January 2014

By: CAR magazine

By: CAR magazine
The CAR magazine team at the Performance Shootout 2014
The CAR magazine team at the Performance Shootout 2014

SOME days in the office are way more fun than others. The one in the photograph to the left? Now that day was a lot of fun.

Actually, the whole week was a blast, because our office space for five days was 13 desirable performance cars, most of which the CAR team collected at OR Tambo Airport before embarking on an epic road trip to Dezzi Racetrack in Port Shepstone.

There, we put the cars through rigorous acceleration and braking tests; laid down several layers of rubber in the quarter-mile drag races; and witnessed our track test ace, Deon Joubert, a two-time national racing champion, exercise his prodigious skills around the tight and challenging track. Some of us might also have tried to emulate Deon, with varying degrees of success. And some of us might even have ended up facing the wrong way down the track on more than one occasion. Not that I’d mention any names … coughNicolLouwcoughcough.

What you’re holding in your hand now is largely the result of that week … it is, of course, our keenly anticipated annual Performance Shootout issue. This year, the focus has been on the rampant rise of the super saloon – a fine breed of four-door car that blends interior space and comfort with supercar-like pace. We know this because we also had a couple of supercars – in the shapes of a McLaren and a Lamborghini – in attendance. And keeping them all honest was a buzzing quartet of compact hot hatches that amped the fun factor up to 11.

Today, however, is a little less fun. We’re deep into our monthly deadline and it looks like the team will be having supper at the CAR office as we put the finishing touches to the magazine. That’s part of the gig, though. The hard yards with the fun; the yin with the yang. But, it’s always well worth it.

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