1997 Porsche 911 Carrera on 2040-cars

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Road & Track names its 2013 Performance Car of the Year

Road & Track recently staged its first annual Performance Car of the Year test, pitting 13 new and updated performance cars against each other on track, then graduating the top six to a road test before picking a winner. Additionally, the magazine staff picked the best automobiles of the year in eight categories.
But first, let's cover the PCotY segment. Here's the list of cars brought to the comparison test: Audi R8 V10 Plus; BMW 435i; BMW M6 Competition Package; Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51; Ferrari F12 Berlinetta; Ford Fiesta ST; Jaguar F-Type V8 S; Jaguar XFR-S; Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S-Model Wagon; Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series; Mini John Cooper Works GP; Nissan GT-R Track Edition; and Porsche Cayman S.
To find out the results of the comparison, head over to Road & Track's website or check the press release below, where you'll also find the magazine's top-rated vehicles in eight categories. Want more? Head over to the 2013 PCotY hub. But before you do that, take a stab at guessing the winner of PCotY (we'll give you one hint: it isn't a Porsche).

Will Roegge makes 4K art of Jeff Zwart's 911 build and run up Pikes Peak

Will Roegge has turned his camera on Jeff Zwart and provided another gem, this time documenting Zwart's run up Pikes Peak and BBI Autosport. Bertim Besha dropped out of high school, then worked his way up to founding his own shop, BBI, that gathers a crew of tuners who are just as fastidious about their work as the customers are about their cars.
They prepped the 991-series Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Turbo, the product of combining a 911 GT2 that was the most powerful car Zwart drove up the mountain with a GT3 Cup that Zwart thought had the best handling. Two TiAL turbos and a lot of fettling make for a 3.8-liter flat-six with 700 horsepower, 700 pound-feet of torque and a 7,800-rpm redline. Zwart drove it to a heartbreaking second place this year, finishing less than 1.2 seconds behind the Time Attack 1 class winner when his car suffered its first mechanical issue of the week.
The first video below covers Besha, BBI and the build, the second is Zwart's run. As if the visuals weren't enough, sit back and enjoy the shrieking of the "Hill Climb Special," which is what the constellation Sirius would sound like if it could bark.

Corvette gets slidey with Britain's best performance cars

Autocar wants to find Britain's best driver's car, and it's challenging a murderers' row of some of the world's best performance vehicles to find out, including the latest Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. All of them were therefore assembled at the Castle Combe Circuit to find a winner.
If it wants to take the crown from this pack of mostly European competitors, the 'Vette has to beat some steep competition. Its challengers include monsters like the Ferrari 458 Speciale, Ariel Atom 3.5R and Jaguar F-Type Coupe. As a further hurdle for the winner to clear, Autocar also has last year's champ among the fighters - the Porsche 911 GT3.
Even if you're not at all interested in the C7, there's still something here for practically any fan of fast cars. The competitors include relative oddities among the pack like the Renault Mégane RS Trophy and Alfa Romeo 4C. Plus, Autocar has some well-positioned microphones that let you hear the Atom wailing like a banshee and the roar of the 458 Speciale. Check out the video to see which one of these all-stars takes home the award this year.