THE RECKONING

The judges’ scores are in (well, any minute now) and the countdown begins

9th MASERATI GRANTURISMO TROFEO

Compiling the scores on the penultimate night of eCoty is not the work of a moment. The judges get a deadline, which is widely ignored, and then someone, there’s always someone, declares they haven’t had enough time in one of the cars. That someone in 2023 was Henry Catchpole, who picked up the Jethro ‘I need one more drive’ Bovingdon baton in his absence. Only after everyone is happy are the votes counted.

The Maserati’s position appears, on paper, to be more than a tumble from grace. From first last year to ninth is not an easy pill to swallow, but the result doesn’t reflect the quality of the car, which impressed despite the challenge of test routes that were at the outer reaches of its remit. Tight, twisting, bucking tarmac is not the natural habit for a hefty 2+2 GT car.

The GranTurismo didn’t embarrass itself or fall to pieces; it was simply unfortunate that it arrived in a year of brilliance from its rivals. Its natural rival here was the Aston Martin DB12, and where the V8 Brit was (largely) able to adapt and deliver on its super-tourer promises, the V6 Italian always felt that as it reached its limits it was edging out of its comfort zone.

“I like it from the point of view of the dynamic bandwidth that it has,” said Barker. “It goes from something that you’d be happy to take your mum out in on the most comfortable spec, and then in Corsa it’s quite a lot tighter and quite a bit more brutal.” Henry, who was one of the five judges to place it last, observed: “It never wants to really shrink around you. It rides well and has a more supple feeling than the Aston, but it is probably too much GT and not enough sports car for the company it’s keeping here.”

8th ASTON MARTIN DB12

If evo had any sartorial sensibility it would place the DB12 first and dismiss the others for being overwrought design disasters. If presence is your thing, few cars come closer

MOST OTHER YEARS THE CARRERA T WOULD HAVE BEEN A PODIUM-TROUBLER

to owning the road in that respect than the DB12. It blends muscle and sophistication expertly, a brooding menace one moment, a svelte GT the next. You want to drive the DB12 purely so you can be part of it. Peter Tomalin reckoned it by far the best-looking car in this year’s line-up, adding “the interior is such an improvement from the DB11, you can scarcely believe it’s from the same manufacturer”.

This car sets out Aston Martin’s stall for what is to come. A clear step away from softly spoken GT cars to more vocal sports and supercars that wrap you in GT luxury defines its future. When the push came, the DB12 was rarely found wanting. In terms of the ‘super’ element of its super-tourer claim, the 671bhp V8 takes care of that, although the engine – as it does in many AMG products running the same unit – feels and sounds its age, the fitment of particulate and noise filters muffling the delivery and the soundtrack.

It was in the ‘tourer’ side of things that the dynamics came up slightly short. “The rear suspension struggles to deploy the engine’s performance,” was Adam Towler’s take. “This was something you’d feel on the DB11, and I don’t think they’ve eradicated it. The wheels feel too heavy, as though they can’t maintain contact with the ground.” A hyperactive nature made it hard to settle into the car, while in the wet the traction software was given a dizzying workout. The general view was that it drives like a DB12 S or AMR model and would benefit from winding back the settings just a touch.

7th PORSCHE 911 CARRERA T

There’s so much to like about the Carrera T. “There are some lovely features and refinements. The seven-speed ’box could be a nightmare but you ‘intuitively’ get the right gear because it’s been engineered properly,” observed John Barker.

“The first time I drove the T, I thought: Wow!” exclaimed Adam T. “The driving position, where the controls are placed, the response of the engine, the steering, the ride, the grip and traction on offer… I just loved everything about it.” The best 992-gen Carrera model? The first to ‘feel’ like a 911? The general consensus was a resounding yes. Amazing what taking stuff out of a car does for its character.

In most other years the Carrera T would have been a podiumtroubler, doing the simple things very well indeed and the unexpected with equal measure. But in this company, and as the week progressed, the Carrera T’s star started to fade. Or rather the competition began to shine more brightly.

John felt it was a bit plain as the miles went on and the roads varied. Henry admitted he couldn’t quite commit or relax with it, putting this down to the car’s ride quality. Peter explained his placing it joint sixth with the M3 CS thus: “The Carrera T’s still a lovely thing – like the M3, it’s a fine all-rounder – but it doesn’t quite deliver the highs of some of the cars here.”

The Carrera T finishing less than one percentage point behind the fifth-placed car in the overall scores demonstrated just how tight the voting was.