The Evo's Car of the Year 2013: A Delightful Madness

This year's contenders for Evo's Car of the Year have been a diverse and exciting bunch, with eight fantastic cars vying for the top spot. From the high-tech wonder of the Ferrari F12 to the raw power of the Porsche GT3, each car has its own unique charms and characteristics that make it special in its own way.

The Ferrari F12 is undoubtedly one of the most madcap cars we've had the pleasure of driving this year. With its killer drivetrain and unhinged engine, it's a real handful to handle - especially on a wet day like today. The steering is too quick for its own good, making it feel like you're constantly fighting to keep the car on course. But that's also part of its charm, as it creates a thrilling sense of engagement and excitement behind the wheel.

The Porsche 911 GT3 is another standout contender this year. Its front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout gives it an agility and responsiveness that's hard to match, making it a joy to drive on twisty roads like these. The steering feels light and responsive, with just enough body roll to make it feel connected to the road. And let's not forget the engine - a screamin' 9,000 RPM powerplant that's just unhinged.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS Black Series is another car that's hard to beat. Its sleek design and luxurious interior make it feel like a million bucks, but its true strength lies in its exceptional performance. The steering is incredibly precise, with just enough feedback to keep you engaged, and the handling is sublime - it's a car that truly feels at home on the road.

The Audi R8 is another contender this year, and one that's garnered a lot of attention from fans and critics alike. Its V10 engine is pure class, with a sound that's both beautiful and intimidating. But while the R8 is undoubtedly an incredible car, it's also a bit of a handful - especially in the wet, when its handling can be a bit slippery.

The Aston Martin Vantage is another car that's won us over this year, despite some criticisms of its automated paddle-shift gearbox. While we'd love to see a manual option come as standard, the Vantage itself is still an incredibly talented driver's car. Its steering is quick and precise, with just enough feedback to keep you engaged, and its handling is sublime - it's a car that feels at home on both road and track.

But not all of this year's contenders have been so successful. The Mini Cooper JCW has been a bit of a disappointment, with too much body roll and understeer making it tricky to drive smoothly. And the Alfa Romeo 4C - while we love its concept and styling - was just unable to match the thrills of the big hitters in our test.

So, which car is Evo's Car of the Year 2013? While it's not been easy to decide, with all eight contenders vying for the top spot, we're now down to a final three. The Porsche 911 GT3, Mercedes-Benz SLS Black Series, and Ferrari F12 have all been incredibly strong contenders, but in the end, there can only be one winner.

And that winner is...the Porsche 911 GT3. While we loved the Ferrari for its sheer madness and excitement, the GT3 ultimately stole our hearts with its exceptional handling and responsiveness. Its front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout gives it an agility and feel that's hard to match, making it a joy to drive on twisty roads like these.

But don't worry, Ferrari fans - the F12 is still a very special car in its own right. With its killer drivetrain and unhinged engine, it's a real handful to handle - especially on a wet day like today. And while we may have preferred the GT3 for its handling and responsiveness, there's no denying that the F12 has a certain je ne sais quoi that sets it apart from the rest.

And so, with all eight contenders having given their best, we can now see which car is Evo's Car of the Year 2013. The Porsche 911 GT3 is our winner, but it's been an incredibly tough decision to make - each and every one of these cars has its own unique charms and characteristics that make it special in its own way.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: engt3s have an incredible impeccable record actually at evocar of the Year competitions just something about the raw connection you get with these track bread 911s but this is a new sort of GT3 gone is the six-speed manual box gone is the old meica motor and in comes cdk and an all new direct injection engine that revs to 9,000 it doesn't feel as raw as the old car just because its engine though it screams at the top end doesn't have the same chuntering fizzy frantic feel of the old engine and the gearbox of course makes the car more accessible so anyone could jump in this GT3 and drive pretty quick although some of the low speeed sense of occasion and some of the challenge it has to be said has gone out of the GT3 when you wind it up it is something else this car the balance and the grip the grip and stability when you're changing direction is astonishing it's got four-wheel steering now this car and although you don't feel it at work what you feel is the agility it gives the car and that puts it on a different level to everything else here in terms of grip and speed across the ground it is unreal so what the GT3 allows you to do is really attack it gives you all the tools to use all of its performance all of its grip and it's just so addictive when you do the way it takes the road apart is it is on another level to the cars here I think the SLS might be able to match it when you're feeling really brave but the way this car just floats across the ground is immense it really is it's just transparent that's the word the steering is not as good as the old GT3 but you're so locked into the chassis and it's so agile that almost doesn't matter and it's just hugely exciting this car 991 for us is more GT car than sports car really it's not a classic 911 by any means not in our opinion the GT3 definitely a sports car again this thing so accurate so much fun it's going to be so tough to me this so finally we come to this the Ferrari F12 which is undoubtedly the madest car we D in 2013 it has the killer driv Trin it is so fast and when it's a bit damp like it is now it is just nuts in fact it's nuts in the dry in the wet well you have to be so careful the way it changes direction is mad it's just got an agility about it that you just wouldn't believe for such a powerful front engine rear wheel drive car there a bit more body roll than you'd get on the SLS I actually think the steering is too quick because this car's so fast and so often you're sliding it dry or wet that you want a bit more relaxation in the wheel so you've got a bit of margin for error really this car does not do margin Perera you have to be on it absolutely on it otherwise it is going to eat you so it's really the drivetrain that defines this car the engine is unhinged there is no other way to describe it it is unhinged and this twin clutch box is ferocious ferociously fast this is going to be a sort of GT car really but it it might not have an engine in the back but it's as mad as any super car has ever been I think turn everything off it's it's a monster huge fun but a monster but use the Mantino thing get it on race and it gives you enough adjustability but with a bit of a safety net so you can exploit some of the performance or most of the performance and get some insight into its character but sooner or later so you're going to want to drive this car everything off because it is one of the great Ming experiences so that's it our eight contenders for Evo's Car of the Year 2013 it is an amazing it is an amazing amazing bunch of cars and it's tighter than than it's ever been certainly tighter than I ever remember so now we've all got to have one last drive and try and figure out which of these mad cars is the best car we've driven in 2013 after a week like this on these roads with these cars trying to sum up each one and rank them in a logical order seems almost impossible I mean SLS Black or GT3 uh both please then there's the hilarious unsto able Works GP the sheer Insanity of the F12 fully lit and the pure class of the R8 plus let's just say you would be happy ecstatic even to have any and all of these cars well perhaps with the exception of one sadly the 4C just didn't cut it in this incredibly tough test we love the concept and The Styling but the execution just isn't there personally I hate the engine and others on the team felt as strongly about the odd and inconsistent steering carbon fiber it might be but it left with The oldfashioned Wooden Spoon the rest were much harder to separate and in the end it was Tiny details that started to whittle down the contenders the Cayman was too long geared and in the wet its lack of steering feel an appetite for turn in over steer made it tricky to drive smooth the mini one of my personal favorites couldn't quite match the Thrills of the big hitters for some of the judges the Audi split opinion many of us had it in our top three but some felt its Brilliance was undoubted but perhaps it lacked the fierceness of the rest the aston's automated paddle shift manual box came in for some criticism but by now we're really really nitpicking so the three Still Standing are SLS Black Series GT3 and F12 perhaps inevitably so for me the Merk Edge pass the Ferrari with Better Body Control far more fome steering and because it simply felt lighter and get this more special others had the F12 at the top because of that engine it is extraordinary and ultimately it snuck ahead of the big bad MK on the score sheets then there was the GT3 some said it was a shade too clinical some wondered if you needed to be going too hard to enjoy it regularly on the road and more than once somebody would mention the old manual gearbox and we'd all agree that we missed it but while we might miss some of the old gt3s race car Vibe the new car offers even more control even finer balance and a suppleness that allows you to enjoy it on any road that engine at 9,000 RPM is pretty special too it felt light small totally controlled and yet brilliantly agile and adjustable it felt unbeatable and it was the 991 GT3 is Evo's Car of the Year 2013 and if you still don't understand why then just immerse yourself in this w w agt3s have an incredible impeccable record actually at evocar of the Year competitions just something about the raw connection you get with these track bread 911s but this is a new sort of GT3 gone is the six-speed manual box gone is the old meica motor and in comes cdk and an all new direct injection engine that revs to 9,000 it doesn't feel as raw as the old car just because its engine though it screams at the top end doesn't have the same chuntering fizzy frantic feel of the old engine and the gearbox of course makes the car more accessible so anyone could jump in this GT3 and drive pretty quick although some of the low speeed sense of occasion and some of the challenge it has to be said has gone out of the GT3 when you wind it up it is something else this car the balance and the grip the grip and stability when you're changing direction is astonishing it's got four-wheel steering now this car and although you don't feel it at work what you feel is the agility it gives the car and that puts it on a different level to everything else here in terms of grip and speed across the ground it is unreal so what the GT3 allows you to do is really attack it gives you all the tools to use all of its performance all of its grip and it's just so addictive when you do the way it takes the road apart is it is on another level to the cars here I think the SLS might be able to match it when you're feeling really brave but the way this car just floats across the ground is immense it really is it's just transparent that's the word the steering is not as good as the old GT3 but you're so locked into the chassis and it's so agile that almost doesn't matter and it's just hugely exciting this car 991 for us is more GT car than sports car really it's not a classic 911 by any means not in our opinion the GT3 definitely a sports car again this thing so accurate so much fun it's going to be so tough to me this so finally we come to this the Ferrari F12 which is undoubtedly the madest car we D in 2013 it has the killer driv Trin it is so fast and when it's a bit damp like it is now it is just nuts in fact it's nuts in the dry in the wet well you have to be so careful the way it changes direction is mad it's just got an agility about it that you just wouldn't believe for such a powerful front engine rear wheel drive car there a bit more body roll than you'd get on the SLS I actually think the steering is too quick because this car's so fast and so often you're sliding it dry or wet that you want a bit more relaxation in the wheel so you've got a bit of margin for error really this car does not do margin Perera you have to be on it absolutely on it otherwise it is going to eat you so it's really the drivetrain that defines this car the engine is unhinged there is no other way to describe it it is unhinged and this twin clutch box is ferocious ferociously fast this is going to be a sort of GT car really but it it might not have an engine in the back but it's as mad as any super car has ever been I think turn everything off it's it's a monster huge fun but a monster but use the Mantino thing get it on race and it gives you enough adjustability but with a bit of a safety net so you can exploit some of the performance or most of the performance and get some insight into its character but sooner or later so you're going to want to drive this car everything off because it is one of the great Ming experiences so that's it our eight contenders for Evo's Car of the Year 2013 it is an amazing it is an amazing amazing bunch of cars and it's tighter than than it's ever been certainly tighter than I ever remember so now we've all got to have one last drive and try and figure out which of these mad cars is the best car we've driven in 2013 after a week like this on these roads with these cars trying to sum up each one and rank them in a logical order seems almost impossible I mean SLS Black or GT3 uh both please then there's the hilarious unsto able Works GP the sheer Insanity of the F12 fully lit and the pure class of the R8 plus let's just say you would be happy ecstatic even to have any and all of these cars well perhaps with the exception of one sadly the 4C just didn't cut it in this incredibly tough test we love the concept and The Styling but the execution just isn't there personally I hate the engine and others on the team felt as strongly about the odd and inconsistent steering carbon fiber it might be but it left with The oldfashioned Wooden Spoon the rest were much harder to separate and in the end it was Tiny details that started to whittle down the contenders the Cayman was too long geared and in the wet its lack of steering feel an appetite for turn in over steer made it tricky to drive smooth the mini one of my personal favorites couldn't quite match the Thrills of the big hitters for some of the judges the Audi split opinion many of us had it in our top three but some felt its Brilliance was undoubted but perhaps it lacked the fierceness of the rest the aston's automated paddle shift manual box came in for some criticism but by now we're really really nitpicking so the three Still Standing are SLS Black Series GT3 and F12 perhaps inevitably so for me the Merk Edge pass the Ferrari with Better Body Control far more fome steering and because it simply felt lighter and get this more special others had the F12 at the top because of that engine it is extraordinary and ultimately it snuck ahead of the big bad MK on the score sheets then there was the GT3 some said it was a shade too clinical some wondered if you needed to be going too hard to enjoy it regularly on the road and more than once somebody would mention the old manual gearbox and we'd all agree that we missed it but while we might miss some of the old gt3s race car Vibe the new car offers even more control even finer balance and a suppleness that allows you to enjoy it on any road that engine at 9,000 RPM is pretty special too it felt light small totally controlled and yet brilliantly agile and adjustable it felt unbeatable and it was the 991 GT3 is Evo's Car of the Year 2013 and if you still don't understand why then just immerse yourself in this w w a\n"