INTO THE WILD

THE VICTORIAN HIGH COUNTRY PROVIDES THE 2021 PCOTY FIELD WITH THE PERFECT REAL-WORLD TEST

- LOUIS CORDONY

LODAY it feels like there are 11 rather than ten PCOTY finalists. On each run along our road route, the ten box-fresh contenders are joined by something a little more seasoned, a flash of red in the rear view and then a characteristic vibrant, buzzing rasp. The culprit bursts into view in a Mazda RX-8, wearing a grin about as wide as his exhaust tips. He’s pinned hard on the throttle, and what he announces ever more clearly before he’s gone is that we’ve nailed our location.

About 20 minutes ago, passing through the sleepy town of Whitfield, signs along the road suggested differently. They warned us kangaroos, wombats or something with antlers waited, while the speed limit, now lowered to 80km/h, introduced fears of much worse: traffic.

Yet the 10 beguiling drivers’ cars sitting on the side of the road at our turnaround point, waiting to unleash, have lucked in on this cool, overcast Tuesday morning — the start of Performance Car of the Year 2021.

Mansfield-Whitfield Road is dry. And, besides some sticks, or old mate in the Mazda, the tarmac, strewn over the north-western slopes in Victoria’s eastern Alpine region like a discarded shoelace, is empty. And as a judging tool, the route is perfect.

When the time comes for judges to saddle up, however, the closest thing we have to a rally car – in principle – is left abandoned. Hype for the Toyota GR Yaris has made it something to build up to for others, leaving its keys and strangely high, form-hugging seats for me.

Its three cylinders warble to life without much drama ... until we’re off down the road. It pulls wildly to its redline, lathering on torque as induction roar builds. Somehow, through witchcraft, or otherwise, it feels strongest, and sounds most feral, in the last 1500rpm.