Welcome to Our Annual Sports Car Extravaganza: Britain's Best Driver's Car

We're thrilled to bring you our annual sports car extravaganza, where we set out to find the most entertaining new sports car of the year. This year's competition is fierce, with some of the industry's top contenders vying for the coveted title. To determine which car takes the crown, we've headed to the Magnificent Angley circuit and put last year's winner, the Ferrari 488 GTB, through its paces against this year's best new sports cars.

One of the reasons we're here at this time of year is that it's when the Honda NSX became available for us. This new iteration of the iconic supercar is back in all its tech-laden hybrid-heavy glory. The NSX boasts a funky 3.5L V6 with two turbos in the middle, plus an electric motor at the rear and two electric motors at the front, totaling 570 odd horsepower. Most of the time, the NSX behaves like it's rear-wheel drive, but it can quickly switch to all-wheel drive when needed, kicking in its electronic trickery to pull you out of trouble.

The people behind the NSX claim that it can kind of tell whether you know what you're doing or not, and then it leaves you alone with assistance, intervening only if it thinks you're going to have an accident. This approach is designed to encourage smooth driving, making the NSX a predominantly road car rather than a raw supercar. Its customers in America are often not hardcore drivers, so they need a car that will take care of them. As such, we need to come at the NSX from a slightly different perspective than the original model.

When you do get behind the wheel of an NSX, it's lovely. It's really nice if you drive it just so that you're not hooning around – in other words, if you behave sensibly. But if you're hamfisted with it, it thinks you're not very good at driving, and maybe it's right! On the other hand, through the NSX's digital display and various modes, there is a tech technique to unlock its full potential. Once you understand where it wants to be driven up to that point, the car becomes absolutely peachy – a joy to drive.

The NSX has been praised for its brakes, which are terrific. However, if it steps out too much and isn't expecting it, the car will pull itself back under control again. You've seen some cars on this track where you can just set them up and slide them all the way through – but the NSX is not really inclined to go beyond neutral steer. It does have a subtle oversteer feel, even with a tiny bit of lock-on, which makes it respond nicely.

It's worth noting that there is a point at which the NSX becomes uninterested in pushing itself too far beyond its limits. It knows exactly what it wants to be – and isn't interested in trying to be something else like a McLaren or an R8 or even a GT 911 or an Aston. If you respect its boundaries, though, the car will reward you with an incredible driving experience. And that's exactly what we got when we drove the NSX on this track. It's back and it's in some style – really enjoyed!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enWelcome to our annual sports car Extravaganza Britain's best driver's car where we set out to find the most entertaining new sports car of the year to which purpose we have gone to the Magnificent Angley circuit and tested last year's winner the Ferrari 488 GTB against the best new sports cars of the year a decade after it went off sale the Honda NSX is back here it is in all its Tech Laden hybrid heavy Glory right then one of the very reasons we are here at this time of year and now because that is when the NSX became available for us it's new it's funky 3.5 L V6 with two turbos in the middle plus an electric motor back there and two electric motors at the front totaling 570 odd horsepower so most of the time NSX behaves like it's rear wheel drive for example and then it does that it pulls it out with the front and the ESC kicks in does all kinds of electronic trickery and the people who developed it say it can kind of tell whether you know what you're doing or not and then it leaves you alone with the Assistance or if it thinks you're going to have an accident it gets involved so it wants you to drive it actually quite smoothly so if I behave a bit more sensibly cuz bear in mind although this is a super car it is predominant a road car and it is designed largely for America where its customers are not necessarily flat out Supercar drivers so they want something that will look after them a bit so you have to come at an NSX from a slightly different perspective certainly from the original NSX oh and through there that's lovely that's really nice if you drive it just so that you're not hooning oh it's perfect yeah really sweet really lovely but if you are hamfisted with it it thinks you're not very good maybe it's right cuz through there it's great and it's quick and it's capable oh it's great the brakes are terrific there's where it just just if it steps out too much and it's not expecting it it just pulls itself back under control again you've seen some cars through here and you can just set them up and slide them all the way through this is not really inclined to go much Beyond neutral steer but I don't know if you can see it but I can feel it just over steering slightly even though I've got a tiny bit of lock on you can feel it pulling through and that's really sweet actually but there is a tech technique to it and there is a point to where it is happy and driven up to that point it is absolutely peachy D it Beyond it it's not really interested which is interesting it's a confident car knows exactly what it's trying to be isn't interested in trying to be a McLaren or an R8 or a GT 911 or an Aston and even if ultimately it's not a hon mobile like some of those other cars well you've got to respect it for being true to what it wants to be and in the right circumstances it is Peachy yeah NSX is back and I think in some style yeah I've really enjoyed that really enjoyed that it's got a lot going for it this car for more on Britain's best drivers car visit autocar.co.uk or see more from this very ChannelWelcome to our annual sports car Extravaganza Britain's best driver's car where we set out to find the most entertaining new sports car of the year to which purpose we have gone to the Magnificent Angley circuit and tested last year's winner the Ferrari 488 GTB against the best new sports cars of the year a decade after it went off sale the Honda NSX is back here it is in all its Tech Laden hybrid heavy Glory right then one of the very reasons we are here at this time of year and now because that is when the NSX became available for us it's new it's funky 3.5 L V6 with two turbos in the middle plus an electric motor back there and two electric motors at the front totaling 570 odd horsepower so most of the time NSX behaves like it's rear wheel drive for example and then it does that it pulls it out with the front and the ESC kicks in does all kinds of electronic trickery and the people who developed it say it can kind of tell whether you know what you're doing or not and then it leaves you alone with the Assistance or if it thinks you're going to have an accident it gets involved so it wants you to drive it actually quite smoothly so if I behave a bit more sensibly cuz bear in mind although this is a super car it is predominant a road car and it is designed largely for America where its customers are not necessarily flat out Supercar drivers so they want something that will look after them a bit so you have to come at an NSX from a slightly different perspective certainly from the original NSX oh and through there that's lovely that's really nice if you drive it just so that you're not hooning oh it's perfect yeah really sweet really lovely but if you are hamfisted with it it thinks you're not very good maybe it's right cuz through there it's great and it's quick and it's capable oh it's great the brakes are terrific there's where it just just if it steps out too much and it's not expecting it it just pulls itself back under control again you've seen some cars through here and you can just set them up and slide them all the way through this is not really inclined to go much Beyond neutral steer but I don't know if you can see it but I can feel it just over steering slightly even though I've got a tiny bit of lock on you can feel it pulling through and that's really sweet actually but there is a tech technique to it and there is a point to where it is happy and driven up to that point it is absolutely peachy D it Beyond it it's not really interested which is interesting it's a confident car knows exactly what it's trying to be isn't interested in trying to be a McLaren or an R8 or a GT 911 or an Aston and even if ultimately it's not a hon mobile like some of those other cars well you've got to respect it for being true to what it wants to be and in the right circumstances it is Peachy yeah NSX is back and I think in some style yeah I've really enjoyed that really enjoyed that it's got a lot going for it this car for more on Britain's best drivers car visit autocar.co.uk or see more from this very Channel\n"