2018 Performance Car of The Year - 2018 McLaren 720S Named Road & Track's PCOTY
THE FINALISTS
And then there were four—the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, Honda Civic Type R, Lexus LC 500, and McLaren 720S. You’d be hard-pressed to choose a broader-spectrum anti-biotic for creeping automotive disinterest, yet at the core, each of these cars expresses a similarly uncompromising approach to performance-focused engineering. They’re loaded with things that you only notice after long examination: the heavy-duty steering knuckles on the Civic, the combination knob/switch used by the Lexus to adjust the shocks and relax the stability control, the knee bolstering on the Camaro’s center console, the way the TFT dashboard on the McLaren Fosbury-flops out of the way for unimpeded vision on a racetrack. You can have opinions about the Civic’s aero package or the McLaren’s socketed headlamps, but you can’t say that our final four don’t bring their A game in nearly every aspect that matters to a driver.
In years past, the PCOTY voting process has taken as long as four hours, often laced with impassioned speeches, tense disagreements, and uncomfortable bouts of soul-searching. Not this time. A single round of discussion and voting took a fraction of that. Our eight editors each assigned a ranking to the finalists. The rankings were added and averaged to provide the final results. Only two cars received first-place votes, and the mathematical distance between each place turned out to be unequivocal.
In fourth position we have the Lexus LC 500. “Never felt wallowy, oversized, or heavy, either on street or track,” noted Sorokanich. This unabashedly design-centric exercise in prestige-coupe production should have been out of its league among the hard-edged, apex-focused competition. The fact that it held its own on track and in fast driving, bellowing a Talladega battle cry through its ornamental exhaust and cranking into every corner with a Supra’s worth of tail-out attitude was more than enough to earn our admiration. Yet this is a platform that fairly cries out for the full F-for-Fuji treatment. If the powers that be at Lexus think the brand can stretch to accommodate a fiercer and faster variant of the LC, we’d be delighted to give it another shot at the title.
The third spot goes to the Civic Type R. Let’s get the low points out of the way in a hurry: The engine rarely feels fast and never comes across as particularly furious, the steering can seem inert, and the visual package is, shall we say, controversial. Chilton was properly cutting: “Even if it was quicker than the AMG, I couldn’t forgive those fake bumper grilles.”
None of those problems will stop the Type R from sporting additional-dealer-markup stickers for some time to come, however, because this is a Honda truly worthy of the coveted red badge.
In a market segment where some competitors are gelded by crossover-grade all-wheel drive and a ’77 Cutlass Supreme’s worth of curb weight, the Civic shines despite, and by virtue of, its fealty to the original hot-hatch template. “It possesses the unique ability to be driven like a front-wheel-drive car when it’s convenient—back it into turns under trail braking to get it rotated—without suffering from typical front-drive hang-ups under acceleration,” said Wolfkill. And the almost cosplay-like dedication to Nineties Ginza chic, while not everyone’s taste, will create a lot of fanatics and inspire plenty of tattoos. Most important, it’s a reminder that Honda still cares about its enthusiast owners.
Two editors cast first-place votes for the Camaro ZL1 1LE, and no wonder. The big-box Chevrolet seems to vibrate from the tires up with a sort of manic pixie dream pony-car joyfulness. “Still big and heavy, but that makes it all the more impressive,” Okulski said. “The only limiting factor on track time is the amount of fuel in the tank—it could run for days straight.” If the C7 Corvette Z06 is a very good car, and the previous-generation Camaro Z/28 was a flat-out great car, then this combination is somehow even better than the sum of its impressive parts. Capable of running with $200,000 supercars, yet easily serviceable at your local GM dealer, the ZL1 1LE is a stunning statement of intent and an example of what America’s biggest car company can do when it lets engineers turn their dreams into reality. God bless it for existing.
2018 Performance Car of The Year: McLaren 720S
Those of us who have been fortunate enough to drive McLaren’s exemplary 650S and utterly indomitable 675LT approached the McLaren 720S with no small amount of trepidation. There didn’t seem to be anything that needed fixing in the previous generation of the Super Series cars, particularly with regard to the longtail variant. In one respect, we were right to be worried. The 720S makes no pretensions to the rough-hewn rattle-and-clank Le Mans–series histrionics of the 675LT, and it can’t quite match that car’s concert-master touch on a road course.
Not to worry. There is surely an uninsulated track-oriented variant on the way. In the meantime, the new McLaren effortlessly earns the PCOTY laurels by performing the near-impossible: It rides better than the Bentley, outhandles the aero-intensive Huracán, and leaves the snorting Camaro dead to rights in a drag race, all while making its driver feel like the most special person in the world. You could own this car for a lifetime and never grow tired of the pur sang manner in which it conquers everything from a 200-mph blitz to the commuting crawl. No street car in history has offered a better driving position, a more immediate command of the road, or a better integration of usability and capability. And, not for nothing, it’s improved in every possible respect from the 650S, which was already one of the world’s most competent supercars.
In this fearsomely strong field of 10 brilliant automobiles, only this one truly advances the state of the art. The fact that it does so in the exospheric environment of the super-cum-hypercar only serves to underline the degree of difficulty involved. Inhumanly sleek, monstrously quick, reassuringly approachable, the McLaren 720S is our 2018 Performance Car of the Year.
THE FINALISTS
And then there were four—the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, Honda Civic Type R, Lexus LC 500, and McLaren 720S. You’d be hard-pressed to choose a broader-spectrum anti-biotic for creeping automotive disinterest, yet at the core, each of these cars expresses a similarly uncompromising approach to performance-focused engineering. They’re loaded with things that you only notice after long examination: the heavy-duty steering knuckles on the Civic, the combination knob/switch used by the Lexus to adjust the shocks and relax the stability control, the knee bolstering on the Camaro’s center console, the way the TFT dashboard on the McLaren Fosbury-flops out of the way for unimpeded vision on a racetrack. You can have opinions about the Civic’s aero package or the McLaren’s socketed headlamps, but you can’t say that our final four don’t bring their A game in nearly every aspect that matters to a driver.
In years past, the PCOTY voting process has taken as long as four hours, often laced with impassioned speeches, tense disagreements, and uncomfortable bouts of soul-searching. Not this time. A single round of discussion and voting took a fraction of that. Our eight editors each assigned a ranking to the finalists. The rankings were added and averaged to provide the final results. Only two cars received first-place votes, and the mathematical distance between each place turned out to be unequivocal.
In fourth position we have the Lexus LC 500. “Never felt wallowy, oversized, or heavy, either on street or track,” noted Sorokanich. This unabashedly design-centric exercise in prestige-coupe production should have been out of its league among the hard-edged, apex-focused competition. The fact that it held its own on track and in fast driving, bellowing a Talladega battle cry through its ornamental exhaust and cranking into every corner with a Supra’s worth of tail-out attitude was more than enough to earn our admiration. Yet this is a platform that fairly cries out for the full F-for-Fuji treatment. If the powers that be at Lexus think the brand can stretch to accommodate a fiercer and faster variant of the LC, we’d be delighted to give it another shot at the title.
The third spot goes to the Civic Type R. Let’s get the low points out of the way in a hurry: The engine rarely feels fast and never comes across as particularly furious, the steering can seem inert, and the visual package is, shall we say, controversial. Chilton was properly cutting: “Even if it was quicker than the AMG, I couldn’t forgive those fake bumper grilles.”
None of those problems will stop the Type R from sporting additional-dealer-markup stickers for some time to come, however, because this is a Honda truly worthy of the coveted red badge.
In a market segment where some competitors are gelded by crossover-grade all-wheel drive and a ’77 Cutlass Supreme’s worth of curb weight, the Civic shines despite, and by virtue of, its fealty to the original hot-hatch template. “It possesses the unique ability to be driven like a front-wheel-drive car when it’s convenient—back it into turns under trail braking to get it rotated—without suffering from typical front-drive hang-ups under acceleration,” said Wolfkill. And the almost cosplay-like dedication to Nineties Ginza chic, while not everyone’s taste, will create a lot of fanatics and inspire plenty of tattoos. Most important, it’s a reminder that Honda still cares about its enthusiast owners.
Two editors cast first-place votes for the Camaro ZL1 1LE, and no wonder. The big-box Chevrolet seems to vibrate from the tires up with a sort of manic pixie dream pony-car joyfulness. “Still big and heavy, but that makes it all the more impressive,” Okulski said. “The only limiting factor on track time is the amount of fuel in the tank—it could run for days straight.” If the C7 Corvette Z06 is a very good car, and the previous-generation Camaro Z/28 was a flat-out great car, then this combination is somehow even better than the sum of its impressive parts. Capable of running with $200,000 supercars, yet easily serviceable at your local GM dealer, the ZL1 1LE is a stunning statement of intent and an example of what America’s biggest car company can do when it lets engineers turn their dreams into reality. God bless it for existing.
2018 Performance Car of The Year: McLaren 720S
Those of us who have been fortunate enough to drive McLaren’s exemplary 650S and utterly indomitable 675LT approached the McLaren 720S with no small amount of trepidation. There didn’t seem to be anything that needed fixing in the previous generation of the Super Series cars, particularly with regard to the longtail variant. In one respect, we were right to be worried. The 720S makes no pretensions to the rough-hewn rattle-and-clank Le Mans–series histrionics of the 675LT, and it can’t quite match that car’s concert-master touch on a road course.
Not to worry. There is surely an uninsulated track-oriented variant on the way. In the meantime, the new McLaren effortlessly earns the PCOTY laurels by performing the near-impossible: It rides better than the Bentley, outhandles the aero-intensive Huracán, and leaves the snorting Camaro dead to rights in a drag race, all while making its driver feel like the most special person in the world. You could own this car for a lifetime and never grow tired of the pur sang manner in which it conquers everything from a 200-mph blitz to the commuting crawl. No street car in history has offered a better driving position, a more immediate command of the road, or a better integration of usability and capability. And, not for nothing, it’s improved in every possible respect from the 650S, which was already one of the world’s most competent supercars.
In this fearsomely strong field of 10 brilliant automobiles, only this one truly advances the state of the art. The fact that it does so in the exospheric environment of the super-cum-hypercar only serves to underline the degree of difficulty involved. Inhumanly sleek, monstrously quick, reassuringly approachable, the McLaren 720S is our 2018 Performance Car of the Year.
