Jeremy Clarkson’s top car picks of 2018
12-29-18, 04:40 PM
#1
Lexus Fanatic
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Jeremy Clarkson’s top car picks of 2018
Thoroughly enjoyed this read...
https://www.driving.co.uk/news/featu...est-cars-2018/
Equally impressive is that many of those cars were given the seal of approval from the notoriously critical Clarkson, as he awarded 14 of them at least four-stars.
Out of that impressive line-up, here are five cars that received the the highest praise from the world’s best-known motoring journalist and broadcaster this year.
Clarkson reviewed the pre-production version of the Lamborghini Huracán Performante at the end of 2017, saying: “It’s not just fast. It’s exciting. It may be making the sound of a universe forming and your head may be pinned back against the headrest but you can still feel it blowing gently on the hairs on your arms. This is a car that roars and purrs at the same time.”
But a few irritations meant it didn’t gain a full five stars until reassessment in 2018, when he fully realised just how exciting it is compared to the current competition. It’s so brilliant he crowned it his Car of the Year 2018 in the Sunday Times Motor Awards, in fact.
Rating ★★★★★
Memorable quote “Lamborghini, I like to think, is run by a bunch of 10-year-olds … Sure, it’s owned by the Germans these days [but] you get the sense that, were it not for Audi being all headmasterly, the Huracán would have space lasers on the roof.”
Read the review here (subscription required)
Those familiar with Clarkson will know he isn’t exactly a Porsche 911 fan. As a result, you know the 911 GT2 RS is a phenomenal car when even he quips: “I truly loved it. Everything about it”. The twin-turbocharged swansong for the outgoing 911 generation can also lay claim to being one of only two cars to earn a perfect score from the motoring personality in 2018, although he couldn’t quite bring himself to devote a full review to the car; he disguised his write-up as a classic car investment feature.
Rating ★★★★★
Memorable quote “The GT2 RS is a properly brilliant sports car. And this from a man who’s never been a Porsche fan.”
Read the review here (subscription required)
Making a better 5-series than BMW seems like an impossible task, but Clarkson reckons the specialist tuner Alpina has done just that with the B5. As well as being sensationally quick, courtesy of a 600bhp V8 engine, the B5 is also mightily comfortable and a joy to drive. Clarkson went as far as to say the Alpina was “easily the best 5-series I’ve driven”… and he counts himself as a fan of the standard 5-er.
Rating ★★★★☆
Memorable quote “It really does feel as close to perfect as any car can be.”
Read the review here
Clarkson’s been a big fan of Aston Martin’s many Vantage models over the years, so it’s perhaps no surprise he’s so fond of the new one. What did startle, however, were the claims of the new sports car being better than everything else that Aston Martin currently makes. Could the Vantage have received the fill five stars if it had brighter headlights and a better sat nav?
Rating ★★★★☆
Memorable quote “For sheer excitement the Aston is a match for the Porsche 911.”
Read the review here (subscription required)
The Bentley Continental GT, once a vehicle that garnered much scorn from Clarkson in his Top Gear days for being a footballer’s car, has now become one of his favourite cars. The new one is so good, in fact, that he admits being in a “right old muddle” when it comes to picking which one he likes the most out of the Bentley and the Aston Martin DB11.
Rating ★★★★☆
Memorable quote “A brilliant piece of completely over-the-top styling sitting like the icing on a properly made cake.”
Read the review here (subscription required)
https://www.driving.co.uk/news/featu...est-cars-2018/
JEREMY CLARKSON'S FIVE BEST CARS OF 2018
The mightiest motors of the year, according to Clarkson.
JEREMY CLARKSON’S had quite a busy 2018. On top of filming the new series of The Grand Tour and presenting Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, he’s also driven no less than 28 cars for the Sunday Times over the last 12 months.Equally impressive is that many of those cars were given the seal of approval from the notoriously critical Clarkson, as he awarded 14 of them at least four-stars.
Out of that impressive line-up, here are five cars that received the the highest praise from the world’s best-known motoring journalist and broadcaster this year.
Lamborghini Huracán Performante
Clarkson reviewed the pre-production version of the Lamborghini Huracán Performante at the end of 2017, saying: “It’s not just fast. It’s exciting. It may be making the sound of a universe forming and your head may be pinned back against the headrest but you can still feel it blowing gently on the hairs on your arms. This is a car that roars and purrs at the same time.”
But a few irritations meant it didn’t gain a full five stars until reassessment in 2018, when he fully realised just how exciting it is compared to the current competition. It’s so brilliant he crowned it his Car of the Year 2018 in the Sunday Times Motor Awards, in fact.
Rating ★★★★★
Memorable quote “Lamborghini, I like to think, is run by a bunch of 10-year-olds … Sure, it’s owned by the Germans these days [but] you get the sense that, were it not for Audi being all headmasterly, the Huracán would have space lasers on the roof.”
Read the review here (subscription required)
Porsche 911 GT2 RS
Those familiar with Clarkson will know he isn’t exactly a Porsche 911 fan. As a result, you know the 911 GT2 RS is a phenomenal car when even he quips: “I truly loved it. Everything about it”. The twin-turbocharged swansong for the outgoing 911 generation can also lay claim to being one of only two cars to earn a perfect score from the motoring personality in 2018, although he couldn’t quite bring himself to devote a full review to the car; he disguised his write-up as a classic car investment feature.
Rating ★★★★★
Memorable quote “The GT2 RS is a properly brilliant sports car. And this from a man who’s never been a Porsche fan.”
Read the review here (subscription required)
Alpina B5
Making a better 5-series than BMW seems like an impossible task, but Clarkson reckons the specialist tuner Alpina has done just that with the B5. As well as being sensationally quick, courtesy of a 600bhp V8 engine, the B5 is also mightily comfortable and a joy to drive. Clarkson went as far as to say the Alpina was “easily the best 5-series I’ve driven”… and he counts himself as a fan of the standard 5-er.
Rating ★★★★☆
Memorable quote “It really does feel as close to perfect as any car can be.”
Read the review here
Aston Martin Vantage
Clarkson’s been a big fan of Aston Martin’s many Vantage models over the years, so it’s perhaps no surprise he’s so fond of the new one. What did startle, however, were the claims of the new sports car being better than everything else that Aston Martin currently makes. Could the Vantage have received the fill five stars if it had brighter headlights and a better sat nav?
Rating ★★★★☆
Memorable quote “For sheer excitement the Aston is a match for the Porsche 911.”
Read the review here (subscription required)
Bentley Continental GT
The Bentley Continental GT, once a vehicle that garnered much scorn from Clarkson in his Top Gear days for being a footballer’s car, has now become one of his favourite cars. The new one is so good, in fact, that he admits being in a “right old muddle” when it comes to picking which one he likes the most out of the Bentley and the Aston Martin DB11.
Rating ★★★★☆
Memorable quote “A brilliant piece of completely over-the-top styling sitting like the icing on a properly made cake.”
Read the review here (subscription required)
12-29-18, 04:54 PM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Thanks for posting. No doubt these cars are all great for those who want that type of driving, performance and have six-figure budgets to spend. The only one I'd even begin to feel at home in is the Bentley Continental, and even that, for me, is probably too sport-oriented, and lacks the warm interior of the Mulsanne and Bentayga.
A far more realistic award, IMO, is what the Genesis G70 is getting this year from so many organizations and reviews. Now there is a (seemingly) excellent product that is also reasonably affordable to the masses....Oh, and it's not an SUV.
Back to the article, though, I wonder what he meant by a "footballer's" car.
In Britain, of course, their "football" is what we know as soccer. I don't see what soccer, though, has to do with the Continental.
A far more realistic award, IMO, is what the Genesis G70 is getting this year from so many organizations and reviews. Now there is a (seemingly) excellent product that is also reasonably affordable to the masses....Oh, and it's not an SUV.
Back to the article, though, I wonder what he meant by a "footballer's" car.
In Britain, of course, their "football" is what we know as soccer. I don't see what soccer, though, has to do with the Continental.
The Bentley Continental GT, once a vehicle that garnered much scorn from Clarkson in his Top Gear days for being a footballer’s car, has now become one of his favourite cars.
Last edited by mmarshall; 12-30-18 at 02:53 AM.
12-29-18, 11:29 PM
#4
Lexus Test Driver
Like most reviews in Motor Trend and C&D, these are cars that no one can afford or set foot in. Interesting to see what the latest $$$ cars look like, but I see this as an on-going trend that does little favors for most people. Thanks for the share though. They DO look dazzling.
12-30-18, 11:41 AM
#6
Pole Position
I was originally from the UK and I guarantee you pretty much every Brit understood the "footballer's car" joke. The almost universally accepted stereotype in Britain is that footballers (soccer players) are long on cash and short on taste. The Bentley is one of the cars that is often used as an example for the stereotype as it's popular with footballers, expensive, and big.
Last edited by swajames; 12-30-18 at 11:44 AM.
12-30-18, 01:51 PM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
iTrader: (20)
Me too. In fact, i’m in uk right now.
haha, yep... same in the u.s. of course with many sports stars, celebs, etc.
and I guarantee you pretty much every Brit understood the "footballer's car" joke. The almost universally accepted stereotype in Britain is that footballers (soccer players) are long on cash and short on taste. The Bentley is one of the cars that is often used as an example for the stereotype as it's popular with footballers, expensive, and big.
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12-30-18, 03:40 PM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
I was originally from the UK and I guarantee you pretty much every Brit understood the "footballer's car" joke. The almost universally accepted stereotype in Britain is that footballers (soccer players) are long on cash and short on taste. The Bentley is one of the cars that is often used as an example for the stereotype as it's popular with footballers, expensive, and big.
12-30-18, 06:14 PM
#9
I was originally from the UK and I guarantee you pretty much every Brit understood the "footballer's car" joke. The almost universally accepted stereotype in Britain is that footballers (soccer players) are long on cash and short on taste. The Bentley is one of the cars that is often used as an example for the stereotype as it's popular with footballers, expensive, and big.
12-30-18, 06:23 PM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
Wonder if she actually bought it. One of her former boyfriends, for her birthday, gave her that yellow Lexus LF-A she once owned. She later had a white LF-A, but I don't know the story behind that one.
At least she didn't wreck them all,
like Lindsay Lohan did with the two Mercedes AMGs she owned LOL.
At least she didn't wreck them all,
like Lindsay Lohan did with the two Mercedes AMGs she owned LOL.
12-30-18, 07:22 PM
#11
Lexus Champion
Wonder if she actually bought it. One of her former boyfriends, for her birthday, gave her that yellow Lexus LF-A she once owned. She later had a white LF-A, but I don't know the story behind that one.
At least she didn't wreck them all, like Lindsay Lohan did with the two Mercedes AMGs she owned LOL.
At least she didn't wreck them all,
like Lindsay Lohan did with the two Mercedes AMGs she owned LOL.Most of these "paparazzi" style sightings and arrivals etc. are staged around infotainment reporting and urgency. But that said, Jeremy Clarkson? He still around?
12-30-18, 07:30 PM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
12-31-18, 04:15 PM
#13
Like most reviews in Motor Trend and C&D, these are cars that no one can afford or set foot in. Interesting to see what the latest $$$ cars look like, but I see this as an on-going trend that does little favors for most people. Thanks for the share though. They DO look dazzling.
01-02-19, 11:12 AM
#15
I must have evolved into a curmudgeon. These cars don't do a thing for me. And aside from being mostly impractical (can't bring home a dozen 2x6's for your weekend project in them) these are the kind of cars where you anguish over the slightest door ding and get a sense of foreboding when the idle suddenly turns rough for a few minutes. Not to mention, if you are a human being, the acid burn in your stomach when you briefly reflect on the fact that the purchase price would have fed an entire village in Africa. For a year.
But that's me. I really couldn't care less about doing 0-60 in 3 seconds, or theoretically breaking 200mph, or cruising Sunset Blvd. on a summer's Saturday night. For the kiddies that crave those things, great. Go for it.
Not to say that I don't appreciate excellent engineering or works of sheet-metal art. I do. But I can appreciate the simplistic engineering behind a Model T 4-banger just as much as a quad-valve biturbo V12.
But that's me. I really couldn't care less about doing 0-60 in 3 seconds, or theoretically breaking 200mph, or cruising Sunset Blvd. on a summer's Saturday night. For the kiddies that crave those things, great. Go for it.
Not to say that I don't appreciate excellent engineering or works of sheet-metal art. I do. But I can appreciate the simplistic engineering behind a Model T 4-banger just as much as a quad-valve biturbo V12.