The Year in Cars: 2015’s Greatest Automotive Achievements
Robot taxis, electric supercars, car sharing services that don’t suck. The stuff of dreams, science fiction, far off fantasies. Or, they were until this year, when suddenly they weren’t. Doc Brown had the right year all along: welcome to the future, friends.
In 2015, Porsche showed us an electric sedan that could recharge in 15 minutes. Mercedes and BMW proposed car sharing services using autonomous vehicles that deliver themselves to you. Apple and Google are both spending massive money on top-secret automotive projects. And Tesla finally put its electric Crossover/Gullwing SUV into production, not to mention a semi-autonomous Model S. The cars aren’t flying, but they’re driving themselves. They’re already here. Kind of.
Sometimes you don’t see change coming until it’s sitting in your driveway.
Of course, there was a fair crop of new supercars and luxury SUVs, too. But, more than anything else, this will go down as the year big automakers got serious about the future, the year we realized everything was about to get weird.
Here’s what you need to know about the year that was, and the year to come.
McLaren 570S
A Supercar For The People (at least the ones with $200K to blow)
Imagine a rocket-powered go-kart, and you’re 90 per cent of the way to understanding McLaren’s latest sports car. The last 10 per cent requires an appreciation of perfect handling, sublime balance, deft steering and explosives.
McLaren’s new “entry level” machine has a carbon-fibre chassis and a twin-turbo V8 engine — just like the million-dollar P1. There’s nothing really entry-level about it, except the price, which undercuts everything from the Italian supercar houses.
The 570S blasts its way between corners with a whoosh of turbo boost and a new-school V8 buzz. But it’s what it does with corners that makes this car special. And you don’t even have to be breaking the speed limit to appreciate it. The 570S is a goddamn ballerina. Oversteer, understeer, late braking, pirouette: it’s got all the moves. And it’s ready to dance whenever you want.
SPECS
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 562 HP
Gearbox: 7-speed dual clutch
Price: $219,750
Lamborghini Aventador SV
Most Evil
750 horsepower, V12 engine, no second chances. The SV eats tires for breakfast, and unsuspecting playboys for lunch. It is not a supercar for dilatants. No, this one is for (brave) drivers.
SPECS
Power: 740 HP
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: 7-speed automated manual
Price: $528,927
Bentley Bentayha Mulliner Tourbillon x Breitling
Best Clock
The point of a tourbillon is to fight gravity, countering the Earth’s unbalancing effect on delicate time-keeping mechanisms. It’s a wildly ambitious thing, a masterpiece of engineering and craftsmanship. Not unlike the Bentley on which dashboard it proudly sits. The tourbillon is available in either white or yellow gold, but Bentley will happily take requests if you’d prefer some other exotic material.
SPECS
Power: 600 HP
Engine: 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12
Gearbox: 8-speed auto
Price: $241,900
Tesla Model X
Most Ludacris Mode
If you engage Ludacris Mode — or Insane Mode for that matter — you’d better hang on. It gives the Tesla the flat-out pace to embarrass many a sports car.
Specs
Power: 259-HP at the front; 503-HP at the rear
Engine: 2 electric motors with a 250 mile range
Gearbox: Single-speed transaxle
Price: $142,000
BMW 7 Series
Best iPad Alternative
Buy an exclusive BMW Touch Command tablet, and get a free 7 Series limousine as a carrying case! The seven-inch tablet sits snug in the rear-seat armrest, and can be used to control everything from the stereo, to seat warmers, to window blinds, to Netflix. The car is pretty good, too.
Specs
Power: 445 HP
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Gearbox: 8-speed auto
Price: $113,900
Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo
Dream Ride
It’s only a concept for now, but we’d guess the specs will look something like this:
Specs
Power: 2,ooo HP
Engine: Twin-Turbo, electric-hybrid, scramjet?
Drive: Hoverboard
Cup Holders: 27
Aston Martin DB9 GT
Best Aging Gracefully
Can it really have been so long ago? The first time we laid eyes on the DB9 was back in 2003, at some far-flung auto show. It looked beautiful then, and now, 12 years later, it’s more beautiful than ever: low and lean, it defines the ideal sports car silhouette.
Specs
Power: 540 HP
Engine: 5.9-litre V12
Gearbox: 6-speed auto
Price: TBD
Mercedes-AMG G65
A Carbon Footprint Kick to Mother Earth’s Nuts
That the G-Class still exists is a minor miracle. This military-spec SUV looks nearly identical to its ’70s ancestor, updated only to pass modern crash tests and be even more intimidating. Besides, a twin-turbo V12-powered SUV is the opposite of politically correct. It might as well be the official sponsor of the excess.
Specs
Power: 621 HP
Engine: 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12
Gearbox: 7-speed auto
Price: $219,750
Audi Q7
The Leanest Machine
It’s hard to lose weight, but the Q7 did it through hard work, determination, and extensive use of aluminum. Result? The all-new Q lost 325 kg compared to the previous one. That means it’s more fuel efficient, and easier to wheel around a parking lot. But, luckily it hasn’t lost the features that made it one of our favourite family haulers: seven seats and enough screen to keep an entire kindergarten class busy.
Specs
Power: 333 HP
Engine: 3.0-litre supercharged V6
Gearbox: 8-speed auto
Price: TBD
BMW i8
Future Classic
In hindsight, we’ll better appreciate just how radical this hybrid supercar was.
Specs
Power: 352 HP
Engine: Electric + 1.5-litre turbo 13
Gearbox: 6-speed auto
Price: $145,000
Lincoln Continental Concept
The Best Comeback
It’s been a long time since we mentioned a Lincoln in these pages, but the brand that brought us the Town Car and the original Batmobile is staging a comeback. If the concept car shown here is any indication of what we can expect, well, Lincoln will return to its former glory. All it’s missing are some tail fins.
