Now that we’ve chosen the ten greatest vehicles we examined all 12 months and highlighted the most costly, it’s time to undergo our 5 favourite drives of 2023. Though they’re undoubtedly a centerpiece of any automotive story, these picks spotlight extra than simply the featured automotive. They’re about location, time, and challenges we confronted alongside the best way.
From driving an early McLaren prototype on a abandoned mountain street to racing towards a hurricane in a Bentley and pushing a Rolls-Royce to its limits on a street journey, these tales are our favourite as a result of, as you’ll quickly discover out, they’re by far probably the most memorable.
5. A Observe Day In The Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray – Denver, CO
The Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray represents numerous firsts for GM’s mid-engined sports activities automotive. It’s the primary electrified Vette and the primary to ship energy to all 4 wheels. By Chevy’s account, it’s the primary Corvette that may be a one-car resolution for many patrons. We traveled to Denver, Colorado, for a number of days behind the wheel to place these claims to the check. Our first day noticed us logging miles on massive stretches of freeway and empty twisty mountain roads, the place the E-Ray demonstrated its chops as a correct street journey machine.
Day two stepped issues up with a monitor day at Pikes Peak Worldwide Raceway. From back-to-back sizzling laps to open time on a skid pad, the electrified Vette confirmed that its elevated energy and traction ship enhancements not simply in its usability however its on-track prowess, making these few days on-road and on-track one of the memorable of the 12 months.
4. A Race Towards A Hurricane In A Bentley Continental GTC Pace – Monterey, CA
What began as a easy drive from Monterey, California, to Los Angeles rapidly become a race towards nature. With this 12 months’s Monterey Automotive Week actions closing, we jumped right into a Bentley Continental GTC Pace for the lengthy drive south. Nevertheless, as we started our cost, a hurricane battered Southern California, bringing document rainfall, flooding, and widespread energy outages.
Whereas the start of our drive proved comparatively uneventful, relentless rain showers quickly flooded massive sections of the freeway, leaving quite a lot of automobiles spun out on the shoulder lane. We pressed on with hopes of reaching our vacation spot earlier than the worst of the storm left us caught attributable to street closures, turning what ought to’ve been a routine journey into considered one of this 12 months’s most memorable drives in a W12-powered grand tourer.
3. A McLaren Elva Prototype On An Empty Mountain Street – Los Angeles, CA
The McLaren Elva’s 2019 unveiling signaled a shift for the British supercar producer. It concurrently debuted a brand new carbon-fiber monocoque and displayed that the marque wouldn’t simply give attention to constructing supercars however hypercars as effectively. Earlier this 12 months, we scored a number of hours behind the wheel of an early Elva prototype to see simply what a seven-figure machine from Woking might be like.
To our shock, nonetheless, we didn’t simply drive one of many world’s rarest vehicles; we additionally obtained to expertise it on an empty, twisty mountain street. And whereas this prototype sports activities a windshield, making it extra carefully resemble a standard hyper or supercar, it does little to melt the Elva’s edges. It’s, with out query, one of the thrilling machines we’ve ever examined.
2. Pushing The Rolls-Royce Spectre’s Vary On A Nonstop Roadtrip – Las Vegas, NV
Whereas most of this 12 months’s greatest drives noticed us getting acquainted with the business’s greatest machines in very best circumstances, our current Rolls-Royce Spectre street journey solely served to push this $500,000 luxurious coupe’s limits. On the time of our departure from Las Vegas’ Wynn Resort, the Spectre’s estimated vary hovered round 260 miles on a single cost. Nevertheless, provided that the big Rolls constantly outperformed its estimated stats in earlier drives, we determined to place it to the check on a nonstop drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, a visit scheduled to cowl 255 miles, leaving us with just some to spare.
Alongside the best way, we confronted a number of climbs up mountain passes and huge stretches of desert highways the place entry to a charger was removed from assured. Nonetheless, we pressed ahead, pushing the Spectre to its vary limits as we obtained nearer to our vacation spot in Los Angeles. Nevertheless, as its vary estimates dipped quickly, the Rolls proved it had greater than only one ace up its sleeve.
1. Ice Drifting The Ultimate V8-Powered Maseratis – Livigno, Italy
Maserati is about to supply its last V8-powered automotive ever. Its eight-cylinder Trofeo lineup, consisting of the Quattroporte, Ghibli, and Levante, is scheduled to exit of manufacturing in just some weeks. To have a good time their departure, we traveled to the Italian Alps to check their limits and exceed them with loads of sideways motion in maybe the one triple-test of the vary ever performed. And whereas these Trofeos is perhaps gorgeous, their on-road efficiency didn’t impress on our first drives years in the past. Nevertheless, because it seems, letting them swing their tails out by back-to-back bends unlocked an thrilling new aspect of their character.