Fri
Sep 03 2010

"What's fastest?": the sequel

Steve Sutcliffe
Okay, this one’s a bit more complex because it involves the twists and undulations of Donington, plus a more disparate range of cars, but the question itself is exactly the same: what’s fastest?

I’m talking about the short circuit at Donington - in other words, not the one that includes the Melbourne loop. And despite what you may think in light of the British GP debacle, the circuit itself is the same as it ever was – even if the Spitfire has been sadly removed from the infield near the Old Hairpin.



Here are the cars. See if you can put them in order of lap time, from fastest to slowest, with yours truly at the wheel on a dry, sunny day:

Renault Megane 250 Cup, Noble M600, Mercedes SLS, Jaguar XJ (supercharged), Ferrari 458, VW Scirocco R, Lotus Elise (entry-level model), Lotus Evora, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Alpina B5 S.

Anyone who gets it spot on wins a free subscription to the mag for a year – on me.

Good luck.

Sign-in or register to add your comments

About Steve Sutcliffe

Autocar's finest driver and most experienced road tester. Raced TVRs for three years; drove Honda's F1 car and set competitive times at Silverstone. Says he "likes cars, and likes other people who like cars".

Comments

drivedrivedrive September 3, 2010 3:12 PM

How many times are we allowed to guess ?  

CAT3 September 3, 2010 3:23 PM

Ferrari 458

911 GT3 RS

Noble M600 (hard to choose between GT3 & Noble for 2nd)

Merc SLS

Lotus Evora

Now it gets really tricky:

Jag XJ  Supercharge

Alpina B5 S

Megane 250 Cup

Lotus Elise

VW Scirrocco

il sole September 3, 2010 3:31 PM

Right...here goes (does it count to say that i guessed correctly the last 'who's fastest, but forgot to click 'post' - no..? thought not!)

1- 458

2- M600

3- GT3 (practically tied with noble)

4- SLS

5- Evora

6- B5 S

7- XJ S

8- Megane

9- Elise

10- Sirrocco

jodardee September 3, 2010 3:36 PM

Ferrari 458

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Mercedes SLS

Noble M600

Alpina B5s

Jaguar xj

Lotus Evora

VW Scirocco

Lotus Elise

megane 250 Cuo

chudge September 3, 2010 3:48 PM

noble m600

ferrari 458

Porsche gt3 rs

merecedes sls

lotus evora

Jaguar xj supercharged

alpina B5s

Lotus elise

Renault megane 250 cup

VW scirocco r

Orangewheels September 3, 2010 4:18 PM

Noble M600

Ferrari 458

Porsche GT3 RS

Merecedes SLS

Lotus Evora

Alpina B5s

Jag XJ

Lotus Elise

Renault megane 250 cup

VW Scirocco R

danjek September 3, 2010 4:21 PM

Would do anything for a free subscription to your excellent magazine, so here goes...

(100% Guesswork by the way.)

1. M600

2. 458

3. 911 GT3 RS

4. Merc SLS

5. Evora

6. Jag XJ

7. Alpina B5s

8. Renault Megane 250 Cup

9. Elise

10. Roc R

rebelrob September 3, 2010 4:27 PM

458

gt3 rs

m600

sls

evora

b5s

elise

scirocco r

megane 250 cup

xj supercharged

tough decision to put the jag at the bottom....

clgg1984 September 3, 2010 4:29 PM

noble m600 2.ferrari 458 3.porsche 911 gt3 4.merc sls 5.lotus evora 6.alpina b5s 7.renault megane 250 cup 8.vw scirocco r 9.lotus elise 10.jag xj

bomb September 3, 2010 4:39 PM

I think the Noble will win this as well....and I think the entry-level Elise will come last.

- M600

- 458

- GT3 RS

- SLS

- B5

- Evora

- 250 Cup

- 'roc R

- XJ

- Elise

Skornogr4phy September 3, 2010 5:12 PM

1. Noble M600

2. Ferrari 458

3. Porsche GT3 RS

4. Mercedes-Benz SLS

5. Alpina B5S

6. Jaguar XJ

7. Lotus Evora

8. Lotus Elise

9. Megane 250 Cup

10. Scirocco R

That Alpina was a pain in the ass to rank. :D

sexybeast54 September 3, 2010 5:21 PM

1.Porsche 911 GT3 RS

2.Ferrari 458

3.Noble M600

4.Mercedes SLS

5.Lotus Evora

6.Alpina B5 S

7.Lotus Elise

8.Renault Megane 250 Cup

9.VW Scirocco R

10.Jaguar XJ

The Special One September 3, 2010 6:29 PM

1.Noble M600

2.Ferrari 458

3.Porsche 911 GT3 RS

4.Mercedes SLS

5.Alpina B5 S

6.Lotus Evora

7.Renault Megane 250 Cup

8.Lotus Elise

9.VW Scirocco R

10.Jaguar XJ

TommyTitmouse September 3, 2010 6:49 PM

1. Porsche 911 GT3 RS

2. Ferrari 458

3. Noble M600

4. Mercedes SLS

5. Lotus Evora

6. Renault Megane 250 Cup

7. Alpina B5 S

8. Jaguar XJ

9. Lotus Elise

10. VW

kdwilcox September 3, 2010 7:34 PM

M600

Evora

458

GT3 RS

SLS

VW

XJ

B5 S

ELISE

250 CUP

realdriver September 3, 2010 8:26 PM

1. Ferrari 458

2. Noble M600

3. Porsche GT3 RS

4. Mercedes-Benz SLS

5. Alpina B5S

6. Lotus Evora

7. Jaguar XJ

8. Megane 250 Cup

9. Scirocco R

10. Lotus Elise

Nick G September 3, 2010 9:21 PM

Ferrari 458

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Noble M600

Mercedes SLS

Alpina B5 S

Renault Megane 250 Cup

Lotus Elise (entry-level model)

VW Scirocco R

Lotus Evora

Jaguar XJ (supercharged)

Bigchiefmuffin September 3, 2010 11:27 PM

Ferrari 458

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Noble M600

Mercedes SLS

Lotus Evora

Renault Megane 250 Cup

Lotus Elise (entry-level model)

Alpina B5 S

VW Scirocco R

Jaguar XJ (supercharged

DuncanP September 3, 2010 11:46 PM

OK so here is my guess

1. Noble

2. Porsche

3. Alpina

4. Ferrari

5. Mercedes

6. Jaguar

7. Renault

8. Lotus Evora

9. Scirocco

10. Lotus Elise

Of course the Ferrari could be at the bottom by a considerable margin after waiting for the fire truck before finishing its lap on the back of a transporter

TheOmegaMan September 4, 2010 12:41 AM

"Of course the Ferrari could be at the bottom by a considerable margin after waiting for the fire truck before finishing its lap on the back of a transporter"

^Wahey!

How on earth are people not putting the M600 top????

Even this 'short' circuit has long straights.

1. Noble M600,

2. Ferrari 458,

3. Porsche 911 GT3 RS,

4. Mercedes SLS,

5. Alpina B5 S.

6. Lotus Evora,

7. Jaguar XJ (supercharged),

8. Renault Megane 250 Cup,

9. VW Scirocco R,

10. Lotus Elise (entry-level model),

The Corvette ZR1 would top them all though...

m1ckch4n September 4, 2010 5:53 AM

1. M600

2. 458

3. 911 GT3 RS

4. Merc SLS

5. Evora

6. Megane 250 Cup

7. Scirocco R

8. Alpina B5 S

9. XJ Supercharged

10. Elise

m1ckch4n September 4, 2010 6:03 AM

1. M600

2. 458

3. GT3 RS

4. Merc SLS

5. Evora

6. B5 S

7. Megane 250 Cup

8. XJ supercharged

9. Scirocco R

10. Elise

m1ckch4n September 4, 2010 6:07 AM

sorry, ignore my first list, here's the amended one:

1. M600

2. 458

3. GT3 RS

4. Merc SLS

5. Evora

6. B5 S

7. Megane 250 Cup

8. XJ supercharged

9. Scirocco R

10. Elise

Christian Galea September 4, 2010 10:34 AM

This really is very tricky...but I'll give it a shot nevertheless:

1. Noble M600

2. Porsche 911 GT3 RS (just)

3. Ferrari 458

4. Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

5. Alpina B5 S

6. Jaguar XJ supercharged

7. Lotus Evora

8. VW Scirocco R

9. Renault Megane 250 Cup

10. Lotus Elise

Sticklebrick September 4, 2010 5:45 PM

My considered opinion...

1. Noble M600

2. Ferrari 458

3. Porsche GT3 RS

4. Mercedes SLS

5. Lotus Evora

6. Alpina B5 S

7. Lotus Elise

8. Jaguar XJ

9. Renault Megane 250 Cup

10. VW Scirocco R

Sticklebrick September 4, 2010 5:48 PM

For some reason my post doesn't seem to have appeared, so here we go again:

1. Noble M600

2. Ferrari 458

3. Porsche GT3 RS

4. Mercedes SLS

5. Lotus Evora

6. Alpina B5 S

7. Lotus Elise

8. Jaguar XJ

9. Renault Megane 250 Cup

10. VW Scirocco R

RednBlue September 4, 2010 7:18 PM

noble m600

ferrari 458

Porsche gt3 rs

merecedes sls

lotus evora

Renault megane 250 cup

VW scirocco r

Lotus elise

Jaguar xj supercharged

alpina B5s

944s2jock September 4, 2010 8:15 PM

Noble M600,

Ferrari 458

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Mercedes SLS,

Alpina B5 S

Renault Megane 250 Cup

Jaguar XJ (supercharged),

Lotus Evora

VW Scirocco R,

Lotus Elise (entry-level model)

944s2jock September 4, 2010 8:15 PM

Noble M600,

Ferrari 458

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Mercedes SLS,

Alpina B5 S

Renault Megane 250 Cup

Jaguar XJ (supercharged),

Lotus Evora

VW Scirocco R,

Lotus Elise (entry-level model)

Johnny English September 4, 2010 10:52 PM

A free subscription is a great incentive...

1. Noble

2. Ferrari

3. Porsche

4. Merc SLS

5. Lotus Evora

6. Alpina

7. Jaguar

8. Renault

9. Scirroco

10. Elise

Locknload66 September 4, 2010 11:42 PM

458 Italia

911 GT3

Noble 600

Merc SLS

Lotus Evora

Scirocco R

Megane 250

Jag XJ

Alpina B5

Lotus Elise.

Get your hand in your pocket Sutty.

Honest Paul September 5, 2010 3:10 AM

Noble

458

GT3

Evora

Alpina

Jag XJ

Merc SLS

Meg 250

Scirroco R

Elise

MHanna September 5, 2010 8:24 AM

Ferrari 458 (cue hot day jokes)

Noble M600

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Mercedes SLS

Alpina B5 S

Jaguar XJ (supercharged)

Lotus Evora

VW Scirocco R

Renault Megane 250 Cup

Lotus Elise (entry-level model)

taffman555 September 5, 2010 10:48 AM

noble m600

ferrari 458

porsche gt3 rs

merc sls

alpina b5s

lotus evora

jaguar xj supercharged

renault megane 250 cup

lotus elise

vw scirocco r

hamishl September 5, 2010 12:19 PM

Probably wrong, and I wonder, would you pay the freight to NZ? Here's hoping, all the same ;)

1. Ferrari 458

2. Noble M600

3. Porsche 911 GT3 RS

4. Lotus Evora

5. Mercedes SLS

6. Renault Megane 250 Cup

7. Alpina B5 S

8. Jaguar XJ (supercharged)

9. VW Scirocco R

10. Lotus Elise (entry-level model)

Curmudgeon September 5, 2010 1:20 PM

Well, I admit I haven't a clue really, but I like the idea of the test:

1. Ferrari 458,

2. Noble M600,

3. Porsche 911 GT3 RS,

4. Jaguar XJ (supercharged),

5. Mercedes SLS,

6. Lotus Evora,

7. Alpina B5 S,

8. Lotus Elise (entry-level model),

9. Renault Megane 250 Cup,

10. VW Scirocco R.

stevenorkney September 5, 2010 3:59 PM

Ferrari 458

Noble M600

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Lotus Evora

Mercedes SLS

Lotus Elise

Alpina B5 S

Jaguar XJ

Renault Megane 250 Cup

VW Scirocco R

Steve99 September 5, 2010 7:07 PM

My 2p:

Ferrari 458

Noble M600

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Mercedes SLS

Lotus Evora

Jaguar XJ

Alpina B5 S

Renault Megane 250 Cup

VW Scirocco R

Lotus Elise

Baudolino September 5, 2010 9:58 PM

Noble M600

Ferrari 458

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Mercedes SLS

Alpina B5 S

Lotus Evora

Renault Megane 250 Cup

VW Scirocco R

Jaguar XJ (supercharged)

Lotus Elise (entry-level model)

W124 September 5, 2010 10:08 PM

Gt3

noble

Ferrari

merc

evora

b5

jag

250

Elise

vw

jag

Los Alamos September 6, 2010 1:53 AM

1. Noble M600

2. Ferrari 458

3. Porsche 911 GT3 RS

4. Mercedes SLS

5. Alpina B5 S

6. Jaguar XJ

7. Lotus Evora

8. Renault Megane 250 Cup

9. VW Scirocco R

10. Lotus Elise

Sandok September 6, 2010 9:52 AM

1) Porsche 911 GT3 RS

2) Ferrari 458

3) Noble M600

4) Mercedes SLS

5) Lotus Evora

6) Alpina B5 S

7) Jaguar XJ (supercharged)

8) Renault Megane 250 Cup

9) VW Scirocco R

10) Lotus Elise

julianphillips September 6, 2010 9:59 AM

1. Ferrari 458

2. Noble M600

3. Porsche 911 GT3 RS

4. Mercedes SLS

5. Jaguar

6. Renault Megane 250 Cup

7. Alpina B5 S

8. Evora

9. VW Scirocco R

10. Lotus Elise

rolee5 September 6, 2010 11:46 AM

1. Noble M600; 2. Ferrari 458; 3. Porsche 911 GT3; 4. Mercedes SLS; 5. Lotus Evora; 6. Alpina B5S; 7. Jaguar XJR ; 8. VW Scirocco R ; 9. Renault Megane 250 Cup; and 10. Lotus Elise

Rich_uk September 6, 2010 12:22 PM

Decisions, decisions, decisions! I'm only confident with the first and last place! Really hard to place the SLS and the XJ. If I guess the lap time (to nearest second) of the 458, can I borrow one for a weekend Steve?

1. Noble M600,

2. Ferrari 458 (1:23),

3. Porsche 911 GT3 RS,

4. Mercedes SLS,

5. Alpina B5 S,

6. Lotus Evora,

7. Jaguar XJ,

8. VW Scirocco R,

9. Renault Megane 250 Cup,

10. Lotus Elise,

AtWork September 6, 2010 12:26 PM

Noble M600

Ferrari 458

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Mercedes SLS

Lotus Evora

Lotus Elise

Renault Megane 250 Cup

Jaguar XJ (supercharged)

Alpina B5 S

VW Scirocco R

Vimeous September 6, 2010 2:27 PM

A general punt:

1. Noble M600

2. Ferrari 458

3. Porsche 911 GT3 RS

4. Mercedes SLS

5. Lotus Evora

6. VW Scirocco R

7. Renault Megane 250 Cup

8. Lotus Elise (entry-level model)

9. Alpina B5 S

10. Jaguar XJ (supercharged)

Vimeous September 6, 2010 2:29 PM

A general punt:

1. Noble M600

2. Ferrari 458

3. Porsche 911 GT3 RS

4. Mercedes SLS

5. Lotus Evora

6. VW Scirocco R

7. Renault Megane 250 Cup

8. Lotus Elise (entry-level model)

9. Alpina B5 S

10. Jaguar XJ (supercharged)

PHILBY September 7, 2010 8:21 AM

1. 458 italia

2. noble m600

3. 911 gt3 rs

4. mercedes sls amg

5. lotus evora

6. renault megane 250 cup

7. jaguar xj

8. VW scirocco r

9. Lotus elise

10. Alpina b5s

ftfal September 7, 2010 10:20 AM

1. M600

2. gt3

3. 458

4. Evora

5. Merc AMG

6. Alpina

7. XJ

8. Scirocco

9. Elise

10. Megane.

nbc September 7, 2010 10:39 AM

.1. Noble

.2. Porsche

.3. Ferrari

.4. Mercedes

.5.Lotus Evora

.6. Renaultsport

.7. Jaguar

.8. VW

.9. Lotus Elise

.10. BMW

Eric Stein September 7, 2010 10:50 AM

Here goes:

1.M600

2.458

3.GT3

4.SLS

5.Evora

6.Alpina

7.Jag

8.Megane

9.Scirocco

10.Elise

FabiavRS635 September 7, 2010 5:07 PM

1 M600

2 458

3 GT3 RS

4 SLS

5 Evora

6 Megane 250 Cup

7 Alpina B5S

8 Scirocco R

9 Elise

10 Jag XJR

Rich_uk September 11, 2010 12:25 AM

When are you going to tell us Steve?

Honest Paul September 14, 2010 7:32 AM

COME ON STEVE, WE'RE WAITING...!!!!!!!!

944s2jock September 15, 2010 10:26 AM

Probably wont let on until article is in magazine

Steve Sutcliffe September 15, 2010 4:43 PM

Not just yet folks, 944s2jock is correct; you are going to have to wait until the story runs in the mag in a little less than one month's time. Here's a clue though; no one has yet won a free subscription...

944s2jock September 16, 2010 1:24 PM

Steve could you just have stopped typing after the word correct :-)

Vimeous September 16, 2010 3:19 PM

In that case Steve here's my second shot assuming twister than I originally thought:

1. Porsche 911 GT3 RS

2. Ferrari 458

3. Noble M600

4. Lotus Evora

5. Mercedes SLS

6. Lotus Elise (entry-level model)

7. Renault Megane 250 Cup

8. VW Scirocco R

9. Jaguar XJ (supercharged)

10. Alpina B5 S

phillio3 September 21, 2010 6:31 PM

Ferrari 458

Noble M600

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Mercedes SLS

Lotus Evora

Alpina B5 S.

Renault Megane 250 Cup

VW Scirocco R

Lotus Elise (entry-level model)

Jaguar XJ (supercharged)

Rich_uk September 23, 2010 11:38 AM

2nd attempt then...

1. Porsche 911 GT3 RS

2.  Noble M600

3.  Ferrari 458

4. Mercedes SLS,

5. Alpina B5 S

6. Lotus Evora

7. Jaguar XJ

8. Lotus Elise

9. Renault Megane 250 Cup

10. VW Scirocco R

All about Autocar

Newsfeeds

Subscribe to our news with our RSS feeds

Advertise

To advertise with Autocar contact us

Buy our magazines

Discover our titles at themagazineshop.com

Autocar latest issue - cover 15.2.12

NEW ISSUE OUT NOW

FAST, EASY & SECURE
SUBSCRIBE NOW>>