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Driven: 2022 Lexus RC F Fuji Speedway Edition

Driven: 2022 Lexus RC F Fuji Speedway Edition

The 2022 Lexus RC F Fuji Speedway Edition is an all-around excellent sports car for its power, handling, solid inputs, and exclusivity. 

By Winding Road Staff | September 09, 2022
Driven: 2022 BMW M340i

The 2022 BMW M340i sits in an interesting spot in the Bavarian brand’s beloved 3 Series lineup. After spending a full week with it, we really enjoyed its ability to be both a mild and comfortable, daily a-to-be cruiser, yet also transform into a fast, athletic, and thrilling sports sedan.

By Winding Road Staff | July 13, 2022
Review: 2021 Jaguar F-Type R — Jag’s Wildest Creation Yet?

With 575 Horsepower and a 0-60 time of well below 4 seconds, this latest Jag rips.

By Winding Road Staff | December 03, 2020

Cars

The Best Alternative To Spec Miata

Presumably you’re reading this article because you’re tired of all the Spec Miata love, but before we leave the topic, we feel obligated to suggest that, if you are new to road racing, you consider the joys of SM.

By Winding Road Staff | November 03, 2020
Review: 2020 Aston Martin Vantage — Big Power, Small Wheelbase, Yes Please

The 2020 Aston Martin Vantage is one of the automotive industry’s greatest lovechilds between two heavy-hitter performance brands.

By Peter Nelson | October 29, 2020
Review: 2020 Ford Mustang Ecoboost High-Performance Package — Are Four Cylinders Better Than Eight?

The 2020 Ford Mustang Ecoboost High-Performance Package with Ecoboost Handling Package (say that five times fast) surprised us, and really drove home the saying “don’t knock it till you try it.” Here’s how it did so.

By Peter Nelson | October 22, 2020
Review: 2021 Lexus IS 300 AWD – Sharper Looks, Still A Good Value

Recently, we were lent the brand-new 2021 Lexus IS 300 AWD for a couple of days. When we took delivery, we immediately noticed some nice upgrades over the previous, 2020 Lexus lineup. We wouldn’t say these are significant upgrades, but rather the slow-and-steady, gradually-over-time type, which has proven to be a successful strategy for the Japanese luxury brand.

By Peter Nelson | October 16, 2020
Quick Review: One Year Later With The Hyundai Veloster N — Still A Riot?

Continuing the theme of modern hot hatches that pack a ton of performance for the price, we recently had a go in a 2020 Hyundai Veloster N, about one year after we initially gave it a thorough review.

By Peter Nelson | October 08, 2020
Review: 2020 Honda Civic Type R Touring — Pulse-Raising Precision And Power

Who doesn’t love a hot hatch? Take a small economy car with great utility, add some nice turbocharged power, sporty handling, and an aggressive baritone exhaust tone, and it’s almost guaranteed we enthusiasts will get a kick out of it. Do the specs match the price tag and bodywork? Our initial thought about the Honda Civic Type R pre-testing, and after driving such wildly-fun new hot hatches as the Hyundai Veloster N, was, is it really worth the premium over the Veloster N when they’re pretty close in power, weight, lap times, and even TCR racing podiums?

By Peter Nelson | October 01, 2020
Review: 2020 Toyota Land Cruiser Heritage Edition — The King Of The Mountain

The Toyota Land Cruiser is like the guitar riff in Dio’s quintessential metal song Rainbow in the Dark. It’s heavy, it’s withstood the test of time, has enthusiasts across a wide spectrum (everyone who enjoys rock n’ roll ought to love this song), and has been reliably getting people stoked for a very long time. We really enjoyed the 2020 Toyota Land Cruiser Heritage Edition. We fully understand why Land Cruisers are so popular, why Toyota can get away with throwing mid-aughts infotainment tech in them, and why they’re as capable as they are. We certainly hope the Japanese powerhouse keeps making them.

By Peter Nelson | September 25, 2020
Review: 2020 Mercedes AMG C63 S Sedan — Modern Brute-Force Fun

In the case of our week with the 2020 Mercedes Benz AMG C63 S sedan, it’s a little hard to avoid using a healthy helping of hyperbole. Photos and its published weight made it seem like a big sedan, but the proportions and dimensions proved otherwise. The way it accelerated, cornered, and braked proved otherwise as well.

By Peter Nelson | September 11, 2020
Review: 2020 BMW 228i xDrive Gran Coupe — Understated Refinement

We got well-acquainted with the positives and negatives of the FWD-biased AWD BMW M235i xDrive Gran Coupe during our week with it. After we handed back the keys, it made us ask: if more essentially-FWD, non-SUV, Mini platform-mates-badged as Bimmers are in the cards, what would the non-M version be like? Enter the 2020 BMW 228i xDrive Gran Coupe: the M235i GC’s less-athletic sibling. Similarly adorned on the exterior and inside the cabin, though with less power, less suspension tuning, less-grippy tires, and less dollars in its price tag.

By Peter Nelson | August 17, 2020
Review: 2020 Honda Civic Si HPT Coupe — Does It Live Up To The Si Badge?

Does this latest 10th generation, 2020 Honda Civic Si 2-Door Coupe live up to the legendary Si badge? We think so.

By Peter Nelson | August 07, 2020
Review: 2020 Ford Mustang BULLITT — A Solid Upgrade To The GT, And Still Relevant

We had a ton of fun with the 2020 Bullitt. It handled and rode well enough, its engine was genuinely entertaining, inputs were great, and we found it to be a good, flexible performance car that one could live with day-to-day quite easily. Even if a lot of Bullitts will probably get squirreled away for a Barrett-Jackson event in 30 years.

By Peter Nelson | July 31, 2020
Review: 2021 Toyota GR Supra 2.0 — A Better Performance Bargain?

Check out our automotive review on the 2021 Toyota GR Supra 2.0 4-cylinder turbo. We found it to be a good value for its performance, handling, and fuel economy.

By Peter Nelson | July 15, 2020
Review: 2020 Mercedes Benz AMG CLA35 4Matic — The 190E Cosworth Of 2020?

The FWD-biased, AWD luxury compact appears to be a slowly-growing segment in the new car market. For consumers who are after traditional, 4-door small car offerings, instead of compact crossovers (whether by creed, or by dimensional familiarity), and also want a solid amount of luxury and tech, there is quite a bit to choose from. To answer the very subjective question of whether the 2020 Mercedes Benz AMG CLA35 is the 2020 version of the 190E Cossie: no, it isn’t. However, considering where the CLA is size-wise in MB’s lineup, it’s sporty styling, four doors, motorsports-inspired accents, hopped-up engine, fun-to-drive dynamics, and sporty interior, it’s quite apparent that the CLA35 AMG and legendary W201 are cut from the same performance-loving cloth, just a good 30 years apart.

By Peter Nelson | July 01, 2020
Review: 2020 BMW M235i xDrive Gran Coupe — Does The M Stand For Mega, Or Milquetoast?

Can the M235i xDrive Gran Coupe’s rear end kick out for a fun, controllable drift like RWD BMWs are known for? We genuinely wanted to know for ourselves what it’s like.

By Peter Nelson | June 12, 2020
Video: A Blast From The Past In The Porsche 911 GT1

The Porsche 911 GT1 barely needs any introduction, especially here on WR. One quick glimpse instills instant excitement; one can imagine how much of a thrill it was roaring through the world’s most iconic racetracks with its twin-turbo, 3.2-liter flat-6 and sequential gearbox.

By Peter Nelson | May 29, 2020
Review: 2020 BMW 840i Coupe — Luxury Performance Meets Practicality And Economy

We were incredibly excited to get behind the wheel of the latest BMW 8 Series. Being fans of the old E31 generation, which we find to be one of the most beautiful cars of the 1990s, this latest G15 has big shoes to fill. If someone’s got the cash and aren’t concerned about hauling more than one passenger, they’d be hard-pressed to find a better unique luxury experience that offers a surprisingly amount of practicality and economy. We loved the 2020 BMW 840i Coupe.

By Peter Nelson | May 18, 2020
Review: 2020 Toyota GR Supra 3.0 Premium — Sharing Is Caring

The 2020 Toyota GR Supra has a ton going for it, and the fact that it shares a ton of parts with the Z4 is only a good thing; it possesses almost all of the Z4’s positives and none of the negatives. Here’s why we think it’s one of the most fun cars on sale today.

By Peter Nelson | April 28, 2020
Review: 2020 BMW Z4 M40i — Luxury, Style, And Lots Of Muscle

The internet has been a brutal, volatile place of opinions, suppositions, and hypotheses about the BMW Z4 and Toyota Supra, with a lot of the negativity behind the statements “the Supra is just a BMW Z4” and “LOL wow I like this Toyota Supra convertible.” We’re here to ask: how is it a bad thing that they’re the same chassis? Addressing the haters, our Editor in Chief Tom Martin put it best: the mysticism of non-experience. We’ll analyze the upsides and downsides of the Supra and how it compares in a future article, as we got our hands on one literally an hour after the Z4. To start out though, here’s why the Z4 is a great car, and a great choice to “base” the Supra on.

By Peter Nelson | March 18, 2020
The 2020 Aston Martin DB11 Volante — The Pinnacle Of Sports Car Luxury

Tedward has a go in Aston’s latest sports convertible; the brand still maintains its status as one of the best, top up or down.

By Winding Road Staff | March 14, 2020
Review: 2016 F80 BMW M3 6-Speed — Building Upon Brilliance

The old adage that BMWs are the kings of the road has always been a true statement. They’re designed to tick off the miles on long stretches of highway, cruising comfortably and confidently at a high rate of speed, and have the ability to pass and overtake with ease. In addition, they eat up corners and form excellent foundations for racing. In terms of which model is the best representation of this, the M3 wins hands down. The latest, F80-generation M3 is one of the best. Everyone has their generational preferences, but when it comes to a performance 4-door all-rounder with modern amenities and technology, the F80 wins. Plus, it has the latest generation BMW S engine under the hood: the 425 horsepower, twin-turbo S55.

By Peter Nelson | March 06, 2020
2003 MR2 Spyder At Buttonwillow: Blissful Momentum And 129 Wheel Horsepower

This past weekend, at an event at Buttonwillow Raceway Park hosted by Speed Ventures, prepped MR2 Spyder driver Julen Arellano pulled off an impressive 2:05.730 on its world-famous 13CW configuration. This is by no means any easy feat considering he’s got just 129 WHP to work with.

By Peter Nelson | March 03, 2020

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