Let’s face it: one of the most fun parts of automotive enthusiasm is driving fast. You don’t feel alive until you’re clean above the speed limit, and even if you are speedo-compliant, taking bends is just more enjoyable when you’re doing so in a manner that would make Johnny Law pull you over anyway. Problematic or not, performance cars are the reason why many of us love cars at all and, against all odds, there seem to be more ways than ever to rack up points on your license in 2024.
As always, this year’s best performance cars represented a wide, diverse swath of go-fast hardware but they all seem to have one thing in common: they all fall into some flavor of “Huh, you don’t see that every day.” We have an off-road Lambo, an electric Hyundai, a V12 Aston Martin, a hybrid 911, and a five-cylinder Audi.
Here are the five best performance cars we drove in the last 12 months:
Runner-Up: Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato, The Supercar
“Some of The Drive crew gathered to see the Sterrato in all of its bumble bee-liveried glory. All of us have driven fast, exotic, expensive cars. Some of us own them. And many of us have become jaded by the cynicism of modern-day supercars. And yet everyone who saw the Sterrato giggled just as much as my son did at first sight. It’s such a laugh, such a silly, unnecessary, fantastic car that it brings out the inner child in all of us.
“As I pulled back into my driveway, with my very smiley kid riding shotgun, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of gratitude toward the Sterrato. Not only did it give my son and me a lasting memory but it reignited my passion for supercars. It reminded me that they don’t have to be cynical TikTok content generators. They can be ridiculous cars for you and me.
“The Huracán Sterrato is a four-wheeled reminder that Lamborghini remembers how to ignite passion and kickstart imaginations. It brings back the thrill, the curiosity, and the absolute batshittery of exotic, Italian supercars. And, because of that, it may just be the best supercar in the world.” —Nico DeMattia, Staff Writer
Runner-Up: Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, The EV
“If you include PlayStation-based exploits, I have been driving manual-shift, gas cars around racetracks for fun since I was about seven. It is a way of life for me at this point. Here’s a not-that-dirty secret about how I memorize the fastest way around a track, though: each corner is assigned a gear. Take away gears as traditional EVs have done, and it all sort of goes to shit. Take away the aural cues of an engine and things become even more of a guessing game—and, apropos of nothing, significantly less exciting.
“This ridiculous Hyundai and its patently ridiculous yet immensely enjoyable ICE car emulating ‘N e-shift’ system solves this problem. It also proves that EVs can drive and even sound like gas cars, they just choose not to. Look, I’m not saying every EV should have a “legacy” drive mode that digitally emulates its gas counterpart. For simple commuting, the undoctored EV experience is superior to the gas-burning equivalent. It’s quieter, easier, smoother, and makes speed attainable without much thought—and, at the press of a button, this car can still revert to that. However, these are not things I (and, dare I suggest it, you) want from a white-knuckle canyon carver. These are not things we want from a track car. These are not things we want from the future of the hot hatch.
“These are not things we want from the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.” —Chris Tsui, Reviews Editor
Runner-Up: Aston Martin Vanquish, The Grand Tourer
“Perhaps this is a foregone conclusion considering its price and placement in the Aston Martin hierarchy, but among the three current front-engine sports cars from Gaydon, the Vanquish is firmly my favorite. In my mind, it’s the only one that truly delivers on the company’s promise of a ‘super tourer.’
“Supremely well-rounded and well-balanced between comfort and sport, it’s somehow more supple and usable to me than DB12 while still evoking the spirit of the Vantage, being thrillingly, entertainingly agile on a backroad. As an item, it also feels, looks, and sounds a helluva lot more desirable and special than either of its stablemates.
“As a Normal, however, the Aston Martin Vanquish is also a car that makes me a bit sad. Because not only does it start at $429,000, Aston is only making, at most, 1,000 units per year, two-thirds of the number of DBS Superleggeras that were made. So, to the vast majority of people, the Vanquish is one of those cars that lives merely as an idea.
“But when that idea happens to be a two-seat, unelectrified V12 Aston Martin that looks, drives, and excites as good as this, we’ll take all the ideas we can get.” —Chris Tsui, Reviews Editor
Runner-Up: Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, The Obligatory 911
“The GTS is simply what it’s always been: a more serious beast than the standard Carrera but not so serious as to become harsh, unmanageable, or excessive. Ergo, the core Porsche 911 personality remains and the typical Porsche 911 verdicts still apply. There may be more beautiful cars in its class, and there may be more evocative engines out there. But the 911 GTS offers what is arguably the most complete driving tool among its peers: so solid, so easy, so quick. At the same time, you’d be hard-pressed to call it ‘boring’ because it just isn’t.
“It’s controlled drama; exquisite motoring.
“If you think about it, the Porsche 911 has always been a hybrid: one part track tool, one part grand tourer. And the new GTS’ status as a hybrid in the powertrain hasn’t altered its status as a hybrid in purpose. It’s made it even better.” —Chris Tsui, Reviews Editor
[Ed. note: The Porsche 911 GTS also takes home the honor of being our People’s Choice winner. In a series of polls on The Drive‘s Instagram, it was the most popular performance car of this bunch. Congratulations, Porsche. —CT]
Winner: Audi RS3, The Average Middle-Class Garage Goals Car
For the first time in The Drive Awards history (so, like, three years), the Best Performance Car isn’t a Corvette—it’s the five-cylinder Audi RS3. Updated for 2025, Audi’s high-performance compact sedan bucks segment expectations of stoic, spec sheet-shattering performance and adds genuine, unadultered fun to the mix. The 2.5-liter turbo-five remains rowdy as hell while torque splitting diffs, adaptive dampers, Quattro AWD, and revised handling software make it a stunner on track.
Hucking it around Castellolí back in October, Deputy Editor Jerry Perez wrote, “Going into a corner, the RS3 felt light on its feet and tossable, and its reactions were so quick that I spent the first few minutes reconsidering my turn-in point at each corner. Realizing that I could brake later and turn in more aggressively, I simply adjusted how much speed I carried through corners—and it was considerably higher than I’d feel comfortable with in most other cars.”
It also does the sport compact thing of being pleasant and livable outside of a closed circuit.
“On the highway, the RS3 felt relaxed and nothing—and I mean nothing—led me to believe that the small-ish sedan was capable of doing such naughty things on the track. The cabin was quiet, steering was firm and quick, but not overly heavy or darty.”
Expected to start under $70,000, the RS3 may not be what most would consider “cheap” but you also don’t have to sell your entire soul or win the lottery to seriously consider one. Jerry says he’d buy one and, bless his soul, that’s enough to crown it as The Drive‘s Best Performance Car of 2024.