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Xcar weighs in on the five best-sounding modern cars

Getting behind the wheel of a well-balanced vehicle can be a wonderfully visceral experience, thanks to the combined feeling of things like the weight of the steering, the bite of the brakes, and, of course, the roar of the engine. Unfortunately, many of the sensations of driving require actually being in the driver's seat to understand them, but thankfully the intoxicating noise of a beautifully tuned internal combustion engine can be shared with everyone. In a new video, Xcar shares their opinion on the five best-sounding modern performance cars. The list is a symphony of horsepower. As opposed to keeping all of the vehicles brand new, Xcar actually picks a few that are recently off the market. They're all definitely champs, though. While the list itself is well stocked, you might be able to argue with the specific order, and it would be nice to hear a few participants from outside of Europe for a collection like this one, too. No matter. Every listener is sure to find something they like in the bunch, though. Turn up the volume and enjoy.

Do we finally know which hybrid hypercar is fastest?

In order to properly compare and contrast the performance characteristics of competitive automobiles, a number of variables have to be sorted out. For instance, to diminish the human component, the same driver must be used for each lap, that driver has to be capable of wringing the maximum level of performance from each vehicle, and they should all be checked and prepared to make sure they are within manufacturer specs before hitting the track. Speaking of which, the conditions at the track – and, of course, it goes without saying that the cars have to be tested at the same location, on the same day – have to be as similar as possible. Naturally, arranging all of these variables is difficult, if not impossible, and that's especially true when the contenders are the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1, and Porsche 918 Spyder. As range-topping models from well-established performance players, these three hybrid hypercars are often lumped into the same category. But which one is fastest? Well, that's been a tough nut to crack, in part because the manufacturers themselves haven't always been willing to play along when it comes time to test these machines head-to-head-to-head. And so, with all that (probably unnecessary) preamble out of the way, we present to you the video above, in which this particular vehicular pedestal is toppled. All three cars are owned by a man named Paul Bailey, they were tested on the same day at the Silverstone circuit in England, and each had British Touring Car driver Mat Jackson at the helm. We're not going to spoil the results, other than to say that all three vehicles were incredibly fast and within spitting distance of one another at the finish line, as you would expect. Intriguingly, this video is said to be part one in a three-part series, so we have more Ferrari vs. McLaren vs. Porsche action to look forward to. Related Video: News Source: TheSUPERCARDRIVER via YouTube Green Ferrari McLaren Porsche Convertible Coupe Hybrid Performance Supercars Videos porsche 918 spyder mclaren p1 silverstone hypercar ferrari laferrari laferrari

Ferrari's stock price falls off a cliff

The stock price skidded. The stock price stalled. Use whatever automotive analogy you want. It was a bad day for Ferrari on the New York Stock Exchange. Warning that sales growth would slow because of the economic slump in China, Ferrari NV watched its stock price slump accordingly. Shares of the company were down more than 13 percent in afternoon trading, falling to $34.64. Sprung from the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles less than four months ago, Ferrari's stock has lost a third of its value since its October initial public offering and is nearly half the price of its $62 high set days after the IPO. In a conference call with investors, chairman Sergio Marchionne said the company expected to ship approximately 7,900 vehicles this year. Marchionne said the company would be "fine" over the long term as long as it maintains a decades-long philosophy of maintaining strong demand. That means Ferrari won't follow some of its sports-car competitors who have broadened their vehicle portfolio's with the addition of SUVs. Marchionne bristled at such a suggestion. "You have to shoot me first," he told Bloomberg. But never say never? Previously, Ferrari had restricted its output to 7,000 vehicles per year. The company is already past that number, and Marchionne foresees the possibility that it could rise to approximately 9,000 by 2019. In a regulatory filing, Ferrari said, "we believe we can grow in a controlled manner while preserving the exclusivity of our brand by continuing to explore controlled growth in emerging markets to capitalize on the substantial wealth creation and the growing affluent populations in those markets." For now, those markets won't include China. Shipments there decreased 22 percent in 2015, even as worldwide output increased. Related Video: