CT's Cars Of The Year 2014: Vote For Your Winner Now

Ferrari 458 Speciale - Adnan Ebrahim

Can any Car of The Year list be complete without a Ferrari? It’s a question that keeps even the best in the industry this side of Maranello awake at night. And ordinarily I’d have to say no; more often than not it’s Porsche that seems to grace the front cover of newsagent mags and it’s the 911 which still continues to be a little bit better than the last version, for what seems like the hundredth year running.

But this year the world was treated to perhaps the ultimate Ferrari, the last supercar to emerge from the di Montezemolo reign. The 458 Speciale does two things, and two things extremely well; more power, less weight. The mid-engined V8 unit produces 597bhp and the car tips the scales at 1395kg, 90kg lighter than the standard 458.

And whilst I’ve been lucky enough to drive some quite awesome machinery this year, including the world’s fastest mobility scooter and a Radical SR3 RS through the Maggotts Becketts complex, I haven’t yet managed to get behind the wheel of the 458 Speciale. So how can it be my CoTY?

Simply put, this is likely to be the last 458 to use a naturally-aspirated engine before we’re ‘treated’ to the joys of forced induction next year. It’s possibly the last 458 to scream all the way through to a 9200rpm redline. And it might be the last mid-engined supercar to give us that same orchestral aural symphony.

The 458 Speciale is Luca’s last hurrah. It’s two fingers up at the twin-turbo’d 650S. It’s a reminder that there are some things in the world regulatory bodies can’t touch. And this is why it’s my car of the year.

Jaguar F-Type V6 S Coupe - Alex Kersten

When it comes to cars, I’m a BMW man through and through. I love old E30 Tourings, always lust after E36 328i Sport coupes and have quite a thing for the new M3 and i8 sports car.

When I booked in the Jaguar F-Type V6 S coupe for a video review a few months back, I was sure that I’d like the car, but just how much it was going to get under my skin, I couldn’t predict. With the car parked outside my house for a week, I remember gasping at the sight of the coupe for the first time. In red, the car looks spectacular. It is beautiful and curved, aggressive and elegant and perfectly formed. This is, I thought, the prettiest car I have ever seen and that stands true to this day.

Dynamically, the F-Type is always a special event too. The engine and exhaust notes sound better than I ever thought possible from a six cylinder motor, the interior is cool, cosseting and very Jaguar, and to drive, the V6 S is a true driver’s car; agile, powerful and confident on its feet.

But the best thing? That’s the reactions of other people. Usually when I drive around in an expensive or sporty ride, people glance at the car, then stare at me for a second with no emotion in their eyes. In the F-Type, people would observe the Jag’s beauty, drink in the aesthetics, then look at me as if to say ‘wow, I may not know much about cars, but seeing this has stirred an emotion in me that I’ve not felt before.’

It’s exactly this repsonse that makes a vehicle timeless, wonderful and respected. It’s also one of the many reasons why I’m currently saving up to buy one in a few years.

Subaru WRX STI - Ethan Smale

It’s been difficult for me to narrow down a favourite for my Car of the Year. My initial thoughts were the F-Type and M3 but after a cup of tea and a drive in the Prius, I thought back to one of my favourite shoots this year, the Subaru WRX STI.

We filmed the car on a twisty road in cold, wet England and having little expectation of what it could do - apart from an ironing board on the back, it looks like a blue taxi - I actually finished the day not wanting to leave its side. I was so surprised how much grip the car had as Alex showed tight corners no mercy while I was trying to film from the back seats (note: he didn’t need to drive that fast, but he was having too much fun for me to convince him otherwise!).

The only thing that let it down - as Alex mentioned in the video - was the noise. Going from the popping F-Type to this makes you feel somewhat underwhelmed, but sweeping around the corners near High Wycombe with my bum barely budging from the front seats was certainly a moment I will never forget.

BMW M3: Darren Cassey

Before I started writing about and driving new cars, I was all about technical excellence. When I read car magazines I’d scoff at the thought of choosing a Ferrari 458 over a 12C; the engineering marvel, and statistically better car would always get my vote.

And then I drove the M3. This is a great car, but it has a number of glaring flaws that make it frustratingly difficult to drive quickly in anything other than perfect conditions. If the road isn’t bone dry, it just wants to light the rears up. Compared with the Audi RS4, which puts its power down with consummate ease, it’s a frustrating drive. And yet it’s the one I’d have. It has character and it makes you feel special. It also makes a great noise, gives any petrolhead ‘the fizz,’ and most important of all, its mildly terrifying tendencies will make you giggle constantly.

Why is the BMW M3 my car of the year? Because it made me realise that loving cars is more than just a numbers game.

Mini Cooper - Gabor Szedlak

Okay, bear with me on this one. The five-door Mini Cooper is one of only a few new cars I’ve driven this year, and although I’m usually dead against anything FWD - I miss my S2000 everyday - the Cooper made me reconsider my ill feeling towards wrong-wheel drive.

For starters, the Cooper’s engine - the same 1.5-litre turbocharged three-pot that sits in the back of the BMW i8 - delivers its power smoothly, unlike the big hit you get in our Seat Ibiza long-termer. The excellent chassis also proves that you don’t need lots of power to have fun…

My favourite thing about the Mini was its interior quality; the big LCD screen replacing the central speedometer is complimented by a circle of LEDs that light up and change colour when you adjust the volume or park the car. The Cooper’s seating position was also spot on, as was the manual gearbox and steering.

Sure, I could have picked a sexy supercar like the rest of the guys, but the Mini’s ability to make me stop hating on FWD means it deserves a place on this list!

Lamborghini Huracan - James Southorn

As the designer at CT, I’m going to talk design when it comes to my Car of the Year.

As spiritual successor to the Gallardo, Lamborghini’s best selling model, the Huracan had huge expectations and big boots to fill. To me, the Huracan seems like an evolution rather than a revolution, but it’s evolved to near perfection. The Gallardo is the strong neanderthal cave man, and the Huracan is the quick, intelligent, modern human.

It’s a beautiful and compact machine. You can see the shape is inspired by the Aventador, it has Miura references in the rear slats and I can even see some flair taken from the Diablo in the rear bumper. It is the culmination of the best of Lamborghini. It is still extreme design, but it’s more refined and sophisticated. The surfaces are so clean and I love the geometric lines. Even the little details like the sexy, subtle side vents improve the design. Also, hexagons everywhere.

If I’m going to be a car guy and talk specs, it can do 0–62mph in 3.2 seconds, has a 5.2-litre V10 and includes Lamborghini’s very first seven-speed dual-clutch transmission to deliver all the power smoothly.

And, interestingly, this is the first Lamborghini…in fact, first car within the VW Group to be designed entirely on computer. I’m happy Lambo’s embracing new technology if it keeps designing cars as beautiful as this.

Audi S1: Matt Robinson

‘It’s just a jumped up version of VW Polo with a silly price tag. How good can the S1 really be?’ I asked myself. After all, at £25k can it really be £6000 better than a top-spec Ford Fiesta ST, one of our favourite affordable fast cars? As it turns out, yes it is…

There’s so much poke - 231bhp and 273lb ft from the punchy 2.0-litre turbo engine - that when you put your foot down, it almost feels as though the S1 is about to burst with excitement. Despite the presence of a four-wheel drive system, you still actually get little kicks of torque steer through the steering wheel.

That four-wheel drive system wasn’t an easy thing to stuff into the dinky A1, either. The differential and driveshafts wouldn’t fit with the standard car’s torsion beam suspension, so it was ditched in favour of a fancier multi-link setup. This then pushes the boot floor up, which is a weirdly satisfying thing to see when you pop the tailgate, giving you a reminder of why this car is something special. An S Tronic dual-clutch auto gearbox was discounted, too, as the extra weight on the front axle would have made the thing too nose heavy.

All that engineering thought makes a big difference - the S1 is brilliant to drive. It’s a superb riposte to anyone who says hot cars from Audi are dull; of all the cars I drove this year, the S1 was the most enjoyable. And as it’s four-wheel drive, the fun doesn’t stop when it starts to rain.

When you stop clowning around, it just becomes a regular Audi. The cabin is the sort of tasteful, impeccably-built affair we’ve grown accustomed to from Ingolstadt, and I’d happily spend hours in there. It’s comfortable, refined, and above all, classy.

Audi doesn’t always get fast cars right, but this one’s a belter.

BMW i8: George Wilson

The BMW i8 is a shard of optimism delivered from the fuel-efficient future. It’s my Car of the Year not just for the car itself, but what it represents for the automotive industry.

BMW didn’t just make an efficient hybrid luxury sports car. It demonstrated to the world that you can achieve mind-bending fuel efficiency and make something that’ll make you smile when you drive it (or even just look at it).

Yes, the new hypercar trio share this technological leap forward, but they are so out of reach for ordinary humans they may as well be prototypes, stuck in the realms of car calendars.

With the i8 you get Minority Report looks, the performance and real-world prices to match a 911 or Audi R8, yet the fuel-bills to make your Prius-loving friends envious.

This vehicle genuinely does push the car industry forward in a massive way. Hybrid is here, and it is no way near as bad as we were led to believe.