Porsche Turbo Cabriolet Awd Tiptronic S Sport Chrono on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R named Road & Track Performance Car of the Year

With a 526-horsepower, 5.2-liter V8 that roars to 8,250 rpm, it's really hard to consider the 2016 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R an underdog in any fight. However, the Shelby held the lowest as-tested price and was only middle of the pack in terms of power in Road & Track's 2016 Performance Car of the Year challenge. The 'Stang's numbers clearly didn't tell the whole story about the potent coupe because Ford's muscle car grabbed the title in this year's test. A model needs to be new or significantly updated to be eligible for the honor, and R&T found an impressive slate of eight candidates this year. The challengers included the Bentley Continental GT3-R, Cadillac ATS-V Coupe, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper ACR, Mercedes-AMG GT S, and Porsche Cayman GT4. The Ferrari 488 GTB was the most expensive of the bunch with an as-tested price of $347,942, which is five times more than the Shelby. Once the group was together, R&T hustled them over curving roads and on the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park. There was a lot to love about the Shelby, even in this impressive crew. "With a flat-plane crank and Sport Cup 2 tires, the GT350R is a Mustang turned up to 11," editor-in-chief Larry Webster said in the announcement of the results. The GT350R joins some great company. Past winners include the Porsche 911 GT3 last year and the Corvette in 2013. For some fantastic photography and the complete appraisal of these performance machines check out R&T's website for the full story. Related Video: ROAD & TRACK NAMES THE FORD MUSTANG SHELBY GT350R THE 2016 PERFORMANCE CAR OF THE YEAR New York, NY (November 9, 2015) – Road & Track today named the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R the 2016 Performance Car of the Year, beating out seven of the world's best new sports cars. The article appears in the December/January issue, on newsstands November 17, and on RoadandTrack.com. "With a flat-plane crank and Sport Cup 2 tires, the GT350R is a Mustang turned up to 11," said Larry Webster, editor-in-chief of Road & Track. "Not only does the car have soul and harness so much firepower with such ease, but the real achievement here is that it's so approachable. It's a car you can't help but love." The Mustang Shelby GT350R was the winner by a runaway vote.

See what the Chevy C7 ZR1 may be benchmarked against

One of the greatest things every Corvette has had going for it, and also one of the most re-used arguments against it, is its price-to-performance equation - long before the Nissan GT-R became the de facto Porsche 911 comparator the Corvette spent decades as Exhibit A. Depending on which side of the argument you stressed, supporters crowed about how much performance you got for how (comparatively) little, detractors carped on how little you got everywhere else in the bargain.
It appears Chevrolet is working as hard as ever to render the argument meaningless. Spy shooters at KGP captured a convocation of European birds of prey leaving the General Motors test center, and aimed at benchmarking the C7 Corvette ZR1. The road train comprised of two C7 Corvette Stingrays, a 2013 Corvette ZR1, McLaren MP4-12C, Ferrari 458 Italia, Audi R8 V10 Spyder and Porsche 911 Carrera S and it was last seen heading down the same kinked-up back roads used to hone the Corvette Stingray.
The C7-series ZR1 and its possible 700 horsepower are still a ways off. If it really is being positioned to compete with the celestial exotica in the testing group, could it be the first Corvette to regularly be the first answer to the question "Cost no object, which would would you rather have?"

Porsche 911 going all-turbo this year save for GT3 and GT3 RS

The coming Porsche 911 GT3 RS will represent another high-water mark for the brand, and another milestone. Its 500-or-so horsepower and extreme aero are predicted to lop more than five seconds off the 7:20 Nurburgring lap time of the current GT3, making it "comfortably less" than 7:20. Beyond that, its naturally-aspirated 3.8-liter will form the basis of the turbocharged engines going into the standard range of 911s later this year as 2016 models. That's right – if you're looking for a sub-GT3 911 that gulps its air without compressed assistance, then you've only got a few months to get a new one into your garage. Emissions regulations are the reason, of course, with Porsche's R&D chief Wolfgang Hatz saying that, "Every new model will have lower CO2 than before," and "if you look at euro per g/km, then it's turbo." We don't know what the engine lineup will look like, however; a few months ago Car reported that the base 911 would get a smaller-displacement version of the engine, while the S would stick with 3.8-liter displacement and jump to 520 horsepower, which is the same as the current Turbo. After that, Hatz said, "at the end of the decade electrification has to be the next huge step." That means a hybrid 911 is being cooked up somewhere. Yet even as the brand leaps into the new, there's a chance it could dip a toe back into the old: the 911 GT3 RS will launch with a PDK, but Hatz's team is considering adding the option of a seven-speed manual. Elsewhere in the range, the Cayman GT4 is being engineered by Porsche Motorsport as an entry-level racer, with more power than the current Cayman GTS to go with some serious weight loss. They are also developing a track-only model for privateers. The standard Boxster and Cayman will get turbocharged flat-four engines, but there'll be a sporty Boxster that also loses weight and gets more power than the 325-hp Boxster GTS. And that mid-level supercar that's been floating in the ether for years and supposedly sent to purgatory again just last November? It's on the way by 2020 "at the latest," and will use a version of the new V8 that will eventually go into the Cayenne and Panamera. Featured Gallery 2015 Porsche 911 GT3 RS: Winter Testing Spy Shots View 13 Photos News Source: Top Gear, AutocarImage Credit: CarPix Green Porsche Emissions Convertible Coupe Hybrid Luxury Performance Supercars porsche 911 gt3 wolfgang hatz porsche supercar