Next up in the Speedhunters Awards for 2012 is the opportunity to vote for your favourite competition car of the year. We have a selection of old and new to choose from which are competing around the globe, though all are pushing the boundaries of their respective series. The fastest, the meanest, the most revolutionary or just the plain winningest? It’s up to you to choose who deserves the award. Here are the nominees:
With Peugeot pulling out on the eve of the World Endurance Championship, it fell to Toyota to put together a full factory assault in double-quick time, both to save the nascent championship and to provide some opposition to the expected Audi dominance. Toyota did all that and more: after a Herculean effort they delivered at the highest level at the Le Mans 24 Hours before going on to win races on outright pace following the big day in France. It was a phenomenal effort by the Cologne-based TMG team; 2013 promises to be even more impressive. Audi have some serious work to do over the winter.
Racing has always been the perfect platform to develop new technologies and to showcase manufacturer R&D muscle, and in recent years it’s been sportscar racing that has forged ahead at the cutting edge of alternative power. Audi’s futuristic R18 from last year was reintroduced in new, hybridised form for 2012 as the e-tron quattro: its hybrid energy recovery system powers the front wheels, providing all-wheel drive performance that was virtually unbeatable in changeable conditions – until that blue and white machine from Cologne appeared.
Fredric Aasbø heads up our first nomination for a competition variant of the ZN6 with his 86-X drifter. Initial renders had everyone gasping: surely the finished product couldn’t live up to the promise? But the 86-X has more than done that, not only winning with looks but also with performance – and this a project that was completed in just four weeks. The car is fearsomely wide, with its Rocket Bunny kit muscling-up the already lithe shape of the 86. Slot in Aasbø behind the wheel, put it sideways, add smoke: stand back and admire.
The GT300 category of the Japanese GT Championship features a dizzying number of different makes: there are few series with such an eclectic mix of racers. The BRZ/GT86 has already been introduced into drifting, touring cars and GT racing, and in Japan the ZC6 has been further muscled up for GT300 – with this the impressive result. Laden with downforce and sitting on huge BBS rims, the BRZ oozes aggression: the perfect GT racer?
For a third take on the ZC6/ZN6, there’s the awesome Evasive FR-S. Its bespoke aero kit features all kind of details that you’d otherwise only see on DTM or LMP machinery, but it still retains all the spirit of the base FR-S. Time Attack and Pikes Peak are on the agenda for the FR-S next year; if the rule that a fast car is beautiful is true, then the Evasive FR-S could be in for a lot of silverware in 2013.
Honda’s new-generation Civic tourer was developed by the British Team Dynamics outfit, and was a winner from the opening round of the season. After a hard-fought year, the new-for-2012 NGTC-specification, wide-body Civic came out on top, with the Team Honda pairing of Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal taking first and second in the standings and Pirtek’s Andrew Jordan winning the Independent’s trophy. Next year a JAS-developed version will also compete in the WTCC, representing Honda at the global level.
DTM racers are brutal looking cars, and none more so than Bruno Spengler’s flat-black BMW M3, in which he took the 2012 title. After a break of almost 20 years, this was BMW’s first season back in the premier German touring car series, taking on the established might of Mercedes-Benz and Audi, but it was like they’d never been away. The M3 was immediately on the pace, but the battle for the championship went down to the wire before BMW took a clean sweep of all the available trophies. Notice has been served.
There was little competition to Citroën’s DS3 rally car in 2012 – at least when it was pedalled by Sébastien Loeb. The DS3 has been hoovering up wins for the past couple of years: the 1.6-litre turbo packs a surprising punch, and seeing one crackle through a forest or hurtling over a blind crest is not something you’ll forget in a hurry.
The only thing that could get near the DS3 WRC was Ford’s M-Sport-developed Fiesta. But the Fiesta was in its element when unleashed in rallycross spec (where it was also often up against the DS3). Rallycross also showed just how strong they make them, as Fiestas were bashed and smashed around the rallycross world. On both sides of the Atlantic, fearsomely fast Fiestas thrashed around tracks in the hands of hooning drivers like Ken Block and Tanner Foust.
Lock Adrian Newey and his team in a room and ask them to come up with a racing car, and in all likelihood a championship winner will be the result. The RB8 wasn’t always the fastest, but it had the special edge that Newey magically instills in cars: speed for sure, but also unbelievable packaging and aero efficiency plus an ability to survive battle damage – at least when Vettel was at the wheel.
McLaren’s 2012 challenger was arguably the fastest car of the year, but a series of failures – for both the team and the car – set their challenge back. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button still won seven times out, and the MP4-27 was easily the most attractive of the 2012-generation cars, having taken a different aesthetic route and eschewed the stepped nose that the majority of the grid utilised.
There are many things that seemingly don’t go together. Long shorts. Airline food. Military intelligence. And Mini Quattro. On the outside, it still looks like a Mini despite being draped in a Z-Cars wide-body kit. Underneath, it’s a Tardis of power and drive-train: the 1.8-litre turbo from an A3 cranked up to 450hp plus all-wheel drive, in a car weighing less than a sneaker. The wing and diffuser are not for show: it drives like a slot car: blink and it’s gone, disappearing into the distance.
How many horses does a man need? If you’re Daigo Saito, it’s not about need – it’s about want. And 1,200 is the answer. The turbocharged 2JZ-powered SC430 Formula D car carried Daigo to the 2012 title in the US, adding to his already impressive roster of championship wins. Taking an open-topped luxury roadster and crossing it with a very angry dragon, the SC430 was an individual work of smoking art.
Under Suzuki’s Scorch Racing S15
The unofficial representative of the world’s privateers, ‘Under’ Suzuki’s every-evolving S15 project continues to find tenths of a second every time it takes to the track, chasing records in Revspeed Super Battle. The alchemist of Japanese Time Attack, by day Suzuki-san works in a pharmacy before heading off to his lab in the evening to concoct more insane mods in his decade-long love affair with the Nissan. The Silvia’s power is now edging towards 800hp, with the weight dipping to 1,000kg. Pro teams beware: this S15 is gunning for you…
The technology under a racing car’s skin is exciting, but what about a radical reinvention of the entire racing car concept? The Nissan Deltawing was exactly that. Originally planned as a replacement for the ageing Indycar single-seater, the Deltawing was converted to sportscar spec and ran in the ’56th Garage’ spot at the Le Mans 24 Hours, reserved for entries that are pushing the boundaries. The Deltawing is lightweight and fast, and a more than capable racer. An unfortunate accident put the car out at Le Mans, but it put in a strong run at the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta and more races are planned for 2013. A brave, revolutionary project that deserves nothing but praise and support.
Jonathan Moore
[polldaddy poll="6759373"]
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
It's nice to include tuner cars or drifters into this competition but i'd say this has to be a battle of the manufacturers. Just because there are so many unique and awesome tuners and drifters that leaving some of them excluded wouldn't be "fair". Sure it's a Speedhunters Award which means you have to choose between cars you featured but this should be a place for the cars that really had an effect on the 2012 world of racing. The Mini Quattro and the Evasive FR-S simply don't fit that well. Awesome cars still!I went for the M3. It's just mean, raw and simple when it comes down to it's ingredients.
@maxproof We wanted to put a few cars in there which were massively popular with our audience this year too. The Mini Quattro, Fredric's 86-X and the Evasive FR-S were some of the most stories all year so they had to be included.
@maxproof We wanted to put a few cars in there which were massively popular with our audience this year too. The Mini Quattro, Fredric's 86-X and the Evasive FR-S were some of the most read stories all year so they had to be included.
The ZN6/ZC6 variants are pretty cool, all of them, Aasbo's car, the GT300, Evasive performance, they're all pretty cool, but I don't think I can take them seriously in this competition, only maybe the GT300 one, and don't get me wrong, I love the car, but please watch the competition, the three of them were easily beaten (in my opinion) by Suzuki Under's S15, and it's not even between my top three, the Mini Quattro, great build, but it doesn't cut it for me, just because I'm not a Time Attack fan. Anyway, my top three was between the Toyota TS030, the Vodafone McLaren, and the Citroen RallyCar, and the last one got my vote, anyway, great picks, it was really hard for me to pick.
This is an easy answer, Deltawing all day. The fact that it can hold its own with cars that have 2 times the power, and in its first year of competition. Give it a bump to even 400 and it would be blowing away some of the best P1 cars out there. It represents the cutting edge. The R18 is a close second for me, the turbocharger setup represents the future of lag free massive power in vehicles.
Honestly, I can't choose. Too much awesomeness.
I have a feeling the DeltaWing is gonna take this one, however I don't find it worthy of "Competition Car of the Year" status until it has proven itself by getting on podium. My vote goes to the first Diesel-Electric hybrid race car, the R18 e-tron quattro. You really ain't shit next to that car.
But I will say I'm VERY excited to see what will happen next year between Audi and Toyota. It's gonna be a great year for prototype racing!!
Why include the McLaren and not the Ferrari? Alonso was dangerously close to the WDC, both before and AFTER Interlagos was run. Not to mention just how well that car was doing in the earlier part of the season. The F2012 also put Scuderia Ferrari 22p ahead of McMc and only 60p behind RBR. The McLaren was horribly unreliable on many occasions resulting in a number of DNFs, especially when coupled with the pit crew they had this year. Force India, Lotus, and Sauber all had cars that performed with more consistency for their place in the field than the McLaren, and all were more deserving to be in the list. But hey, not having a stepped-nose and a flashy paintjob must be enough for you guys.
"A brave, revolutionary project that deserves nothing but praise and support." Well said about the Deltawing,
I was totally expecting to ... wait for it... 'find' the Nemo Evo on this list. Thank you, I'll be here all week.
Glad I didn't considering it's not actually a time-attack car.
@Golightly It might have something to do with the opinion that the Ferrari was the ugliest car on the grid, and according to fans of Ferrari, the ugliest car to ever come out of Maranello. I know there's some special name attached to Italian Ferrari fans, just can't think of it at the moment... vosi something?
@Golightly I was surprised to see the mclaren in this poll considering the reliability issues they've been having this year, but I don't think the ferrari is a worthy of a nomination either. Any keen follower of F1 will tell you that this year, ferrari's F1 car has been well below par, despite Alonso almost winning the championship.
@FunctionFirst @Golightly Tofossi I think...
@FunctionFirst This is about -COMPETITION- car of the year. So regardless of looks, one would assume the second place car in both WDC and WCC would be on the list. And it's 'tifosi', doesn't just relate to Ferrari and 'fans' can be used in its place. It's used for fans of any sport in Italy, usually Football and F1 though.
@Andrew Rogerson It was a tough field this year, mid-field was very strong, and none of the top 3 teams had a particularly good(/consistent) season. The F2012 was the best car on the grid for the first few races, it was consistent, part of that goes to Alonso, but that shouldn't discount the car. Massa had a fairly poor season seeing only 2 podiums, and yet still managed to get 122p to add to Alonso's 278p, bringing them within 60p of the WCC. The car couldn't have been that bad, it was just overshadowed by a multitude of other things that made things seem more grim than it was. It may not deserve to be on this list, but it is definitely more deserving than the McLaren.
Under Suzuki's S15 is a private project car... privately owned and funded... for me, that takes it...
As awesome as the Mini Quattro is, I don't think that it belongs in this poll. It doesn't really compete against anything, at least unless there's some AWD racing class that allows classics with powertrains from other makes that I don't know about.
@Golightly for us Alonso's success was more about his skill as a driver than the strength of the car. The McLaren was considered the fastest car of the season along with the Red Bull.
We totally respect Alonso's achievement this year though and plan to make sure he is nominated for voting.
@KillerRaccoon it's designed to race at Gatebil
@Corey K and Porsche the year after!
The way I see it, Toyota is the only car that is competing with Audi's Le Mans dominance since the departure of Peugeot. Give Toyota more time and we'll see a new Le Mans winner next summer
@RodChong @Corey are they going to be making a LMP car?! oooo im excited now!
"Audi’s futuristic R18 from last year was reintroduced in new, hybridised form for 2012 as the e-tron quattro: its hybrid energy recovery system powers the front wheels, providing all-wheel drive performance that was virtually unbeatable in changeable conditions – until that blue and white machine from Cologne appeared."
I'll go with TS030. 3 1st place finishes in it's first season and just about the only car to come close to the Audi in terms of performance.
You have got to be kidding. A Competition Car of the year and you don't put in Project Nemo even on the list. It was a brand new car at WTAC, came out and broke the last year record by almost 4 seconds without any testing prior, was over 2 seconds faster than the next car. A full 3.5 seconds faster than the next tin top car around Eastern Creek, but that being a car on slicks when it was racing on semi slicks. The only cars quicker than it are open wheelers. And it doesnt even deserve to make it on your list.
For all the people complaining its not a Time Attack car. It complied with the WTAC rules completely in every area, it would be like saying the Delta didnt deserve to race at LeMan. The guys building Project Nemo were just a heck of alot smarter than the guys before them.
Its the first Time Attack car to actually hit main stream media.
Nothing against Unders car, its a great car and he is worthy of being on the list just for his privateer status. But you have a car like the Evasive car on the list which has done absolutely nothing.
The list is a complete joke, to actually not include a car which after 1 competition is already the car every time attack car past and present is being compared to.
@RodChong 7 retirements and 5 finishes OUTSIDE the points for the MP4-27, unreliability the reason for a few of those DNFs/OoP finishes. The RB8 and F2012 had very similar numbers in regard to retirements and finishes outside of the points, both of which were better records than the McLaren. Fastest car does not equate to better car overall. Somehow, you're saying the F2012 was a worse car despite finishing higher in both WCC and WDC, with the 'lesser' driver bettering his previous season's record by 4 points. If Button or Hamilton had been driving the F2012 instead of Massa, odds are the F2012 would have won the WCC. The McLaren may have taken a number of wins this season, but that alone does not make it a better car, we can chalk that up to two world-class drivers in much the same way we can say Alonso is the reason for the F2012's success. If the MP4-27 had been a car worthy of this list, it wouldn't have broken down/limped as much as it did. If it hadn't of done that, Hamilton and Button would probably have broken 200p, and Hamilton probably would still be driving for them.
Not discounting Massa he's a world-class driver too, but he just hasn't been a real WDC contender for the past few seasons.
Oriodo's take on the GT86. That is my favorite competition car of 2012. Why wasn't it on the list?
Oriodo's take on the GT86. That is my favorite competition car of 2012. Why wasn't it on the list?
Would like to have seen the Lotus E20 on this list. Most reliable/consistent F1 car of 2012 (In Kimi Raikkonen's hands at least)
Would like to have seen the Lotus E20 on this list. Most reliable/consistent F1 car of 2012 (In Kimi Raikkonen's hands at least)
Kinda surprised Brad Keselowski's Dodge wasn't on the list. Yeah, I know, it's not a real "stock" car, bla bla bla... But it was still Dodge powered, and the first Dodge to win a Championship since 1975. Not a bad accomplishment.
DeltaWing definitely takes the cake though.
Kinda surprised Brad Keselowski's Dodge wasn't on the list. Yeah, I know, it's not a real "stock" car, bla bla bla... But it was still Dodge powered, and the first Dodge to win a Championship since 1975. Not a bad accomplishment.
DeltaWing definitely takes the cake though.
Missing NEMO Racing EVO
Missing NEMO Racing EVO
Stop. This choice is going to make me cry.
Stop. This choice is going to make me cry.
I was ready to vote for Aasbo's 86, until I saw the Deltawing as an option.
I was ready to vote for Aasbo's 86, until I saw the Deltawing as an option.
Speedhunters, you just lost all my respect! Evasive 86 is on there, which has only ever done one competition which was TOO SLOW TO EVEN WIN STREET FF! That is a show car piece, but Nemo isnt on the list? 'competition car'??? How can you put a piece of crap drift car ... figure skating rubbish next to an F1 car and not look at yourself in the mirror and want to puke? vomit vomit vomit. You guys should stop even trying to cover motorsports at all,focus on car shows with 95hp FWD hondas with 10 degress of camber, multi color paint jobs.. get more cheap looking asian chicks on the bonnet.
Speedhunters, you just lost all my respect! Evasive 86 is on there, which has only ever done one competition which was TOO SLOW TO EVEN WIN STREET FF! That is a show car piece, but Nemo isnt on the list? 'competition car'??? How can you put a piece of crap drift car ... figure skating rubbish next to an F1 car and not look at yourself in the mirror and want to puke? vomit vomit vomit. You guys should stop even trying to cover motorsports at all,focus on car shows with 95hp FWD hondas with 10 degress of camber, multi color paint jobs.. get more cheap looking asian chicks on the bonnet.
U mad bro?
Speedhunters is all about car culture; which includes EVERYTHING; F1, drifting, endurance racing, rally racing,, show cars, race cars, classics, exotics, tuners, muscle cars. You obviously don't understand the point of Speedhunters or what it means to be a car enthusiast or fan at all. So get off your high horse, quit all of your pretentious, holier than thou ranting, and go somewhere else because no one else wants to hear it.
U mad bro?
Speedhunters is all about car culture; which includes EVERYTHING; F1, drifting, endurance racing, rally racing,, show cars, race cars, classics, exotics, tuners, muscle cars. You obviously don't understand the point of Speedhunters or what it means to be a car enthusiast or fan at all. So get off your high horse, quit all of your pretentious, holier than thou ranting, and go somewhere else because no one else wants to hear it.
Delta-wing for making me a believer. At Sebring 2012, it looked as ridiculous as it did at the Indy showing. Watching it go down the esses and turn 12 at Petit made me realize what an achievement in chassis dynamics it was. Bravo.
Delta-wing for making me a believer. At Sebring 2012, it looked as ridiculous as it did at the Indy showing. Watching it go down the esses and turn 12 at Petit made me realize what an achievement in chassis dynamics it was. Bravo.
@JohnCulbert Brad's car is as much a Dodge as the M3 DTM is a BMW and yet the M3 is on the list.
@JohnCulbert Brad's car is as much a Dodge as the M3 DTM is a BMW and yet the M3 is on the list.
@Aaron Turner You mad bro? @whiteTeg is correct. They have put a car on the list which in Competition car of the year which has essentially only ever been a show car. Been in 1 race and didnt even finish that. So how can it even Qualify in the Competition Car of the Year. If all it needed to qualify is to say it attended an event you could look in the carpark and find better cars and better examples that qualify. To compare that to a car like Nemo which re-wrote the WTAC record on its first ever outing and that cant make the list. Your the one who is mad.
@Aaron Turner You mad bro? @whiteTeg is correct. They have put a car on the list which in Competition car of the year which has essentially only ever been a show car. Been in 1 race and didnt even finish that. So how can it even Qualify in the Competition Car of the Year. If all it needed to qualify is to say it attended an event you could look in the carpark and find better cars and better examples that qualify. To compare that to a car like Nemo which re-wrote the WTAC record on its first ever outing and that cant make the list. Your the one who is mad.
There's obviously going to be people complaining no matter what you do. Some cars belong on this list and a few cars probably belong in a different category. Thinking outside the box on a competition level and being successful at it is why the Deltawing got my vote. I will say if the Nemo Racing Evo was on this list I would of voted for that over the Deltawing. Nemo pretty much said "anything you can do I can do better" in pretty much every facet of what makes a competition car, a competition car, and it crushed WTAC. If I were a betting man, if WTAC were say a few weeks ago the car would be on the list.
There's obviously going to be people complaining no matter what you do. Some cars belong on this list and a few cars probably belong in a different category. Thinking outside the box on a competition level and being successful at it is why the Deltawing got my vote. I will say if the Nemo Racing Evo was on this list I would of voted for that over the Deltawing. Nemo pretty much said "anything you can do I can do better" in pretty much every facet of what makes a competition car, a competition car, and it crushed WTAC. If I were a betting man, if WTAC were say a few weeks ago the car would be on the list.
You sir were doing a horrible job at making clear thought out points until your bit on asian chicks. Spot on.
You sir were doing a horrible job at making clear thought out points until your bit on asian chicks. Spot on.
I'm behind the Delta Wing on this one. After watching Chris Harris drive the car and interview the designer, I became fascinated with the machine and what its trying to achieve.
I'm behind the Delta Wing on this one. After watching Chris Harris drive the car and interview the designer, I became fascinated with the machine and what its trying to achieve.
@Aaron Turner they have categories for everything. they leave the line a bit blurry here though
@Aaron Turner they have categories for everything. they leave the line a bit blurry here though
@Brisevo The Nemo is two frame rails away from being a body- on- white dedicated tube- frame carbon bodied race car.
@Brisevo The Nemo is two frame rails away from being a body- on- white dedicated tube- frame carbon bodied race car.
@FunctionFirst So you went to WTAC and had a look did you? It complied with all the WTAC rules. It has the full Chassis and Unibody from the front to the rear seat. Then it has a tube frame extension. A heck of alot more than the Revolution FD-7 had the year before. Those guys produced a car which re-wrote the record at WTAC and as I said it is now the car everyone says in Time Attack they need to beat around the world and what it couldnt even get a spot on the list for Speedhunters? You are kidding arent you. 3 86's on the list. Maybe I am the stupid one, but you even bought it up expecting it to be on the list......
@FunctionFirst So you went to WTAC and had a look did you? It complied with all the WTAC rules. It has the full Chassis and Unibody from the front to the rear seat. Then it has a tube frame extension. A heck of alot more than the Revolution FD-7 had the year before. Those guys produced a car which re-wrote the record at WTAC and as I said it is now the car everyone says in Time Attack they need to beat around the world and what it couldnt even get a spot on the list for Speedhunters? You are kidding arent you. 3 86's on the list. Maybe I am the stupid one, but you even bought it up expecting it to be on the list......
@FunctionFirst @Brisevo And? It complied with the current rules and absolutely wiped the floor with its competition, which also contained some amazing machinery. I don't understand how being better researched and developed excludes it from the category entitled "competition car of the year" when it dominated one of the most popular racing competitions on this website.
Sure you may argue that it's against the "spirit" of time-attack racing, that it isn't a time-attack car. Guess what? It is, and it decimated it's competition. They have rules for this and the Nemo Evo complied.
@FunctionFirst @Brisevo And? It complied with the current rules and absolutely wiped the floor with its competition, which also contained some amazing machinery. I don't understand how being better researched and developed excludes it from the category entitled "competition car of the year" when it dominated one of the most popular racing competitions on this website.
Sure you may argue that it's against the "spirit" of time-attack racing, that it isn't a time-attack car. Guess what? It is, and it decimated it's competition. They have rules for this and the Nemo Evo complied.
@Execute @FunctionFirst Here Here. Exactly. With WTAC there were at least rules, which Nemo Complied with. The selection process here obviously didn't require the car to actually have done more than turn up and have some photos of it at some Model Shoots published for it then to be Considered for "Competition Car of the Year". Maybe it meant the car which had the more modelling shoots to its name won the competition.
@Execute @FunctionFirst Here Here. Exactly. With WTAC there were at least rules, which Nemo Complied with. The selection process here obviously didn't require the car to actually have done more than turn up and have some photos of it at some Model Shoots published for it then to be Considered for "Competition Car of the Year". Maybe it meant the car which had the more modelling shoots to its name won the competition.
@RodChong @maxproof i understand catering to your audience, but having things like the evasive fr-s on this list is in my opinion a bit of an insult to the other cars, you've got a le mans winner and 5 championship winning cars (to my knowledge) on the same list as something that has apparently raced once and not finished (apparently, i don't know) and has probably seen more photoshoots than it has actual racetracks, yet something like the Nemo evo gets left out, a car that has the possibility of becoming the fastest time attack car to ever compete and completely changed the game in its only competitive outing. for the record i voted for Saito's lexus, with how basic it effectively was competing against the highly developed competition it was a real feat winning
@RodChong @maxproof i understand catering to your audience, but having things like the evasive fr-s on this list is in my opinion a bit of an insult to the other cars, you've got a le mans winner and 5 championship winning cars (to my knowledge) on the same list as something that has apparently raced once and not finished (apparently, i don't know) and has probably seen more photoshoots than it has actual racetracks, yet something like the Nemo evo gets left out, a car that has the possibility of becoming the fastest time attack car to ever compete and completely changed the game in its only competitive outing. for the record i voted for Saito's lexus, with how basic it effectively was competing against the highly developed competition it was a real feat winning
@RodChong @maxproof I understand who your audience is and you are a business.... but please use a little journalistic integrity. Don't just put people there that don't deserve to be to get your hit counts up.
@RodChong @maxproof I understand who your audience is and you are a business.... but please use a little journalistic integrity. Don't just put people there that don't deserve to be to get your hit counts up.
Just give the BRZ every award already. We know that's whats coming anyways.
Just give the BRZ every award already. We know that's whats coming anyways.
Why so many FT86s??? Speedhunters are starting to give me the impression of being FT/BRZ biast. Every second or third event coverage or spotlight in the past six months has an FT/BRZ in it....
Don't get me wrong I also love the car and would own one as a daily (not that it would be my numero uno choice), but come on guys!!!
I also totally agree that the Nemo Racing evo should have been on here!
Oh yeah my vote goes to that delta wingy thingy, looks like the something out of Batman (jks)...
Why so many FT86s??? Speedhunters are starting to give me the impression of being FT/BRZ biast. Every second or third event coverage or spotlight in the past six months has an FT/BRZ in it....
Don't get me wrong I also love the car and would own one as a daily (not that it would be my numero uno choice), but come on guys!!!
I also totally agree that the Nemo Racing evo should have been on here!
Oh yeah my vote goes to that delta wingy thingy, looks like the something out of Batman (jks)...
@RodChong @maxproof not to push a point but which of these does the evasive car fulfill? "though all are pushing the boundaries of their respective series. The fastest, the meanest, the most revolutionary or just the plain winningest?"
@777 @RodChong @maxproof Exactly. The Evasive FSR is a nice looking car, but to qualify for "The Competition Car of the Year" It went to one event. It placed 3rd in the unlimited rwd class almost 20seconds off the pace(becuase there were 4 runners) it maybe should have been in the Limited RWD if it didnt have Lexan Windows. But would have placed 6th in that class. It would have only placed 3rd against the Street RWD cars. So how is that the fastest, revolutionary? Look dont get me wrong. Its a cool looking car, but worthy of this nomination? Same as the Mini, I agree a cool looking mini. But how is it at the forefront and worthy of a Nomination? I guess like it says above it was popular, maybe becuase it had a feature story on it done on Speedhunters? Common guys..
NEMO.
no EVO, no care!!
I am not a big
I am not a massive fan of Time Attack but read your commentary of WTAC this year with alot of interest.
I am with everyone else how did Nemo not even rate for inclusion on the list? Common let us mere readers know how you picked some of these cars?
From your own reporting Nemo is the Worlds Most Adventurous Time Attack Car? Just for the ingenuity shown it deserved to rate up along with the Delta, the RB8 or the TS030. But I bet it was a mere fraction of their budgets.
Some nice nominees in general but I am curious... after the RML Chevy Cruz team dominated the series with all 3 cars swapping top spots on the podium all year long...how can you ignore the RML CRUZ!!!
btw...some of these cars haven't won shit and are not really innovative either. Let's not try to compare real wheel to wheel competition cars with brand new time attack cars or drift cars in terms of 'COMPETITION'. Whether it's DTM, F-1, WTCC etc, your list leaves much to be desired. I picked Deltawing from a daring design perspective...and a close second would be the Toyota Hybrid racer. Really though...who makes the list? Which of these FT86 cars really has the right to be on here?
A.lovely looking FRS that's done nothing in competition but plans to do things vs Redbull Racing f1 car a product of a team with 500+ employees which has a quarter of a billion euro budget. Bit of a strange poll to be honest.
A.lovely looking FRS that's done nothing in competition but plans to do things vs Redbull Racing f1 car a product of a team with 500+ employees which has a quarter of a billion euro budget. Bit of a strange poll to be honest the difference between them two alone is crazy.
A lovely looking FRS that's done nothing in competition but plans to do things vs Redbull Racing f1 car that has won the pinnacle of motor sports 3 years in a row. The car is a product of a team with 500+ employees which has a quarter of a billion euro budget. Bit of a strange poll to be honest the difference between them two alone is crazy.
@DomoKun part of our criteria this year was to take the top "competition" car features from the year and include a few of them in this poll. While we focused mostly on cars which achieved on the racetrack, we thought it would also be strange to exclude the car features which were widely read this year.
The Evasive car in particular was the number 6 most read car feature this year on Speedhunters, which is why it's on the list. When you dig into the stats about what articles the Speedhunters audience reads, the results are often surprising and not completely obvious
@Robert Sothmann It was shortlisted. In previous years when we did these polls we had a lot more cars on the list, but this year we culled to maximum 15 entries to try and keep things more focused.
We gravitated more to newer builds on the list as the Cruz has been around for a while now.
@Robert Sothmann Regarding the ZN6-ZC6 cars, again this was based on raw stats. We put a few cars on the list which were popular with the Speedhunters audience.
Most of the nominee cars you will see in the coming weeks are there purely based on stats: how many pageviews the articles got. For this category we mixed this... some features were popular cars but most are based on on-track achievements.
@neblar760 given the reaction you guys are having perhaps yes it should have made it. The car was shortlisted, but for Time Attack we ended up going with Suzuki's S15. For us, him setting a new Revspeed record as a privateer, single person team was a massive achievement. It's his story as the underdog which made us choose his car over Nemo.
@Waltizzle It's a fair point! As I have said in a few comments: the inclusion of those cars was based on stats: how many pageviews those articles got.
@Guteman It was shortlisted, but we just loved the story behind Under Suzuki and his self-built S15. In the end we decided to go with this car because of that. It's turned out to be a controversial decision!
it would be interesting to see those stats if readers were able to get a look at them. stuff like daily site traffic to story views and overall traffic for a given period and stuff like that.
as I have said before we have taken some of the top stories based on pageview data and included some of those cars on the list. the Evasive car was the top car feature in this category. Number 6 Car Feature of the year in terms of stats.
The Aasbo build stories racked up some of the most read stories of the year.
@MCCLIFTED Not enough spaces!
@RodChong @DomoKun Then perhaps the competition name should be changed then? Its not really about the Competition Car of the Year. Its about which car had a story written about it and received the higher number of hits. Not anything about if it actually was a great Competition Car this year. That is fairly lame. I dont think anyone is suggesting Under's car shouldnt be here. But you selected a Time Attack car that has done absolutely nothing in the sport yet but a few photo shoots. Oh sorry and a story on Speedhunters that got some hits.
@Brisevo @Execute @FunctionFirst I think whatever we did there would be cars which people would have wanted to see. In the end we decided to honour Under Suzuki's achievement with a limited budget privateer S15 over Nemo. It was shortlisted though.
that was our thinking.
Audi e-tron
@RodChong @Execute @FunctionFirst From the looks of the posts on here there isnt alot of cars people think should have been included on here. One just seems to keep coming up time and again. I don't think anyone is saying Under shouldn't be here. Great achievement for a Privateer. I think the reaction towards other cars that were purely show pieces is what the comments are about. That you used a criteria being the car that got hits from a feature. Not if it was the Competition Car of the Year. Seems very strange way to select a competition car with the criteria being "The fastest, the meanest, the most revolutionary or just the plain winningest?" Which those cars are not any of them.. Just a pretty picture that doesn't seem to go very quick.
@Brisevo @DomoKun Like I said it was a mix of elements. For us these awards are also (but not completely) about reflecting cars which were popular with the audience this year. When you look through most of the categories you will mostly see cars which were big hits this year.
So we wanted to include a few machines yes. The Evasive car was a simple build yes, but we also though it was original and well executed for what it was. Having seen the car in person, it stands out amongst all the ZN6-ZC6 builds which have been done this year.
@Brisevo @Execute @FunctionFirst I think our mistake here was not also explaining that we included some of the most popular cars of the year (pageviews) in the list too.
@RodChong @Execute @FunctionFirst Or perhaps not picking cars which actually re-wrote the record books and redefined the direction of a style of Motorsport.
@Brisevo @Execute @FunctionFirst The Deltawing was that car for us.
@RodChong @Brisevo @DomoKun if it is so successful at standing out (it obviously is not arguing that) put it in as a tuner or demo car, because as a car in "competition" it flounders, there was an 86 dino just shot under the 1 minute barrier at tsukuba already, more developed, faster and a far side more competitive than the fr-s in question.
now as i have mentioned i see no problem in catering to your audience, but so far that audience thinks that the inclusion of that same car that was so popular in mere page views has no place on this list
@777 @Brisevo @DomoKun I think I am going to accept defeat here
@RodChong @Brisevo @DomoKun haha, i know it's all for naught in the end as it's not going to change, but it may pay to take into account for the future awards
@777 @Brisevo @DomoKun There has been a trade off when we decided to cut down from having 25-30 entries down to 15. If we had kept the large number of nominees we wouldn't be having this conversation
Under suzuki got my vote.
What is that mini doing here.. its not a competition car..
@MatsNorway Gatebil has races.
Hi Jason. We didn't put the cars in there to get our hit counts up. There are there because of the popularity of the stories already.
:R
Funny. It's the "Competition" car of the year poll and the Delatwing is ahead? It hasn't done anything, it just looks funky.
I would think the Audi e-tron, which dominated Le Mans; the DTM M3, which dominated in it's long awaited return to DTM competition; or the Redbull F1, for obvious reasons, would be way ahead in the polls. Key word being "Competition" no bonus' for "Style points".
Funny. It's the "Competition" car of the year poll and the Delatwing is ahead? It hasn't done anything, it just looks funky.
I would think the Audi e-tron, which dominated Le Mans; the DTM M3, which dominated in it's long awaited return to DTM competition; or the Redbull F1, for obvious reasons, would be way ahead in the polls. Key word being "Competition" no bonus' for "Style points". Many companies have designed "innovative" and questionable race cars, that doesn't necessarily make them competitive.
@RodChong On that point I have no problem with your decision. Mr Suzuki's car absolutely belongs on this list.
@ToneDiez Started 43rd and finished 5th? in its second race ever, against cars with double the horsepower, and had the 2nd fastest lap, behind a rebellion racing monster with 640hp. Id say thats a pretty good start to a program if you ask me.
@ToneDiez You can't deny that it didn't 'compete' in competitions though...
Would've gone for the McLaren if not for the reliability issues that plagued it during the season, here's hoping they make it work next year for Perez! Only one sensible alternative; Deltawing
@ToneDiez Man, ypu have to really think about it when you let words out of your mouth?Style? Really? Do you think that "style" has influence on racecar design? Racecars are a huge amount of numbers before they see the light of the sun, there is no sketch, no render, no colour: they are pure function. The Nissan Deltawing is the FUTURE of motorsport, it's a completely new and different approach at laws of physics. Only because of the immense engineering work the car carries on the racetrack it should be the only possible answer. Competition is a big and loud word, and it is not related to win or loss, but to CHALLENGE and the Deltawing is the greatest challenge ever undertaken in motorsport in the past 20 years.
@FrancescoDiGiuseppe Ok Sherlock! You REALLY think other motorsport teams are stupid? If the Deltawing was SO revolutionary like you stated, other teams would have jumped on the bandwagon!
Sure the car started well (and to tell you the truth I like it too), but on this poll there are far better cars that deserve "the car of the year".
@RodChong LOL.....think about what you just said....putting the Mini against F1 cars and LeManns cars, LOL.
@JDMized That's the spirit of Speedhunters :> We mix and merge the underground and the mainstream. Events, car features you name it.
@RodChong Okay I get why the Evasive FR-S is here. I'm guilty of reading the article, but my mindset was really "hey look, a cool FR-S with aero and te37 sl's... I shall read on." Couldn't tell you what competition its built for nor do I care, unless it were to win. My (and others) criteria differs slightly from what you guys used to decide which cars are on the list. I'm not going to start arguing over that as I'm already unproductive enough here at work by visiting this site. I regret nothing.
@FrancescoDiGiuseppe Keyword in everything you said was "FUTURE". This award is for "Competition Car of 2012". The Deltawing entered 2 races and didn't win either of them.
Meanwhile, The R18 E-tron's got 1st and 2nd in 24-hours of LeMans and won the Manufacturers Championship; and the BMW M3, with their return to DTM; swept the Manufacturer's, teams, and Driver awards in it's first season back since 1993.
I think these 2 accomplishments are MUCH LARGER testament to Competition Cars of 2012 than the Deltawing. Maybe NEXT year the Deltawing will get the award after it's entered more races and gotten some podiums.
Just because a design is innovative and defies everything the preceded it, doesn't mean in will necessarily be successful. We'll see what it does in the "FUTURE".
All these cars are dull except for the Deltawing - so it gets my vote. I don't even like it that much.
Daigo or Aasbo... hmmmmm
@RodChong @Brisevo @FunctionFirst Why couldn't you include both the Nemo Evo and Under Suzuki's S15? I completely agree Sukuki's car should have been included, I voted for it myself. But its inclusion shouldn't have excluded the Nemo car (You have more than one car from the same competition, and Suzuki's car should have been included on its other merits even if you exclude WTAC) - Maybe you can correct me, but I would assume WTAC was one of the most popular events you covered, and will definitely be included it "Event of the year" and then to exclude the completely dominant car from this event, which lived up to its major hype and destroyed records and its competition, from "Competition car of the year", for the likes of the Evasive 86, seems crazy.
Don't get me wrong, I think the Evasive car is awesome, it's still my current desktop because I think it's a great car and awesome looking. But at the moment it isn't a competition car, it's a demo/tuner car, and should be included along with Ben-Sopra GTR and the Rocket Bunny 86.
I think the rest of your list is great (Maybe excluding the GT300 BRZ - but that might be because I don't know much about it) and agree that you should not only be including the winning cars, but the revolutionary and popular too. But after dominating such a popular event, completely living up to the hype surronding it, and revolutionising time-attack I can't see how you skipped over the Nemo Evo.
@Execute @Brisevo @FunctionFirst
You will have to wait and see, as we are currently debating the final listing for events :>
@RodChong @Brisevo @FunctionFirst Expect another angry message from me if you skip over WTAC ^^
@Execute @RodChong @FunctionFirst Its ok, just try and look back through the features on events and find some obscure event attended by about 10 people but with alot of pretty pictures of it. It will have rated ok on the hit counts so therefore will beat an event like WTAC into the "Event of the Year Category". Who knows it may even be about fairy penguins or something as it doesnt have to be about a Motorsport or Auto Event to qualify..
I didn't t like the Delta wing way back when it was a concept for IRL, but after seeing it race at Le Man and then at Petit, I fell in love. It's so different and awkward, but yet still quick and full of technology. Plus it's Nissan!
There are 2 drift cars here, but only 1 time attack car. Seriously, not having Nemo in COMPETITITION car of the year is something I don't understand. It absoultey destroyed the opposition, including Under's car by 3 SECONDS. Not 3-100s. Not 3-10ths. 3 seconds. And it did it out of the box. The story behind Under shouldnt influence that. It's performance in COMPETITION should be the deciding factor.
I will never agree with using pageviews to decide which cars get selected. Its COMPETITION car of the year not POPULARITY car of the year. Evasiv being in this category over Nemo based on webhits... crazy.
11 out of the 15 cars would get my vote...argh!! this is hard!
I had to read the commentary 3 times to make sure I understood what was being said.
Speedhunters, you decided to select under "Competition Car of the Year" a car becuase you wrote a story on it and it was 6th in the line for the number of hits on cars? Seriously? That is your way of determining if a car is suitable to be Competition Car of the Year. You at least got one thing correct. It was 6th. Similar to what it finished in its actually racing.
I am with everyone else here. Pick cars that we can vote on that actually did something in Competition that made them special. Yah, I agree with most other people NEMO should have a least been give an opportunity for us to vote on, so should probably Ryhs Millens Hyundai. Both cars did some phenomenal stuff this year, and they actually did it in Competition.
Just for a Laugh I googled "Nemo Racing Evo". It came back with 52,500 hits. I did the same for the "Evasive FR-S". It came back with 17,700 hits. I guess Evasive came in 6th there as well.
Guys think you need to listen to your readers, particularly about running a competition.
@ToneDiez Well said.
@RodChong You are comparing apple and oranges, and maybe you find it appropriate, after all you run the orchestra.
On the other hand, very few people take you seriously, and this poll's results show you that.
While most of the cars you posted deserve to be mentioned (because particular and exciting in their own way) most of them do not belong in the same category.
Why not reset this poll with proper cars in there. If its about underdogs, shouldn't Sauber be in there instead of a five year old S15? I love jap time attack and Suzuki S15 but come on now. Sauber had a shoestring compared to other f1 teams.
How is the Unreliable McLaren in there in place of Sauber which punched above its weight?
Perhaps because McLaren let you drive their cars in America...
@Brisevo @RodChong @Execute @FunctionFirst
Brisevo summed it up perfectly.
what a joke. Seriously you put the Evasive in, but then leave out cars which actually won races. Much as I like the GT86 (and have one on order) your choices other than SuperGT Subaru are mad. What about cars like the Corvette which took a title this year with YOUR OWN DRIVER.
No wonder SH is a bit of a laughing stock in the paddocks or circuit racing.....
Kudos for putting the DeltaWing in though. Impressive performance at LM and PLM, even if it was running slightly relaxed regs. Looked awesome in the flesh.... Now thats a Competition Car Feature you should have, something with real depth, like the early days of Speedhunters.
@JDMized @ToneDiez it was never going to win. It was not designed to win. It was a road car based (loosely) engine. Rules driven by the ACO. It was roughly an LMP2 class car and in that context it did bloody well despite being attacked by Porsche and a Toyota. Does make you realise, where is the Audi R18 e-tron quattro in this though.....
Dear Speedhunters,
I think the problem was in setting expectations, for example calling this "Competition Car of the Year" instead of "Dopest Rides 2012". Were it the latter I could have skipped reading it.
I'm a 43 year old father of two who used to read print automotive publications. Recently I was feeling good about the site, it seemed to have become more of a mainstream automotive enthusiast site. I liked the way things had been going. You guys have the potential to be the center of everything automotive on the web. If that is what you want to achieve some day, please do yourself a favor and grow up. I think your audience will as well.
I've gone for the Deltawing. It might not have "competed" properly in some peoples eyes. But for me it took part in competition, ergo its a competition car. It deserves the win, an outlandish design that helps to push the boundaries is fundamental to all forms of motorsport and always has been.
The Honda BTCC cars also deserve a good result for taking an undeveloped car and turning it in to a season winner and also providing great racing all season.
I do have to question why the Mclaren and the Evasive are in the poll though. A car that proved to be not good enough (on performance, reliability or team management) and a car where the only picture thats been put up of it is parked outside a warehouse seem like odd choices. But that's just my feedback as a reader :).
I understand that the design of the Deltawing is revolutionary and makes serious waves in the racing world, but like I said, it's one for the future. Just because this was its debut year doesn't make it the best competition car of the year, especially when it only entered 2 races.
It's like Tom Brady playing the 2 best games of the season at the beginning of the year, and then getting injured for the rest of the season...you wouldn't make him the NFL MVP based on 2 performances. (I don't really watch American football though.)
My point is, there were other cars that did much more as far as competing in entire seasons and winning them emphatically. And like many others said, I have no idea why the NEMO Evo isn't on here.
These Speedhunter polls have gone the way of the Oscars and Grammys, everyone knows it's basically just a popularity contest with very loose connections to actual performance/talent of the nominees.
@ToneDiez @FrancescoDiGiuseppe I get what you are saying, and in the end the Deltawing was racing "unclassified" at Le Mans (Garage 57) and Petit. Interestingly, the car is based on the least successful LMP1 of the recent decade (Aston Martin) and a rather simple concept that halving the weight and the power is less consumptive. The Deltawing is evolutionary and very interestingly designed, but let's not get carried away. I'd love to see a 500kg class with fairly open regs to continue enticing new designs and different approaches. Nissan threw money and a motor at it, but it is NOT a Nissan...
I disagree with you about the M3 DTM because it is a spec car. Every DTM is a Dallara chassis with spec suspension and a standardized engine. How many people know there are only two engine manufacturers in the DTM?
Good thoughts, you make a sound argument throughout and do so respectfully. Cheers.
BMW M3 DTM simply for the fact that they had an epic return to DTM after a long absence. Then the Deltawing for making such a huge impact in its first year on the circuit. Can't wait to see how it evolves in the coming racing season!
@RodChong @Guteman
So is it now the case that the US S15 was chosen by SH staff as their choice and not that it received more 'reads/views' than Nemo, now I am confused as to how this poll has been put together and why certain cars are in or out !!
I have to vote for the Saito-san's FD Lexus SC430. The fact that the car was salvaged from the Fukushima area after being flooded, rebuilt, and then to win the Formula D championship, I'm sorry, but can a car have a bigger comeback story.