MUST-SEE PERFORMANCE CARS
Burn some rubber to the show and get your motor going with these displays
There’s nothing quite as exciting as driving a finely tuned performance vehicle on a challenging road. If a sport-type car is on your show list, or if dreaming is as close as you get, there are a number of quick and nimble vehicles to see at the Vancouver International Auto Show.
2018 FORD MUSTANG
The iconic Mustang is refreshed for 2018, with a sleeker design featuring a lower hood and grille. Out back, the Mustang has LED tail lights and a new bumper. On the four-cylinder 2.3-litre EcoBoost-equipped Mustang, a dual-tip exhaust is standard, while the 5.0-L V8 version gets the quad-tip treatment. Drivers can opt for a manual gearbox with either engine, and a new 10-speed automatic is also available. The latter has quicker shift times than the outgoing sixspeed automatic. The EcoBoost engine has gained torque, while the V8 is imbued with increased horsepower and torque.
2017 HONDA CIVIC TYPE R
A long-anticipated Honda is on display, and the 2017 Civic Type R is sure to draw crowds in this tuner-mad town. This is the first Type R-badged Honda available in Canada, and is claimed to be the most powerful, quickest and most agile Civic ever. It’s equipped with a highoutput 306-hp 2.0-L turbocharged engine and backing up the power plant is a short-throw six-speed manual transmission. The Civic Type R shares the body style of the five-door hatchback Civic, but gets significant chassis and suspension upgrades. The Type R has wide, aggressive fascias, extended wheel arches, carbon-fibre side skirts and a dramatic rear wing, all while rolling on 20-inch alloy wheels.
2017 LEXUS RC F
A track-ready luxury sport coupe is what Lexus is calling its RC F. It is powered by a 5.0-L V8 paired with an eight-speed Sports Direct Shift transmission. The engine is the most powerful ever offered by Lexus. A driver can manage all 467 hp and 389 pound-feet of torque via steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. When it’s not in manual mode, the transmission functions as a “smart” automatic. The car can detect upcoming curves and hold a lower gear to give optimal response when the driver is accelerating out of the corner. Designed for maximum aerodynamics, the RC F incorporates an active rear wing that automatically deploys at speeds above 80 km/h.
2017 MAZDA MX-5 RF
After 26 years of continuous production, The MX-5 roadster will be offered as the 2017 MX-5 RF (for retractable fastback). On display in Vancouver, the RF version of the car features fastback styling with a smooth roofline, and the power hardtop roof can be opened or closed at speeds of up to 10 km/h. Mazda says that despite the car’s fastback styling and hardtop roof, the MX-5 RF has the same amount of trunk space as the soft-top version. Power in the RF is provided by Mazda’s 155-hp Skyactiv-G 2.0-L gasoline engine, paired with either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission.
2017 BMW M2
Teutonic performance can be found in the new M2 coupe. Meant to be a fun, more affordable sports car wearing the automaker’s iconic performance-division M badge, the M2 strikes a muscular, sharklike pose with chiselled flanks, flared wheel arches, quad exhaust tips and a bulging hood. Under that hood is BMW’s twin turbo, in-line six-cylinder power plant that offers 365 ponies and up to 369 lb-ft of torque, paired with a six-speed manual transmission or an op- tional seven-speed double-clutch automatic. Bringing all that “go” to “whoa” are BMW’s M compound brakes, developed from motorsport technology to maintain pedal feel and resist fade. The brakes are M-stamped, blue in colour, and they have four-piston calipers up front and two-piston calipers out back.