RE: PH 2014 - Our favourite cars
Monday 22nd December 2014
We'll be bringing you the most popular drive stories of the year in a separate story, as calculated by proper number crunching and everything. What we have here is a rather more personal take on our favourite cars and bikes of the last 12 months, as chosen by PH staffers and contributors. There's nothing scientific in this, just reflections on the cars that put the biggest grins on our faces and hopefully yours too.
Yamaha MT-07
Before I rode it I thought the Yamaha MT-07 would be a dull commuter that would struggle to pull the skin off a rice pudding. It turned out to my bike of the year thanks to a stunning engine, great chassis and inherent ability to play the fool. A awesome bike that is currently Europe's second best selling two-wheeler, demonstrating if you get the basics right, the public will buy it.
(Jon Urry)
Ariel Atom 3.5R
It's been a good year - and I'm too indecisive. Pretty much a straight tie between three very different cars - the McLaren P1, the Dodge Hellcat and the Ariel Atom 3.5R. The P1 is out of this world, full throttle feels like a religious experience. The Hellcat is big, crude and hilariously overpowered. But the 3.5R combines the insane speed of earlier Atoms with a far less scary driving experience - which is why it shades it for me. Brilliant, brilliant thing.
(Mike Duff)
Corvette C7 Stingray
I drove the Corvette back in January on my birthday after a long and tortuous build-up that just ramped up the excitement. Could it live up to the hype? Hell yes! Even though I drove it in just the second week of 2014 nothing since has impressed me as much. The Stingray is more than a match in technology, charisma and performance for cars costing twice as much. It also looks fabulous, goes like stink and is built around rock solid foundations of a stiff aluminium chassis, sodding great front-mid V8 engine and transaxle manual gearbox. Sure, it's big. But so is everything else these days. Snobbery and the left-hand drive only are the only barriers - on merit alone the Corvette deserves to be considered alongside the very best.
(Dan Trent)
Renaultsport Megane 275 Trophy-R
Just tremendous. I managed to sneak this in before Dan drove it and wanted to change his vote! Like the very best performance cars, it brings together great speed, composure and focus with huge involvement and fun. It will make you smile from the first diff graunch until the last exhaust pop. I don't care about the lap time to be honest, it's simply one of the most engaging and exciting cars I've ever driven.
Ferrari 458 Italia GT3
As relevant to the real world as the girl on the cover of FHM, and yet far more interesting to the average PHer. That's the Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 race car all over. Having been jammy enough to drive one around Dubai in November, I'm delighted to report that it's no disappointment. Exciting, emotional and technically excellent. A razor-sharp chassis with an even sharper naturally-aspirated V8 to push it around. There was no downside and no discontent to driving what could be the easiest and fastest race car I've ever had the pleasure to pedal. Apart from the pricetag, of course. Starting at just under £300K to buy the basic car, you can double that budget just to run a few races. Incredible initial investment, high-maintenance throughout its lifetime, but it's still available to experience by the hour if you speak to the right people. The Ferrari, I mean. Video lap here.
(Dale Lomas)
PH 2014 - Our favourite cars
Tis the season for... end of year retrospectives! Here's the list of our 2014 favourites
Before I rode it I thought the Yamaha MT-07 would be a dull commuter that would struggle to pull the skin off a rice pudding. It turned out to my bike of the year thanks to a stunning engine, great chassis and inherent ability to play the fool. A awesome bike that is currently Europe's second best selling two-wheeler, demonstrating if you get the basics right, the public will buy it.
(Jon Urry)
It's been a good year - and I'm too indecisive. Pretty much a straight tie between three very different cars - the McLaren P1, the Dodge Hellcat and the Ariel Atom 3.5R. The P1 is out of this world, full throttle feels like a religious experience. The Hellcat is big, crude and hilariously overpowered. But the 3.5R combines the insane speed of earlier Atoms with a far less scary driving experience - which is why it shades it for me. Brilliant, brilliant thing.
(Mike Duff)
I drove the Corvette back in January on my birthday after a long and tortuous build-up that just ramped up the excitement. Could it live up to the hype? Hell yes! Even though I drove it in just the second week of 2014 nothing since has impressed me as much. The Stingray is more than a match in technology, charisma and performance for cars costing twice as much. It also looks fabulous, goes like stink and is built around rock solid foundations of a stiff aluminium chassis, sodding great front-mid V8 engine and transaxle manual gearbox. Sure, it's big. But so is everything else these days. Snobbery and the left-hand drive only are the only barriers - on merit alone the Corvette deserves to be considered alongside the very best.
(Dan Trent)
Just tremendous. I managed to sneak this in before Dan drove it and wanted to change his vote! Like the very best performance cars, it brings together great speed, composure and focus with huge involvement and fun. It will make you smile from the first diff graunch until the last exhaust pop. I don't care about the lap time to be honest, it's simply one of the most engaging and exciting cars I've ever driven.
One final and wider consideration on top of the Trophy just being fantastic. Renault didn't sell all of the UK R26.Rs yet continued with a successor. Yes, it was made in smaller numbers than the old car but that commitment to the madcap hatchback deserves credit. (Matt Bird)
As relevant to the real world as the girl on the cover of FHM, and yet far more interesting to the average PHer. That's the Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 race car all over. Having been jammy enough to drive one around Dubai in November, I'm delighted to report that it's no disappointment. Exciting, emotional and technically excellent. A razor-sharp chassis with an even sharper naturally-aspirated V8 to push it around. There was no downside and no discontent to driving what could be the easiest and fastest race car I've ever had the pleasure to pedal. Apart from the pricetag, of course. Starting at just under £300K to buy the basic car, you can double that budget just to run a few races. Incredible initial investment, high-maintenance throughout its lifetime, but it's still available to experience by the hour if you speak to the right people. The Ferrari, I mean. Video lap here.
(Dale Lomas)
Discussion
KM666 said:
Does anybody else think that top picture of the Megane looks like a Playstation game?
Slightly over the top depth of field effect and looks like someone tapped up the saturation control making it look a bit unnatural it seems.I'll take the Ariel, with some heated weatherproof clothing as well
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