ROAD

THE FIRST HALF OF OUR NAME IS THE SECOND HALF OF THE TEST, AND IT'S WHERE WE FIND A CONSENSUS FOR A WINNER.

- BY JOHN PEARLEY HUFFMAN

There's no question that the Temerario is a Lamborghini.

Opinions vary widely among the Road & Track crew. “Irish Spring?!” editor-at-large Matt Farah exclaimed when the subject of bath products arose. “That’s prison soap!” Naturally, a dozen drivers experiencing nine cars across Northern California produced thousands of nuanced evaluations. Plus occasionally funny jokes, many mostly friendly disses, and some nearly relevant asides.

Yet, through that, consensus arose while overlooking Lake Sonoma from the R&T base camp. Tastes differ about hygiene, but the substance of what makes a great road car is communal. That unanimity includes a shared faith that the ampersand matters. If this were Track, it would be a simple thing to cut Performance Car of the Year down to a day of lapping and a couple of photos.

The Porsche 911 GT3 was the only car at PCOTY without forced induction or a hybrid system. And the only one with a manual transmission. That all brings an indelible intimacy: It’s not merely communicating with the driver, it’s conspiring. The road’s texture, hiccups, and slant transmit up through the machine and into the driver’s sinew. This latest GT3 is slightly tweaked from before, but it’s still a GT3. And it’s the standard against which all other performance cars are judged.

“I would never grow bored of driving this car,” wrote director of reviews Mike Duff. “Huge grip, but perfect balance. You don’t need to be thrashing it to get the full reward. Even the subtlest changes of steering or throttle have immediate effect on the cornering line.”

Pinus ponderosa, or the ponderosa pine, is easily identified by the scaly bark found on mature trees.

The RS3's carbonfiber spoiler is part of the Carbon package.