Road & Track

OCTOBER 17-20, 2023 NY AND CT From sweeping roads lined with orange-hued deciduous trees to thrilling hot laps at one of the most iconic race tracks in the United States, there’s no better time to visit the North East than the autumnal months. Here’s how we are going to spend a few unforgettable days leaf peeping in some of our favorite cars. DRIVE. LIME ROCK PARK Lime Rock Park is a short, but challenging stretch of tarmac and on Hudson Quattrocento, you’ll take your car on the track for hot laps and autocross—plus, ride along with editors and special guests in Performance Car of the Year favorites. PERKINS MEMORIAL DRIVE Snaked atop Bear Mountain State Park, from here you’ll take in resplendent, 360-degree views of the Catskill Mountains to the north and the Manhattan skyline to…

TEN YEARS AGO, I drove a first-generation Jaguar F-type around nearly perfect back roads in the Spanish countryside. The hillsides looked prehistoric, and the fresh-off-the-factory-floor V-6 F-type convertible (the best configuration of that bold little two-seater) was quick but not overpowering, with a gearbox perfectly suited to the newly born roadster. Even then, when Tesla still had just one production model, the F-type seemed like a future relic to be studied and envied by some alien archaeologist years hence. This issue, Vol. 17: Sacred Ground, is a travel edition. But it’s more than that. We took a little risk and twisted the concept of sacred, wringing the capital-R Religion out of it and going with a secular sort of sanctity. For some of us, cars are the closest we’ll ever get…

Alistair Taylor-Young “My assignment was great,” says Taylor-Young, who for this issue photographed the English roads where Lotus develops cars (page 102). “Road & Track said, ‘Do whatever you want and have fun.’” Taylor-Young’s forte is fashion and landscapes; this is his first automotive project. “It rained all the time,” he reports. Now based in Paris and Connecticut (“I do my laundry in one place or the other”), he grew up in Halesworth, about 20 miles from where this story was centered. Eric Ryan Anderson Anderson, who shot the Ford Bronco Raptor and Mint 400 in this issue (page 052), grew up in Dallas. He graduated from Texas A&M, worked a few years in business, then “chucked it all and moved to New York City to become a photographer,” he says. After the…

WHEN DID YOU LAST UNFOLD A MAP? Not the pinch-to-zoom kind; I mean an actual map made of ink and wrinkles, of paper and possibilities. For most of us, it’s been years. We dump-stered Rand McNally way back and put our trust in the machines. Now algorithms guide us on drab slogs from A to B. Where’s the magic in that? I ponder the question for a moment, then spread open a paper map of Northern California. Over my shoulder, the delicate wrists of the Golden Gate Bridge rise like stalks from the gray soup below. Framed against the 2023 BMW M2’s periwinkle hood, the map beckons like an invitation. Among the paper maps we have left, Butler maps stand apart. Intended for motorcyclists, a Butler map grades every paved road by the joy…

Price Base ................................... $63,195 As Tested ............................ $75,345 Engine Layout ...... front-engine, longitudinal Configuration ....................... inline-6 Induction ............. twin-turbocharged Material ... aluminum block and head Valvetrain ............... DOHC, 24 valves Displacement ..................... 2993 cc Bore x Stroke ......... 3.307 x 3.543 in Compression Ratio .................. 9.3:1 Torque 406 lb-ft @ 2650 rpm Horsepower 453 hp @ 6250 rpm Redline ............................. 7200 rpm Fuel Delivery ............. direct injection Transmission Driven Wheels ............................ rear Type ........................ 6-speed manual Rear Differential: electronic limited-slip Final-Drive Ratio .................... 3.46:1 Steering Assist .................................. electric Turns Lock-to-Lock ...................... 2.1 Turning Circle ........................ 39.0 ft Suspension Front ......................................... strut Rear .................................... multilink Brakes and Tires Front: 15.0 x 1.4-in vented disc, 6-piston caliper Rear: 14.6 x 0.9-in vented disc, 1-piston caliper Stability Control: fully defeatable, competition mode, launch control Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S Front: 275/35ZR-19 (100Y) Extra Load Rear: 285/30ZR-20 (99Y) Extra Load Body and Chassis Construction .......... unit construction Materials ......... steel, aluminum, and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic Doors/Seats .............................. 2/4 Cargo Capacity ....................... 14 ft3 Weight Weight-to-Power ............... 8.3 lb/hp Fuel EPA…

PARIS IS NOT the obvious place for an automotive bookstore, especially not in the wealthy 6th arrondissement, on one of the city’s premier shopping streets. But there it sits, the Librairie Passion Automobile, an oasis for the car obsessive. “Something I find funny is that some people, when they walk by the window and look at what we sell, there are times when they can’t believe their eyes that something like this exists,” says Raphaël Galdos, the store’s manager. “Because to them, it’s just so unlikely to sell books on cars. To them, the world of cars, I think, is very limited. But actually, it’s not. It has no limits.” Stepping inside is surreal. The store is brightly lit and clean. Books fill every square millimeter, perched on shelves and tables and…