3 Incredible Cars That Blew Us Away Most In 2015

Alex Kersten - BMW E46 M3

This year has been one hell of a rollercoaster ride, with more ups than I think anyone at Car Throttle thought possible. For us on the editorial team (including Darren, Matt and new staff writer Neil who joined us a few weeks ago), this meant greater access to faster and more powerful machinery.

For me, there were three standout cars in 2015, only one of which slotted into that attractive faster and more powerful machinery category. That car was the Aston Martin V12 Vaquish Carbon White. Not only does this £200k, 201mph super GT car look astonishing, it made me feel more special and privileged than anything else I drove in 2015. The fit and finish of the materials was sublime, it was easy to drive (even through a McDonald’s drive thru) and will easily swallow a full-sized human in its boot. The gearbox was great too (something Astons of the past struggled with), and out on the open road, my God did this thing sound and perform like it was sent straight down from heaven!

My second highlight was the Honda Civic Type R. But not the new 2015 model you’ll read more about below, rather the old EP3 model that was absolutely wicked fun thanks to its light weight, raucous 2.0-litre VTEC engine and beautiful balance that allowed me to experience proper lift-off oversteer for the first time when we filmed our video on a private track. And what’s more, with prices for an EP3 now at an all-time low of around £2000, I think that this car could be the steal of 2015/2016.

My third driving highlight of 2015, and the winning car for me was…the E46 M3. Now before I continue, no, E46 M3 owner Adnan (CT’s CEO) is not standing above me with a knife on my left temple. The reason why the E46 M3 won me over most in 2015 is because it was the car that surprised me most. In our recent 5 Generations Of M3 video, I slipped behind the wheel of Adnan’s M3, immediately drifted it away from him (risky) and was genuinely astounded by how connected I felt to it in the first few seconds. The power delivery, the throttle response, the steering and the noise all marked a massive leap forward over the E36 M3 that I’d just driven, and I was hooked. Granted, I bought myself an E36 M3 shortly after, but as a driver’s car, the E46 has that, and all other generations over a barrel for raw hooning appeal.

Darren Cassey - Audi R8 V10 Plus

This year I’ve fallen for a few cars. The Honda Civic Type R is as raw and frenetic as you’d hope, the Alfa Romeo 4C is dynamically flawed in so many ways but the way it makes you feel behind the wheel is unrivalled, the Tesla Model S P90D is aptly insane and has fully converted me to an EV fanboy, while the Jaguar F-Type V8 R is utterly sublime in all-wheel drive guise and is the first press car to make me feel sick with sadness when I handed back the keys.

But there is one car that truly stands out above them all, and that is the all-new Audi R8. The first generation car was a huge moment for the German manufacturer; many questioned whether it could cut it alongside the likes of Ferrari, but it quickly emerged as a practical supercar alternative. The new R8, therefore, was a huge deal, and Audi absolutely nailed it.

I drove the V10 plus model at the launch in November, all 602bhp of it. It retains its practicality, with decent visibility all round, a gorgeous interior and sensible ride around town. Switch to sport mode and the car comes alive, pinning you to your seat under acceleration and gripping for days in corners, while a lairy stab of the throttle mid-turn proves it’s still as tail-happy as ever. The R8 faced up to its difficult second album with unshakeable confidence and somehow made the best even better - quite how a supercar can be this approachable boggles the mind.

Matt Robinson - Maserati Gran Turismo MC Stradale

Like Darren, I absolutely adored driving the new Honda Civic Type R this year. It impressed at its international launch in Slovakia, and impressed some more when we pitted it against the old EP3 Type R on British roads. It’s detonated a hilariously unsubtle nuclear bomb in the world of hot hatches, and the only car that stands a chance of knocking it off its perch is the incoming Ford Focus RS. But my favourite car I drove all year? Nope, it’s not the Civic. Nor is it the rather excellent Jaguar XE, a car we’ve just taken on as a long-term test machine. In fact, it’s not even a car released in 2015. It’s the Maserati Gran Turismo MC Stradale.

This is despite the fact that it’s also the most flawed car I drove in 2015. The nav system is so hopeless it’s not even worth using, the interior is very dated, and the ‘robotised manual’ gearbox is lightyears behind the current crop of slick automatics. But no other car I got behind the wheel of this year moved me quite so much. No other car was as memorable, and no other car sounded quite so god damn spectacular.

It’s all thanks to the 4.7-litre, naturally-aspirated V8 mounted up front. 444bhp may not sound much these days, but when it’s delivered with such punch, drama and aggression - helped by the savage gear changes in race mode - it’s all the poke you could ever ask for. It’s such a stonking engine, you could forgive the MC for being a dog’s breakfast to drive, but it isn’t - it provides a lively, feedback-laden experience behind the wheel, yet it’s just about soft enough to tick the ‘GT’ as well as the ‘sports car’ box. Oh, and it’s bloody gorgeous.

But this car isn’t just here because it made me grin like an idiot every time I twisted the surprisingly naff key in the ignition barrel. A large part of my nomination is due to what it represents: it’s part of the dying N/A V8 ‘old guard’. Let’s not forget, this is the year we lost Mercedes-AMG’s 6.2-litre masterpiece, the Ferrari 458 and its 4.5-litre F156 F (a relation of the MC’s engine, as it happens), and the year the Audi RS4 and V8 R8 disappeared from showrooms, meaning the glorious 4.2-litre FSI lump will be a thing of the past as soon as the ageing RS5 gets the chop in 2016.

In times like these, amazing cars with amazing N/A V8s need celebrating. And the Gran Truismo MC Stradale sure as hell qualifies.