As a fan of automotive media in all of its forms, one of the great tragedies of the 2020s has been MotorTrend’s decision to move away from its premier annual performance car event: Best Driver’s Car. The West Coast foil to Car and Driver’s famed Lightning Lap saw each year’s best go-fast machines compete for supremacy in the LA hills and around Laguna Seca Raceway for the only title MT ever gave out with more prestige than its iconic “of the year” Golden Calipers.

Well, as a part of their patriotic 4th of July American car extravaganza, Motor Trend has resurrected one of the most exciting pieces of BDC: the World’s Greatest Drag Race that saw all the competitors run simultaneously at a massive air base.

The four State of the American Art contenders return, including our rooting interest, the 1,250 Corvette ZR1X, which is joined by the equally powerful $2+ million Czinger 21C VMax, the raucous Ford Mustang GTD, and the wicked-quick Lucid Air Sapphire luxury EV sedan.

They’re joined by a who’s who of domestic straight-line champions, the most interesting and desirable of which being the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing that brings perfected C7 Z06 LT4 power (which now registers 668 ponies – which, in this company somehow makes it look out gunned) and the test’s only manual transmission ( meaning it’d be the favorite to take home the crown in the old Best Driver’s Car format that awarded “soul” and “feeling” over raw numbers) into the ring. As the next round of Hellcats isn’t ready as of yet, Dodge decided to sit out the proceedings, leaving the rest of the lineup to be filled out by all-electric manufacturers that didn’t exist before years started with a “2.”

The Tesla Model 3 Performance has the most accessible price tag of the bunch. It brings 510 HP to and a sibling to the fight. No, the discontinued Plaid isn’t involved; instead, it’s the funky Cyberbeast version of the Tesla Cyber Truck with 845 HP and 864 lb-ft. And, not to be outdone, is the Rivian R1T in $115,000 “Quad” trim. That moniker hints at the truck’s four independent electric motors that combine for 1,025 horsepower and a face-flattening 1,198 lb-ft of instant-onset torque.

Enjoy this one, Corvette Nation, if MT gets enough clicks, maybe it’ll convince them to bring back the entire BDC competition! Until then, we’re happy for this little 8,302 horsepower trip down memory lane!

Source:
MotorTrend / YouTube

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