The PistonHeads Motoring ... Year!
We look back at a hectic year on PistonHeads, picking out some of the biggest stories month by month
Here we'll look back over a great year for fast cars with our most significant news stories, reviews and features. Enjoy!
Detroit often kicks the motoring year off with a few surprises and 2014 was no different. The Toyota FT-1 concept stunned everyone in attendance (including Harris) and the show was crammed with all sorts of interesting cars: Lexus RC F, 911 Targa, Kia Stinger and the new Mercedes C-Class.
We had our own slice of Americana back at PHHQ with a new Corvette Stingray on test just as the Z06 was shown to the world and a chat with Corvette racer Oliver Gavin.
January was a significant month for BMW on PistonHeads. The latest M Performance model, the M235i, was reviewed at the same time as we waved goodbye to the V8 M3. It was sized up against the new car, thrashed around Bedford, taken to meet owners and properly enjoyed in a memorable week.
In fact the M celebration continued into February with a V8 M3 Buying Guide if our exploits had tempted you. The dos and don't of buying a used SEAT Leon Cupra were also detailed just after a drive in the new car.
Another theme continued into February was rallying; having visited Monte Carlo withHyundai, PH also took a drive in Bowler's Defender Challenge car and met the company's boss. Looks a fun way to spend the weekends!
Predictably much of February was spent in preparation for the Geneva show but there were one or two interesting reviews beforehand, the Bentley GT V8 S and Mercedes GLA45 AMG among them. Oh, and the McLaren P1. Yep, it really was 10 months ago! It has gone on to be our most read review of the year, unsurprisingly.
March is Geneva month. There is no escaping it! The important stuff in 2014? Supercars. Lamborghini showed the Huracan, McLaren gave us the 650S and Ferrari presented the California T. There was the European debut of the M3/M4 too, and the RenaultTwingo. We're not just V8s and loud paint.
Away from Geneva, we had a first look at the Speedback GT, drove the very talented Audi S1 and announced details of the last Mitsubishi Evo.
With the spring in full swing it was time to get in the convertible mood. The Porsche 911Targa and McLaren 650S were driven, the BMW M4 Convertible was announced and Matt drove a Bentley Continental GTC to Monza for the GT3 racer's debut.
That wasn't the end of the drop-top roadtrips either. Dan swapped Lotuses from the extended-loan Evora to the Elise S Club Racer for a Spa weekend and Matt's Caterham Academy season began with a trip to, erm, Aintree. Not quite as illustrious!
Following the news of the FQ440, the PH market watch of every Evo discussed which mega Lancers represent the best value (and most fun) for the money right now. Just as the verdict was delivered on the new WRX STI.... If you fancy your fast four-door a little more luxurious, the PH Maserati Quattroporte Buying Guide will be an invaluable resource.
LaFerrari month. Nothing else comes close in terms of importance for May. It eventually ranked third in our roadtest of the year standings, the result no doubt hindered by less time live on the site. But what a stunning year where we can deliver verdicts on two 900hp+ hybrid hypercars.
Even the Lamborghini Huracan had to play second fiddle to the mighty Ferrari despite being a largely excellent replacement for the Gallardo. And we also drove the new M3. Or is it M4? Either/both...
We also had our first experience of the Golf R and in the UK too. The month was signed off with the predictably superb Cayman/Boxster GTS, the surprisingly accomplished Tesla Model S the hilariously daft Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake. A packed few weeks.
Now we're busy. On top of Le Mans and the the Nurburgring 24-Hour there were plenty of manufacturers keen to exploit the summer weather for launches. PH was in Italy twice (tough job etc) for the Ferrari California T and new Alfa Cloverleafs, plus there was the new S-Class Coupe and Aston V8 N430 to drive as well. There was less exciting news with the confirmation of a five-door Mini and Ford's decision to introduce AdaptiveSteering. Erk.
June is also a Festival of Speed month and Isle of Man TT time as well. This year the latter piqued PH interest even more than usual with Mark Higgins' new four-wheeled lap record.
So after being at Le Mans and the Nurburgring in June, PistonHeads was back in July... France beckoned for the Le Mans Classic and that German race track seemed the ideal place to test the Jaguar F-Type Coupe.
The BMW i8 is the very antithesis of the F-Type as a £100K coupe but proved an exceptionally talented car up in Scotland. Will it tempt buyers out of more traditionally rewarding sports cars? Could the Audi RS5 TDI do similar at some point? And any conversation on the i8 isn't complete without the 911, right? Our 996 Buying Guide will be useful if 991s are out of reach. In an odd coincidence, we soon returned to Scotland to test the Bentley Continental GT Speed. Does what it says on the tin that one.
With a SEAT Leon Cupra joining the PH Fleet in July (and facing its Renaultsport nemesis soon after), the opportunity to drive a racing version was too good to turn down. Following a rather embarrassing first-corner spin it was a huge amount of fun.
Wilton House in a Morgan Speedster sounds like an ideal summer weekend, right? Not with a torrential downpour it isn't. Still, a great event and car to start the month with. Perhaps a Speedback GT would be more suitable in future...
The glamour (and temperature) was upped further with a trip to Pebble Beach back in August. Taking in Laguna Seca, Quail Lodge and Jaguar's Special Operations launch it was an amazing few days. Didn't even rain either...
Back in the real world, August saw us publish an Renaultsport Clio Buying Guide and a market watch on Golf GTIs. On the news front, August was significant for the confirmation of Max Verstappen as F1's youngest driver and Jaguar's beautiful Lightweight E-Type.
V12 Vantage S versus 911 Turbo S was the big story in September. Two very different cars with two very similar aims, it was a fascinating comparison from start to finish. Appropriately enough a PH Buying Guide for the Audi R8, a strong rival for both of those cars, followed soon after.
Late September is of course significant for the Paris show as well. This year we saw another Civic Type R concept, a 900hp Lamborghini hybrid, a Ducati-engined VW XL1 and the Mercedes C63. Don't forget the Land Rover Discovery Sport on a barge too and whatever the XE launch was too.
But Paris is a big deal for everyone. Exclusive to PH during September was a seat in Mazda's four-hour endurance race at Tsukuba. MX-5 fan Dan still isn't quite over it.
More racing for PH in October. Dan competed in the Birkett Six-Hour relay just a week after Matt's Academy season finished at Silverstone.
With the new C63 shown at Paris, October was an opportune time to dissect the market for the previous models. And of course get very excited ahead of the latest AMG product, the AMG GT.
October also saw a new addition to the PH Hero ranks. The Sierra Sapphire Cosworth joins other 2014 Hero newbies including the Megane R26.R, Audi RS6, Lamborghini Murcielago, Evo 6 TME and the first Mazda MX-5. It was 25 this year, we had to.
What else? We drove the V60 Polestar in the UK, grimaced at the new X6 M, fawned over the McLaren P1 GTR and were very impressed at the Zenos E10. A busy month!
Another hectic one as the year drew to a close with both the SEMA and LA shows out in America. The significant debuts for us were the F-Type manual, the Mustang GT350 and the VW Golf R Estate.
There was driving out in the America too, with the launch of both the Porsche 911 GTS and AMG GT. There's a UK twin-test that needs to happen next year!
The globetrotting continued for PH during November with Dale out in Dubai for an unbelievable week of track driving, road driving and dune bashing. See it all here.
The GTS wasn't the end of the 911 stories in November either with a drive of RPM's 996 CSR and a comparison of old and new rear-engined Porsches.
Last month of the year but there was no slowing down for PistonHeads. It was a month for hot hatches with the Peugeot 208 GTI 30th and VW Polo GTI facelift launched, plus the Nissan's confirmation of a Juke NISMO RS and the Audi RS3 shown as well. All too tame? Dan drove the Clio Cup race car too.
December is the month for looking ahead to January's Detroit show as well (yep, we're there again!) and so far we know of a new fast Lexus, an Infiniti coupe and the Mini Cooper S JCW.
See you all in 2015!
was it THAT bad for you? 
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