Placement:
1) Porsche 911 992 Turbo S
2) Ferrari F8 Tributo
3) BMW F87 M2 CS
Excerpt about the the M2 CS (from the magazine issue):
"Is Sharp Turn-In Grounds for buying a car?"
But sometimes speed alone can seduce, and when that speed arrives silently and a little bit opposite-locky - as it does in the Porsche Taycan - the result can be curiously addictive. This is the car to give us hope in the electric era because the way it steers, stops, and handles feels so naturally Porsche that the driver quickly forgets the fact it doesn't use liquid fuel.
Actually, that's not strictly true, because I've never driven anything that bolts from what we used to call a second-gear corner the way this thing does - the acceleration is brutal. Yes, it's too heavy and the packaging is a touch odd because the rear seats aren't quite big enough and neither is the boot, but it has to make the final cut not only for the way it drives, but for what it represents. I can remember being at a Porsche Boxster launch not that long ago when the CEO announced Porsche would never make a diesel. Now it's selling the best driving electric car in the world.
The M2 CS straddles those two - it harks back to a time when M cars adhered to the simplest of recipes: rear-wheel drive, six cylinders and a small bodyshell. I loved ragging this thing around Anglesey because, much like the Aston, it left me questioning the point of something with over 600 bhp. BMW is a little coy about the chassis changes over the already brilliant Competition model, but they do make a big difference on a circuit.
The front axle is far better supported and the way the CS turns in is remarkable for something that is actually a bit too podgy for its own good. Is sharp turn in grounds for buying a car? Does it justify the CS's rather terrifying price tag? Probably not, but this is a very special car and with the new M3 and M4 appearing to have borrowed facial features from a yawning rabbit, it might mark the high point for M cars in this decade. Just make sure that you go for the manual version - it's way more fun.