Showing posts with label Auto Stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Auto Stories. Show all posts

Thursday, 16 January 2020

AutoWriter

The Quickest Cars of the Decade

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Lamborghini Urus
 
11. 2019 Lamborghini Urus — 3.1 seconds

The Lamborghini Urus is the quickest SUV we've tested. The decade saw an impressive development of super-car-contending, high-performance sport utility vehicles. The Urus is the quickest, for now, blasting to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds. Man, this overweight bull is quick.
 
Lamborghini Urus
 
11. 2019 Lamborghini Urus — 3.1 seconds

  • Tested date: October 2018
  • Price as tested: $243,377 (base price: $203,995)
  • Engine: 641-hp 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-8, eight-speed automatic transmission
  • Weight: 5314 lb
  •  
    2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8
     
    10. 2020 Chevrolet Corvette — 2.8 seconds

    The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette is powered by a 495-hp 6.2-liter LT2 V-8 that's located behind the passenger seats, a first for a production Corvette. The launch-control system hurls the mid-engine Vette to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds, hammering through the quarter-mile in 11.2 seconds at 122 mph. This won't be the quickest or fastest C8, though. A hybrid variant, likely called eRay or Zora is expected to approach 1000 horsepower. The resulting all-wheel drive will launch the hybrid Corvette at lightning-quick speeds, likely vying to be one of the quickest cars on the planet.
     
    2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8
     
    10. 2020 Chevrolet Corvette — 2.8 seconds

  • Tested date: October 2019
  • Price as tested: $88,310 (base price: $64,995)
  • Engine: 495-hp 6.2-liter V-8, eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
  • Weight: 3647 lb
  •  
    2019 Porsche GT3 RS
     
    9. 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS — 2.8 seconds

    The Porsche GT3 RS may not be as quick as its twin-turbocharged GT2 RS sibling, but it still meandered its way to this list. Porsche's naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six produces 520 ponies and helped the GT3 RS zip to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds. That's only three-tenths of a second slower than the 700-hp GT2 RS.
     
    2019 Porsche GT3 RS
     
    9. 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS — 2.8 seconds

  • Tested date: December 2018
  • Price as tested: $208,717 (base price: $190,050)
  • Engine: 520-hp 4.0-liter flat-six, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
  • Weight: 3260 lb
  •  
    2015 Tesla Model S P90D
     
    8. 2015 Tesla Model S P90D — 2.7 seconds

    There are quicker Teslas, but the company refuses to let us test them. So, from the slim number of Teslas we have tested, the Model S P90D is the quickest one to the 60 mph mark. It was also the first sub 3.0-second zero-to-60 mph sedan we ever tested, reaching the speed in 2.7 seconds.
     
    2015 Tesla Model S P90D
     
    8. 2015 Tesla Model S P90D — 2.7 seconds

  • Tested date: February 2016
  • Price as tested: $134,200 (base price: $119,200)
  • Engine: 532 hp 2 asynchronous AC
  • Weight: 4842 lb
  •  
    Ferrari 488 Pista
     
    7. 2019 Ferrari 488 Pista — 2.7 seconds

    Ferrari's baddest modern road car, the 488 Pista, is practically a carbon-fiber rocket ship. Sixty mph arrives in 2.7 seconds, 100 mph just 2.5 ticks later, and the quarter-mile passes in 10.1 seconds at 144 mph. It's the hard-core version of the 488GTB, with a claimed weight savings of 176 pounds and an additional 49 horsepower.
     
    Ferrari 488 Pista
     
    7. 2019 Ferrari 488 Pista — 2.7 seconds

  • Tested date: September 2018
  • Price as tested: $448,884 (base price: $353,800)
  • Engine: 710-hp 3.9-liter twin-turbo V-8, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
  • Weight: 3308 lb
  •  
    McLaren Senna
     
    6. 2019 McLaren Senna — 2.7 seconds

    The McLaren Senna, named after legendary driver Ayrton Senna, was developed to be the quickest car around the track, but it does pretty well in a straight line, too. The launch-control system holds the engine at 3000 rpm and tells you when to release the brake. Then it hits 60 mph in 2.7 seconds, takes 5.0 seconds to bring up 100 mph, and another 5.4 seconds will take you to 150 mph.
     
    McLaren Senna
     
    6. 2019 McLaren Senna — 2.7 seconds

  • Tested date: September 2018
  • Price as tested: $982,816 (base price: $964,966)
  • Engine: 789-hp 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
  • Weight: 3030 lb
  •  
    2019 McLaren 720S Coupe
     
    5. 2019 McLaren 720S Coupe — 2.6 seconds

    We used launch control to achieve the majority of these zero-to-60-mph times. The McLaren 720S's launch button is intertwined with the radio, climate, and navigation controls. With both pedals squeezed, the digital tachometer sits at around 3200 rpm for four full seconds before “Boost Ready” flashes on the digital instrument cluster. Sixty miles per hour arrives 2.6 seconds after takeoff.
     
    2019 McLaren 720S Coupe
     
    5. 2019 McLaren 720S Coupe — 2.6 seconds

  • Tested date: February 2018
  • Price as tested: $378,215 (base price: $288,845)
  • Engine: 710-hp 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
  • Weight: 3161 lb
  •  
    image
     
    4. 2019 BMW M5 Competition — 2.6 seconds

    The Competition variant of BMW's already uber quick (though 26 pounds heavier) M5 sedan is the quickest four-door we have ever tested, going zero to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds. For acceleration like that in a four-door sedan, you can thank a 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 and an all-wheel-drive system.
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    BMW M5 Competition
     
    4. 2019 BMW M5 Competition — 2.6 seconds

  • Tested date: March 2019
  • Price as tested: $129,595 (base price: $111,995)
  • Engines: 617-hp 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8, eight-speed automatic transmission
  • Weight: 4262 lb 

  • 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS at VIR 
    3. 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS — 2.5 seconds
    This 700-hp Porsche 911 GT2 RS isn't only quick to 60 mph, it takes just 5.5 seconds to hit 100 mph and blasts through the quarter-mile in 10.2 seconds at 140 mph. Its twin-turbocharged flat-six engine and racing-derived aerodynamics make it a beast on the track, too, where it once held the all-time fastest lap at our annual Lightning Lap competition at Virginia International Raceway. It also held the production-car lap record at the Nürburgring.

    2018 Porsche GT2 RS

    3. 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS — 2.5 seconds

  • Tested date: June 2018
  • Price as tested: $348,730 (base price: $294,250)
  • Engine: 700-hp 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
  • Weight: 3376 lb

  • 2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante

    2. 2018 Lamborghini Huracán Performante — 2.3 seconds

    A 631-hp V-10 engine, all-wheel drive, and sticky Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires makes the Huracán Performante the second-fastest car we have ever tested. It went from zero to 60 mph in 2.3 seconds. The V-10 engine sounds fast, too, providing a 100-decibel naturally aspirated symphony at wide-open throttle, one of the loudest figures we recorded this decade.

    2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante

    2. 2018 Lamborghini Huracán Performante — 2.3 seconds
  • Tested date: October 2017
  • Price as tested: $317,285 (base price: $279,185)
  • Engine: 631-hp 5.2-liter V-10, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
  • Weight: 3429 lb

  • Porsche 918


    1. 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder — 2.1 seconds
    We tested the quickest car of the decade in May 2014. The hybrid, all-wheel-drive Porsche 918 Spyder has two electric motors with a combined 285 horsepower paired with a 608-hp 4.6-liter V-8. By routing torque—as much as 830 lb-ft—to all four wheels, the 918 maximizes traction and blasts to 60 mph in an unbelievably quick 2.1 seconds.

    2015 Porsche 918 Spyder

    1. 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder — 2.1 seconds
  • Tested date: May 2014
  • Price as tested: $875,175 (base price: $847,975)
  • Engine: 893-hp 4.6-liter V-8 with 2 AC motors, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
  • Weight: 3724 lb
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    AutoWriter

    Discontinued Cars-Volkswagen Golf SportWagen

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    2019 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack
     
    Volkswagen Golf SportWagen and Golf Alltrack (2018-2019)

    Successor to the Jetta wagon, the Golf SportWagen and its all-wheel drive, Outback-wannabe Alltrack were attractive to some. But most of them weren’t spending money on it, and the SUV and crossover juggernaut rolled right over it. Volkswagen didn’t break the SportWagen and Alltrack sales out from other Golfs.

    2019 sales through October: TBA
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    AutoWriter

    Discontinued Cars-Volkswagen Beetle

    By  
    2019 Volkswagen Beetle Pink
     
    Volkswagen Beetle (1998-2019)

    Memories of the mania that accompanied the introduction of the front-engine, front-drive, built-in-Mexico “New Beetle” has faded. It was big news, and demand for the car was intense. VW sold 83,434 of them in 1999 alone. But the novelty wore out, and the introduction of a second-generation Volkswagen Beetle for 2012 didn’t change the trajectory. Only 14,411 were sold in 2018.

    2019 sales through October: 16,503
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    AutoWriter

    Discontinued Cars-Toyota Prius C

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    2019 Toyota Prius C
     
    Toyota Prius C (2012-2019)

    The Prius C always felt like the half-effort Prius. Not only was it smaller than other vehicles wearing the name, it always felt comparatively crude and somehow unfinished. And the one we tested in 2018 needed an agonizing 11.4 seconds to reach 60 mph while emitting an excruciating engine drone. Toyota sold 8399 during 2018.

    2019 sales through January 2019*: 323
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    Discontinued Cars-Smart Fortwo

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    2019 Smart EQ ForTwo
     
    Smart Fortwo (1998-2019) 

    Finally, the United States has rid itself of the Smart Fortwo and EQ Fortwo, terrible rabbit turds that only masochists and fools bought. Masochistic fools bought two. The ForTwo lasted three generations in the U.S. and dribbled off to its death in coupe and topless form with an electric drivetrain. This isn’t a fond farewell, it’s good riddance. In 2018, the Smart brand sold 1276 vehicles in total in the U.S. In a market of 17.27 million new vehicles, that’s 0.00007 percent of sales.
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    AutoWriter

    Discontinued Cars-Lincoln MKT

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    2019 Lincoln MKT
     
    Lincoln MKT (2010 to 2019)

    Brother to the Ford Flex, the MKT was an odd thing and wore the Lincoln name awkwardly. Sort of a station wagon and not really an SUV or crossover, it sort of puttered along selling to livery services even as it was ignored by the general buying public. Sales peaked at a measly 7435 in 2010. It will not be directly replaced in the Lincoln line, and few will mourn its passing. 

    2019 sales through September: 3113*
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    Discontinued Cars-Lincoln MKC

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    2019 Lincoln MKC
     
     Lincoln MKC (2015 to 2019)

    The Lincoln MKC was easily overlooked with its anonymous name and generic looks, even as the market for compact crossovers boomed. It was basically a Lincoln-ized version of the Ford Escape. It has been replaced by the 2020 Lincoln Corsair, which has a much better name and infinitely better interior.

    2019 sales through September: 18,266*
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    Discontinued Cars-Jaguar XJ

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    2019 Jaguar XJR575
     
    Jaguar XJ (1968-2019)

    After 52 years of production, Jaguar has finally offed the XJ. This large luxury sedan was one of the few cars that actually merited its designation as a flagship. While there won’t be a 2020 Jag XJ, the name is expected to soon be revived as an all-electric machine. That luxo-zapper may appear as soon as the 2021 model year.

    2019 sales through October: 995
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    AutoWriter

    Discontinued Cars-Ford Taurus

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    2019 Ford Taurus
     
    Ford Taurus (1986-2019)

    The Ford Taurus may be timidly slinking out of the market now, but when it was introduced as a 1986 model it revolutionized the market for family cars in the U.S. It was a very big deal, and it provoked other manufacturers like Toyota and Honda to respond with even better Camrys and Accords. In 1992, Ford sold an astonishing 409,751 Tauruses. Only 36,088 found homes in 2018.

    2019 sales through September: 12,494*
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    Discontinued Cars-Ford Flex

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    2019 Ford Flex
     
    Ford Flex (2009-2019)

    Working in the same stylistic vein as the late Honda Element and Scion xB, Ford’s Flex was the biggest “box car” of them all. Slab sided, blunt nosed, and flat roofed, it was immensely practical and almost defiantly iconoclastic. Built on the D4 platform it shared with the later Explorer and Taurus models, much of its engineering can be traced back to Volvo, which Ford owned for a while. It's now officially a no Ford Flex zone.

     2019 sales through September: 18,337*
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    Discontinued Cars-Ford Fiesta

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    2019 Ford Fiesta
     
    Ford Fiesta (1978-2019)

    The wee Ford Fiesta will be missed in the U.S. even as it continues to be one of Ford’s best-sellers worldwide. While the first-generation Fiesta appeared in Europe back in 1976, it didn't make it to the States until the 1978 model year. And it was withdrawn after 1980, taking a dirt nap until it was revived for the U.S. in 2011. The Fiesta that will be missed is that sweet and snotty squirt, the ST.

    2019 sales through September: 52,833*
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    AutoWriter

    Discontinued Cars-Chevrolet Volt

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    2019 Chevrolet Volt
     
    Chevrolet Volt (2011-2019)

    GM’s moon-shot experiment with a serial hybrid system was successful in everything except sales. Slick in execution and easy to live with, the Chevy Volt lasted two generations. And now it’s a historical footnote in the automotive world’s march towards electrification. Sales peaked at 23,461 in 2012.

    2019 sales through September: 4540*
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    Discontinued Cars-Chevrolet Cruze

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    2019 Chevrolet Cruze sedan
     
    Chevrolet Cruze (2011-2019) 
     
    Chevy has built some crappy small cars through the years, like the disintegrating Vega, the sloppy Cavalier, and the plain horrid Chevette. But the Cruze was always pretty. Clearly the best of all Chevy subcompact cars. As GM runs away from cars into crossovers, the loss of the Cruze is somehow poignant. In 2014 Chevy sold 273,060 Cruzes, but that had dwindled to 142,617 during 2018. Production ended last March.

    2019 sales through September: 45,276*
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    Discontinued Cars-Cadillac XTS

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    2019 Cadillac XTS
     
    Cadillac XTS (2013-2019) 
     
    The last front-drive Cadillac sedan, the XTS became a mainstay of livery services. If you were being picked up at the airport, the XTS was a welcome site. Our nominee to replace it in that role is the XT6, which should get a better name than XT6.

    2019 sales through September: 10,242*
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    AutoWriter

    Discontinued Cars-BMW 3 Series

    By  
    2019 BMW 340i GT M Sport

    BMW 3-Series Gran Turismo (2013-2019) 
    BMW has taken all its Gran Turismo mongrels out behind the barn and offed them. Awkward looking from every angle, bulbous without quite being a crossover, the 3-series Gran Turismo was a BMW no one even remembered was in production. And dealers could always steer buyers toward an X3. BMW didn’t break Gran Turismo sales out from other 3-series in sales reports.

    2019 sales through October: not many
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    Discontinued Cars-BMW 6 Series

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    2019 BMW 6-series Gran Turismo
    BMW’s 6-Series Gran Turismo (2018-2019) 
    Barely out of its cradle, the 6-series Gran Turismo was an unloved child. What it had going for it was that it was less goony looking than the awkward 5-series Gran Turismo. Still, in a weird way, the 6-series Gran Turismo was kind of a sweet thing to drive. After introduction of the 8-series in 2019, the Gran Turismo was the only 6-series left in the line. Buyers of 2019 6-series Gran Turismos were so anemic, they could all sit in the bleachers of small high school gymnasium.
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    Discontinued Cars-Buick Cascada

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    2019 Buick Cascada
    Buick Cascada (2016-2019) 
    Scrounging around in the Opel product portfolio, GM discovered the Cascada convertible, slapped some Buick badges on it, and shipped it to America. Americans didn’t seem to notice, though some Cascadas show up in rental fleets in sunny vacation spots where tourists want to get a tan. Now that GM has sold off Opel to some sucker, the Cascada’s death was inevitable. In 2016 Buick sold 7153 Cascadas, and by 2018 that number dwindled to 4136.

    2019 sales through September: 2458*
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    Discontinued Cars-Buick LaCrosse

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    2019 Buick LaCrosse
    Buick LaCrosse (2005-2019) 
    In its third generation, the Buick LaCrosse had evolved into a beautiful large sedan. But what sells for Buick in the U.S. is the crossover. The LaCrosse was bumped off in North America when the last one came off the line in February 2019. Production will continue in China for domestic consumption there. In 2014 Buick sold more the 50,000 LaCrosse sedans. In 2005, it had put 92,669 into customers’ garages. By 2018, sales were down to 15,527. 

    2019 sales through September: 1389*
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    Discontinued Cars-Buick Regal

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     2019 Buick Regal GS
     Buick Regal (1973-2020) 
    The Buick Regal GS sedan, Regal Sportback five-door, and Regal TourX will not survive beyond the 2020 model. And once they’re gone, Buick will be left selling nothing but crossovers. It makes business sense, but when the last Regal is sold, Buick will end its continuous production of cars since 1903. That’s 118 model years. Yes, that’s kind of sad. Combined sales of all three models during 2018 was only 14,118 cars.

    2019 sales through September: 8849*
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    Discontinued Cars-Cadillac CTS

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     2019 Cadillac CTS
     
    Cadillac CTS (2002-2019) 
     
    Cadillac took the CTS, its mid-size, rear-drive sedan, out of production back in January 2019. It has been replaced by the dorky CT5 for 2020. Alas, as the CTS passes, it takes the fire-breathing, supercharged, 640-horsepower CTS-V with it. CTS sales peaked way back in 2005 when 61,512 moved off dealer lots. Only 11,219 found homes in 2018.

    2019 sales through September: 5999*
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