Road & Track has named the McLaren 720S the 2018 Performance Car of The Year.
Designed to recognize cars that push the “limits of performance and pleasure,” the award was given to the McLaren which beat out nine other contenders in this year’s test which took place over the course of four days.
The ten contenders for the fifth-annual Performance Car of the Year award were broken into four categories and the McLaren 720S was pitted against the Lamborghini Huracán Performante in the prestigious supercar group. Despite calling the Huracán Performante the “unchallenged star of the show,” R&T’s editors gave the award to the 720S as “nothing short of a Kawasaki ZX-10RR has a prayer of keeping up with the McLaren.” They also praised the car’s natural feel and unintimidating driving experience.
The Grand Tourers category saw the Bentley Continental Supersports and Lexus LC 500 face off for top honors. The editors noted this was a difficult choice but decided the Lexus was the winner as it is a “stylish cruiser that can still clip an apex and be steered with the throttle.”
The Track Stars category is particularly interesting as it saw the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE compete with higher-end vehicles such as the Mercedes-AMG GT R and Porsche 911 GT3. The prestige of the latter two models wasn’t enough to overcome the Camaro’s impressive performance and modest price tag.
Lastly, there are the Wild Cards which include the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, Audi TT RS, and Honda Civic Type R. The first two vehicles have a serious horsepower advantage but the editors were impressed by the Civic’s ability to be “calm and comfortable when you’re cruising” and a “firecracker when you lean into it.”
You can read more about the cars and the results over at Road & Track.
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