1 ome time back, on a delightful summer night, bottled up in traffic, we pulled up behind the dramatic rear deck of a red Ferrari
iTestarossa. The license plate read swtnss. We maneuvered alongside at the next stoplight. The legendary Bears running back Walter Payton—a.k.a. Sweetness—was at the wheel. He was impeccably dressed for a summer evening, and his crimson car was a knockout. We said hello. He responded warmly. We asked, "Isn't it frustrating to drive that car through city traffic?" He looked over and answered quietly, "When I want to race, I go to the track. When I need a ride, this is the car I want to ride in." That about gets it, doesn't it? When you think about the car you aspire to drive, it's as important to think about sitting in it stopped at a traffic light as it is to think of its challenging a narrow, twisting highway above the Pacific. The team of automotive writers that chooses playboy's cars of the year is obsessed with style, performance and innovation. Every year we travel the globe, test-driving every new model we can get our hands on, covering thousands of miles of the world's windiest, steepest, most challenging roads to sort the best from the rest. For 2007 new traction devices abound, as do hotter engines and deft transmissions. But aside from the best-in-class performance that separates these cars from the pack, you'll feel you're seated in the right place if you're fortunate enough to make one of these beauties your own.
OBEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK If you aren't a believer before you climb behind the wheel of the Ford Shelby GT500, just wait until you turn the key. Ford's high-performance team stiffened the suspension and goosed the stock Mustang's V8 from 4.6 liters to a supercharged intercooled 5.4. Horsepower jumped from 300 to 500. Work the six-speed short-throw shifter and you'll see 60 miles an hour in 4.5 seconds. Jazzy bodywork—with wide-mouth upper and lower grilles, an old-style front air dam, twin hood scoops and a rear spoiler—recaptures the Shelby muscle-car magic. The interior is sumptuous leather with satin nickel trim. On city street or open road the GT500 is the precision version of the American muscle car. It's the result of the first Shelby-Ford partnership in 35 years, with Cobra badges to make the point. You can take a snake home for just over $42,000 at retail. What are you waiting for?
