From a 40 HP Porsche to an 819 HP Ferrari, Our 10 Top Drives From 2024
Ferrari S.p.A.
While Robb Report’s Car of the Year contest allows us to test the latest production models from leading luxury and performance marques in a short period, the editorial team and our contributing experts have ample opportunity throughout the year to spend wheel time with an array of new releases, classics, and automotive exotica alike.
In 2024, we started to take note that the call for complete adoption of electrification and the dismissal of internal-combustion engines—a foregone conclusion for some—was losing a bit of voice. Market demand, especially stateside, was not answering as readily as expected, and regulations and compliance deadlines were showing signs of loosening. The result was a wide variety of power-train configurations finding a home in an eclectic array of models. There were also more than a few historic vehicles that were available to experience. Here’s a look back at some of our favorite drives last year, from one of the earliest Porsche’s to an all-electric off-roader to Maranello’s new 12-cylinder monster—and you’re riding shotgun.
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1950 Porsche “Gmünd” 356
Image Credit: Dan Bathie, courtesy of DK Engineering Born in 1948, Porsche’s 356/1 prototype was based on the Volkswagen Beetle, and was followed by the production version of the 356. At the time, the German marque was based in Gmünd, Austria, having left Stuttgart to escape the Allied troops who were on their way to defeat Hitler. Only 52 examples of what have come to be known the “Gmünd” 356 were built in Austria.
Last February, we were given the opportunity to drive one example that was for sale through DK Engineering. Our contributing writer Tim Pitt noted: “With a grand total of 40 hp and a value of around $3.8 million, this little Porsche has the worst power-to-price ratio of any car I’ve ever driven.” At the same time, he extolled the fact that “there’s simple pleasure in a vehicle that, in many situations, is scarcely capable of the speed limit . . . Driving becomes an exercise in planning ahead and working to maintain momentum.”
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Cegga Ferrari Replica
Image Credit: DK Engineering You can’t replicate provenance. But attitude, that’s another story. That’s what we discovered when invited to pilot a replica of the Cegga Ferrari. The original car was a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa that was involved in an accident during the 1958 Freiburg-Schauinsland hill climb, the remains of which were later bought by brothers Claude and Georges Gachnang of Aigle, Switzerland. The duo decided to have coachbuilder Scaglietti give it a unique new body, and then the siblings proceeded to campaign the car—Cegga 002/60—under their own banner of Scuderia Cegga (Claude et Georges Gachnang Aigle) in period.
By the mid-1960s, the car was sold to a collector who had it restored to stock. This replica was the passion project of former European rugby star and historics racer David Cooke, who, in 2016, consulted with the Gachnang brothers (then in their 80s) on reconstructing their bygone racer. Taking a turn behind the wheel, our contributing writer Tim Pitt stated: “The modified chassis imbues the drive dynamics with a surprising level of sophistication; with its tactile steering and muscular manual shift, the racer demands, and rewards, every ounce of attention.”
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McLaren 750S
Image Credit: McLaren/Beadyeye Sure, McLaren has ventured into hybridization with its 671 hp Artura, which represents numerous firsts for the British marque and was our editors’ choice for Robb Report’s 2024 Car of the Year, but McLaren’s new 750S is a celebration of pure internal combustion. The new flagship succeeds the 720S and is the most powerful production-series model that McLaren has made.
Of his time with the 740 hp supercar on track, contributor Basem Wasef observed: “The 750S feels surprisingly well-mannered when dialed to its Track setting; the power lays down progressively, and it’s easy to link apexes. But holding down the ESC button and simultaneously entering Dynamic mode unleashes a wilder side of this supercar, enabling abundant oversteer and smoky drifts.”
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Radical SR10 XXR
Image Credit: Andrew Coles, courtesy of Radical Motorsport A total output of 424 hp may not sound overly potent, but when it’s delivered in a racer that weighs only 1,598 pounds, the results are impressive and intimidating. Meet the track-only SR10 XXR from Radical Motorsport. Last March, Robb Report was the first publication invited to test it, and UK-based contributor Tim Pitt put it through its paces at the Donnington Park circuit near Nottingham, England.
“The Radical feels instantly sharp. Its steering is textured and telepathically direct, braking power is immense, and gear shifts using the paddles are brutally mechanical,” says Pitt, whose initial introduction to the car ended less than ideally. “Inevitably, on the last lap of my first session, I get on the gas too early and pirouette onto the grass.”
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Ayrton Senna’s 1991 Acura NSX
Image Credit: Courtesy of Robert McFagan Back in May, we were at the confluence of two legends when we accepted the invitation for seat time in the late Formula 1 icon Ayrton Senna’s personal 1991 Acura NSX, one of three examples of the benchmark model that he once owned. His penchant for the NSX is no surprise, since Honda supplied his engines for the most successful portion of his career, and he helped develop the model. Prior to the car being sold by its current owner, contributor Ben Oliver took to the driver’s seat.
“There’s something eerie, intimate, and affecting about sharing the same space as your hero: feet on the same pedals, hands on the same wheel, backside clamped into the same seat, and looking out at the same panoramic view over that low nose,” states Oliver. “It looks and drives very close to how it would when Senna first took delivery in 1991.”
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2025 Aston Martin Vantage
Image Credit: Andy Morgan, courtesy Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC Aston Martin is on a roll. It has a new CEO, Adrian Hallmark of Bentley fame; a new aerodynamicist for its Formula 1 team, none other than Adrian Newey; and a resurrected reputation for power, performance, and, importantly, quality fit and finish in regard to its production models. Its latest release is the new Aston Martin Vantage, a contender in Robb Report’s 2025 Car of the Year contest (results of which are coming soon). With 656 hp, this coupe has more muscle and a more striking presence than ever before; one that’s both posh and aggressive.
“The Vantage’s exterior presents an aesthetic of coiled muscle and menace; a hungry beast ready to pounce,” says contributor Angus MacKenzie. And as for the drive experience, he notes, “We could trail brake into the tighter corners with confidence, the front axle responding immediately to commands from the steering wheel, and then get on the gas early to exploit the abundant traction.”
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Mercedes-Benz G 580
Image Credit: Mercedes-Benz AG It was only a matter of time before Mercedes-Benz brought electrification to its cult-classic G-Wagen, and the anticipation was palpable. The all-electric G 580 is polarizing, as some view it as the next logical progression of the platform, and one successfully executed, while detractors of battery-powered vehicles cite the added weight and compromised handling as harbingers of a dystopian EV future.
“The G 580’s combination of prodigious mass and elevated height contributes to a sense of unnerving jounciness on the road,” says contributing writer Brett Berk. “At speed—even moderate or low speed, even on relatively smooth surfaces—it can be difficult to control, as it wanders, rebounds, pitches, and rolls like a litter of puppies on a waterbed.” As for its off-road prowess, however, Berk states: “On rubble, mud, or ravines that might challenge some goats, the system works seamlessly, finding grip more effectively than an Olympic rock-climbing crew.”
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2025 Porsche 911 GTS Hybrid
Image Credit: Porsche AG As polarizing as the all-electric G-Wagen may be, it might take a back seat to the divisiveness inspired by Porsche adding electrification to its flagship in the form of the hybrid 911 GTS for 2025. Yet this 911 is not a plug-in hybrid, so the weight is kept down, and its turbocharged flat-six engine is bigger than that of the base model that’s solely powered by internal combustion. And with a combined 532 hp, the GTS is more powerful as well.
“Hammer the accelerator, and the duopoly of gasoline and electric motivation creates bawdy thrust, with bold low-end torque and a strong pull all the way to a 7,500 rpm redline in each gear,” says contributor Basem Wasef. But he warns: “While the hybrid’s power is addictive and the speed intoxicating, the driver experience varies significantly between coupe, cabriolet, and Targa models.”
Read the full drive review of the hybrid 2025 Porsche 911 GTS
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Shelby Cobra CSX2000 Tribute Series Roadster
Image Credit: Kevin Eshraghi, courtesy of Shelby Legendary Cars The Shelby Cobra is one of the most revered and storied automotive models in history, a diminutive titan that made an indelible mark in both motorsport and sports-car culture upon its debut. The first Cobra prototype, the CSX2000, sold through RM Sotheby’s for $13.75 million in 2016, but Shelby Legendary Cars is building 10 copies from the original blueprints. In September, contributor Michael Van Runkle climbed in the cockpit of the first Shelby Cobra CSX2000 Tribute Series Roadster to be completed.
“Edge deeper into the throttle and that small block wakes up, clearly preferring the higher end of the tachometer,” says Van Runkle. “Finding more pace also loosens up the steering, requiring more attention to keep the narrow front tires in line, plus more heel-toe and clutch work to keep the engine in its happy place—truly, the kind of open-topped driving that attracts so many enthusiasts in today’s overly computerized automotive age.”
Read the full drive review of the Shelby Cobra CSX2000 Tribute Series Roadster
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Ferrari 12Cilindri
Image Credit: Ferrari S.p.A. While various automakers are eschewing the 12-cylinder engine, Ferrari continues to embrace the power plant that built the Prancing Horse’s legacy, as evidenced by the aptly named Ferrari 12Cilindri. The 819 hp successor to the 812 Superfast is one of the fastest and most powerful front-engined sports cars to date, and yet is a quintessential grand tourer at heart.
“Everything Ferrari has learned over decades of serial F1 dynasties, every chassis and handling trick, comes together in the 12Cilindri,” says contributor Lawrence Ulrich, who tested the car for us in Luxembourg. “This big GT changes direction with the barest twitch of the steering wheel, which feels lubed in olive oil. The Side Slip Control traction system, now in its 8.0 iteration, transmits the 819 hp output to the pavement with an impressive lack of wheelspin or unwanted drama.”
