Followers of the Top Gear show will remember Clarkson bestowing a similar award on the lightweight Caterham R500 earlier this year for its ability to go faster around the Top Gear track than a Bugatti Veyron while costing 1/30th of its price. But in determining his true car of the year for his latest article in The Times, Clarkson claimed that the Caterham was just too "ugly and geeky", and therefore wasn't even close to having all the qualities the car of the year should have.
Clarkson also considered the Nissan GT-R, which challenges the Porsche 911 Turbo on the track while costing around half of its price, as well as the handsome Volkswagen Scirocco, based on the VW Golf GTI. Other contenders included such diverse cars as the Rolls-Royce Phatom Drophead and the Fiat 500 Abarth, but ultimately it was the V8-powered Corvette ZR1 that came away with the title of car of the year.
Compared to Corvettes of the past, Clarkson was especially impressed with the ZR1's ability to tackle corners and straights with equal gusto, as well as its supercharged V8 that could be "both docile and extraordinarily savage" at the same time. While the driving experience thoroughly impressed the auto commentator, build quality was still not up to scratch in the Corvette - Clarkson claimed that after three days of driving the ZR1 "the boot lock disintegrated and the keyless go system refused to acknowledge the keys were in the car" - but that didn't matter in the end, and the Corvette ZR1 came away with the prize at the end of the day.
Reader Comments
Mon Dec 29 2008 7:05 AM
azlan says
this car is very fast and surprising of how well it handles when i drove it last month, but i couldn't give it the title of best car of the year when sitting in an absolute rubbish interior, but thats the only problem i have with it, i just think the best car of the year should have it all and this is almost there.
Mon Dec 29 2008 8:08 AM
Chris says
good man, great opinion. the caterham is an amazing car, but you wont see the president of the company rolling up in one. he'll keep it in his shed to rip around the small track hes got in the back grounds of his estate.
and the ZR1 definitely deserves a nod. yes its a damned shame that GM is going to ask for your 100k and not give you a quality interior. the problem is that this car is still just a corvette. when ford does their supercar, they make an all new car, and give you a stunning interior. jezza's owned one and to my memory only ever complained about two things: the mileage (its an effing supercar, with a supercharged truck engine ffs), and that little problem where it would never start.
but he's absolutely nailed it on the head. when a car is mechanically awe inspiring, and has great value (such as this car), you dont care that the interior is ripped out from a car that is sold for half as much. you dont care that you cant get into the trunk.
there was one shot of jezza laying down about 3 lbs of rubber on some 180 degree static corner on their way to bonneville from Top Gear. It was one of the most amazing power slide's i've seen outside of the realm of movie magic. it was the kind of picture you never thought you'd see a vette in, and if you werent wearing your glasses you might have thought it was a ferrari 599. in that moment, i guarantee he knew that this was his car.
Mon Dec 29 2008 11:00 AM
Roy says
As much as I love Top Gear and admire Mr. Clarkson, it's worth remembering that in the past he has nominated the Ford Mondeo (Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique) as his Car of the Year, simply because it was cheaper and more exclusive than the BMW 3 series (in the UK). However, he has had a miserable experience with his Ford GT40 (Chris, he also complained about getting it stuck on a narrow bridge in London, too) so I don't think he'll be voting for a Ford again any time soon.
But, if you haven't yet seen an episode of Top Gear on BBC America, it's worth watching. I wonder what fantastic inventions the automotive industry will come up with in 2009? If it's anything like 2008, I'm looking forward to it... Happy New Year folks - I look forward to reading plenty more well-informed, fun and interesting comments from everyone next year!
Mon Dec 29 2008 2:43 PM
Chris says
Roy.. absolutely they voted for the contour to be car of the year for those reasons.. also the fact that its a good car. the mondeo has always been class leading.. but everyone on this side of the pond just looks at it as another POS ford.
i dont think talking about how he couldnt cross a bridge with his supercar in downtown london is a hack against the car.. its a super car. its wide. he was just point out how impractical the things are.. besides.. when they went to france, wasnt it the zonda that nearly needed to be take apart to be taken out of that parking garage?
roy if you watch top gear enough.. you'll know that TG and especially jezza have a bias for ford. they love them. in fact jezza has mentioned that his "day to day" car is a focus hatch.
but point is.. what TG calls car of the year is always a crap shoot.. how can you even compare the VW to the ZR1? or a mondeo for that matter? their list of COTYs through the last 7 or 8 years has been pretty random at best.
yeah have a good new year to you too!
Mon Dec 29 2008 5:33 PM
NoNameDenton says
He actually chose an American car? Someone check to see if Hell froze over
Wed Jan 14 2009 10:30 PM
sampan says
I like to drives a car-bmw verymuch BECAUSE it's Good !!!!
http://www.car-bmw.fusionthai.net
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