Motor Trend Driver Car of the year

What are you hoping to confirm that hasn't already been published?

 

These magazine articles are essentially useless. It's all on what YOU the owner want, nothing else.

I recall an article that showed many Motor Trend "Car of the Year" winners, it was abysmal.

 

This is definitely true, however I wonder with their reach how their views affect the car market. Either way it seems like the 488 will be in the top 4 at least!

 

I love the best of's in general and m/t in particular. Pobsts track eval is great info for anyone whos considering one of these cars for hpde. Just have to read between the lines to get really useful info. I was surprised the amg did so poorly considering the base model won few yrs back.

Predictions going forward, im sure the camaro will be too uncomfortable on street to make podium finish which leaves 2 porsche with 488. Tts will be too 'remote' feeling but have fastest lap time. That leaves cayman for the win. 488 might sneak past though. Interested to see how turbo 718 and 488 compare to previous na models.

 

And the winner is :

"You’d think a mid-engine supercar would be a one-trick pony, but our 2017 Best Driver’s Car proves that wrong. First place goes to the Ferrari 488 GTB. This Ferrari makes you your best self behind the wheel. It grabs your attention, it focuses you, and it helps you improve. The 488 GTB lets you know when you screw up and pushes and prods you to do better next time around.

The Ferrari 488 GTB’s powertrain is an endless assault on your senses, with wave after wave of devastating power. The engine pulls all the way to 8,000 rpm and then, bam, the seven-speed gearbox upshifts, and the engine digs deep for more. The powertrain is happy lugging around, too.

“This car is amazing even loafing along I-5,” Mark said. Derek agreed about its cruising manners: “Very little engine noise makes it into the cabin despite it being inches away from the back of my head.”

Chassis, steering, and suspension tuning are equally impressive. “The steering is very lively and requires constant attention—this car needs me,” Chris said.

The 488 GTB does it all. “The Ferrari fulfills the complete list of needs, from extreme exotic to dauntless touring car,” Mark said. It’s memorable, too.

“This is one of those cars, one of those drives, one of those moments that will forever be seared into my synapses as an epic moment,” Chris said, “a true deus ex machina experience in my life.”

Joan Didion once described driving in Los Angeles as requiring “a concentration so intense as to seem a kind of narcosis, a rapture-of-the-freeway. The mind goes clean. The rhythm takes over.”

The Ferrari 488 GTB is that rapture. It is that rhythm. It is our 2017 Best Driver’s Car.


http://www.motortrend.com/news/choosing-2017-best-drivers-car

 

Congrats to the 488. Looking at the field initially, the 488/turbo S/570GT were the only ones I gave a shot at winning. 570GT did horribly. Classic Porsche had two cars in the top 3. Ferrari 488 though is really a car above any of the competition here. New it'll cost significantly more than any of them. Nonetheless, a win is a win.

 

Hmmmm.... I question the cars included in this list for comparison.

 

None yet by US magazines, but six tests in European mags:-

Auto Bild
Auto Motor & Sport
Auto Zeitung
AutoCar
Quattroruote
Sport Auto

 

So 570S wins last years and now what is more or less an identical car, the 570 GT, is worse than a Alfa sedan, even though it puts up it a super fast lap time on standard, previous gen Pzeros.

After I saw the 570 GT in 9th, I figured 488 or Cayman since magazines do dumb stuff to be "critical."

This is what the real order should be, being that we all know what anyone in their right mind would pick and we can see the lap times.

1. 488
2. Turbo/AMG GTR/570
3. whatever order you want

 

They're getting too predictable. I called the final 4 to a t. Camaro uncomfortable, tts remote, cayman balanced, 488 sneaks in.

What was interesting is no one complained about engine sound on 488. Remember all the hubbub on that when it 1st came out? Porsche needs to learn how to make a turbo sound good. Their turbos sound absolutely awful.

Surprises from article are amg finished so low when base model won it all few yrs ago. Vette at 460 hp doesnt have enough power, needs another 100 hp, etc yet cayman at 350 had no such complaints. Maybe they would've liked vette better without z07 package for more 'balance'?

 

Collected by another member elsewhere

Laptimes:
1.51,43 - Mazda MX-5 RF
1.43,40 - Lexus LC 500
1.40,05 - Aston Martin DB11
1.40,05 - Porsche 718 Cayman S
1.39,65 - Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
1.36,02 - Corvette C7 Grand Sport
1.35,01 - Nissan GT-R Nismo
1.34,87 - McLaren 570GT
1.34,30 - Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
1.33,21 - Porsche 911 Turbo S (on P Zero Corsa)
1.33,01 - Mercedes-AMG GT R
1.31,68 - Ferrari 488 GTB (on Cup 2)

Quartermile Times:
14,9 s @ 148,7 kph - Mazda MX-5 RF
13,0 s @ 176,7 kph - Lexus LC 500
12,2 s @ 186,9 kph - Corvette C7 Grand Sport
12,1 s @ 192,8 kph - Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
12,0 s @ 184,9 kph - Porsche 718 Cayman S
11,9 s @ 200,7 kph - Aston Martin DB11
11,7 s @ 198,0 kph - Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
11,4 s @ 205,4 kph - Mercedes-AMG GT R
11,0 s @ 204,1 kph - Nissan GT-R Nismo
10,7 s @ 212,3 kph - McLaren 570GT
10,6 s @ 208,6 kph - Porsche 911 Turbo S
10,6 s @ 217,6 kph - Ferrari 488 GTB

 

Not surprising, but unique given that it isn't a new car. The 488 is absolutely amazing and the world knows it. It has been crowned consistently as an exceptional car over and over again by the most credible sources in the automotive world. Like its predecessors, the 488 continues Ferrari's bloodline of benchmark 8 cylinders.

 

458 is all you need....

 

For those that want to read just the 488 GTB review:

http://www.motortrend.com/news/ferrari-488-gtb-2017-best-drivers-car/

 

confused on how the 570 wins last year and now the gt does so poorly. mac softened the suspension slightly on the gt but that should only make it better on street. and its still plenty fast. and the alfa sedan being as fast as a cayman is pretty amazing too

 

And the video:

 

Hi spider

I think you have missed the point of the thread?

458 has not been manufactured for well over 2 years so how is relevant to this thread?

Regards Michael

 

Impressive win for an "older" car. The Drag Race posted today was quite impressive for not only the 488 but the Tesla

 

Does anyone else here feel ts suspicious that ford gt has been kept out of all these big tests? Its been in media for about 4 yrs and customers have received their cars for months now. Is ford afraid of results? Better make the car available next year. Which would put it up against performante and 720s. That should be a battle royale

 

Interesting observation. I can't say I have deep knowledge about the Ford GT (aside from thinking it's an amazing looking car), but wouldn't it be more appropriately compared to the likes of the LaFerrari, P1, etc? I'm asking because i'm not certain where it sits in the competitive hierarchy.

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

With just 2/3rds of their power? I don't think so...
At any rate, Ford has already sold the whole production, it doesn't need the publicity, why bother with a press car?

 

on other hand, how crazy is nissan to allow mags to test the very out of date gtr? they know its not competitive but still allow the press to thrash it.