This year's crop of performance cars is largely a salute to a simpler formula. Sure, there's a hybrid in there, but a rear-engined one. It sits alongside a drop-top Aston Martin, a longroof legend, and, of course, our six-speed sovereign.
These aren't the cars we get to drive every day, but a little time behind the wheel of one of these will quickly put your daily grind in the rearview. Behold the four best performance cars we drove in the last 12 months, and the one that beat them all: the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing. 1 seconds and will continue to a top speed of 191 mph when equipped with the Sport Chrono package.
4 seconds, though Porsche didn’t reveal the trap speed. You’ll probably hear a few people complain about the new 911’s push-button start, how the gauge cluster is fully digital now, or how a manual isn’t offered. None of it really matters.
If you’re looking for the perfect balance of pure driving enjoyment, sportiness, and comfort, the S nails it. Sure, you could spend even more money because your buddy at the gym has a GTS, and he is always bragging about how fast it is. Nonsense, your buddy is probably a terrible driver anyway.
Back in the summer of '21, after completing lap after sweaty lap in a Cadillac’s new Blackwings at Virginia International Raceway, I scratched two words into my notebook and underlined them: “ Peak oil. “ That wasn’t even five years ago, but the world has changed a lot in the interim. We were promised that the CT4- and CT5-V Blackwing would be the end of the road for Cadillac’s internal-combustion performance cars.
Fun would return, we were assured, but it would take a different (read: electrified) form. So much for that . Technically, the CT5-V Blackwing has changed too —otherwise, it wouldn’t have been eligible for this honor in the first place.
A nicely executed interior refresh and a new track-oriented “ Precision Package ” are the highlights of an otherwise same-same spec sheet. 67-inch front carbon ceramic rotors don’t even break a sweat slowing the hefty sedan down from 120-plus to 70 mph in a matter of seconds, and neither do the Michelin Pilot Cup 2 R tires. It almost feels like child’s play.
Even with Taylor’s higher speeds and more aggressive braking, still not a hint of fade or vibration. This is the compounding effect that weight savings has on handling, whether you’re accelerating, braking, or cornering. At 4,123 pounds for the manual or 4,142 for the automatic, the Blackwing isn’t a lightweight machine, yet it’s 1,267 pounds lighter than that new plug-in hybrid BMW M5 .
Right away, the Precision package feels deliciously different—stiffer but not in an unforgiving way. The body stays so flat through the corners that it simultaneously reveals there’s way more body roll in the regular Blackwing than I had originally processed. This sharpness and stability only translate into better handling and even more phenomenal steering.
Still a beast to wrangle but one that’s laser-focused on slicing through corners like its Cadillac Racing siblings. And at the end of the day, that’s where a lot of this technology comes from. After two years of watching Cadillac tackle the 24 Hours of Le Mans, speaking with engineers, designers, and the very people who race these things, it’s undeniable that a lot of what makes the Precision Package so phenomenal is derived from the company’s racing experience.
” The 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera S isn’t an entirely new animal, but its updates are considerable and worthy of your money. Yes, you can save a bit of cash and go for the base car—which isn’t a bad idea at all—but hey, you’ve worked this hard and saved up some dough. What’s an extra 26 grand to get the Sweet one of the bunch?
The CT5-V Blackwing is still a 668-horsepower, six-speed, eight-cylinder sedan in a world full of ‘roid-raging hatchbacks masquerading as 4x4s. This is the car the new BMW M5 could have been—had the last five years gone very differently, anyway—and that’s why it’s The Drive ‘s 2026 Best Performance Car.
The CT5-V Blackwing's combination of raw power, precise handling, and luxurious amenities make it a standout in its class. Its impressive track record and racing-inspired technology also set it apart from other contenders.
