⚡Lightning Lap 2023 ⚡ | The Ultimate Performance Car Test | Car and Driver

Since 2006, Car and Driver has brought the year's hottest cars to one of the most challenging race tracks in the US, Virginia International Raceway. With a mix of ultra high speed straights and tight hairpin corners, the 4.1 miles and 24 turns that make the Grand Course are the closest you'll get to the Nürburgring without a passport. Each lap of this massive track tests a car's ability to brake, accelerate, handle, and deal with the abuse that comes from limit driving. This is Car and Driver, and we're about to lap our long-term Kia Carnival. Our testing protocol calls for each vehicle to be configured with only dealer or factory installed options. Note that we also include all performance enhancing equipment in a vehicle's base price. The results and feedback come from Car and Driver's five editors slash drivers, who combined have logged thousands of laps here. While lap times serve as an excellent benchmark, we're also interested in the overall picture of a vehicle's performance and character. We're presenting a summary of each vehicle from slowest to quickest here, but you can find more information and watch each hot lap at all the links below. We've heard all the complaints about the new WRX. From its design to its weight, the fact that it isn't quicker in a straight line than the old model, hell, you can even get it with a CBT. Well, after pounding it around VIR, we no longer care. This new WRX is 3.9 seconds quicker than the fourth-gen WRX was when it debuted. The new WRX went that much quicker thanks to a bunch of chassis and suspension improvements. From a more torsionally rigid platform to increased roll stiffness, and there's more suspension travel, which allowed us to attack VIR's many curbs. There is one complaint that we haven't heard that much about. To improve street drivability, Subaru tightened up the gear ratios. This is fine on its own, but it did exacerbate another significant change. Subaru dropped the red line from 6,700 RPM to 6,100 RPM. That means our quick lap required 20 total gear changes, and all three fast sections now require a shift into fifth. Each one of those shifts take time, and that time stacks up. Still, the new WRX is quick around VIR, but it could do better with a higher red line, which would mean fewer shifts. Or we could try the CBT. Just kidding. We invited the GTI back this year because a data card handling error last year meant we didn't have the data to prove the fastest lap claimed by the driver. While last year's Autobahn trim had a dual-clutch transmission, this GTI had a six-speed manual. We did improve the time, but the laps weren't without issue. The GTI arrived with a single set of tires, limiting how much time our driver had to acclimate. And as with last year, the touch-sensitive controls on the steering wheel were an annoyance. The manual's more widely-spaced gears were less favorable than the seven-speed dual-clutch, although each lap needed only six gear changes. But as the speed came, two things happened. One, the brakes went soft. And two, the shift knob came off clean in our driver's hand. With careful and deliberate shifts in the fast lap, our driver ran wide at the exit of spiral and dipped the right-side tires into the grass, losing a couple of tenths. Still, we improved the GTI's time. Carlos, talk to me about these GoPros. What are they for? For professionals. That's why they're called GoPros. We are recording every car that goes on track. Gets a GoPro facing the hood, so you can see what it looks like from the car's POV. And a GoPro right here, so you can see and hear the driver if they ever have anything interesting to say. Thanks for really entertaining stuff. Why are we talking about the Elantra N's lap time before the Kona's? Simple, tires. The Elantra only had one set, and the set we ordered after we found out didn't arrive in time. Tire issues aside, the Elantra N is an excellent track car. It pulls hard on the front straight, the shifter slots into gear reliably, and the handling never issues any threats. It tracks true and without drama at triple-digit speeds through the climbing S's. Unlike the Honda Civic Type R, it requires patience on slow corner exits. It's easy to overwhelm the front tires and push wide, so the solution is to wait to go full throttle. Body control is superb, and the suspension sops up curbs without complaint. The brakes stay strong and willing, but the tires were ultimately the limiter. While it doesn't compete with the Type R or the GR Corolla, we couldn't help but compare the three. On a fresh set, we're betting the Elantra would close the gap by a few seconds. We don't know why Hyundai created a tenacious and affordable little crossover that has no peers, nor do we know why it showed up with the rear tires on its wear bars and a dealer inspection sticker calling attention to this, and no spares either. We ordered a set, which fortunately did show up in time. What we do know is that the Kona N's electronically controlled limited-slip differential is so competent at putting down the power out of corners that we had to think twice when someone asked us whether it was all-wheel drive. And when a fresh set of tires showed up, three seconds of lap time disappeared. Matching the GR Corolla through the S's and embarrassing the GTI by over five seconds isn't just impressive for a crossover. And even better, the Kona's track-capable hardware is standard. That's a rarity these days. Want some more perspective? This Kona was quicker around VIR than a 2008 Mercedes C63 AMG with its 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8. Now that's progress. Although EVs are becoming more common on the road, they're far from established at Lightning Lab. The BMW i4 is just the third EV we've run following a 2016 Tesla Model S and a 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S. We would have already run a Model S Plaid, but we keep waiting for the carbon ceramic brake option to materialize because the stock brakes are definitely not up the track work. Although the i4 M50 can more or less match an M3 in our regular acceleration and braking tests, a lap of VIR is exceedingly more taxing. The i4 couldn't make full power for an entire lap, dropping from an already low 128-mile-an-hour top speed on the front straight at the start to 116-mile-an-hour by the finish line. That's barely faster than the Kia Carnival minivan that we lapped just for fun. The i4 would also limit power until the steering wheel was pointed sufficiently straight, even with the stability control in its least intrusive setting in that hampered corner exits. One lap consumed about 20% of the i4's battery, and as is typically the case with EVs, power drops off with the state of charge. So it wasn't productive to do more than one hot lap before plugging it in again for a couple-hour recharge. Though it accelerates like an M3, the i4 was closer to the M340i through corners, trailing 1 and 1⁄2 seconds in overall lap time due to the gas-powered 3 Series' significant advantage in top-end speed. Remarkably, though, the i4's brake pedal stayed firm during three days of lapping, more so than the M240i's despite having to shed more energy. EVs still have a long way to go to prove themselves on track, but the i4 is a step in the right direction, especially considering that it's less than half the price of that Porsche Taycan. We invited the M240i back this year because last year's car was missing a key option, the $2,400 cooling and high-performance tire package. We didn't have any cooling issues last year, but this option includes a more powerful fan and an additional oil cooler, plus Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires mounted on wider wheels. And these changes save time in every sector, netting a 2.4-second improvement in total over last year. We also didn't suffer the excessive oversteer that we had to drive around last year, either. Instead, the M240i's great front-engine rear-drive balance is an ally, never mind that the power goes to all four wheels, and it's a rocket in the straight line. Curiously, despite a 17% worse power-to-weight ratio than the Supra, with the same B58 BMW turbocharged six-cylinder and a significantly taller roofline jutting into the airstream, the M240i closed the gap with the Supra down the front straight. Does Toyota get a second-rate engine tune? We wonder. As before, the M240i's brakes got soft early, so we gave them daily bleedings. But overall, the BMW had the Audi RS3 beat until it switched to its superhero tires. And the M240i's time closed the gap with the last M2 competition we ran. As if right on cue, BMW is launching a new M2 for 2023, which we look forward to running next year. Marizo is the nickname of former Toyota boss Akio Toyota, but on the GR Corolla, it means no rear seats. Makes you wonder, why not just go hog wild and weld the rear doors shut and rip out the carpet and sound deadening while you're at it? The Marizo also rolls on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber in a wider size than the standard GR Corolla. That gave it more grip than the BMW M4 CSL in Turn 1. But more remarkable than the grip is the way the Corolla takes abuse. Go into any corner too hot or get on the gas too early, and the slide that follows is controllable and non-threatening. Not that the Corolla thought so. It actually called the police on us at least five times, thinking there had been an accident after bouncing off a curb or getting its brakes slammed on. An on-hand Toyota technician disabled the system after an unamused sheriff showed up, and Toyota promises that the production versions won't be as sensitive. Aside from small gripes like its slightly too large shift knob, the GR Corolla is a hilarious machine with a gruff three-cylinder and an all-wheel drive system that removes all threats. Part Corolla, part Caterham 7, it's comedy gold. The Honda Civic Type R is the perfect track car for folks who don't want to wait. Turn 1 is a long, slow right-hander that calls for an easy roll into the throttle on exit. Most powerful front drivers quickly overwhelm their tires and dart wide if you're on the gas too early. Not the Type R. Hit the gas, and the helical type limited-slip differential figures out how to direct the 315 horsepower, and it shoots you out of the corner without diverting from the steering's path. Credit also goes to the widest factory rubber on any front driver ever. On top of that, Honda offers Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires that give this car, with nearly 62% of its weight on the nose, the second-most grip of any front driver we've ever tested in Turn 1. And that's second only to another Civic Type R, the limited edition from last year. This is also the best-shifting front driver we can recall. Silky, smooth, even after 26 shifts per lap. As with the WRX, the gearing was caught out in a couple of places that left our driver shifting at inopportune times. Under braking in Sport or Plus R modes, the car skipped over pavement ripples until we switched the adaptive dampers to their comfort mode. A higher level of wheel compliance and an elevated sense of being less top-heavy than the GR Corolla makes the Type R a bit easier to hustle to sub 3-minute times. The Type R's fastest lap not only improved upon the second-generation Type R limited edition by nearly 2 seconds, it also set a record for front drivers on this track. The GR Supra isn't just a BMW, it's a better BMW. Fantastically balanced, relatively lightweight, and now available with a terrific six-speed manual transmission. Just like Toyota did with the entire car, it tuned the BMW transmission better than BMW. A manual transmission should be a lap time penalty, and the data shows our gear changes slowing acceleration. But we still found more straight-line speed in this year's Supra than a previous automatic we ran, aided by very favorable 40-degree morning temperatures. Also, tall gearing and a wide power band limited the time-sapping upshifts to just five per lap. As for how the Supra beats the automatic by nearly four seconds, well, we won't pretend the minor suspension tuning changes for 2023 can explain it. And the previous driver is no longer employed here to defend himself. The Supra does work its rear tires hard, and they get greasy with successive hot laps. But when there is grip, it's staggering. Every car that beat the Supra's 1.04 G through turn one this year was wearing track tires. Further, the Supra's brakes held up admirably well over three days of lapping. The Supra lands in the top 10 of our Lightning Lap 2 price category, behind a couple Mustangs, a Camaro, and a C7 Corvette. Many of those were on more extreme tires, and the Supra is cheaper than most. Want to go for the win, Toyota? A dealer-installed Cup 2 tire option might get it done. Last year, while lapping the CT4V Blackwing, we looped it at the top of turn 10 and broke it. Naturally, we invited this sweet sports sedan back because, after all, everyone deserves a second chance, us included. While the 2 minute 55 second lap time from last year was decent, it was both slower than the rival BMW M3 Competition X drive we tested and off the pace of the 2 minute 52 second lap time bogey mentioned by the General Motors team. We're no strangers to these kinds of challenges. Last year, we narrowly beat the internal time from GM for the CT5V Blackwing. But here's the thing about chasing a lap time. Hit the mark and the thrill of victory is sweet. Miss it and the agony of defeat lingers, not for days, but weeks. The RaceLogic Lap Timer stuck to the windshield is a glowing beacon, its green light delivering a pat on the back, the red goading you to push harder. As our driver crossed the line, it flashed 2 minutes 54.6 seconds. Try as we might, we ended up 2.1 seconds behind GM's hot shoe, Bill Wise. That's still an improvement over last year's time by a second, and the CT4V remains as joyful to drive as ever. We can't pretend to know the Mercedes-Benz SL demographic better than its maker, but does the official convertible of Gulf Coast, Florida really need this much capability? Probably not, but it's awesome that it has it. Whoever engineered this new one clearly remembered that the original SL was born on racetracks more than half a century ago. This SL nearly kissed 152 miles an hour on the front straight and closed in on a 120-mile-an-hour average during the climbing S's. That's remarkably close to the 2020 Corvette Stingray. The SL's lap time is just 1.6 seconds behind the two-seat AMG GTS from 2015, which is outstanding considering this car weighs 4,227 pounds. The only car heavier this year was an all-electric BMW, and the only cars posting faster lap times were tires with the letter R or the word race in their names. This car could be quicker, too. The 577-horsepower V8 went like stink, the gearbox never stumbled, and even the steering offered reliable feedback. But the driver's seatback angle adjustment controller wasn't working when the car showed up, and the wheel felt out of alignment or out of reach for our driver. It sounds like something trivial, but comfort is as key to minimizing lap times as it is to enjoying beach time. If you're looking for an example of how much a difference a set of tires can make, consider this Audi RS3. The standard Pirelli P Zeros whimper when leaned on, and the RS3 squirms under hard braking. The tail gets squirrely when getting back on the power, particularly as the car unloads coming down the hill exiting turn 11. Still, the RS3 went 3.7 seconds quicker than the previous generation, and that would typically be good enough for us to move on. But Audi offers a Pirelli Trofeo R tire upgrade for the bargain price of $450. Considering their impact, we think Audi could charge four times that. More grip means more momentum through corners, and that translates into greater speed on the front straight, where the RS3 went over 5 mile an hour higher than the more powerful Cadillac CT4 V Blackwing. The stickier rubber also allows earlier application of the throttle and makes the optional carbon ceramic front rotors worth the $5,500 upcharge by shortening the braking zones. Consider that the RS3 exited the top of the uphill S's at 114.6 mile an hour, trailing only the Corvette Z06 and the Cayman GT4 RS. The resulting lap time was nearly 10 seconds quicker than the standard tire, making the Trofeo R's the best bang-for-the-buck option in the history of lightning lap. The M4 CSL's lap time is the quickest of any BMW we've ever tested here. It outperformed both the M4 GTS and the 627 horsepower BMW M5. BMW rates the twin-turbo 3-liter inline six at 543 horsepower for CSL duties, and it strips the car of rear seats and sound deadening. It also has more braces than a middle school dance. But the resulting 158.8 mile an hour peak speed on the front straight leads us to believe that this BMW is making more power than advertised. That's only roughly 3 mile an hour shy of the 760 horsepower Mustang Shelby GT500. Speed like that requires getting comfortable with the car. Unfortunately, our get-to-know-you time was limited by a punctured rear tire before we even started lapping. And the CSL was so new during this test that we couldn't find replacement BMW-spec Michelin Pilot Cup 2R tires. Even on new tires, our driver reported distant steering feedback that meant finding the limits of the front tires difficult. The bucket seats had no challenge with the immense lateral grip, but they offer little in terms of adjustability. You have to unbolt the seat from the floor to change the seat back angle, and that's something we didn't have time to do with so many cars to test. That left our driver awkwardly lurched over with his neck restraint pressed against the seat back. Like with the Mercedes SL, the driving position left us wondering what we left on the table. To no surprise, the Huracan Tecnica was the fastest. Unencumbered by oversized aerodynamic equipment, it did 165 mile an hour on a front straight. It's optional Bridgestone Potenza race tires need heat before they come to life, and helpfully, the onboard telemetry monitors the tires, brake rotors, and fluid. With relatively narrow tires up to temp, the Tecnica averages 1.12 Gs through turn one. Aided by a fixed ratio steering rack and rear axle steering, inputs have immediate responses. The V10 takes a moment of patience before stomping the accelerator out of corners, but when properly executed, the Tecnica exits turn one at a higher speed than any other vehicle this year. While the other heavy hitters shift gears for themselves, the Corsa drive mode requires the driver to work the shift paddles. Sleep on the indicator lights, and the manic revving V10 slams into its 8,500 RPM redline. Over three days of strenuous use, the Tecnica never faltered. The Bridgestone Potenza race tires withstood a day of abuse with a negligible drop off in performance. Lamborghini says a set of Pirelli Trofeo R's might shave two seconds, but unlike the Bridgestones, they wouldn't last a day. Our final time is the quickest Huracan of the four we've lapped, and it's likely the last of its kind. Should the Cayman GT3 RS be quicker than the 911 GT3? The GT3 makes more downforce, has wider tires, and rear wheel steering that improves high speed stability. But here at VIR, the GT4 RS was a tenth of a second quicker than the GT3 we ran last year. As with the GT3, the GT4 RS has carbon bucket seats that are fantastic at holding the driver in place. And our hot shoe said that it's 9,000 RPM six cylinder normalized tinnitus. The steering was immediate, responsive, and light. The brakes were a thesis in deacceleration. A GT4 RS experience is every bit as glorious as the GT3's. What are the differences, then? The GT4 has nine less horsepower, but it weighs 176 pounds less, too. Aerodynamically, the GT4 is more slippery, and it punches a smaller hole in the air. While confidence in the GT3 helped it get through the blind and off-camber turn 10, six miles per hour, the GT3 RS is After the back straight, it's all GT4 RS. The darty corners climbing up to roller coaster seem purpose-built to show off the GT4's transient stability and finely tuned throttle. Onto the front straight, it's an all but even drag race with the GT4 gaining a 0.6 mile an hour higher speed. Of course, there's the variable called ambient conditions. This year, it was basically near perfect outside. Tested on the same day, the finishing order might be different. Which Porsche GT car is better? Column equals for now. Chevy showed up this year with two Z06s. Even with a new 670-horsepower V8 that revs to 8,600 RPM, this Corvette Z06 isn't the most powerful vet we've brought to VIR. Neither is it the lightest. But this Z06 has no equal on a racetrack. We've said it before, and we'll say it again. The C8 Z06 is the best Chevy has produced. The Z06's lap time is the fifth fastest in lightning lap history. And it's the fastest lap for a car with a naturally aspirated engine. Everything quicker is considerably faster down the straights and costs more than twice as much. It's not like the engine is a weak point. Far from it. People snap their necks to look when it flies by. But on track, it's the chassis that's all-consuming. It's capable of 1.22 Gs in turn one, and averaging 133.4 mile an hour climbing the S's. Equipped with the optional carbon fiber wheels, this car turns like no other at high speed. There's almost no understeer at any speed, and the chassis is so balanced that you can steer under braking with pedal pressure. The optional competition sport bucket seats aren't as good as the carbon buckets in a Porsche, so you end up more fatigued from holding your body in place. Put the 718's buckets in the Z06, and it would take some time off the lap. The Z06's story is also one of temperature. Run this thing hard for 10 laps, and the oil temp barely breaks 200 degrees, if at all. That's the result of a billboard of heat exchangers other cars can see on the track in their rear view, which is funny, because the Z06 itself has horrible rear visibility. We suppose that's OK when you're the quickest on track. This is Car and Driver, and we're about to lap our long-term Kia Carnival. That brings us to the conclusion of Lightning Lap 16. Thanks for watching. Check for more detail at caranddriver.com, and let us know in the comments what you'd like to see next time. Also, if you'd like to join, come to the track day we're hosting with Kaizen Autosport on May 10. See the links below for more information. This is Lightning Lap.