Chevy, Ferrari, Porsche, and more – these are the best of the best.
It was an excellent year for cars. And we drove a lot of them. So as 2023 wraps up, we’ve gone through and picked our favorites from the past year. While not necessarily the most affordable, efficient, or family-friendly, these are the 10 cars that we simply couldn’t get enough of in 2023.
Aston Martin DB12
Jeff Perez, Managing Editor
The next car on this list was my favorite car of the year, hands down. But the Aston Martin DB12 was a close second. While the “new” DB12 is mostly just a refresh of the DB11, Aston engineers updated the grand tourer in all the ways that matter.
The twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 from Mercedes-AMG is significantly more powerful than it was in the DB11. The DB12 has 671 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, with a 0-60 mph time of just 3.5 seconds and a top speed of over 200. Ridiculous.
But speed is only a small portion of what makes the DB12 great. It’s an excellent handler, comfortable when you want it to be, and the first Aston with the automaker’s totally revamped interior and infotainment system. Finally, no more outdated Mercedes interface. It’s a really special car.
Audi RS6 Avant Performance
Jeff Perez, Managing Editor
Perfect cars don’t exist. You’ll find flaws in any vehicle, regardless of how fast, agile, or luxurious they might be. But after spending a long afternoon in the 2024 Audi RS6 Avant Performance, I walked away thinking that that car was as close to perfect as cars get.
The 621-horsepower superwagon is ridiculously fast. It gained an extra 30 hp from last year, and shaved its already ridiculous 60 mph time by two-tenths of a second, bringing it to just 3.3 seconds – supercar stuff. The handling is phenomenal too. It has torque-vectoring, a center-locking diff, and rear-wheel steering to help keep the big-bodied vehicle from understeering. It is truly excellent in the corners – not just for its size, not just for a wagon, but in general.
Sure, $126,895 is pretty expensive. But the Audi RS6 Avant Performance is a performance car you’ll never get tired of. At least I wouldn’t.
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 & E-Ray
Peter Holderith, Associate Editor
The eighth-generation Corvette is one of those cars that makes me think very positively about the future of automotive enthusiasm. The base C8 is impressive for what it is, and when it comes to the Z06 and E-Ray, they’re two cars on the same platform that, while extremely different, are somehow two sides of the same coin. I was terrified driving the Z06 on track. That car’s capabilities far exceed my own as a driver. Yet, getting into the E-Ray with effectively the same amount of power, I felt right at home.
General Motors gets a lot of flak for decisions that can often seem silly, and rightfully so. But when it comes to the brand’s performance cars, they often have no equal. The E-Ray in particular made me think: Why can’t other automakers do something like this? I can’t figure out why they wouldn’t. While the Z06 was an expression of the attainable supercar, the E-Ray made be believe in a tangible future for the automotive enthusiasm. Until I drive an EV that really gets my blood pumping – the Tesla Model S Plaid just made me ill – hybrids like the E-Ray are the best way forward.
Ferrari F40
Brian Silvestro, Deputy Editor
It’s hard not to have high expectations for the F40, a machine often described as the best Ferrari road car of all time. I had a tough time believing a car with turbos and no V12 could hold such a title. That notion left my brain not three turns of the steering wheel into my drive. The F40 is a truly spectacular machine that stirs up every emotion of the soul, with enough exhilaration to ignite the passion of even the most jaded car lovers.
Distinctly Eighties looks include pop-up headlights and a squared-off rear end with mesh thin enough to peek through and see the magnificent twin-turbo V8 engine. The F40 carries what is easily the most exciting turbocharged power plant I’ve ever had the pleasure of using, raucous and brimming with character. Dive into boost and you’re punched into forward motion like only an old-school turbo system can deliver. At the same time you’re met with a screaming hive of bee-like delight. This car is fast, even by modern standards. The gated five-speed is clicky and requires confidence to actuate smoothly, while the manual steering is peerless. Before my drive, I often wondered why people paid so much money for F40s. Now I wonder why they’re not worth more.
Ferrari F50
Travis Okulski, Director of Editorial – Automotive
When I was a kid, I had a poster of an F50 hanging on the ceiling above my bed. It was the last thing I saw at night and the first thing I saw in the morning. I loved that car, but over the years I started to parrot what other people said about it, how it was disappointing and too heavy, too slow. I’d never driven one, let alone seen one in person. Then I got the chance to drive one this year.
What a thing. It’s gorgeous in person, the mesh in the back perfectly framing the engine, the carbon weave showing through the paint, and the entire Nineties design making perfect sense. Driving it is another thing entirely. This is a $4 million car, which is a wild thing to even think about it. What’s even wilder is that it’s worth every penny. That 4.7 liter V-12, derived from Ferrari’s F1 car, is an orchestra as it reaches redline. The manual steering is wonderful, if a bit slow at low speeds. The gearbox and that gated shifter are to die for. It’s one of the most special cars I’ve ever been near, let alone driven. Just an amazing experience.
Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH
Travis Okulski, Director of Editorial – Automotive
It’s extremely hard to quantify ‘best’ when you’re talking about a race car. Does best mean most successful? Does it mean most fun? Does it mean most intimidating? Does it mean wildest, bucket list thing? This year, I drove a car that finished third overall at Le Mans in 2022.
The Glickenhaus SCG 007 runs in the WEC’s top class, Hypercar. It’s a purpose-built chassis with a Pipo V-8, a sequential gearbox, outrageous aero, and a $6 million price tag. The day I spent with it at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, was one of the most surreal I’ve ever had in a car. This is a car so low, so quick, so intimidating that it instantly makes you recalibrate everything you thought you knew about driving. I’ve been racing on and off since I was 12 and consider myself an above average driver, but this car was the first time I’ve ever felt truly out of my depth. There is just so much to learn about aero and what the car wants that I couldn’t possibly expect to get a handle on it in a few sessions, let alone a few days.
A wild, special thing that I’ll never forget.
Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato
Brett T. Evans, Senior Editor
Forget about Dakar or Baja or Alice Springs, Australia. The Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato is the perfect vehicle for Los Angeles. It combines all the brash, look-at-me style of a wedge-shaped supercar with enough ground clearance to tackle all that nasty broken pavement at the end of the Starbucks drive-thru. The added suspension travel also gives the Sterrato a smooth ride, perfect for neon-lit posing down Santa Monica Boulevard on a Friday night. Then again, if that’s all the off-road Huracan’s owners use it for… well, that’d be a real shame.
With 602 horsepower from its naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 and a 1.7-inch suspension lift, the Sterrato commits some pretty brilliant wheel-churning antics on the dirt. Its unique Bridgestone tires marry a summer performance sidewall to the tread pattern of an all-terrain, giving it the responsive turn-in of the former and the off-road grip of the latter. And while the Sterrato doesn’t cling to the pavement like an STO might, even novice drivers can elicit a lurid (yet easily controlled) four-wheel drift through wide corners. The Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato is just plain fun, whether you’re on the Strip, the street, or the shale.
Lotus Emira V6
Brett T. Evans, Senior Editor
Lord, I love a Lotus. But as fun as the old Evora was, it was just too crude to recommend over the cheaper, more refined Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0. Luckily, there’s a new mid-engined sports car from Hethel’s cottages called the Emira, and it retains almost everything I loved about driving the Evora while adding tons of polish to the experience. The cohesively designed cabin has much better materials, and there’s a genuinely useful infotainment system that’s not too distracting. The driving position is more natural, and ingress and egress have finally evolved beyond Elise levels of contortion.
But best of all, the wailing, supercharged V6 mounted just behind your eardrums remains, mated to a gloriously direct six-speed manual. The still-visible boost control valve does a little twitch every time you tap the throttle, and the exposed shift linkage puts your DIY skills on full display. The Emira may not rev as high as the Evora – blame durability and emissions goals – but otherwise, it’s exactly as thrilling as its predecessor, with the same preternatural responses, communicative chassis, and heroic levels of grip. I’ll take mine in a Chapman-spec green and yellow, please.
Porsche 911 S/T
Brian Silvestro, Deputy Editor
The Porsche 911 S/T is the best road car I’ve ever driven. Considering I also drove a Ferrari F40 and a real BMW M3 GTLM race car this year, that’s saying a lot. From the perfect chassis tuning to the epic soundtrack from the 518-horsepower flat-six, it’s the company’s GT division at its very best.
Tuned purposefully for the road rather than the track, the S/T’s suspension is taut but not overly stiff, allowing for real speed and feedback without ever feeling overwhelming. The steering too is among the best I’ve felt from a car with an electrically assisted rack. The S/T somehow makes the 911 GT3, one of the most complete performance cars on sale today, feel less cohesive and distant by comparison. And it does that without compromising on harshness.
Factor in the perfect shifter, ultra-short gears, and 9000-rpm redline, and it’s easy to see why Porsche can sell these cars despite the eye-watering $291,000 price tag. I can’t think of another new car under $1 million I’d rather have.
