Every Past Performance Car of the Year Winner

Every fall, Road & Track hosts our annual Performance Car of the Year comparison test. Want to see past winners and read all about how they took victory? You're in the right place.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic curtailing our original plans and rain dousing our days-long test for the 2021 edition of PCOTY, the GT500 emerged as a clear winner. Its combination of approachable on-track manners and balanced on-road handling meant it was easily able to take the crown.

Last year's PCOTY was full of top-notch contenders. Lotus brought out its excellent Evora GT, while Porsche showed up with a new 911. Oh, and there was also a mid-engine Corvette. But somehow, the Veloster N, Hyundai's humble hot hatch, was able to steal our hearts.

The C7-generation ZR1 is the most powerful Corvette ever made. Its massive 755-horsepower supercharged V-8 and absurd aero add-ons were enough to convince judges in PCOTY 2019, beating out cars such as the McLaren Senna and 488 Pista.

PCOTY for 2018 was, in a word, stacked. Porsche 911 GT3. Mercedes-AMG GT R. Camaro ZL1 1LE. Lamborghini Huracán Performante. Any one of these cars could've taken the title. But the 720S beat all of them. It was just that good.

The 2017 edition of PCOTY saw the test's first hybrid winner, the Acura NSX. Its combination of expert tuning and immense performance proved desirable enough to beat out cars such as the Lotus Evora 400 and even the Corvette Grand Sport.

With an engine that revs past 8000 rpm and a slick six-speed transmission, it's hard to believe the GT350R had a hard time winning 2016's PCOTY. But with cars like the Ferrari 488 GTB and the Corvette Z06 as competitors, it had its work cut out for it.

Despite dropping the manual transmission entirely, the Porsche 911 GT3 was able to wow judges enough to take victory over a stacked 2015 lineup, which included greats such as the 458 Speciale, Camaro Z/28, and Dodge Viper ACR.

We had plenty to be happy about for the 2013 edition of PCOTY. With an SLS Black Series, a Cayman S, and a Fiesta ST among the contestants, there were no shortage of possible winners. The C7, though, stood above all, delivering the perfect balance between on-road pleasure and circuit handling.