It's got spectacular weight distribution, and as a result, gorgeous, gorgeous dynamic feel.
05:14Spectacular.
05:15Best value for money car on the market.
05:17Certainly offers the most value of all the cars we have here.
05:24The Integra Type S.
05:26Based on the Civic Type R, but with a touch more refinement,
05:29specifically in the suspension department.
05:31It looks a bit more grown up, and it drives like that too.
05:35Unlike the A-spec Integra, the Type S is only available as a six-speed manual,
05:40so you really have to want it.
05:42Evoking the JDM hot hatch spirit, albeit riding on 19s and with heated seats,
05:47how deep can the new Integra go in this year's competition?
05:53The C8 Corvette E-Ray.
05:55A big old 6.2-litre V8, the largest displacement engine of any vehicle,
06:02a performance vehicle of the year 2024, with an added hybrid system.
06:06Underestimate this one at peril.
06:09Next up...
06:11This is kind of the car of the moment, right?
06:14The IONIQ 5 was already a spectacular vehicle.
06:17It won our SUV of the Year award, and now we have a 641-horsepower version
06:22with uprated brakes, revised suspension, and an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.
06:27Well, not really, but kind of.
06:29It does a really, really good impression of one.
06:35Listen to this.
06:36This is Hyundai's Active Sound Plus.
06:39I've got to remind you, I'm in an EV.
06:42Look, watch, I'll hit the red line. You ready?
06:46Look at that. It kicked me forward.
06:48That is insane.
06:52An EV with simulated gears and engine noises.
06:55Now I really have seen everything.
06:58On the subject of raucous red lines,
07:01the G87 generation BMW M2.
07:06Pause for grumblings about the way it looks.
07:10You done?
07:11Okay, well guess what? I love the way it looks.
07:13Not only that, I think it's the best-looking BMW currently on sale.
07:17It also recently beat a Porsche 718 Cayman 4.0 GTS in a comparison test that we ran
07:23because, get this, it was more fun to drive than a Porsche.
07:29The M2 is the sweet spot for people looking for a livable, usable sports sedan
07:35with an attractive price point.
07:37This one even has a manual.
07:39I mean, what more could you ask for?
07:43Speaking of lookers, we've also got the XM label,
07:46the most powerful production BMW M car ever made.
07:51And for a ÂŁ6,000 SUV, it shimmies through the corners with a surprising amount of poise.
07:59The GT63 Coupe.
08:02The all-wheel drive AMG GT.
08:05Bigger and heavier than its predecessor,
08:07which was the recipient of our 2015 Best Driver's Car, no less.
08:11How is this one going to stack up?
08:13Can it step out from behind the shadow of its older brother?
08:18Next, the Lucid Air Sapphire, the most powerful vehicle here
08:22with a staggering 1,234 horsepower.
08:28This is, in fact, the quickest quarter-mile production vehicle we've ever tested.
08:32It's 75 years of motor train testing, which is miraculous, isn't it?
08:36New gears, obviously, so we just accelerate and wind it up.
08:40Yeah, we're doing over 100 miles an hour.
08:43In summary, driving the Sapphire is like sitting inside a suede-lined pebble
08:48and being skimmed across a lake at Mach 2.
08:51Something you truly have to experience to believe.
08:57The McLaren 750S.
09:00A phenomenal machine that'll rearrange your brain
09:03and make you forget how to talk.
09:06Leave the back roll.
09:09Wow.
09:11Bloody hell.
09:14Come on, England!
09:16It's like firing off a few rounds in an automatic rifle.
09:21Bang!
09:23Bang!
09:24I mean, this thing lives to be north of 100 miles per hour.
09:27Chassis feel, body roll, suspension, steering turn-in, braking, power delivery.
09:35Across those disciplines, McLaren is kind of hard to beat.
09:40Oh, it's so good!
09:43Another of the more exciting cars here, and a direct competitor of the McLaren,
09:48is the Ferrari 296 GTB.
09:52Yes, the first non-Dino Ferrari-badged Ferrari to be V6-powered.
09:59And not just that, it's a hybrid.
10:03Jeez Louise!
10:06The speed this car can deal out at a moment's notice.
10:10It is so immediate and precise.
10:16Goodness me.
10:19Goodness me.
10:21Goodness gracious me.
10:23This is a V6.
10:25That's insanity.
10:28Gear shifts are appropriately aggressive.
10:34Oh, a little bit of curve there.
10:36Oh my goodness me.
10:37This is the one.
10:38This is the one.
10:39Bloody hell.
10:41I have a feeling this car could go far in this competition.
10:46Ferrari really showed up with a contender, didn't they?
10:48Wow.
10:51The Mustang Dark Horse.
10:54In a world of reduced displacement, fear not as Ford still outfits the Dark Horse Mustang
11:01with a big Coyote V8.
11:04In fact, it's the most powerful production Coyote to date at 500 horsepower.
11:10Still got a V8.
11:11Still got a six-speed manual.
11:13Still absolutely fantastic.
11:17And rounding out the pack of the pure asphalt grabbers is arguably the most honed of track cars here.
11:24The GT3 RS, a car which surely needs no introduction.
11:28The hardest, most focused version of Porsche's current generation 911.
11:33And we've got one here, the Performance Vehicle of the Year.
11:36This is very, very exciting.
11:39Wow, it's electrifying.
11:44Wow.
11:45I've run out of superlatives.
11:47I'm just saying wow a lot.
11:50It's honestly incredible.
11:58Now, as for the first time,
12:01we open up the field of Performance Vehicle of the Year to off-road focused machines.
12:06We go from a 911 to another 911.
12:12A 992 generation 911 made to dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge on sand, rock, mud, snow,
12:20or as Porsche called them, rough roads.
12:23I'm still not a fan of the livery, but boy, oh boy, am I a fan of the genre-bending 911 Dakar.
12:30The second entry into the I still can't believe they made it category is here too.
12:36The Lamborghini Huracan Sturato.
12:38A very, very, very, very cool car.
12:42The sort of car you dream about.
12:44The kind of car you dream about.
12:46The Sturato.
12:47A very, very, very, very cool car.
12:51The sort of car you dream about.
12:53But none of us ever really thought anyone would build.
12:56And now, look, we have two.
12:59Sturato means dirt road.
13:01And yep, you guessed it, Lamborghini actively encourages you to take this V10-powered fever dream off-road.
13:09Epic.
13:10We cannot wait to see how these two face off against each other
13:13and how they compare to the other supercars in the group.
13:17A pair of excellent GMC trucks next, the Canyon and Sierra 84X AEVs.
13:24AEV stands, of course, for American Expedition Vehicles,
13:27so on the Canyon, as well as Multimatic dampers,
13:30front and rear electronic locking diffs,
13:32a 3-inch factory lift,
13:3410.7 inches of ground clearance,
13:36and 33-inch Gucci Arangara MT tyres,
13:39you get a whole host of off-road-focused extras.
13:43I cannot wait to put all that to good use.
13:46And then there's the Sierra, which is a very interesting truck
13:49because it's much more unassuming than its rivals,
13:52the likes of the F150 Raptor and the Ram 1500 TRX.
13:56It's sort of a sleeper truck, which is very, very cool,
13:59and it's going to be lethally quick over the rough stuff.
14:04Bringing up the rear in this list,
14:06but certainly not on our off-road course,
14:08the Ford Ranger Raptor.
14:11It's got a 3.5-inch wider track than the standard Ranger,
14:14it's running on 33-inch BFGoodrich all-terrains,
14:17and of course, tucked up under those big wheel wells
14:20is a bunch of off-road magic.
14:26The three days at the track went a little bit like this.
14:29Our seven judges spent a set number of laps
14:32in each of the 21 cars,
14:34judging against our of-the-year criteria.
14:37Like I said, this wasn't an exercise in lap times,
14:40but rather in overall dynamic performance.
14:43Here are just a few of the key takeaways from across the board.
14:47The Integra Type S is a remarkably well-dialed, trackable car.
14:53The McLaren is so good in the corners,
14:55it'll take your breath away, literally.
14:58The E-Ray is a wild beast,
15:01but some found it a little underwhelming.
15:04The Mustang Type Horse has Shelby-level handling
15:08and brakes that could stop a freight train.
15:11The Lucid Air Sapphire obviously has more power
15:14than the average solar storm,
15:16and even puts it down well,
15:18but it's just a tad emotionless.
15:21On the other hand, the Ioniq 5N is an EV
15:24with style, flair, and soul.
15:28And the BRZ TS handled the track well,
15:32whereas the track-ready WRX did not.
15:36But when all was said and done,
15:38all the cars lapped, all the off-roaders off-roaded,
15:41it was the work of our judges
15:43to wiggle the field from 21 down to their seven favourites.
15:47And after much deliberation and a little good-spirited arguing,
15:51white smoke rose from the port-a-cabin
15:53at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway,
15:55signalling that our finalists had been selected.
15:58And they were the BMW M2,
16:01the Hyundai Ioniq 5N,
16:03the Porsche 911 GT3 RS,
16:05the Ferrari 296 GTB,
16:08the Porsche 911 Dakar,
16:10the Ford Mustang Dark Horse,
16:12and the Acura Integra Type S.
16:16Next, we took those seven finalists on an epic road trip,
16:20looping down from the low desert into the even lower desert,
16:23crossing the barren plains,
16:25cresting isolated peaks, traversing rocky plinths,
16:28climbing, scaling, descending,
16:30before finally climbing again,
16:32this time into the alpine-like San Bernardino National Forest.
16:36It was an excellent drive,
16:38which taught our judges a lot about the cars
16:41which they hadn't been able to clean
16:43at the track.
16:45On the roads, the Acura's added civility and comfort
16:48really came to the fore,
16:50not that you couldn't still hoon it when required.
16:53The M2 has the ability to turn even the dullest stretch of road
16:57into a great experience,
17:00so engaging are its steering, brakes, and raucous engine.
17:04The 296 is everything we want in a Ferrari,
17:08a car which has tackled the subject of its time,
17:11a car which has tackled the subject of mild hybridisation with sensitivity,
17:15yet which hasn't wimped out.
17:17This is Ferrari at their very best.
17:21The same can be said of the 750S.
17:24Here, McLaren have made a greatest hit,
17:27with all the great elements from their cars of the past decade.
17:30Is it borderline too hardcore for the road?
17:33Perhaps.
17:34But man, what a ride.
17:36Speaking of hardcore, the GT3 RS,
17:39a car which came into this with such high expectations.
17:43And judging by the smile on people's faces as they got out,
17:47you'd have to say it delivered.
17:50The other Porsche in the pack, the Dakar,
17:52so charming, so fun, great in the dirt,
17:55but just as at home on the road,
17:58as you would expect from a 911.
18:01And finally, the Ioniq 5N,
18:03possibly the most discussed car of the week,
18:06full of bells and whistles meant to engage the driver,
18:09but at its core, a fantastic SUV with supercar power figures.
18:16And after all of that, a nice dinner, a lot more debating,
18:19and then our judges finally decided on their winner.
18:25And so the winner of Motor Trend's 2024 Performance Vehicle of the Year is...
18:31the BMW M2.
18:34Across our six OTY judging criteria,
18:37advancements in design, engineering excellence,
18:40performance of intended function, value, efficiency,
18:43and driver confidence and engagement,
18:45the M2 passed with flying colours.
18:48The chassis feel, the steering feedback and suspension work
18:53evoke the days when BMW led the industry
18:57in performance-oriented sedans and coupes.
19:01It's fantastic.
19:05Despite being a fairly heavy vehicle,
19:09it's around 3,748 pounds,
19:13the M2 has a decidedly light feel.
19:17The steering, for example, is wonderfully light but nicely weighted,
19:22allowing for accurate driver input.
19:25Everything comes together and makes this car feel very special to drive.
19:31The BMW M2, our 2024 Motor Trend Performance Vehicle of the Year.
19:37Truly an ultimate driving machine.
19:47And with that, we are done.
19:49That is a wrap on Motor Trend's 2024 Performance Vehicle of the Year.
19:54And what a week it has been.
19:5621 vehicles, one motor compactor, a whole lot of fun.
20:00We've had a great time. Thank you very much for joining us.
20:03Make sure to get on to MotorTrend.com, read all the articles,
20:06look at all the beautiful photographs. We do this for you.
20:09We also do it for us, but we mostly do it for you.
20:12Thank you very much.