As a part of our job here at Autoweek, we review a lot of cars — everything from the Audi A3 hatch to the Volvo XC SUV/wagon and seemingly everything in between, passed through this garage in 2013. Some were winners and some were forgettable, but overall 2013 had a lot of great rides. Here are seven of our favorite car reviews from the past 12 months, ordered roughly by when they came through our fleet.
Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4
We’ll begin at the beginning. In February, we got the chance to get behind the wheel of the angriest bull to date, the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4. The car has a 15-month wait list, or it did in February, at least. If you’re lucky, the wait might be only eight months now. West Coast Editor Mark Vaughn likened the car to dating a movie star:
“If you just look at her (or him or whatever) on the silver screen, you don’t really know that she snores and can’t digest lactose. He/she/this is not perfect. But we could learn to put up with it.” – West Coast senior editor Mark Vaughn
Fprd SVT Raptor Supercab
As spring was breaking in April, Ford sent us its 2013 SVT Raptor Supercab. This Raptor made 411 hp and 434 lb-ft of torque, plenty for a downtown Detroit commute. Hell, it would be plenty for a Detroit-to-Mackinaw commute, all off-road:
“In a Toyota Prius, buying more gas allows you to travel more miles. In the Raptor, buying more gas is like buying more fun.” – Senior online editor Rory Carroll
Cadillac ATS
We drove the 2013 Cadillac ATS sedan in May. It came with the V6 and the best application yet of the company’s angular-yet-smooth styling. Power is rated at 321, while torques are at 275 lb-ft:
“Inside: Good materials well put together. It’s German without the dullness. CUE, which I mentioned before, dominates the center stack and takes some getting used to. Personally, I think this is moving in the right direction. – Editor Wes Raynal
Mercedes-Benz SL550
Shortly after the ATS, we got a chance at the 2013 Mercedes SL550, the restyled convertible from Benz’s executive collection–meaning, if you’re an executive, you should have one of these. The new model wore the company’s new nose, shared with the SLK and SLS:
“As it turns out, the SL is a brilliant performer. Beneath its big-boned luxury-roadster exterior, Mercedes has crafted a tossable, blindingly quick performance car that’s far better balanced than its specs would indicate. Shift points are nearly perfect, the V8 is a lag-free rocket and the SL manages that rare feat of feeling far smaller from behind the wheel than it actually is.” – Digital editor Andrew Stoy
Audi RS5 Cabriolet
Convertibles continued to roll in as the days got shorter. Later in the summer, we got in the driver’s seat of a 2013 Audi RS5 Cabriolet. It gets a version of the R8’s 4.2-liter V8 making 450 hp and 317 lb-ft of twist. Our only complaint? The cabriolet part. Give us a stiff hardtop any day:
“Throttle response is excellent, and the V8 spins from idle past 4,000 rpm almost immediately, and it pulls quick and consistent all the way to peak power–which comes on at a keep-your-foot-in-it 8,250 rpm — and to fuel-cutout at 8,500 rpm.” – Motorsports editor Mac Morrison
SRT Viper GTS
At the end of August, we finally received a Viper GTS to test. Road Test Editor Jon Wong put it through its paces and found the 640-hp, 600-lb-ft-of-torque coupe way more refined that the previous generation but way less refined than pretty much everything else on the road:
“The Viper is still among the most intimidating cars you can buy today. It offers an experience unlike any other. From behind the wheel, on the track, you are overcome with so many different emotions: complete and utter terror (Does this car want to kill me?), amazement, shame (Wow, almost went right into that guardrail), relief (Thank you for not going right into that guardrail), accomplishment (I didn’t ball this thing up!), respect, and of course fun.” – Editor Wes Raynal
Nissan GT-R Track Edition
Finally, the legend-wait-for-it-dary Nissan GT-R Track Edition. This speed robot bows to no man, making nearly all of the decisions for him, except for how far to push in the pedal:
“It’s hilarious to hand someone the keys to the 545-hp, AWD monster that journalists and enthusiasts alike can’t seem to stop calling “Godzilla” and expect the power those keys represent to be used for good, not evil. The urge to flip all available switches to “R” mode, stomp on the accelerator and allow myself to be boosted into license-confiscation territory was almost — almost — impossible to resist.” – Associate editor Graham Kozak