THE EVO BLUEPRINT

New performance cars are too big, too heavy and too powerful. What we actually need for a great drive is much less

- JOHN BARKER

THIS PASSION FOR driving we all share, it’s sort of inbuilt, hard-wired, but we know what sustains it. We’ve all experienced moments of pure joy at the wheel, revelatory, unforgettable seconds of perfection when it all comes together – the car, the road and you. And so it sticks fast, leaves you wanting more.

We still crave those moments even if we’ve driven many cars on many roads. It can be the sound of a car echoing off tunnel walls, the feeling of a wonderful engine working hard, a perfectly executed downshift, or just seeing the car’s reflection in shop windows… but what really does it for us here at evo – and probably most of you too – is what happens in the corners.

It doesn’t get any better than the feeling of the car perfectly poised beneath you, its attitude from turn-in to apex to exit determined by your brake, steering and throttle inputs, those inputs guided by feedback through the wheel and seat that tell you the car has got this, was born to do this, was honed by engineers who love driving. That’s what releases the endorphins. That’s the Thrill of Driving.

Question is: what’s the car?

We imagined driving a loop of our favourite A- and B-roads and asked ourselves: what would we choose? What would deliver that poise, that feel and feedback, corner after corner? What would engage and reward at all speeds? What do we need rather than want? We brainstormed the options, eliminating cars that miss the mark to varying degrees, while honing in on those that would hit the bullseye (see right).