ShakeNBake

I'd love a 991 RS, but I would have a hard time getting track insurance for a 180K car marked up to 350K. I wish I had not taken my 997 out on track last weekend, it's going to be a hard decision to move to the GT4.

Petevb

It's getting harder and harder to cover both the street and fast track roles in a single car. Anything that can legitimately keep up on the track arguably has limits too high to enjoy on the street. Meanwhile cars like the GT4 are arguably missing some speed and challenge for the track.

Are we at the point where different tires are required to adjust grip levels for each? Or could a car like the 911R still be compelling at both in the way the RS 4.0 and CGT were? I suspect the key is playing with grip (and slip), a concept both customers and motorsports engineers will likely find quite foreign...

997rs4.0

Totally agree,

Porsche has chosen to go down a different path with the new RS.

Like TRAKCAR said RS is new Ferrari. We will see them at cars and coffee and at the valet.
That was not really the case with previous gen RS.

We talk about making a car to good. And maybe the new RS is to good for the road? I don't think you can make a car to good for the track. Just have to go faster and push the limits. Obviously with increased risk of serious consequences! But that's another discussion.

Gt4 is still a fast car on the road and at least for me being an amateur driver fast enough for the track.

But I'm still desperately waiting the next RS. Please make it a little less good on the inside. 😃😃😃

IMOA

This is why I'm tempted to try some more standard cayman size 19's (ie narrower rear tyre) shod with super sports to see how that works on the street. Swaybars back to medium-medium and you should get a chassis which is a bit more lively at street speeds.

Nick Trott

Hi all,

Time to stop lurking and start posting. I'm Nick Trott - Editor of evo and owner of a 1982 SC (currently broken) and a 996 GT2 (currently awesome)...

Always great to read comments about evo - especially eCoty. I manage all content across all platforms (print, app, youtube, web, social) and the 2015 test encompassed them all. I can't say the test was hard work - we had glorious weather, spectacular roads and the cars were pretty good too - but it did prove to be a fascinating experience.

I won't give away too much about the test (there's 40-odd pages to enjoy), but I'm happy to answer any questions about the format, the people, the cars - or anything else you might to discuss.

A couple of things to kick off with - firstly we include hot hatches and the like because we believe that the best of their kind can entertain to the same degree as a proper sports car. We are also conscious that we're creating a story, and one of the great narratives of eCoty is (and has always been) how the more humble performance cars compare with thoroughbreds. For instance, it might be hard to believe (indeed I'd have questioned it myself if I wasn't driving one of the cars) but on certain roads the 675LT simply couldn't shake the Type-R. It's that kind of giant-killing narrative that is always a joy to communicate.

Secondly, price is not a factor in eCoty - again it never has been. We're not looking for the 'best car at xxx price' because that creates multiple awards and multiple awards tend to be created by magazines looking to appease a whole bunch of manufacturers. We believe a single prize for the car that best exemplifies the Thrill of Driving (our mantra) is the purest and most transparent way of conducting the test.

Lastly, for now, there are no outside forces acting on the verdict. I was reading a Lotus forum the other day and someone claimed that we'd decided the winner before we embarked on the test. As the person who rounded up the judges in a bar late on the last day of the test, and forced the order from them, I can categorically state that this isn't the case!

Anyway, feel free to fire away. I'll do my best to answer as many questions as possible. Thanks in advance, and also for your interest in eCoty 2015.

Nick

Bardman

Great to see you on here. I love the magazine.

If there is one single element you have to choose on what makes the gt4 a better Evo car than the competition, what would you say it is?

Ps - apologies for (ahem) my minor copyright infringement...

mm1

Welcome Nick! It's great to see you on the forum and proactively answering questions.

Not a question for the car but magazine itself. I read most of my content online but would be very interested in a copy of this issue and likely others would too. Is there a way to buy a single copy or do a group buy?

Drifting

Nick,

Thank you for your comments. I too absolutely love EVO and have an EVO subscription for my ipad for the past year.

However, as a 991 GT3 owner, I would be very interested in purchasing a print or maybe pdf version of the 2013 EVO car of the year competition, which was won by the 991 GT3.

How do I go about getting a permanent electronic or paper copy of that issue?

Nick Trott

Hi all,

Thanks for the quick replies. Keep 'em coming...

Bardman - without giving too much of the story away, for me it's that the car is joyously cohesive. Also: communication/feedback at all speeds is second-to-none, control weights are pretty much perfect, and you always feel like you're driving it - rather than the other way around...

mm1 - I'll speak to our subs team about getting an offer. No promises, but I'll do what I can. Watch this space.

Drifting - looks like we're out of stock. Sorry. eBay UK is always a good option. Search evo 190 and there's one on there. Underpriced as well, but I guess I would say that!

n

rk-d

Welcome Nick!

Just read eCOTY on the Zinio app. As usual - fantastic work. You guys made a compelling case for the GT4. It makes sense - at a certain level of performance, emotion trumps pace. It makes you wonder - at what point does one reach the practical limits of performance for the road? Reading this article, it appears that we are at that point. When Cadillacs can set 'ring times to rival last gen exotic cars, then who really cares anymore about nth level pace for road cars?

Reading this article gave me goosebumps, I'll admit. I'm about to burst waiting for March to come.

IrishAndy

I've never been on Lotus forum in my life (love the cars, though) until yesterday when I was searching for eCOTY and saw the exact same quote!

They went on about the Porsche bias, but that doesn't explain how the Speciale won unanimously when it was that car's turn to win.

Question:
How much does usability/limits on the road factor in? I know there's the general philosophy that any car with really high boundaries can only reach it's full potential on the track, and while that's true in terms of outright dynamic potential I always think that that type of car can and should be enjoyable on the road as well. I'm assuming cars like the RS are judged in exactly the same way as a Seat in that respect. Is that accurate or too simplistic?

Nick Trott

rk-d - firstly, where can I get that profile pic?! Amazing! SR-71?

'at what point does one reach the practical limits of performance for the road?' - some would argue this time has been and gone. The challenge for manufacturers today is not to make faster cars for the road, but to make more engaging cars at all speeds. I think this was summarised quite nicely in our GT3 RS round up. Interesting thing about the 675LT is that it combines warp speed pace with delicious feedback at low speeds - and an absolutely unique driving experience. Very special car that...

IrishAndy - Interesting one. Dynamic capability for most cars can only be reached on track. Oversteering at 150mph in an LT on the road is not clever or fun, but I'd give it a go on track... Key again is that the car yields engagement easily on the road at most speeds. Take something like a Clio Trophy - it'd get murdered by all the cars in eCoty 2015 but it makes 50mph as fun as 150mph in some other machines. Clever thing about the GT4 is that it engagement doesn't scale up with speed - as in the thrill of driving at 5/10ths on the road can be as satisfying as driving it at 10/10ths on track...

rk-d

haha - thanks! Good call - It's a pic from wikipedia on the SR-17 with a little Photoshop.

One grumble I've heard, mostly from the m3 guys in lasts years comparison, is how the quality of the roads factor into these assessments. Can one compare the performance of these cars on British "B" roads to American roadways, etc. Personally, I can't imagine British roadways being in any worse state of repair compared to most American roads.

IrishAndy

This is what I was hoping you'd say. So, every driver's car - whatever the price or dynamic limits - stands a fair chance if it can deliver on the road. If a car that's devastating on the track lacks feel and finesse on the road it's unlikely to place well.

This explains - to me at least - why a certain other German car won a US car of the year title recently, whereas it came much lower in Evo's test.

PS You guys have to do a longer film on the GT4, much like Catchpole did with the Boxster GTS in Mallorca (greatest driving road in the world). That was a stunning piece of filming... I still watch it occasionally when I want to watch a great piece of driving in great scenery with great sound.

My ultimate would be Henry doing the road driving and commentary on some scenic roads and Jethro doing some track driving and commentary. Please, please, please do something like that. If you did it in the US my car would be all yours for a week.

Nacelle

Welcome to the board, great to have you here