Ferrari 550 Maranello

We have been among those who have roundly praised the 550 Maranello as a GT car of supreme performance that is also easy to run and to own, assuming you have the necessary $222,434. But even its best friends would not describe it as the most beautiful Ferrari. The stylists at Pininfarina seemed to lose their sure touch with this derivative design; some initially compared it with a Toyota Supra.
But the 550 Maranello looks lithe and athletic alongside the bulky, aggressive Vanquish. Its interior is more delicately furnished, in this case in rich crimson leather contrasting with the gunmetal exterior. This car, from Ferrari U.K., was fitted with optional "Daytona" seats with ribs and perforations like those of the classic 1970s Ferrari of the same name. These are bucket seats in the original sense of the term, deeply curved and with a superbly comfortable, if tight, fit.
The instruments and the controls are traditional — clearly legible white-on-black dials hooded in black leather binnacles, with a row of toggle switches and simple knobs for climate control. There is not much ornamentation, and Ferrari doesn't see the need to install name tags all over the cockpit, as does Aston Martin. The yellow enamel badge with the black prancing horse at the center of the thin leather-rimmed wheel says quite enough, but lest we forget what makes Ferrari special, there is a little plaque celebrating "Campioni del Mondo 2000," a reference to Ferrari's winning the Formula 1 Grand Prix title last year.
The other distinctive feature of this and every other manual-transmission Ferrari is the signature metal "gate" that guides the shift lever into its six gears. The shifting effort is not as high as in some previous models, but the clutch pedal still needs plenty of effort and has a long travel. Many more modest cars have better and faster shifters, and the Aston's thoroughly modern robotized system further emphasizes the point.

2004 Mercedes-Benz SL500

Yes, it's expensive, the second priciest of the bunch, and yes, it's the heaviest, and it has a folding top with more complexity and moving parts than a roomful of robots. But a brisk drive down a country road on a sunny day in this particular Silberpfeil can define automotive elegance.
It was agreed that the SL led the field in competence on the open interstates and in the more demanding environs of the two-lanes. Its Active Body Control suspension kept the 4220-pound machine within controllable limits at all times, and the driving environment with the hardtop up or down offered a pleasant combination of comfort and tactile connection with the driving experience.
Two of the five testers wished for more seat-bottom elevation to aid in thigh support, and complaints were registered—as always—about the German fascination with overwrought complexity on basic radio, GPS, and air-conditioning controls.
The sophisticated hardtop on the Mercedes not only raises and lowers almost twice as fast as the one on the Cadillac—it can be done at a stoplight—but also ingeniously folds into a smaller package, stealing far less trunk room. Moreover, the SL provides a useful package shelf behind the seats. As a result, despite being only 0.8 inch longer than the Cadillac, the Mercedes provides twice as much luggage space with the top down.
Every detail on the SL is beautifully executed. A push of a button in the trunk slightly raises the folded top to provide access to the eight cubic feet of luggage space beneath it. The sun visors slot neatly into the windshield frame when the top is down, unlike the protruding panels on the Jaguar and Cadillac. These are seemingly minor details perhaps, but when one plans to dump nearly 90 grand into a two-place roadster, the small stuff counts.
The Merc's rated 302 horsepower and two-ton-plus bulk produced the worst power-to-weight ratio of the bunch. But thanks to the largest engine with the highest peak torque at the lowest rpm, the SL was always responsive and delivered midpack performance. Although we are often mesmerized by blinding speed, the fact that the SL500 won this test by a wide margin affirms its broad-spectrum (and our) capabilities.
To be sure, the car is an able performer compared with the competition, but pavement-ripping muscle is not the SL's high card. Rather, its appeal lies in overall balance and attention to detail within the context of its design mission; i.e., to transport two people and their luggage over long distances with speed, comfort, and elegance in all sorts of weather. And every one of us fell in love with its flamboyantly extravagant styling. This is the car to drive when you want to arrive

Aston Martin V-12 Vanquish

For all its advanced technology, the new Aston is no lightweight. It is important to say that straight off because a weight of 4099 pounds explains why it has no chance of beating the Ferrari's performance numbers. Its 5.9-liter V-12, first fitted to the DB7 Vantage model, is in what Aston calls "Stage 2" tune, which means 460 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. Its opponent here, the 550 Maranello, has 19 more horsepower and 19 more pound-feet of torque, and the Ferrari is 187 pounds lighter, despite its mainly steel structure. So the Vanquish was vanquished in the acceleration tests.
But since both are among that elite group of superfast cars capable of 0-to-60 blasts in the low-to-mid-four-second realm and of getting to 100 miles an hour in about 10 seconds, the difference between the two is hardly noticeable on public roads. Indeed, in circumstances short of wringing the last few hundred revs and tenths of a second, the Aston can not only feel quicker but actually be so.
The reason is its electrohydraulic gearshift. Ironically, the system is from Magneti Marelli, the same as the one fitted to the Ferrari 360 F1 but never offered for the front-engined Ferraris. It is a six-speed manual transmission that is operated without a clutch pedal or gearshift but rather by paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. At any time, however, the driver can turn over the job of shifting to the computer by simply pushing a button on the dash marked "ASM," for automatic sequential mode.
As in the Ferrari 360, the left-hand paddle marked with a minus sign is to downshift, the right-hand one to upshift. The Vanquish mates the Magneti Marelli system to a hefty Tremec six-speed manual gearbox. Aston has developed its own software, which ensures the smoothest shifts we have encountered with this type of transmission (which has, oddly enough, not been given a name). The shifting is not as roughly abrupt as the 360 F1's system, even in sport mode, which quickens the shifts. The ASM is perfectly acceptable for dawdling around town.
Downshifts at speed are a delight. Flick the left-hand paddle, and the engine's electronic brain not only blips the throttle but also works out how much of a blip is needed for the swiftest and smoothest engagement.
We are sure most drivers will learn to love the system. Only a couple of things about it disappoint. It dithers and jerks when trying to trickle along in second gear; first gear is engaged automatically only when the car comes to a halt. And it makes starting up and getting going less than instantaneous

2004 Cadillac XLR

The razor-edge bodywork with the cowcatcher grille made for interesting reactions. Some loved the XLR's in-your-face originality, others saw a hunky lack of grace. Either way, the Caddy gets it done on the road, both in high-speed interstate cruising and while working on back-road Grand Prix fantasies—provided sound-system listening is not desired.
We all noted the wind turbulence in the Cadillac's open cockpit—with the windows up or down—and particularly when contrasted with the other cars' abilities to deal with the problems of wind in top-down mode. Another weakness is a lack of storage space in the cockpit behind the seats.
The XLR is the only car in the group in which two occupants must pop the trunk to stow their briefcases. Although the trunk's 12 cubic feet is the largest in the group, that volume is reduced by two-thirds when the hardtop comes looking for space. An added irritation comes in the form of a luggage soaking if the top is raised during a sudden rainstorm. All water on the rear decklid is dumped into the trunk—begging the question, Did anyone in the Cadillac engineering department actually attempt such a maneuver during the 48 months of development?

2004 Jaguar XK8 convertible

was generally agreed among the Ohio contingent that the Jaguar is a fine 8/10ths automobile—that is, a pleasant driver at brisk speeds but less of a contender when serious motoring is required. Although its 294-hp, 4.2-liter V-8 and thoroughly modern six-speed automatic deliver competitive performance, the XK8's size, weight, and age work against it when the going gets brisk.
At 3991 pounds, the Jaguar was the second heaviest in the group. It was also nearly 10 inches longer than any of the others. Moreover, this XK8 was introduced for 1997, and its platform dates back to the mid-'70s XJ-S. As a result, hard driving and bumpy pavement elicit some ungainly cowl shake. And there's a general softness to the Jag's responses that doesn't encourage hard charging.
The Jag has an old-fashioned convertible top. Although it opens and closes quickly with the touch of a button, the top requires the driver to get out and secure a boot in place. Some might like the classic look that comes with this design, but most of us would rather avoid the choreography, simple as it is. Still, there's an advantage to this archaic layout: The top does not invade luggage space, which is undiminished when the top goes down.
We all appreciated the old-world richness of the XK8's cockpit. The classic instrument layout and the full swath of wood from door to door give real meaning to the word dashboard. Most of us found the array of buttons and switches controlling the sound and climate-control systems to be confusing, and a few of us were too close to the windshield header once we established a comfortable driving position. Jaguar's traditional J-gate shifter didn't win any new adherents despite its being coupled to the excellent six-speed automatic, which delivers good fuel economy in this class.
For those who value the flair of its styling and classic trim above all else, the XK8 is an excellent choice. However, if you are willing to embrace more contemporary styling, the newer choices offer some clear functional advantages.

2004 Ferrari Challenge Stradale

You won't find another car here that gets your heart thumping like this Ferrari. But you pay for the pleasure, and we're not just talking about the price.
Stripped of sound insulation and carpeting and with noise-amplifying carbon fiber in place of the usual leather door panels, this Ferrari doesn't simply let the noise in, it invites it. When the aluminum 40-valve V-8 sings its primal scream, no one cares that it blows 93 on the decibel meter (a Honda Accord hits about 74 dBA). When you're cruising, the predominant sounds of the suspension thumping over every road imperfection and the carbon-fiber trim bits squeaking against one another get tiresome almost immediately. How much could a radio weigh?
The Stradale is the most powerful and lightest roadgoing 360 ever built. The 425-hp V-8 has 30 more horses than the 360 Modena. Credit a slightly higher compression ratio (11.2:1 versus 11.0:1) and freer-flowing intake and exhaust systems for the new juice.
Ferrari saved 139 pounds (the Stradale weighs 3152) via the aforementioned missing radio, carpet, and sound insulation; the use of carbon fiber for the rear hatch, door skins, center tunnel, and seat buckets; and ceramic brake rotors.
Stradales are only available with the F1 gearbox that automatically operates the clutch and performs the shifts. All the driver has to do is pull on one of two steering-column-mounted paddles: right for upshifts, left for down. There is no fully automatic mode, but the F1 gearbox will automatically select first gear at a complete stop. Our car also had a launch-control system that greatly helped standing-start acceleration runs.
Once you've pressed the right buttons to turn on launch control, you simply bring the engine revs to the desired level and lift off the brake. The computer then performs a perfect burnout on your behalf. After some experimenting, we found that about 3000 rpm produced the quickest runs.
We think we could have gone a little quicker with a fully manual system, but still, the Stradale's 4.0-second blast to 60 mph was 0.6 second quicker than the last 360 Modena we tested.
Ferrari says its cars are not about the numbers. Considering that the Ferrari finished ahead of the Porsche in voting while costing so much more and not being quicker, we'd have to say the company's right. On the track, the Ferrari was the easiest of the group to drive.
The handling balance is the opposite of the Porsche's: The Stradale only wags its tail when wildly provoked. Yet it doesn't clumsily push through the corners, either. It didn't feel like the lightest, nimblest car here—that's the Porsche's terrain—but it did feel the most solid, the most planted. We did our top-speed testing on a windy day, and with the Porsche jumping around dramatically, we didn't have the cojones to bring it to its claimed 190-mph top end. The Ferrari was just the opposite—buttoned down, secure, undramatic. We ran it to 176 mph with nary a white knuckle. The steering, too, is precise and communicative.

2004 Porsche 911 GT3

The GT3 is an overachieving sports car. On paper, it should have trailed its two competitors in every performance test. It has the poorest power-to-weight ratio here, with each of its 380 ponies burdened by 8.5 pounds, 15 percent more than the Ferrari's 425 horses are saddled with. But this is one scrappy car.
It shadowed the more powerful and lighter Ferrari in nearly every acceleration test. The two ran side by side to 60 mph (4.0 seconds) and to 150 (23.9) and were just about equal in the quarter-mile with the Porsche hitting 114 mph in 12.3 seconds and the Ferrari at 115 mph in 12.4.
We loved the GT3's aluminum flat-six engine. Its guttural growl provided a wonderful race-car soundtrack, and it revved freely to its 8200-rpm redline. Even though the peak torque of 284 pound-feet occurs at a fairly high 5000 rpm, there's still plenty of grunt at lower rpm, and the throttle response is prompt.
We weren't so thrilled with the shifting action of the six-speed manual transmission. Our test car had a rubbery linkage that didn't provide a clear path through the gears. We had to be very deliberate with the shifts, and that extra effort probably cost the GT3 a 10th or so in the acceleration times.
No time was lost on the skidpad as the GT3 pulled an astonishing 1.03 g, a figure that's been bested by only one other street car, the $659,000 Ferrari Enzo. The Stradale and the GT trailed the Porsche by 0.05 g.