A stylish grand tourer with an awkward name, the 12Cilindri arrives as many consumers are looking for visceral driving engagement via big engines, not electric powertrains. Photographer: Hannah Elliott/Bloomberg
Anyone who told you they knew what was going to happen in the auto market in 2024 was lying.
This year manual-transmission cars launched a comeback in the US, Jaguar discarded its 90-year-old design language with a radical and polarizing rebrand, and BYD’s revenue eclipsed that of Tesla. Plus, Porsche made new tires for a 20-year-old supercar and RM Sotheby’s made $30 million off junkyard jalopies. Christie’s announced that it would sell an old Ferrari that was owned by Angelina Jolie, then had to withdraw the offering.
And nearly every automaker from BMW and Mercedes-Benz to General Motors and Ford adjusted expectations as economic and geopolitical volatility cooled sales of electric vehicles and left a consumer base skittish about big purchases in general.
But through it all, new cars kept rolling off the trucks—and many remained exciting, interesting, and even revolutionary. I test-drove about 30 of them. Here are the ones that rose to the top of their class.
Car of the Year
The best car I drove this year was the Ferrari 12Cilindri. In a sea of electric-powered appliances and ubiquitous sports cars, this $459,000 naturally aspirated V-12 grabbed my attention from the moment it was unveiled in Miami and forced me to engage from behind the steering wheel when I drove it in September in Luxembourg.
Ferrari NVdominates the luxury automotive market so handily because it makes beautiful, exceptionally engineered, fun-to-drive cars that come from a long heritage of the same, require plenty of money, time and patience to obtain—Ferrari is ruthlessly disciplined about production numbers—and generally hold their value.
It’s a simple recipe but exceedingly difficult to execute. (Just ask Jaguar.)
The 12Cilindri perfectly embodies that ideal with top-tier performance and unmistakable style. It feels refreshingly old world because, unlike the generic electric vehicles offered elsewhere, it combines classical beauty with its internal combustion engine.
Its looks were a bit controversial at the time of its debut—there were some complaints from the social media peanut gallery—but the trained eye will find them a welcome change from the mundane. A single-piece clamshell hood and contrasting nose evoke the classic Ferrari Daytona, and a rounded rear with rectangular taillights looked chic, like an Italian take on the classic Citroen and injected with about five shots of Espresso. Inside, the same cabin found in the Roma (my other favorite modern Ferrari) cocoons the driver and passenger in leather and even retains a few analog components, like Ferrari’s signature “manettino” drive-mode selector.
Driving it made me feel giddy: Here was a car that had personality, performance and that ineffable X factor that makes using it a memorable experience. There’s a lot to play with. It boasts 819 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque, plus a red-line of 9,500 rpm. Zero to 62 mph takes 2.9 seconds. Top speed is 211 mph.
The 12Cilindri combines performance and sex appeal for the discerning aesthete in a way that most other cars can’t, and I’m here for it.
Best Car Under $50,000
The best affordable car I drove this year—the vehicle I drove that is most suited for urban living—was the $36,000 Fiat 500e. It’s got a sweet Italian heritage, adorable looks, plucky performance and even an electric battery.
There’s not much room in the rear of this 3,000-pound, two-door, four-seat hatchback. But it has plenty of other benefits. Its 117-horsepower, 162-pound-feet-of-torque electric motor and battery system make the car surprisingly zippy to drive, and it’ll run for 149 miles on a single charge. Plus, it charges fast: The 500e fills from zero to 80% in 35 minutes using an 85-kW DC fast charger; on a Level 2 charger it takes six hours, half that of most other EVs. Even just five minutes of time on a fast charger adds 31 miles to the battery, according to manufacturer estimates.
Combine that with its sharp-looking black trim, easy-to-navigate infotainment system and its ability to fit into a parking spot just about anywhere, it had me thinking the world would be a better place if everyone drove one.
Best Hybrid
It’s not cheap, but the $604,363 Lamborghini Revuelto proves that adding electric technology to a supercar can indeed enhance the driving experience, not detract from it.
With a body that looks like a fighter jet mixed with a bat and a bad attitude, the Revuelto has got apex predator-level ferocity when you press the accelerator. It combines a 814-horsepower naturally aspirated V-12 engine with three electric motors for a total output of 1,001 horsepower. It feels fully hybrid without sacrificing any supercar glory.
But my favorite detail about it was the that it can start and roll out of any parking garage in fully electric mode—pure silent stealth for a mysterious getaway. Just be careful about your speed if you get one. Did I mention its top speed is 217mph? The first day I got behind the wheel, I got a ticket.
Best Stick-Shift
The Porsche “Edith” 911 is a Frankenstein of a car that I drove up and down some steep ridges near Malibu, California, last January. (In 2023, it set a world record in Chile for the highest peak crossed by four wheels.)
Admittedly, you can’t exactly buy one, since this was a special operations project Porsche engineers built to attack that Chilean mountainside. But you could make one, theoretically at least. And that’s the beauty of Porsche 911s—their parts are all largely interchangeable.
Edith started life as a 911 Carrera 4S but adds acrylic windows and a hydraulic hand brake, carbon fiber-reinforced plastic doors from a 911 GT3 R and a windshield stripped from a 911 GT3 Cup car. Myriad chassis alterations included a special axle articulation Porsche first developed for the 919 Le Mans Prototype 1 race car used in the FIA World Endurance Championship. And it runs on synthetic e-fuels Porsche is developing to allow older cars to stay on the road even if we run out of gasoline.
The 443-horsepower 3.0-liter six-cylinder boxer engine remained in its original stock form. I couldn’t believe how plucky this seven-speed manual Baja buggy was over deep ruts, steep hills and deep, loose dirt. I loved the short gear ratios and the capable, well-balanced clutch. In a way the car made me remember my favorite of the cars I drove in 2023—another manual, the $292,000 Porsche 911 S/T.
I guess my point is this: As manuals become less available at most automotive brands, it’s nice to know where the good ones are hidden. And if you can’t find a new one you like, build one.
Best Luxury Sedan
The myriad variants of Mercedes-Benz’s sedans look so similar, with a jumble of letters and numbers for their names, that it’s sometimes difficult to tell them apart. But once you wade through the nomenclature, the 2024 Mercedes-AMG S 63 E Performance stands out as a prime example of why Mercedes sedans continue to epitomize luxury in the segment.
Spoiler alert: This is a late-in-the-year edition that I’m driving literally this week but have quickly come to love. It has everything you need, and nothing you don’t. First, there’s a ton of power, combining a 4.0-liter turbo V-8 engine with an electric motor for a total of 791 horsepower (about the level of any number of Lamborghinis) and 1,055 pound-feet of torque (ditto). And it gets a whopping 49 mpg equivalent when combining its electric and gasoline power.
Inside, it feels like the executive lounge you might expect in a private airport: cushy massaging seats with Napa leather, Burmester surround sound, piano lacquer details along the dashboard and doors. The display behind the steering wheel is three-dimensional, with extensive crash-avoidance and comfort settings offered in the center console touchscreen. And with Mercedes’ bow-shaped roofline, it looks reserved enough to satisfy the most press-shy of passengers.
Expensive? Yes, with an MSRP of $182,250. But you’re worth it.
Best Truck
Tesla’s Cybertruck wasn’t as bad as six recalls to date may lead you to believe. The GMC Sierra EV Denali earned big marks in my book for its spacious cabin and great electric efficiency. And the F-100 remade by Velocity with a Ford Coyote 5.0L V-8 engine was just about the most fun I’ve had driving something with a pickup bed, ever.
But all in, I’d buy the $75,975 Ford F-250 King Ranch if I were in the market for a work rig. This special edition Super Duty F-250 4x4 Crew Cab King Ranch marks the fifth generation of Ford’s Super Duty truck series. It’s a tough, reliable workhorse with a 10-speed automatic transmission and Ford’s new 6.7-liter V-8 diesel engine, which has as much as 1,200 pound-feet of torque, on top of 500 horsepower.
I was pleasantly surprised by how good visibility was overall as I navigated corners and parking spots. Mirrors the size of footballs doubled up on each side of the vehicle, plus there were some newly available systems, such as the 360-degree camera that provides a bird’s-eye view of a trailer, if you’ve got one.
It’ll tow 40,000 pounds, double what would be considered standard on any decent truck, and more than enough to pull boats, RVs, ATVs, horse trailers—or about seven Cybertrucks.