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Britian's best driver's car 2021: and the winner is...



The Porsche 911 GT3 puts an end to the Ariel Atom 4's reign

In the end, nobody dissented. From the first few drives on the morning of day one, it was an obvious front runner.

What surprised those who had driven a Porsche 911 GT3 already was how well this car dealt with badly surfaced, heavily cambered roads with if not comfort then a deal more compliance than they expected. Its steering was uncorrupted. Its feedback was precise. And while today’s 911 is bigger than it used to be, it still felt more nimble and easily placed than, say, the Lamborghini Huracán or Ferrari SF90 – cars that felt like its natural rivals.

In truth, it’s not quite like those. Its engine is an event, just like them, but it is how it develops its power, rather than the quantity of it, that impresses. And on circuit, while it is extremely rapid, much, much more impressive is how that power lets you exploit one of the most fantastically well-balanced 911s there has ever been. This car lets you drive it precisely or yobbishly and seems to love it either way. Nobody who drove it thought anything else: the Porsche 911 GT3 is a superb driver’s car. Easily the best on test this year.

The lap times

With its huge power-to-weight ratio advantage and being the only car on Michelin Cup 2 R tyres for its timed laps, the SF90 Stradale did exactly what it should have done by going almost four seconds quicker than its next-quickest challenger around the Anglesey Coastal circuit. It was the fastest car on test, and we didn’t need timing gear to know it. Having that gear, however, meant we knew where it was quickest: under power, pulling an enormous 10mph advantage into braking for Rocket. It was beaten for apex speed only once, and then only narrowly, at the Bus Stop. 

The battle for second quickest was closely fought, and probably went the way of the GT3 only because of the Atom’s tendency to lock its front wheels on the downhill run towards Corkscrew. All of our cars had the same five to eight laps to set a time, but the Atom really demanded more – and would have given a quicker lap time if we’d adjusted and indulged it. 

The Lamborghini would probably have been involved at the sharp end were it not for Sant’Agata asking us not to time the car because it could send neither proper track tyres nor technicians to Anglesey. 

Meanwhile, the intervention of rain made the times of the Mini Oselli and the Peugeot 508 slightly slower than they might have been. Elsewhere, worthy mention goes to the Caterham for the fourth-quickest apex speed around Church bend, and to the Mini for beating the heavier, more electronically governed Peugeot at both of our mid-corner speed traps. Even in 2021, light continues to be right when it comes to changing direction, although it’s clearly no longer the only way to win.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/featu...and-winner