[2019] Motortrend Best Driver's Car










Laptimes Laguna Seca:

....................................McLaren Senna: 1:27.62 the car is lot of work to drive
....................Porsche 911(992) Carrera S: 1:35.52
.............Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4Matic+: 1:36.26
...................Ford Mustang Shelby GT350: 1:36.83 understeer on mid corner (cup2 tire)
..........................Jaguar XE SV Project 8: 1:36.96 a little mid corner understeer
...............Aston Martin DBS Superleggera: 1:38.27 aggressive throttle map in sport+
.......................BMW M850i xDrive Coupe: 1:39.40
..................................Toyota GR Supra: 1:40.57 over 100hp than claimed
.............................BMW M2 Competition: 1:40.83 brake fading
..................................Lamborghini Urus: 1:40.90 was good on road but cant hide the weight on the track
......................Bentley Continental GT V8: 1:41.21 hot brake/tires / transmission was confuse
Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye Widebody: 1:42.70





1/4 mile:





Half mile:

 

Porsche

 

Interesting the M2 and Supra are so close, with the Supra taking it. The M2 mollywhopped the Supra around VIR in this year's Lightning Lap challenge.

 

Not really sure why they put the senna in this competition at a million dollars msrp. Why not go all out and put the jesko in too? It’s not even in the same league as the others and certainly will almost never be anyone’s daily driver. Good job Porsche!

 

man that Aston comes in HOT on the second quarter mile...

 

Aston after 1/4 mile:

 

haha.... thanks for the footage. Glad I'm not the only one that thought that was insane.

 

Yep, the 992 911 is not slow (understatement). The higher peak numbers don't tell the whole story. There's just more power everywhere compared to the 991.2 cars and the new turbos certainly help the cause. Considering how quick the S cars are, I am chomping at the bit to see where the GT and Turbo cars end up.

 

Those cars are very much cousins. It comes down to how you fit in the car and whether or not you want to pay Toyota shop rates vs BMW shop rates. :P

 

Aston was late for a meeting. hahaha

 

The 2016 Carrera S managed a 1:36.44, and the 2017 Turbo S managed a 1:33.21 (both with Randy Pobst on the MotorTrend Best Driver's Car feature), so it will be interesting to see how well the 992 Turbo S can manage. I predict a 1:31.50 or so.

 

I’d love to see a track battle between a similarly spec’ed 991.2 GTS and a 992 Carrera S. I really want to know how much improved the 992 is over a GTS.

 

The fact that the 992 S cars are being compared to the 991 GTS tells you quite a bit about the improvements. S vs GTS isn’t apples to apples. Having driven both, my butt dyno says the 992 is faster.

Reminder, peak horsepower doesn't tell the whole picture here. You've got a new turbo setup, different throttle response, different gear ratios, etc that is all changing how power gets to the wheels. Then, there's the matter of the wider front track and geometry tweaks which have also impacted the dynamics of the car for the better.

Randy Pobst commented that he’s especially excited at where the 992 GT and Turbo cars will end up given the new performance level of the S. The mere S, which Randy characterized as basically the "base model", threw down a lap time second only to the Senna in this year’s Best Driver’s Car.

 

It would've been nice to include an Audi R8 in this group.

 

Historically, Motor Trend has not been kind to the R8.