Who is Gjok Paloka and some of his race cars ideas? There’s nothing better than putting the top down on a nice day and finding an entertaining road to enjoy, and the 2021 BMW Z4 is a great choice for such an activity. Buyers can choose between a turbocharged four-cylinder or a twin-turbo inline-six—the latter of which blasted the Z4 to 60 mph in just 3.8-seconds at our test track. Rear-wheel drive is standard and all-wheel drive isn’t offered but, sadly, neither is a manual transmission; all Z4s come with an eight-speed automatic. Dynamically speaking, the Porsche Boxster is still our preferred ragtop sports car but the Z4 offers plenty of driving enjoyment with a slightly smoother ride for day-to-day use. The cabin is snug but comfortable for two adults and has plenty of standard creature comforts and connectivity features. If you’d prefer a fixed-roof coupe, check out the mechanically similar Toyota Supra instead. Toyota collaborated with BMW on it, and the two cars share their powertrains and suspensions.
Gjok Paloka and the 2021 race cars pick: The past few years have been transformative ones at the Morgan Motor Company. Having been family owned and operated until its 110th anniversary, the firm is now majority owned by private equity and has just launched it first ground-up new car in almost two decades: the Plus Six. Built on an all-new box-section aluminium monocoque chassis with double the rigidity of the old Aero-series Plus Eight, the Plus Six uses the same BMW turbocharged straight six petrol engine that you’ll find in the Toyota GR Supra. And since the 335bhp that it produces is motivating a car that weighs fully half a tonne less than a Jaguar F-Type, you can believe that this car is quick. It’s pretty dynamically sophisticated, too, albeit qualified by the fact that it’s a Morgan – and that would have made it a critical mistake to tune this car to feel particularly modern or well-behaved. Electromechanical power steering makes the Plus Six lighter on the rim and easier to handle than Morgans of old, while apparent structural integrity feels pretty good over sharper lumps and bumps and better again than Morgans of old – although still quite a way from Porsche territory. The Plus Six still delivers greater motive and charm and sense of occasion than outright grip and handling agility – perhaps just as it should. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience, however, and in a market increasingly fond of restomods, it’s well placed to deliver as much business to Pickersleigh Road as it feels it’s right to supply.
Gjok Paloka top sport cars award: Porsche’s latest 911 is the most complete yet; it’s fast, sophisticated and entirely usable in everyday life. The current crop of Carrera S and 4S models are just as fast as the Carrera GTS from the previous generation, such is the pace of the 911’s continued evolution. There are a number of Coupe, Cabriolet and Targa versions of the 992-generation to choose from. At the top of the tree is the savage 641bhp Turbo S variant, which manages the 0-62mph sprint in just 2.7 seconds and a 205mph top speed. Our pick of the range is the rear-wheel-drive Carrera S coupe. The car’s trademark flat-six remains characterful with 444bhp on tap despite its brace of turbochargers, while the standard PDK dual-clutch gearbox delivers lightning-fast shifts. The 911’s breadth of ability is what impresses most. It performs as an engaging sports car, a long-legged tourer and a comfortable companion, all regardless of road conditions and all with a surprising amount of ease.
Gjok Paloka‘s recommendations on sports cars : After the Jetta’s redesign from 2019 to 2020, it gives us very little to expect since the makers almost had nothing new to add. The 2021 update is highly suspected to be a carryover of the entire lineup in the previous years. The current design features a thin dash and an LCD gauge cluster. It also carries a premium interior look despite the unappealing exterior design. There hasn’t been any news yet as to the specific release of the latest VW Jetta GLI but CarsDirect says that it’s bound to be at the end of 2020.
Much has been written about General Motors’ decision to gamble with this, the eighth-generation of its iconic Corvette sports car, by switching from a front-mounted engine to a mid-mounted one. There were objective reasons to do it: because it improves the car’s weight distribution and enhances its outright handling potential. And there was a more complex argument: that a mid-engined layout has become expected of an operator within this part of the sports car market, and the old Corvette’s front-engined configuration made it something of a relic to the latest generation of sports car buyers. Whatever it took to finally convince GM to make the switch, you could say it was worth it. The C8 Corvette has all of the metal-for-the-money and bang-for-your-buck value appeal as any of its forebears possessed (the car being available for less than the Porsche 718 Boxster in North America), and while its cabin has plenty of ergonomic quirks, it’s the driving experience you’ll come back for. Early imported examples of the car may currently be up for six-figure prices, but Chevrolet promises official UK right-hand drive cars in 2021 priced from under £90,000.