EVO Car of the year 2023 featuring the DB12
Discussion
https://www.evo.co.uk/car-pictures/206346/car-pict...
The DB12 came next to last but at least it beat its only real competitor in the group - the Maserati.
All the testers agreed it was by far the best looking but basically too heavy to challenge for the podium places and thought it more a sports car than a GT. They also really liked the interior / infotainment etc - no major surprise there, when you compare it to DB11 etc.
The winner by a small margin was the 992GT3RS. Essentially they were all amazed at how good it was on the road (mainly wet, greasy roads to boot). Especially when Porsche themselves say it is absolutely a seriously track biased car that SOME owners MAY drive to the track !!
The reason it was so good on the road is the four adjusters on the steering wheel to alter damping (front and rear, independently) and traction. Ironically they are only enabled when you put the car into track mode !
The Alpine came second by the tiniest of margins from the 750S in third.
Have to say the Sterrato doesn't do anything for me - except for the engine / soundtrack !
The DB12 came next to last but at least it beat its only real competitor in the group - the Maserati.
All the testers agreed it was by far the best looking but basically too heavy to challenge for the podium places and thought it more a sports car than a GT. They also really liked the interior / infotainment etc - no major surprise there, when you compare it to DB11 etc.
The winner by a small margin was the 992GT3RS. Essentially they were all amazed at how good it was on the road (mainly wet, greasy roads to boot). Especially when Porsche themselves say it is absolutely a seriously track biased car that SOME owners MAY drive to the track !!
The reason it was so good on the road is the four adjusters on the steering wheel to alter damping (front and rear, independently) and traction. Ironically they are only enabled when you put the car into track mode !
The Alpine came second by the tiniest of margins from the 750S in third.
Have to say the Sterrato doesn't do anything for me - except for the engine / soundtrack !
mogg said:
All the testers agreed it was by far the best looking but basically too heavy to challenge for the podium places and thought it more a sports car than a GT. !
Too heavy so it's a sports car, not a GT.....hmmmmWho wrote this review ?
Edited by pschlute on Sunday 10th December 19:20
I have a 992 GT3RS and I am still not sure why it is car of the year.
It is of course. phenomenal handler but I would argue there are things that militate against it for general purposes. The combination of fixed buckets and no front luggage capacity at all means that is for all practical purposes a solo track car. For that purpose alone I get it completely, but I cannot use it as a weekender or even an overnighter unless alone so I can use the front seat for luggage. I have a couple and 997 and 991 RS also and they are certainly mire versatile.
It is of course. phenomenal handler but I would argue there are things that militate against it for general purposes. The combination of fixed buckets and no front luggage capacity at all means that is for all practical purposes a solo track car. For that purpose alone I get it completely, but I cannot use it as a weekender or even an overnighter unless alone so I can use the front seat for luggage. I have a couple and 997 and 991 RS also and they are certainly mire versatile.
pschlute said:
Too heavy so it's a sports car, not a GT.....hmmmm
Who wrote this review ?
That's not what they said, did you read it? In terms of weight it's really not that far off the M3CS for example.Who wrote this review ?
They said that in its current configuration it's a bit too tightly wound up, to responsive, to be the consummate GT. I'm paraphrasing but the gist was ride was too brittle, steering too sharp, if anything too much power (or at least too much too soon) - which all play towards the superGT Aston want you to think of, but equally detract from its GT abilities. The loaming thought was that the standard car should be dialled back a bit more towards the GT role, knowing there will surely be multiple iterations along the line (AMR, 'S', 'R' whatever...) that could take the evidently capable base car and move it towards the supercar role with buyers fully aware that that is the version they are choosing. Currently it's trying to be all things to all men and falling between two stools.
From an AM PoV that's perhaps understandable because they need to move as much metal as possible as soon as possible so why not make something to suit all immediately. But that surely detracts from 'reason to buy' a future more sporting model if the base car isn't much different. Tbf I think EVO were quite clear in their test that the car wasn't an 'absolute final' iteration but a final development car so I dare say there may yet be some changes - taking heed of EVO's feedback - to the product a customer actually receives. It wouldn't be the first time this has happened. Proper UK drives of fully developed cars will be interesting....
Only half way through the article. I’ve read many EVO COTY articles over the years. But I just don’t get why TWO Porsche 911’s are there. Is one a filler? (There’s a good intro article as to why the Evira, etc. aren’t in the test.)
EVO has always aimed towards purely performance attributes. They rarely dwell on practicalities.
As with all magazine reviews, only the long term tests are remotely representative of ownership propositions. Unless you want to know which track day hire car you want to sample next, I’d mix a reviewer’s launch or “twin test” views with a dose of reality.
I think that the DB12 is in the lineup is a good thing, though. They didn’t even pick the latest BMW M2 which, apart from its divisive looks, seems to be a bit of darling of journalists at the moment.
EVO has always aimed towards purely performance attributes. They rarely dwell on practicalities.
As with all magazine reviews, only the long term tests are remotely representative of ownership propositions. Unless you want to know which track day hire car you want to sample next, I’d mix a reviewer’s launch or “twin test” views with a dose of reality.
I think that the DB12 is in the lineup is a good thing, though. They didn’t even pick the latest BMW M2 which, apart from its divisive looks, seems to be a bit of darling of journalists at the moment.
Just finished reading the article over Christmas, overall it well written and presented (as always) and an enjoyable read. I did think the DB12 and Maser would fare a little better but they were up against extremely focused competition, e.g. the Alpine, GT3 RS, M3 CS, Sterrato and more - all cars designed to excel in their field. Like most large scale group tests, the intrinsic differences between the strengths of the cars are magnified and cars that may seem excellent in isolation suddenly lose some of their lustre.
I'm not surprised at the GT3 RS's overall standing; sure, it's not practical and the various question marks around it as a longterm ownership proposition are not really explored. But Evo's modus operandi has always been to discuss "The Thrill of Driving", not the practicality of driving. And in that respect, the GT3 RS seem to have little to fault at all.
I'm not surprised at the GT3 RS's overall standing; sure, it's not practical and the various question marks around it as a longterm ownership proposition are not really explored. But Evo's modus operandi has always been to discuss "The Thrill of Driving", not the practicality of driving. And in that respect, the GT3 RS seem to have little to fault at all.
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