MOTOR’s Performance Car of the Year 2022: the track test

The sky above looks as though it has had a restless night. Flat nimbostratus offers a moody backdrop to the iconic Melbourne sign affixed to the bridge above Gardner straight. After three long days on the road, the anticipation amps up a few degrees at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. Totalling 12 turns and 4.45km, PI requires commitment and demands respect in equal measure. Get caught up in the picturesque surrounds and you’ll quickly become a fixture of it.

“If you look at a flat track map, Phillip Island can appear easy. But what it doesn’t account for is the rise and fall,” says Luffy, departing his steeped knowledge to the seniors and newbies alike. Regaling a tale about a Lambo, a bird and high speeds, our gun driver goes on to warn that the birdlife is a genuine OH&S issue.

Using the Octavia RS, the judges complete sighting laps with included tips and tricks from Luffy as the skies continue to threaten. Only intermittent sprinkles fall throughout the day, never truly dampening the track or our progress.

79

In an automotive sense, progress is relentless. Power figures are rising significantly, tyre tech is advancing and engineers are finding ways to imbue a car’s chassis with incredible dynamic talent. MOTOR HQ is a hive of inquisition and Andy went in search of a quantifiable measure to showcase the performance development of both the SCOTY and PCOTY field.

The last time PCOTY took over Phillip Island was in 2008, and with Luffy doing the hot laps, it seems a pertinent source of reference.

The Volkswagen Golf GTI became a polarising car after the road loops. A true nitty-gritty hot hatch to its core the Mk8 is not. However, don’t let perceptions fool you. For context, take into consideration the fact that its lap time of 1:53.76 would put it ahead of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X and just about on par with a W204 C63 AMG. Phillip Island turned doubters into believers quick smart.

And yet, if the GTI impressed on track, the Skoda Octavia RS blew the judges away with its demeanour. As Luffy enthusiastically reported, “this thing is actually fun out there”. Based on the same, but stretched, MQB platform as the Golf, the Octavia proved stable with the extra wheelbase but remained playful in the rear.

79

The RS clocked a lap time just 0.17sec slower than its VAG stable-mate (1:53.93), while it reached 100km/h in 6.43sec and covered 400m in 14.32sec at 163.07km/h. Admittedly, if PCOTY had been run at Winton the svelte wagon’s narrow fronts would have Czech-ed out with torque steer, but the flowing nature suited the RS. Who said pragmatic and performance must remain mutually exclusive?

If the GTI genes helped make the Octavia look good, then both contrived to make the BMW 128ti look underdone. While the track helped massage away many of the torque steer and under-damping issues that we encountered on road, the Bavarian hatch always felt strangely inert.

“The sound symposer has such a characterless drone at the top end and the rev limiter is so soft, I kept gently butting into it, making it feel like it had gone into limp mode,” noted a nonplussed Enright. Against the crisp and composed Golf GTI, the BMW was never really at the races. Most judges alighted the cabin and no longer searched for its keys.

79

The ‘one-and-done’ mentality oddly fell on the i30 Sedan N’s shoulders, too. Despite receiving enthusiastic reviews post road loops, with its sorted front-end bite and impressive turn of pace, translating to PI, the hot South Korean fell somewhat out of love for some. And yet it’s blisteringly quick, posting the fastest time of the front-drivers at 1:52.29. That marker would have seen it nipping at the heels of an SL63 and quicker than a TT RS in ’08.

More surprising is that the Sedan N clocked 126km/h at the apex of Lukey Heights (Turn Nine), the fourth highest of the entire PCOTY field. It even dipped below six seconds to 100km/h (5.95) and went on to cover 400m in 14.01sec at 167.7km/h. Still, Luffy admitted that he wished the off-throttle theatrics were backed up by on-throttle drama and that his one run was “enough”.

That couldn’t be further from the reactions elicited by the Ford Focus ST. “The ST changes your perception of a front-wheel-drive car. There is virtually no understeer and it is very playful in the rear end of the car – but not too playful as to make you scared of it,” Luffy said.

79

Despite a bit of a dead middle pedal on the second lap and tyres that had seen some use, the Blue Oval contender posted a 1:53.42 lap time. The strong 2.3-litre four-pot also aided figures of 6.44sec to 100km/h and 14.11sec to 400m at 164.5km/h. The ST became a focus of the SCOTY group.

Attention isn’t something the Hyundai i20 N struggled to garner pre event. However, PI was just too big a canvas for the Korean to paint its pitch, with the open and fast nature not tailored to the diminutive 1.6-litre’s 150kW. It’s no surprise, then, that the i20 N’s 0-100km/h time of 7.45sec is the slowest, as is the quarter-mile marker of 15.12sec at 151.5km/h.

The former figure is behind the manufacturer claim of 6.7sec, with the manual front-driver proving hard to launch into a near-gale and the change from second to third gear arriving just before 100km/h. However, all it’s on-paper results, including its lap time of 1:55.79, pale into significance when you’re actually driving it on track. Kirby professed that it’d be his track car of choice to learn and hone his skills.

79

If figures aren’t a direct representation of fun, then the MX-5 takes the cake. It recorded the slowest terminal speed by a margin, being the only contender not to crack a double tonne. And yet, we all had an absolute ball in it. “It moves around and as a driver it gives you really good feedback,” says Luffy before adding, “it makes you refine and finesse your driving.”

Some judges reported a stability system nibbling away in awkward, high-speed sections. Its lap time of 1:58.02, the slowest of the field, is in no way indicative of the grin-inducing experience. The willing 2.0-litre did help it reach 100km/h in a respectable 6.68sec before crossing the 400m line in 14.65sec at 152.9km/h.

Respect is something the GR Yaris Rallye needed to regain. And with the improved mechanical underpinnings, we had high hopes despite the driving position and a lack of vision continuing to hamper its approval rating. That said, it’s devastatingly quick, and despite the short wheelbase it remains planted through the long, open-arc corners.

79

Luffy added that “it really comes into its own in the low-speed stuff,” That’s backed up an apex speed of 62.5km/h at Honda (Turn Four), the highest of the SCOTY field. It also stormed to a 1:51.2 lap time, bested only by the ’Stang, with Enright pulling a 4.49sec 0-100km/h time and a 12.63sec quarter. The trick? Flat shifting and having less regard for mechanical sympathy...

That method has always been familiar to WRXs, too. Dial up redline-tickling revs, say a prayer for the driveline and then drop the clutch. Not so with the BRZ. Despite Bernie, a previous Toyota 86 owner, professing that the new boxer’s 174kW is still underdone, it will spin the rears. Balancing the throttle resulted in a 0-100km/h time of 6.21sec and a quarter mile in 14.24sec at 164.9km/h.

Its lap time of 1:54.41 is mid pack at best, but still beats a Lancer Evo X for context. However, the BRZ didn’t finish higher than fourth in any of the SCOTY data, proving that the stopwatch isn’t what the BRZ is all about. It has an infectious effervescence, with Luffy saying “it’s a car that rewards good driving.” And yes, we know it’s synthetic, but the new soundtrack is also much improved.

79

However, if aural pleasure is how you get your kicks, the Ford Mustang Mach 1 claims SCOTY top trumps. Bombing down Gardner straight, the 5.0-litre Coyote V8’s roar is as charismatic as it is loud. The real surprise was its on-track competency. This is a ’Stang that not only handles with ample front-to-rear grip, but also newfound endurance.

The data traces proved that it wasn’t just making ground on the straights, but in the corners, too, with monster apex speeds. Enright jagged a claim-beating 0-100km/h time of 4.69sec before announcing he’d never be able to repeat that M3-beating run.

“It defies belief that a car of this size, with that big of an engine over the front, can be so good on the way into and through the corner,” Luffy said with a grin on his face after seeing the 1:48.32 lap time. The biggest compliment attached to the ’Stang is that it never finished lower than second in the data and produced numbers that qualify it for the PCOTY field at the price of a SCOTY contender.

79

Speaking of PCOTY, taking the overall 0-100km/h honours is the brutally effective Porsche Taycan Turbo S. In anyone’s book, reaching the national speed limit in 2.82sec and covering the quarter in 10.73sec at 202.94km/h is hauling. It’s so savage on launch that it beggars belief how it’s Pirelli P Zero hoops find purchase, with all four tyres digging in and catapulting the 2295kg behemoth into the ether.

However, its Boxster-rivalling 1:45.89 lap time proves the Taycan handles like a Porsche. All the controls feel more ICE than EV. You just have to manage all that weight. With torque vectoring and rear-axle steering there’s a lot to wrap your head around, but it’s a surprisingly rewarding experience once you do.

In many ways, the F-Type R is the antithesis of the battery-packed Taycan. It oozes old-school charm with its burbling supercharged V8 offering a hedonistic soundtrack and buckets of grunt. However, as Luffy says in summary, “everything that makes it good on-road is probably its shortfall here at the track.”

79

Its 1:49.69 around PI is slower than the hard-hitting Mach 1, as is its 0-100km/h time of 4.81sec and 400m mark of 12.94sec at 183.7km/h. It’s a fairly easy car to drive on the limit, but it ultimately leaves you wanting more as a track tool. And for roughly the same coin, you could slide into something a little more focused by way of GMSV.

Pricing was always going to be key with the mid-engine C8 Corvette. And at $160k, the 3LT packs a lot of visual presence and performance for the price. Yet, even with the downward sloping pit straight, the American hero couldn’t come close to its claimed 0-100km/h time of 2.9sec, reaching the marker in 3.63sec before completing the 400m dash in 11.68sec at 194.5km/h.

Everyone found it approachable and as Luffy said, “it’s really fun to drive on the limit”. It’s a platform that could easily cope with more than its 369kW and 637Nm. Did anyone say Z06?

79

Getting the C8 into the right drive mode is crucial, with the steering feeling a little more natural on track than the PlayStation-style feedback it was giving on road. However, the C8’s 1:45.22 lap time was beaten by a four-door sedan, the BMW M3, also known as PCOTY’s most afordable entrant. In many ways we were a bit miffed at not being able to secure an M3 Competition xDrive. However, even on track the three-pedal ‘base’ model proved itself worthy.

Then it went and laid down the third-fastest lap time (1:45.04) of the entire event. For reference, that figure is a whopping 4.8sec faster than the E92 M3 DCT Luffy lapped for PCOTY ’08. Backing up the comments surrounding its front-end competence is the fact that the M3 recorded the highest apex speed for the two slowest corners, Honda and MG (four and 10).

Enright had an interesting moment where, suspecting he was in M Dynamic Mode and not with all aids off, launched into a huge high-speed slide on the exit of Southern Loop. Thankfully, the M3 has largely traded the F80’s spiky nature for predictability, especially with MDM allowing for lurid slides with a safety net. The manual gearbox added a layer of engagement, even on track. However, it did hamper the 0-100km/h time at 4.75sec and the quarter mile at 12.91sec at 187.7km/h.

79

They might be of the same ilk, but the Alpina B3 is a very different proposition to the M3 depsite the fact that BMW has recently brought the off-shoot manufacturer in-house. The M340i-based Buchloe bruiser runs rings around the home-grown M product in a straight line. Made for the autobahn, the B3 blasted to 100km/h in 3.87sec before going on to 400m in 11.82sec at 191.91km/h – the latter is a full second faster than the M3.

The advantage is due to the all-wheel-drive traction and an extra 150Nm. Its lap time of 1:48.71 is noticeably slower than the M3 but it remained entertaining on track with Luffy saying “you can manoeuvre it and do what you want with it”.

The Porsche Boxster 25 Years came under fire for being a little too obedient. Musings of a lack of X-factor during the road section surfaced. After a day at Phillip Island, judges warmed further to it. Essentially a GTS in anniversary-spec clothes, the Boxster shone when, finally, its engine could sing freely in its upper registers. Luffy’s assessment that “it’s one of those cars that when you keep giving it more it’ll take it” rings very true.

79

A keen front end and an unstickable rear axle led to a 1:45.60 lap with the tall gearing proving not such an issue on track. It even clocked a higher V-max than the ’Vette. A 294kW 4.0-litre six and a ruthlessly efficient launch-control system saw 100km/h flash by in 4.09sec and the quarter mile in 12.03sec at a toupee-scaring 190.06km/h.

The Lamborghini Huracán EVO Fluo Capsule is the polar opposite of the 25 Years. It’s a bit of an animal. And its soundtrack down Gardner straight is one to savour. With a lively rear axle (including rear steering) on approach to a corner, braking is best done in a straight line before squaring off the corner to avoid the mid-to-exit understeer. It’s all about managing the, ahem, raging bull.

The 5.2-litre V10 dominates the experience in both tone and power delivery with the dual-clutch gearbox firing shifts in rapid order. The lap time of 1:43.09 is almost two seconds faster than that of the Gallardo LP560-4 tested in 2008. If fitted with Corsa rubber instead of the Pirelli P Zeros the lap time would drop. However, the Lambo did claim the highest V-max at 266.5km/h and the quickest 400m dash with a 10.57sec run (at 219km/h).

79

However, as theatrical and fast as the Huracán might be, nothing was ever going to conquer the GT3 at PI which recorded an incredible 1:39.74 lap time. A combination of functional aero, a sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyre, the benefit of the new double-wishbone front suspension and 375kW of flat-six firepower makes the GT3 something to be reckoned with. Proof of its aerodynamic effectiveness came in the fact that the GT3’s relative apex speed advantages were, for the most part, greatest in the genuinely high speed corners.

In many ways the GT3, and its jaw-dropping 9000rpm soundtrack, is a car that seemed made for Phillip Island. It’s hard not to agree with Luffy when he says “Porsche keep closing the gap in terms of it having race-car traits without compromising it as a road car”. Andy added that with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R rubber, the overall lap would be quicker still.

Further proof that the game has moved on is that Porsche test driver Matthias Hoffsummer guided the 918 Spyder around PI in 1:38.02. That means the Shark Blue GT3 is within two seconds of a bona fide hypercar. What on earth must be coming next if the 992 GT3’s progression is this stark?

79

Corvette Chicanery?

The Tweak that was

It’s worth noting that 17 of the 18 cars at this year’s event remained with us throughout. One was requested back by its importer to be optimised for the race track leg. The reason? GMSV claimed that they were not aware that there would be a track component to PCOTY, despite it having been a regular feature of every PCOTY event we’ve ever conducted.

The changes amounted to a check on fluids, pressures and a tweak to the car’s alignment for the circuit. We checked other components to see if anything else had been switched. So, nothing too major, but enough to generate the hint of an asterisk next to the ’Vette’s eventual finishing position.