Up next in 10
16 cars, seven days and three countries. This year’s evo Car of the Year is one of our biggest tests yet, and in part 1, we head to Anglesey Circuit to find out which of the contenders will make it through to the finale. www.buyacar.co.uk 0:00 Intro 5:50 BMW M2 CS 6:16 McLaren 765LT 7:13 Ferrari F8 Tributo 8:12 Lamborghini Huracán Evo RWD 8:32 Toyota GR Yaris 9:40 Aston Martin DBX 10:14 Ariel Nomad R 11:17 Behind the scenes 12:22 Anglesey day two 12:36 Porsche Cayman GTS 14:12 Audi RS7 14:57 Porsche 911 Turbo S 16:45 Volkswagen Golf GTI 17:34 Morgan Plus Four 18:22 Ferrari F8 Tributo 19:36 Alpine A110 S 22:17 Anglesey day three - the verdict Visit www.evo.co.uk for the latest performance car news and reviews.
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MUSIC
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This year is one of the best selections of cars we've had in a long time
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It's been a phenomenal year for performance cars, which we knew it was going to be
0:34
An SUV on Evo car of the year. I think many of us never thought we'd see the day
0:53
Welcome to a sunny angle seat for Evo's 2020 Car of the Year
1:06
We have 16 of the greatest drivers' cars to come out this year
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and our job this week is to whittle that down to eight finalists
1:13
that will go through to Scotland and are on road driving next week. this year is one of the best selections of cars we've had in a in a long time it's such a diverse
1:28
group right from hot hatches up to supercars and then a wild card like the aerial nomad or maybe
1:33
the dbx so it's i think you have a few cars in in the back of your mind that you know is going to do well
1:44
It's been a phenomenal year for performance cars, which we knew it was going to be
1:49
Everything from Tota's new Yaris GR to McLaren 765LT. New Ferrari's always special
1:58
911 Turbo S, that's always going to be right up there, I think. An SUV on Evo Car of the Year
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I think many of us never thought we'd see the day, but there have always been surprises
2:11
I remember being a diesel on Evo Car of the Year in the past
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but I think it's nice in a way because it speaks to what Evo's all about
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which is the thrill of driving. There's the Cayman GTS, which I think is going to be a strong contender
2:29
It carries over much of the mechanical stuff from last year's winner, the GT4
2:37
and then there's the yaris that i think we're all really keen to drive that car
2:43
because it's that type of car's very close to evo's heart we've got nomad r which is uh from ariel which is um probably a bit of a long shot but a great
2:56
fun car all about the thread of driving in that um morgan's new plus four another sort of contrast
3:02
from some of the bigger stuff new golf gti is always a contender
3:05
it's nice that there's such a mix and there's there's some quite good rivalries between say the
3:14
ferrari and the huracan and the audi r8 that's that's quite a nice three three car sort of you
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know mid-engined triple header the nice thing about having all these cars together it always
3:28
throws up surprises and things you thought you knew sometimes don't turn out to be the case so
3:35
Yeah, that's the nice thing. Always surprising. I have to call the winner now
3:45
If you ask on Thursday... If you were going for the bookies' favourite
3:54
you would probably have to go for... If you're doing a tick list, you'd go for Cayman GTS
4:00
simply because it's got a naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine is going to win hearts straight away
4:05
and the manual gearbox as well so that's something to be treasured I suppose
4:11
particularly these days. That's a really tough one this year. I think the Yaris is in with a shout
4:17
if they've got that right. They've spent a lot of time developing that and getting it just right
4:21
and building it for the right reasons. Homoligation road cars always do really well
4:27
Yeah, I think M2 CS as well has got to be up there. 765LT, maybe the Yaris
4:33
We don't know. 16 cars, trying to whittle it down to eight to go to leg two in Scotland
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It's going to be really hard. So Anglesea is a regular circuit for Evo magazine
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has been for many years actually, since the original circuit was here
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before they did all the redevelopment. In terms of a test of a car, although the lap isn't very long
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it's about a mile and a half, the coastal configuration, but there's something for everything, really
5:41
There's a long enough straight for a powerful car, like some of the supercars we've got here, to really stretch their legs
5:47
I think the M2 CS is one of our favourite cars of the year, obviously, because it's
6:06
in this test. It's easy to see why, because it's such a compact car with such a lot of performance
6:30
So I've just been driving the 765 Longtail, and it's the first car, actually, that I've driven properly here this morning
6:39
and it just completely blew me away. I wasn't really even ready for that
6:44
I had to get my brain in gear really quickly because it just feels absolutely wild
6:52
I can't over-exaggerate that. It's 754 brake horsepower and it just makes Anglesey feel so, so smooth
7:01
Once you get your head round that, I think it's fantastic because it's just..
7:05
It's raw in the sense of you just feel everything and it kind of tingles and you feel so connected to the car
7:14
I've just done a couple of laps in the Ferrari having done a couple of laps in the Lamborghini before that
7:26
so it's surprising the difference between the two actually the Ferrari is a much more precise car
7:33
the front end of the car is more responsive and seems to have more grip
7:44
Another of the fundamental differences is the engine between this twin turbo V8 and the naturally aspirated V10, so there's a lot more torque early on
7:54
It certainly feels like in the Ferrari, so you have to be much more measured with your throttle input and your steering correction, whereas the Lamborghini is much more of an exuberant car, but it doesn't quite generate the corner speed, I don't think
8:08
So at the moment it's quite an interesting comparison between these two
8:14
The Lamborghini Huracan Certainly one of the highlights of the group so far
8:45
So this is your basic Yaris, you know, pop to the shops, one litre
8:50
no, it's not that at all. This is born out of the World Rally Championship
8:53
and Tommy Mackinan's experience with lots of Elvin Evans and Tanak. And it is unlike any other Yaris
9:02
So you've got all-wheel drive, chunky little gearbox and fills. It's got all the nice Yaris size about it
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but it's much, much more aggressive. As soon as you go for first gear and you've got a really, really meaty gear shift in there
9:24
and the obvious agility built into the chassis, again, something born clearly from motorsport and people that want that agility in a car
9:45
SUVs aren't normal standard E. Cote Fair really but I think in this case maybe we've had one or two in the past
9:56
but very very rarely I think the interesting thing with the DBX is obviously it's an Aston Martin
10:02
and it's the first time they've done this kind of car but to have it in the company of these much more focused cars
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it puts it into context and I think it recognises it's the achievement that the car is
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I've just literally got out of the Nomad
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and it's, as you'd expect, it's the wildest possible thing. It's just totally overwhelming in every respect
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It's super quick and super loud, but it's surprisingly soft because it's not really designed to work on a track
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It can kind of go anywhere. It's very, very soft under braking and under the acceleration
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but once you get your head around that, it's just like... You know one of those Tamiya radio-controlled buggies
11:09
It's exactly like that, but you're sat in it. It's brilliant fun. EVO CAR OF THE YEAR
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get broken up and selected and move on to the second stage. I think we've got 16 or 17 cars that we had to get into the cover this year
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so a huge amount of shapes and sizes of selections. So at the end of day one, now that we've been at Anglesey all day
12:00
Aston's just teeing up the final shots for the cover for the magazine. Yeah, 16 very different cars
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No real surprises yet, it's too early to say, but I'm sure tonight there'll be some deliberations, some arguments
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and a couple of reruns of spins that a few people have had on track
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But, yeah, it's been a very good day. Weather's held. We've got another two days here. Can't wait
12:26
The conditions on track today are a little bit different to how they were yesterday
12:31
So yesterday it was sun cream weather, and today it's bobble hats and big jackets
12:43
Yeah, the Cayman was, um... The gearing's so long. A lot of the cars, even on the short loop around here
12:56
you'll change your gear a couple of times. The Cayman, it was just all in second gear
13:02
It just about hits the limiter through the longest sweep. So, yeah, it's a great car
13:16
It feels really planted, really connected, and you feel comfortable in the car, whatever it's doing
13:26
It's a great car, but it would be more exploitable if you had shorter gearing
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so you could rev the engine more. More than 10 in this one. It's Wednesday afternoon now
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and it's just, I think, inconceivable this the same day as it was this morning because you saw the conditions earlier and now we've got
13:48
bright sunshine and we're in short sleeves um so um but that's anglesy for you i think we're
13:54
really getting to the end of what we need to to get certainly from a photographic perspective
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so um it's gonna it's gonna come down to judging time soon i think everybody's pretty much driven
14:05
everything they need to drive now and i think it kind of rests on probably one space
14:11
one of the cars that's unlikely to go through is this one the rs7
14:24
we've been running it for for nine months on the fleet and it's while it's hugely competent
14:29
um you know for a two-tonne 600 horsepower super saloon just just lacks that that polish
14:36
and involvement that we're looking for in a car for Evo Car of the years
14:42
Sort of a bit traditional Audi there of just pushing on. If you're too heavy-handed with it, it just doesn't like it
14:50
It just lacks a little bit of passion and soul to really engage you and hook you into the driving experience
15:06
EVO car of the year has quite a history with Porsche 911s doing very, very well
15:28
Generally from the GT department, but this year it's the 911 Turbo S
15:33
which is certainly not lacking in performance. 641 brake horsepower, 590 pounds foot of torque
15:41
and it goes to all four wheels. This has to be one of the fastest cars
15:46
in a sprint from 0 to 60 miles an hour as well, 2.6 seconds
15:52
And yet, it's got some rear seats back there. This really is the everyday supercar
16:06
What a silly car. And it's so smooth
16:20
It just seems to make its pace so sort of effortlessly. This would easily, I think, keep up with the Ferrari and the McLaren, probably
16:31
Certainly in the wet. and yet it feels pretty pretty calm too Pretty pretty car doing it
16:55
The Golf? I think that's probably right on the cusp of making it up to Scotland
17:00
Scotland. It's really good but we've got a couple of other hot hatches that really probably
17:07
are just a bit more exciting, a bit more engaging. The Golf is sort of a bit like this in a way in
17:14
terms of just brilliant everyday usability but then that does come at a cost a bit like this
17:22
as well. Will this make it through to Scotland? It seems hard to believe it won't but I think it's
17:30
it's on the edge I'll have to see oh the Morgan
17:45
yeah I did drive did drive the Morgan which it really does
17:52
it sounds like a classic car and it drives like a classic car
17:57
as well The disconnect between what's going on at the front and what's going on at the back is quite challenging at times
18:07
You either get just a little slip at the back or you're almost spinning, it seems
18:11
There seems to be no middle ground to occupy with that car
18:16
But, yeah, again, that's another car that, on the road, I'm sure is lovely
18:27
I think the Ferrari was a bit of a surprise
18:38
I was kind of had in my head what I thought it might be
18:43
but I've not driven an F8 this year. But it exceeded that
18:47
I just thought it was absolutely exquisite. It's so playful. You know, it has a huge amount of grip in the dry
18:55
You can set blistering lap times with it. Obviously, the straight line is fantastically fast
19:00
but then you get to the corners and you can still adjust it
19:06
You can still play with the line under the limit of grip, over the limit of grip
19:21
The engine response is just like nothing else. how they managed to do that with a turbocharged engine
19:26
I don't know, but it's a really clever, special bit of kit
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So I think the Ferrari's looking really, really good for Scotland. So I'm in the Alpine, and it's very distinct from all the other cars here
20:01
It's so much lighter. You can feel that the first corner you come to, you turn it in
20:05
and there's just no inertia there. So it's not the most powerful car, but because it's so light
20:12
it gets a real pace on really nicely. And the handling's really tidy
20:19
It feels better tied down than the standard version. and it's probably better suited to the circuit
20:28
It's always nice to get back in an Alpine. It just shows that you don't have to have
20:33
an enormous amount of power to have fun. For me, I think the Yaris has been a real surprise
20:51
For whatever reason, yesterday it didn't seem to figure that much and not a lot of people drove it
21:00
But today it's really coming to its own. I mean, it's an absolute rocket. I don't think no one can quite believe how fast it is
21:10
Probably one too many cars for Scotland, and I think that's going to be the debate this evening
21:15
is which one of those... Probably three cars that are in the danger zone
21:20
which one of those doesn't go. The Alpine is probably a bit of a shock that it's not a shoe-in
21:25
because we enjoy the original standard car. The entry-level car is such a sweet car
21:30
But a few of us are thinking that the S doesn't bring a huge amount to the party on that car
21:34
so that's got some work to do tomorrow. The Lamborghini has proven to be exceptional on track and great fun
21:40
but there's a question mark over its road performance. And the 911 Turbo is that do-everything car
21:45
It's a bit of a Swiss army knife. We know how good it is on road and it's exceptional on track
21:49
and for me it's the favourite to go through with those three cars
21:56
It hasn't come to fighting yet, but there's a few cars on the cusp
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and a few cars that are definitely going through, so it's up to us to decide which of those on-the-cusp cars gets the nod
22:19
Day three, final day, sun is back out and this is the really tricky bit
22:27
if any of this is really tricky, where we've got to decide the final couple of places
22:31
So lots of cars, easy decision, but the last few places we've got, I think, three cars for two places
22:38
So, yeah, decision time. in terms of the order and what's going through to scotland um there is there has been a bit of
22:49
interest actually in that because there's a couple of cars which we thought were dead certs
22:54
and then there's another one which we haven't even made the arrangements to go through to scotland
22:59
which actually we want now to go through so most of my morning i think is going to be on the phone
23:03
trying to to make that happen basically One of the cars that isn't going through is the new Mark 8 Golf GTI
23:28
It's a really good Golf GTI, a big step up, and it's got a lovely synchronicity between its damping, its ride, its steering
23:39
the gearbox, the power delivery, it's got really good traction and it's a lovely car and a great car
23:44
If someone was to say to you, that's the only hot hatch you're going to have for a year, you'd be more than happy
23:49
Really, really impressive car. And that's the thing, all the cars here deserve to be here
23:54
It is an accolade just to have made it this far. And Golf ETI, fantastic thing
24:00
I don't think anybody would not want to run that every day, and it has that fantastic breadth of mobility
24:06
It's just that Civic Type R is a more engaging hot hatch for what we're looking for
24:12
This year, with the updated Civic Type R and TOTA's Yaris, it's sadly going to be a car that we leave behind
24:30
One of the cars that isn't going, which might be a surprise to some
24:33
is the R8 rear-wheel drive. Same wonderful V10 as the Lamborghini rear-wheel drive
24:39
It's got quite a lot going for it, but it just feels a little vanilla
24:43
not quite as crisp as you expect it to be. As a car, we prefer it as a quattro
24:47
It feels like that's what it was designed to be, as a four-wheel drive, quattro car
24:52
The rear-wheel drive doesn't really add anything. If anything, it takes away some of the crispness
24:56
and the precision that an R8 has It just feels short on what we expecting So yeah it not coming to Scotland for this Another card was the Morgan
25:08
I love the way it looks, and we had a Morgan six-cylinder car last year
25:12
which was great fun. This car, I think, again, it's more of the same
25:17
It's great to have it here, and it's a change of pace and a different flavour, but I think it would be quite out of its depth in the top eight
25:25
So that's why it sadly doesn't get through. I love that we have such a variety of cars this year
25:32
So things like the DBX, which is really, really good and makes a very strong case for itself
25:39
It's taken the SUV game on quite a large chunk. And then you've got things like the Nomad R
25:47
which is just, I mean, I have no idea how you categorise that car other than fun
25:52
I'm a little bit disappointed that a couple of the cars didn't get through
25:56
The Nomad was just the most intense, most exciting, craziest thing But I guess it's proved its point by being part of the larger group
26:07
So I don't know that we would learn any more about the car If we took it up to Scotland
26:11
It's not perfect and it compromises the road car Which is why it's not going through to Scotland
26:19
But boy is it fun three cars that are joining us in scotland are the total yaris bnw's m2 cs and porsche's cayman
26:40
gts three very different cars but three fantastic performance cars that just deliver everything you
26:46
expect of them. The Yaris has been a revelation. It's everything we hoped it to be
26:50
and Chota's really delivered on its promises there. It's going to be fantastic
26:54
I think up in Scotland. A real contender for at least the podium if not more
27:02
The Cayman GTS has got the GT4's 4 litre naturally aspirated engine
27:07
which you might think dominates and overpowers your decision for that car but everything about it, it's so
27:14
well balanced it's so good on road and track it's so engaging with you and entertaining as well no
27:19
matter your ability you get something from it it's a really great sports car and the bmw m2
27:25
cs has just taken that m2 uh story up to another level the competition version was really impressive
27:35
step up for the m2 and this cs is just that final layer of polish that uh that makes a very special
27:41
BMW M car, one of the best of the recent generations. So the big news is the Lamborghini is going to Scotland because it's really charmed everybody
27:53
and the 911 Turbo and the Alpine are fighting it out for the last spot
27:59
And I couldn't really call that one at the moment. I think the Turbo S might just take it because I think there's a collective thought that the
28:09
Alpine S doesn't move the standard car on enough, which I think will be its undoing
28:18
Great car, but it's not a big enough step, so would we be taking it just because it's a great car
28:25
Turbo S and Alpine, quite different cars. The Alpine's not quite the car as I would hope it was going to be
28:39
It is a lot firmer than the standard car. So the Turbo S just pips it, I think
28:46
It just has more going for it. So, yeah, that would be my decision
28:54
But that's my vote. The other guys will have to have their peace as well
29:01
But, yeah, for me, Alpine is just beaten by the Turbo S
29:09
I know which one I want. I think John and a couple of the other guys have decided as well
29:13
So it looks as though we're going in the direction of the Porsche just because it's a bigger achievement, I think
29:20
compared to the previous model, whereas the Alpine, the S, doesn't really move things on significantly
29:25
So that's a good one to get nailed because I think that shapes up our final eight
29:31
There's been some really, really cool cars, actually, and I think this year it's going to be one of the better years
29:37
we've had in a long time because we go from everything from a Yaris and a Civic Type R
29:41
right up to a 765LT McLaren and everything in between, pretty much
29:47
So I think it's going to be a fantastic trip up to Scotland. Quite difficult to decide between them
29:52
but we've got a good few days to do that. So, yeah, really looking forward to the next element
30:04
I think it's a pretty fair judgment. I think we're all pretty much aligned as to what are the really good cars
30:12
And it is a really, really top-quality set of cars going forward
30:15
I've no idea what's going to win at the moment. If I was a betting man, Ferrari
30:24
I'll keep that one in the back pocket until later. Everything that we needed
30:33
only one tyre was killed in the making of this production, and we've got our finalists, we've got our eight cars
30:40
It's been a real eye-opener for quite a few of us, the selection of cars we've had
30:45
their abilities and their breadth of talents on road and track and it's been really hard to whittle it down to the eighth
30:52
So we have our eight cars, we have the Ferrari F8, which I think has charmed everyone with its precision
31:00
obviously its performance, just the way it goes about everything. It's really an incredible machine
31:05
I think that's a real favourite for next week. We have the McLaren 765LT, which is just a complete animal
31:12
It's a force of nature that had to go through. We have the Porsche Cayman GTS 4-litre
31:18
which, again, has done really, really well. Perhaps not so much of a track car, but it's still impressed everyone
31:24
and I think we know that's going to be great on the roads up there. With the new Yaris, that's been possibly the biggest excitement
31:32
of the whole week, I think. everything that we hoped it would be so far can't wait to drive that on the road
31:39
oh we have the honda civic type r civic is just an immense machine so well engineered it just feels
31:46
so at home on the track we know it's going to be good on the road really really pleased to see that
31:51
there we have the 911 turbo s a little bit more controversy around that wasn't sure whether it
31:56
was going through or not but it's made it we have the bmw m2 cs which i think has been a real
32:03
favourite this year and we always knew I think that one was going to go through it's a great
32:08
character real big character of a car and finally we've got the Lamborghini Huracan Evo rear-wheel
32:14
drive which some of us thought might not make it but I think when the big green beast turned up and
32:20
made that noise yeah I think it really won people over as the week progressed so eight incredible
32:27
cars can't wait to see how they get on in Scotland the cover photo looked lovely i mean we were so blessed with the sunset
32:38
and as i said the the cars are great colors great shapes so to have all of that together
32:45
in one place you couldn't wish for more next week in scotland it's going to be even better
32:51
you know opening up to the scenery uh all the different elements of weather um yeah so it's
32:57
It's going to be great
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