MotorMouths

Audi has crafted a masterpiece here. It has bested its own best-in-a-generation R8 by lopping off the top, and creating a better, more involving car in the process. Better still, it has built a supercar that is every bit the match, dollar for dollar, with its far more exotic Lamborghini doppelganger.

If you can afford the XKR-S, and you love the silly fun of open-top driving at illegal speeds, you’re a candidate for this spectacular machine. We should all be so lucky.

Those lucky enough to posses the combination of cash and car-geekery to appreciate what a tremendously capable and unique car the Alpina B7 is, will be part of a happy tribe, we’re sure.

At its heart, Virage is like every great Aston: subtle, and fast, and substantial, and utterly self-confident. But technology is a big part of luxury these days, and it’s definitely Aston’s Achilles’ heel.

The C63 AMG Coupe isn’t just a very impressive luxury/sports car, it may just be the best one you can buy in its segment. Just the right blend of fast, rich, sonorous, and aggressively tuned to corner, we’ve got no problem calling the C63 the gold standard right now.

It’s amazing at how this M6 shrinks the gap between the “true” supercars in terms of feel and performance. It can’t be considered an outright performance bargain, but its combination of luxury, technology, and crushing speed sure look like half-price supercar stuff to us.

All in, the C250 is a very nice looking, reasonably priced luxury coupe, which is well suited to laidback driving with a heavy helping of posh. It’ll allow its owners to have plenty of fun on the better stretches of road that inhabit their lives.

The Evora S moves the game seriously on for Lotus in this more upscale part of the world. The understated supercar looks will not go unappreciated by buyers or spectators, and the proposition for enthusiast drivers is superb indeed.

The BMW 328i is a capable, luxurious, quick, good-looking machine that speaks to its heritage while embracing the fast-moving future. BMW should be as proud of it as it is of its long-standing tradition of excellent sports sedans.

The 640i Gran Coupe is a lusciously appointed way to go motoring in style. With enough performance to keep most BMW enthusiasts satisfied, and a wealth of luxury features to cosset the rest of the interested shoppers, it will be tempting buyers of all orientations.

Take any car at all over the brilliant roads that we drove in the great American West, and, unless you’re numb to fun altogether, you’ll have a great time. Do so in a car as good looking, comfortable, and satisfying to drive as the S60 T5 AWD, and you’re likely to remember it for life.

In the final analysis, our opinion of the TT RS is this: if you can make it happen, buy this car. It’s not perfect, but dollar-for-dollar, this may just be the best performance Audi you can buy today.