Cars

Civic Type R

The driver's benchmark in the hot hatch class. Six generations since 1997, one of the most committed FWD platforms ever built.

Civic Si

The everyday enthusiast Honda, still.

Integra Type S

The Type R that wears a suit.

Golf R

All-wheel-drive sleeper, every weather.

Golf GTI

The original. Still the template.

GR Corolla

Rally-bred turbo triple. Toyota remembered.

GR Yaris

The homologation special everyone wants and nobody got.

Elantra N

The hot sedan Koreans built while everyone else gave up.

Veloster N

The car that proved Hyundai could.

Audi RS3

Five cylinders, all-wheel-drive, no apologies.

Audi S3

The reasonable RS3, except it isn't.

Mercedes-AMG A45

The most powerful production four-cylinder, daily edition.

BMW M135i

The M Performance hatch the M2 fans pretend they hate.

Ford Focus RS Mk3

Drift Mode happened. We were there.

Ford Focus ST

The torque-steering, recaro-clad people's champion.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo

A rally homologation car that ran for ten generations. America got the last three.

Subaru WRX

Turbo boxer, symmetrical AWD, three pedals — the rally sedan carries on.

Subaru WRX STI

The boxer-rumbling, rally-bred Impreza we still miss.

Mini John Cooper Works

Go-kart hot hatch, John Cooper Works tune.

Hyundai Kona N

An Elantra N drivetrain in a crossover that drives like it is embarrassed to be one.

BMW M140i

A straight-six, rear-drive hatchback with a manual — a layout nobody else built and BMW walked away from.

Mercedes-AMG A35

The AMG hot hatch aimed at the Golf R, not the lap record — and better on a wet B-road for it.

Lotus Elise

The bonded-aluminium featherweight that rebooted Lotus.

Lotus Exige

The hard-roof Elise that grew into a supercharged V6 weapon.

Toyota GR86

The everyman sports car, sharpened.

Subaru BRZ

Twin-of-the-86, with a quieter personality.

Mazda MX-5 Miata

Lightweight, rear-drive, manual roadster. The blueprint nobody else has the discipline to ship.

Toyota Supra

Mk4 to A90 — two halves, one nameplate.

Nissan Z

Five letters of Z heritage, finally turbocharged again.

Honda S2000

Nine thousand RPM. Still resets the bar.

Honda Prelude

The four-wheel-steered icon returns as a hybrid coupe.

Mazda RX-7

Rotary twin-turbo. Featherweight. Untouchable.

Mazda RX-8

Four doors, four rotors of fuel. Rotary's last stand.

Integra Type R

The greatest front-driver ever made. Yes, that one.

Toyota MR2

Mid-engine on a Corolla budget. Three takes, all worth it.

Porsche 718 Cayman / Boxster

The best-balanced chassis Porsche sells — even if the turbo four never sounded the part.

Audi TT RS

Five cylinders, 1-2-4-5-3, in the smallest shell Audi ever wrapped around them.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

The GT3 maxed for downforce — swan-neck wing, DRS, center-locks, and a 9,000-rpm naturally aspirated flat-six.

Lotus Evora

Lotus's mid-engine 2+2 GT — a Toyota V6 (supercharged on the S/400/GT), a manual, and Hethel ride-and-handling.

Porsche Cayman GT4

Mid-engine, naturally aspirated, finally legitimate.

Porsche Cayman GT4 RS

Porsche Boxster Spyder

The roadster the purists kept asking for.

Porsche 718 Spyder RS

The 911 GT3's 9,000-rpm flat-six dropped into an open-top Boxster — PDK only, no roof to hide behind.

Porsche 911 GT3

Six generations of naturally aspirated, motorsport-derived 911. The benchmark for what a road-legal track car should be.

Chevrolet Corvette C8

Mid-engine America. The shift everyone underestimated.

Lotus Emira

Lotus's last combustion car — Toyota V6 or AMG four, your call.

Honda NSX

Aluminum, mid-engine, Senna-tuned. Japan's supercar.

Lexus LC 500

Concept-car looks, naturally aspirated V8 — the GT Lexus dared to build.

Porsche 911 Turbo

All-weather all-wheel-drive supercar — plus the RWD GT2 outlier.

Nissan GT-R

Skyline GT-R to Godzilla. Four decades of pursuit.

Porsche 718 GTS 4.0

The flat-six comes back to the mid-engine Porsche — manual GTS 4.0.

BMW M2

The last small M coupe with a stick.

BMW M3

Six generations, six different engine architectures, one of the most consistently re-evaluated nameplates in performance cars.

BMW M4

M3 in coupe form. The original idea, reasserted.

Ford Mustang

V8 pony car, from Boss 302 to the Dark Horse.

BMW M5

The original super-sedan — V8, V10, and back to V8 hybrid.

Audi RS5

The RS coupe — from screaming 4.2 V8 to twin-turbo V6.

Tesla Model 3 Performance

The dual-motor sedan that embarrassed the M3 at the lights — and started the argument about what a sport sedan is.

BMW M240i

B58 straight-six in the smallest BMW coupe — the M2 for people who read the price list.

Volkswagen Jetta GLI

A GTI with a trunk — same EA888, same VAQ diff, less money.

BMW M340i

B58 straight-six and an M Sport diff in a 3 Series — most of an M3 on a real road, none of the grille.

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

The EV that made enthusiasts care — fake shifts and all.

BMW M5 Touring

Eight cylinders, five seats, one continent of luggage.

Audi RS6 Avant

The wagon that made wagons cool again.

Volvo V60 Polestar

Sweden's answer, in the only body style that matters.

Kia EV6 GT

Ioniq 5 N hardware before the Ioniq 5 N: 576 hp, an e-LSD, and a drift mode.

Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

Twin-turbo V6, six-speed manual — the compact Blackwing and the M3's cut-price rival.

Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing

Supercharged V8, six-speed manual — the M5 antidote from Detroit.