2016 Motor Trend Best Drivers Car

[str5010]

Video of the ACRs hot lap in this year's test.

The winner will be announced on 9/22/2016.

Quite a bit off his record pace.

https://youtu.be/f5UkLhTQd7Q

[VENOM V]

He totally blew the apex at turn 11 coming on the main straight, one of the most important corners of the track. That's a big part of the reason that his time was slower than the record lap. To me this means that they didn't give him enough time to get used to the car again and get a clean lap. Test was clearly rushed.

Still, a 1:31 is ridiculously fast, ask anyone that's driven Laguna. I've noticed that MT's Best Drivers Car competitions are usually like that, the entrants don't perform as well as they do on a MT dedicated single-car test. So many cars, so little time, lol

[swexlin]

But the Viper won't win. Let me guess the review: "great track car, bumpy on the street, cramped it's hot, I burned my poor wittle calf getting out...."

[texasram]

Waiting for the drag race

[serpent]

Last time out randy drove the acr at LS was against the c7z. His time there was 1:30.46 with the ACR. 1:33.05 in the c7z.

Fwiw, darius was at LS the next day after the 1:28 record time. He said there was a truck full of used kumho tires. who knows how many attempts were made to do that insane time.

[ek1]

Video of the ACRs hot lap in this year's test.

The winner will be announced on 9/22/2016.

Quite a bit off his record pace.

https://youtu.be/f5UkLhTQd7Q


ANYONE who says ACR's stock exhaust does not sound good, listen from 3.45 on and eat your heart out! :)

[ek1]

Waiting for the drag race

The video will be cool, but predictable. I think we all know that (assuming all cars will run properly and will have good tires), NSX is going to win. GT-R will be second and either the McLaren or MB GT-S will be 3rd.

[sadil]

Im more interested in the fact that all these cars are still slower than the TA running Pirelli Corsas, a 4 year old compound compared to newer tires.

[Schen]

Ugh, WHY the GoPro overload? Hope Randy chimes in on here when he gets the chance but that ONE Hero Session mounted inside the windshield to capture Randy make funny faces mid-corner would just annoy the crap out of me! I know he's looking ahead of the curve but guys come on, your eyes are still tracking left to right. Is there really a need for that?

He did really well that lap considering it's a multi-car field. Must feel weird to go from car to car like that.

--RS

[str5010]

Im more interested in the fact that all these cars are still slower than the TA running Pirelli Corsas, a 4 year old compound compared to newer tires.

Obviously as pointed out the conditions of the day and the fact that Pobst is jumping between various cars and is surely rushed to crank out a few laps in each makes direct comparisons impossible. But I too noticed many of this particular day's lap fell short of even the gen IV ACRs time of 1:33.9 years ago on the original pilot sport cups.

I would imagine that no matter the conditions a driver is always going to be quicker when being paid by the oem to make a record attempt vice representing a magazine who has the cars on loan from the oem and is expected to return them in fair condition.

[GuitarSteve2112]

But the Viper won't win. Let me guess the review: "great track car, bumpy on the street, cramped it's hot, I burned my poor wittle calf getting out...."

Don't forget them complaining about the location of the pedals.

[swexlin]

Don't forget them complaining about the location of the pedals.


Yeah, forgot that. Oh, and the noise, and it sounds like a UPS truck.....

[NT-ACR]

The video will be cool, but predictable. I think we all know that (assuming all cars will run properly and will have good tires), NSX is going to win. GT-R will be second and either the McLaren or MB GT-S will be 3rd.

Haha. The GT-R will not get second. In fact, it would be lucky to make the podium. European journalists love the GT-R, not American ones.

As for the NSX, definitely not going to win. It weights too much, sounds terrible, and won't handle very well.

McLaren very well might win this.

I could be wrong but I believe the Mercedes is only there because it was last years winner and they are comparing it to this year's competitors.

[NT-ACR]

And inevitably, the few small minded members who can't fathom that others might not think the Viper is the best vehicle ever created have made their presence known.

[One Viper Bite]

Im more interested in the fact that all these cars are still slower than the TA running Pirelli Corsas, a 4 year old compound compared to newer tires.

This.

Even the GTS time is pretty much better than all of those entrants times.

Impressive. I love the ACR, but I think it totally overshadows the Viper's fundamental brilliance. Even without the aero, sticky tires, carbon ceramics and the aggressive suspension, the Viper still destroys around the track.

[swexlin]

And inevitably, the few small minded members who can't fathom that others might not think the Viper is the best vehicle ever created have made their presence known.

I don't think that, I was just making an amusing (I thought) note about what the journalists will say!

[pdv25]

01. Dodge Viper ACR: 1:31.58 $131,990
02. Audi R8 V10 Plus: 1:34.23 $198,850
03. McLaren 570S: 1:34.58 $219.770
04. Mercedes-AMG GT S: 1:35.30 $169,450
05. Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R: 1:36.11 $66,990
06. Acura NSX: 1:36.36 $197,400
07. Porsche 911 Carrera S: 1:36.44 $140,465
08. Nissan GT-R 1:37.08 $112,585
09. BMW M4 GTS: 1:37.66 $135,195
10. Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE: 1:37.78 $45,700
11. Jaguar F-Type SVR: 1:38.75 $147,945
12. Aston Martin V12 Vantage S: 1:41.77 $211,910

[SSGNRDZ_28]

Dodge might have missed the boat a little on these competitions by not sending a 1of1 with more insulation, speakers, etc. Might move the ranking up a spot or two by making the car more street friendly, even if only my a small margin.

[SRT_BluByU]

Porsche likely wins.. MT staff are pretty predictable. But does it matter anyway?

[allans]

McLaren, Mustang, Aston -my guess- top three. Best, Allan

[commandomatt]

And inevitably, the few small minded members who can't fathom that others might not think the Viper is the best vehicle ever created have made their presence known.

...and the winner of the douchebag comment of the thread goes to ......NT-ACR......a round of applause for this great individual sharing yet another superior opinion

In case you haven't paid attention, you are actually posting on a Viper forum and Yes....the Viper is the best vehicle even created

[gcrain]

If they are gong to hype this for months and the dribble out the results for weeks they could at least invest a little more time into getting good lap times. I don't expect perfect but 3 seconds off his best time? There is just a little over 4 seconds between 2nd place and 11th place.

[Snakebit10]

I'd be shocked if the ACR wins. I could already hear in Randy's voice, after the ACR lap, a caveat in the way he said that "this is a track car". "Its at home on the track" etc. So already I can see it will be heavily penalized in the street-able part of this test. Depending on how its outfitted I would have no problem if it loses that aspect of the test. Even if it had the plushest possible setup just look at the GT cars on this list. The street-able aspect of the ACR will be exposed in a back to back street driving test after say getting out of the McLaren etc. No problem for me there. I just wish he crushed them with a 1:2x just to show the complete dominance of the car.

Interesting that none of the cars beat the 2010 ACR time nor the TA time. He was beaming after the much slower lap of the Mustang GT 350R. He praised the car. Would not be surprised to see them rank the GT 350R above the ACR. So it goes with the Viper in the automotive world. As long as its atop or very near top of the lap time list I don't care about the subjective stuff.

[gcrain]

The Audi obviously came with Pilot Sport Cup 2's this time after the verbal spanking Motor Trend gave it in this review 3 months ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTTbVygKrP4

[ViperSmith]

Best drivers car does not equate the most track wins ;)

The viper is an amazing var but car from the best all around drivers car.

[str5010]

Does anyone know how MT actually defines "driver's car"?

Traditionally I've always thought that to mean a car for more serious enthusiast who appreciates the nuances of performance driving - the correct line, proper heel/toe braking/downshift, a communicative chassis and steering. They prefer these traits even if trading outright speed in some cases.

By that interpretation a bulk of these cars and modern performance cars don't fit the bill with their paddle shifted transmissions, active stability control and numb electric power steering.

Personally I don't see how any car that youre driving on track in automatic mode fits the title "driver's car."

[SSGNRDZ_28]

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/mclaren/570/2016/2016-motor-trend-best-drivers-car/

ACR in 5th Place

[swexlin]

And, I was right: the truck engine comment appeared, as did: "It’s loud and cramped"

But a good showing anyway.

[SSGNRDZ_28]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4f4q52J9qY

[ACR Steve]

That why I stopped reading the magazine- In the history of car building its the fastest car on a road course and costs only $125,000 base.
If that's not enough to win best DRIVERS car then I guess I am clueless.

maybe they should really say the best drivers car that gives us the most advertising budget. Or the best drivers car that that we owe a favor to the factory for lending us the car to take home on a weekend for our own pleasure

[donk_316]

If the masses want boring electro-quiet-mobiles then all the power to them.

The Vipers sheer presence on the street or track should win awards.

Besides the GTR, everything else on that list requires the "which model is it? The good one?"

Why anyone would buy a soulless antiseptic Porsche is beyond me.

[GuitarSteve2112]

And this is why I don't subscribe to Motor Trend, Road & Crap, or Crap & Driver.

[Snakebit10]

I don't take their ranking too seriously. I think they are well aware of Viper Nations disdain for their soft butts and journalistic bias. The 5th place was a bone thrown our way. By their criteria the ACR should have been last place since it was so cramped, with a truck engine and the road unfriendly suspension beat them up etc on the road.

[TrackAire]

News flash out of Japan:

"Today in Japan eight engineers and three executives from Honda committed hari-kari when news reached them that their new supercar, the NSX didn't even finish in the top 5 and was actually beaten by a Dodge Viper, a Ford Mustang and a Chevy Camaro during a Motor Trend vehicle comparison".


Talk about a disappointment regarding this new high tech NSX......I wasn't expecting it to be the fastest around the track, but as an overall drivers car you'd think it would have ranked much higher since the old NSX was highly regarded as a great overall car to drive.

I'm still pissed that they only run one hero lap....I would love to see the drop off in lap times from all the cars if they ran 5 to 7 laps non stop. I'd bet some cars in this test would actually go into limp mode.

[str5010]

News flash out of Japan:

"Today in Japan eight engineers and three executives from Honda committed hari-kari when news reached them that their new supercar, the NSX didn't even finish in the top 5 and was actually beaten by a Dodge Viper, a Ford Mustang and a Chevy Camaro during a Motor Trend vehicle comparison".


Talk about a disappointment regarding this new high tech NSX......I wasn't expecting it to be the fastest around the track, but as an overall drivers car you'd think it would have ranked much higher since the old NSX was highly regarded as a great overall car to drive.

I'm still pissed that they only run one hero lap....I would love to see the drop off in lap times from all the cars if they ran 5 to 7 laps non stop. I'd bet some cars in this test would actually go into limp mode.

Exactly my sentiments. I would love one of the magazines to do a test that shows the average lap time over a 20 minute session. The common reader would be blown away. Just look at the Tesla in this year's lightning lap. If I recall it can't even finish one full lap at speed. That's obviously an extreme but all I hear about is how the Tesla embarrasses all IC performance cars.

[Coloviper]

I think that rag feels Viper ACR stands for Anti Car Review. I have no issue with the top ranking vehicles, just their final position. I agree the Mustang and Camero are a pretty good value and plenty of fun to justify a top 5 ranking in that group though I would not have them ahead of the Viper ACR. The McLaren is a wow car and pretty impressive though expensive. The one that puzzles me is Porsche in this list. It is a run of the mill Carrera S. Sorry but there is zero excitement in that car and it is a cramped little cat box to me. It is rinky dinky inside and feels like a condom to me. It just takes away the excitement of the experience.

The Viper is what it is, the track numbers say it all as that is factual real world data, not conjecture and innuendo of journalists with an opinion as valid as deciding between a giant douche and a turd sandwich. Typical car mag BS. Viper should finish it's life with an extra special edition model called a FUACM which stands for a FU All Car Magazines. In primer with no radio, A/C, shocks on Race mode only, no windows, just 4 wheels and a seat. A car so fast around the track it is criminal. Built for a man, not some metrosexual MT P&^SY.

[str5010]

The funny part is if Porsche or Ferrari built the same car you described the magazines would bow down and worship it while customers would line up to buy them. What's considered raw and pure for some marques is considered unrefined for others.

[BlknBlu]

I did not think the review of the car was too far off the mark. It listed all the reasons I like the Viper. It is not going to be as streetable as the other cush rides.

Bruce

[ViperPete]

I'm glad the Porsche didn't win.

I'm glad that the American cars did so well.

[TrackAire]

I think the reality is this is not a "who is the fastest on the track" comparison....that is pretty cut and dry because the stopwatch doesn't have favorites.

I can't see any Viper winning a best drivers car comparison let alone a low clearance, firm riding, cramped cabin ACR-E since there are so many more variables than just track time. One of the keys is how does the car feel driving around town....on rough roads....going up and down driveways, etc. An ACR is an uber beast, but it would be a royal pain in the ass to drive on rough roads, getting up inclines or just getting over major speed bumps. Can it be done, absolutely.....would I worry every time I drive the car into unknown areas?...yes. All those issues come into play when these guys are talking about the best drivers car since so very few people that buy any of the cars on the list are going to be track rats.

In this comparison, I would have preferred the Viper ACR-E to set another Laguna Seca track record and come in dead last in their comparison......no different than what an Ferrari F40 would have finished if compared back when it was in production. I would have loved to hear them describe it as neck straining, physically demanding, heart pounding or beyond the limits of a normal human. If I want a "drivers" car I'll buy a BMW or Audi or maybe even a Corvette C7 Grand Sport. But if I want the fastest and most track proven vehicle, there is no choice other than the ACR-E.

I am surprised that the ACR-E finished in the top five.....I honestly think they gave it a bit of a pity vote since this is its final run. Having the ACR-E win this competition would have been equivalent to finding out Rocky Balboa likes to secretly wear women's underwear. The ACR-E and all Vipers for that matter are what they are....embrace it and take insult if somebody wants to even try to compare it to a mass produced "drivers vehicle".

Track Records > Magazine Comparisons

[str5010]

I watched the video. Interesting to know we Viper owners have a "narrow bandwidth."

[Terminator02]

The best drivers car does not have to equate to the fastest track weapon. Period.

I have very little problem with this list and the overall tone of the review actually. Ironically the 350 is a very very tight fit car if you are built, big or heavy. I find it more uncomfortable than my TA by far. Just an aside obs.

Overall, great list and it gave me a lot of good information.

[allans]

McLaren, Mustang, Aston -my guess- top three. Best, Allan

Hmmm........ Pretty Close Allan

[TitanSnake]

why don't they label the test as "best daily driver sports car for overweight and over pampered drivers." I for one have put up with a lot of different cars for the sheer performance, and the gen v, even in ACR form, is a luxury ride amongst sports cars. When I read "best drivers car," I hear "whats the most fun to drive," not what massages my back and offers heated and cooled seats. Thats what SUV's are for.

[Dman]

Overall I'm good with the ranking, happy to see the GT350 place 2nd, puts some heavy hitters down the list.

I just wish MT used two Ballerina's as hosts, to make it a more manly show. I'd say they're like 2 little girls picking prom dresses, but I don't want to insult little girls.

[swexlin]

Overall I'm good with the ranking, happy to see the GT350 place 2nd, puts some heavy hitters down the list.

I just wish MT used two Ballerina's as hosts, to make it a more manly show. I'd say they're like 2 little girls picking prom dresses, but I don't want to insult little girls.

You ain't kiddin'! They HATED that Viper. Noisy, loud, smells????? What? The one guy kept saying get me outta here? What? Unless the ACR is way less comfy than my Track Pack car, I actually think my Viper is pretty comfy. I can do many miles in it, no issue.

Is that for real, or were they playing to the Viper stereotype for the camera?

[BlueAdder]

I thought the ACR would have placed a little higher (basically swap the Porshe and the ACR) but overall, it is understandable that it didn't win.
The mustang is a also a two seater and they used the 350R which is probably noisier than the ACR. I'm not sure how they base their ratings but besides the price, the 350R is somewhat similar to the ACR. Maybe it's because the 350R revs to over 8K RPM, which is unheard of for a V8.

I don't have a problem with the McLaren being first actually, it is an awesome car and my guess is that it's more comfy than the ACR and the 350R and you could use that as a DD.
Still, the best fun to $ ratio belongs to the ACR and the 350R. The Porshe, as tested was $160K, which is close to a RS3! The McLaren and the R8 aren't affordable for most people as well.

[Snakebit10]

Lol at the Viper only doing 124mph and losing to the Porsche in the drag race. I wonder who was driving the snake.

[gcrain]

I enjoyed it and as usually had some disagreements but I think I agreed with their assessments more than usual this time. My biggest complaint is it seemed shorter thn usual thi tim, espeically when it came to the discussions. I really enjoy the round table type discussions where they discuss cars at length.

[ACR]

The whole thing is bs. Why wasn't the Audi top? They contradict themselves in every category. If it's not track performance, clearly given the ACR's finish, the R8 is easily one of the most comfortable around town, the fastest in a straight line, fastest around their track (barring the inclusion of the ACR), it has the best interior, best infotainment system (incredible actually), etc. Sure the Mac is a good car and does few things well but the R8 easily bests it. The P car, yawn. The 350R, gimme a break, over 100k and shit interior, noisy

[Eachey51]

"Fancy British cars and their electronics need cooling down but this Viper just keeps on running" short quote from the greatest drag race behind the scenes video.

[ek1]

You ain't kiddin'! They HATED that Viper. Noisy, loud, smells????? What? The one guy kept saying get me outta here? What? Unless the ACR is way less comfy than my Track Pack car, I actually think my Viper is pretty comfy. I can do many miles in it, no issue.

Is that for real, or were they playing to the Viper stereotype for the camera?

Come on, man. Playing for the camera is what this and other shows (Top Gear for example) are all about. You know that. Playing for the camera gets more views, which makes more money via advertising, which is the reason car magazines exist. They are going for entertainment, not for exact science.

I can't believe how worked up everyone gets because of this. Quite a few of us here forget that the feature was not called "Best road-legal track car", it was called "Best driver's car". There was no way for the ACR to win. If it won, it would mean those journalists are on crack.

They did not "hate" the Viper. Camisa (the bigger clown of the two) does not seem to like it, but overall they pointed out some things that they found compared to other cars in the test (noisy, loud, etc). Obviously the ACR is loud. And I dont mean full throttle loud. I mean cruising on a highway in 6th gear loud. I am perfectly fine with it because it's my track car and all I care about is that it gets me to and from the track. But MT guys were selecting an all-around best driver's car.

Is the ACR comfortable? I did a 4-day 1,500 mile drive in mine and yes, it is pretty comfortable. But is "pretty comfortable" the same as "most comfortable" or "more comfortable than most cars in the test? Hell no. If you want to know what I mean, go and test drive the McLaren 570S.

I can only imagine what is happening on the BMW forums (i.e. how dare they place the holy grail M4 GTS in the 11th place?) and on Mustang forums (i.e. how dare they place the stupid McLaren higher than a GT350 that costs 60% less). But the only thing that matters to me is when Randy says "This car is home on a racetrack", which is exactly why Dodge created the ACR (and nailed it).

[ek1]

News flash out of Japan:

"Today in Japan eight engineers and three executives from Honda committed hari-kari when news reached them that their new supercar, the NSX didn't even finish in the top 5 and was actually beaten by a Dodge Viper, a Ford Mustang and a Chevy Camaro during a Motor Trend vehicle comparison".


Talk about a disappointment regarding this new high tech NSX......I wasn't expecting it to be the fastest around the track, but as an overall drivers car you'd think it would have ranked much higher since the old NSX was highly regarded as a great overall car to drive.

I'm still pissed that they only run one hero lap....I would love to see the drop off in lap times from all the cars if they ran 5 to 7 laps non stop. I'd bet some cars in this test would actually go into limp mode.

I am happy they only ran one hero lap :) At Randy's pace, that's probably all the front Kumho's would be able to take without melting down and losing grip.

[ek1]

The funny part is if Porsche or Ferrari built the same car you described the magazines would bow down and worship it while customers would line up to buy them. What's considered raw and pure for some marques is considered unrefined for others.

Porsche built it and called it GT3 RS. I dont recall car magazines "worshipping" it and some actually said it was harder to drive at the limit than the regular GT3 and less comfortable on the road. As far as people lining up to buy it, with only 320 cars imported to US, obviously there were 320 hard core 911 fans that lined up to buy one. Same thing would probably happen with ACRs if Dodge only made 320 of them. Some people are all about exclusivity and owning something hard to obtain (makes them feel more powerful or something).

[Eugene Lee]

seems to me they are looking for an all around car more so then a pure drivers car. i have many porsches and they sure don't perform well on the street (comfort)

[dewilmoth]

Porsche built it and called it GT3 RS. I dont recall car magazines "worshipping" it and some actually said it was harder to drive at the limit than the regular GT3 and less comfortable on the road. As far as people lining up to buy it, with only 320 cars imported to US, obviously there were 320 hard core 911 fans that lined up to buy one. Same thing would probably happen with ACRs if Dodge only made 320 of them. Some people are all about exclusivity and owning something hard to obtain (makes them feel more powerful or something).

Not sure where you got your numbers, but Porsche built way more RS than you mentioned. It is not a limited production car per se. There are 1500+ in the US and 4500+ world wide, with those numbers continuing to climb by 100+ every month. For comparison, only 3381 GT3 were built. By May we had 800 confirmed and delivered RS VINs in the US alone. So even if there are already 500 ACRs, it is still approximately 1/10th of RS production.

[BlueAdder]

The 350R, gimme a break, over 100k and shit interior, noisy

MSRP on those is some $68K. Then again, I'm sure that the dealers put a huge markup on them.

[LmeaViper]

Compared to the other Gen 5 Vipers, does the ACR sound as different in person as it does on the page 1 video?

[ACR]

MSRP on those is some $68K. Then again, I'm sure that the dealers put a huge markup on them.

Yes, hence my 100k reference

[ek1]

Not sure where you got your numbers, but Porsche built way more RS than you mentioned. It is not a limited production car per se. There are 1500+ in the US and 4500+ world wide, with those numbers continuing to climb by 100+ every month. For comparison, only 3381 GT3 were built. By May we had 800 confirmed and delivered RS VINs in the US alone. So even if there are already 500 ACRs, it is still approximately 1/10th of RS production.

Just to be clear, I was talking about a 991 GT3 RS. I got the number on some car web site (can't find it anymore). It may have been an MY 2015. I just found another thread on Rennlist that said 2,000 would be produced worldwide. Still a pretty small number.