Published on December 26, 2025
Lorenzo Marcinnò, courtesy of Ferrari S.p.A.
What a time to be a motoring enthusiast. The power-train buffet is open, and it’s all you could ever hope to feast on. This year, Robb Report’s editorial team and our distinguished contributors crisscrossed the globe to drive the premier models recently introduced by the world’s leading luxury and high-performance marques, as well as examples from boutique restoration houses.
The diversity of the field reviewed attests to the automotive industry’s present holding pattern when it comes to deciding on whether electrification should come at the exclusion of internal combustion, or if there’s room for both methods of propulsion in the market, either independently or in the increasingly promising hybrid middle ground. Â
The following selections are a cross section of this everything’s-on-the-table time period, from Ferrari’s new halo hybrid to Bentley’s latest V-8-powered S.U.V.—its most powerful to date—to an all-electric concept intended to map Audi’s road ahead. Here, a condensed synopsis of our favorite road tests in 2025.
Bentley Bentayga Speed
Image Credit: Bentley Motors Limited
Bentley’s most powerful Bentayga yet comes with all-wheel steering, can reach a top speed of 193 mph, and bolts from zero to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. Oh, did we mention that it has a new Dynamic setting that allows it to drift? Well, it does. Acceleration, agility, and power were on full display as we tested it in Montana, even taking it on trail at the 9,200-acre Jumping Horse Ranch. The majesty of the scenery was given added gravitas by the Bentayga’s new 641 hp, 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8—an engine choice that speaks to the current uncertainty shaping the automotive landscape. Yet for all its athleticism, the Bentayga hasn’t abandoned civility. In Comfort or Bentley mode, the ride is expectedly genteel, the cabin poshly dressed in two-tone leather and new diamond quilting developed solely for this latest Speed variant.
(Excerpted and paraphrased from Viju Mathew’s full review, available here.)
Audi Concept C
Image Credit: Audi AG
Audi—a marque held in high regard by other automakers—has long produced models that are benchmarks in understated yet elegant design and performance. Audi seems to have lost some of that juice, though, when it comes to the adoption of electrification, as it has diluted its identity through too many EV options, many of which don’t move the needle aesthetically. That script is being flipped with its new Concept C prototype that we put through its paces in the Italian Dolomites. The superb handling—neutral and direct, with excellent body control and massive grip—should come as no surprise when you remember that this automobile could perhaps share the same platform as that of the future electric Porsche Boxster (we will have to wait and see). And while no specifics were given as to the eventual production version, we have every reason to believe that it could deliver more than 1,000 hp.
(Excerpted and paraphrased from Jonny Lieberman’s full review, available here.)
Ford Mustang GTD
Image Credit: Ford Motor Company
Ford has come up with many limited-edition variants of its famed Mustang model over the years, each ostensibly special in its own way, but there has never been anything like the new 815 hp Mustang GTD. The wing on the back of the GTD is active, flipping up at speed, just like the drag reduction system (DRS) on a Formula 1 car. It not only helps enable this machine’s top speed of 202 mph, but also turns heads every time you pull up to a traffic light. As to be expected, Track is the most extreme of the GTD’s six drive modes, but, unlike track-only cars, the GTD feels almost playful as you safely push its limits. Admittedly, while equally compliant on public roads, the GTD is a lot less happy at lower speeds, and the same will hold for you.
(Excerpted and paraphrased from Tim Stevens’ full review, available here.)
Corvette ZR1
Image Credit: General Motors
On an oval track in Germany, General Motors president Mark Reuss drove a Corvette ZR1 to 233 mph, the highest top speed in history for a stateside production vehicle. The most improbable part? This American hypercar is one that anyone can buy at their local Chevy dealer, built in Kentucky with no production limits or multiyear waiting lists. The ZR1 is fit with a high-revving 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 with 1,064 hp and 828 ft lbs of torque—numbers that seem to add up to internal-combustion-engine overkill and intimidation, especially in a rear-wheel-drive sports car. Specs include a 2.3-second launch to 60 mph from a standstill, and a 9.6-second quarter-mile sprint done at 150 mph. Oh, and there’s that Bugatti-like 233 mph top speed. We drove it at Circuit of the Americas, and, yes, the ZR1 feels faster than the Batmobile running late for a costume party at Wayne Manor.
(Excerpted and paraphrased from Lawrence Ulrich’s full review, available here.)
Aston Martin Vantage Roadster
Image Credit: Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC
Aston refreshed the Vantage sports car last May, bumping its mighty AMG V-8’s output to 656 hp. Fast forward one year and the good people of Gaydon have descended upon the Ritz Carlton in Palm Springs to allow Robb Report to have a go in the brand-new Vantage Roadster. As you might expect, the convertible version of the model gets the same upgrades as the Vantage coupe—which finished second in Robb Report’s 2025 Car of the Year contest. The first thing that struck us about the Vantage Roadster was the ride quality. Around town, on the highway, and deep into the canyons, the Roadster rides great. In fact, the ride is more subtle and compliant than that of the new Porsche 911 GTS Cabriolet, the Vantage’s longtime bogey. Pushed hard for hours on idyllic twisting roads, the Vantage Roadster never so much as put a wheel wrong.
(Excerpted and paraphrased from Jonny Lieberman’s full review, available here.)
Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider
Image Credit: Ferrari S.p.A.
Ferrari’s direct successor to its 812 Superfast, the 12Cilindri counts larger-than-life flagships as its predecessors, among them the straked Testarossa and the 365 GTB/4 Daytona, whose nose is similarly styled. This alfresco version brings minimal disruption to the coupé’s slinky silhouette, and is powered by a 6.5-liter V-12—a hulking monument to thrust, producing 819 hp and 500 ft lbs of torque. As we cruised through Portugal’s coastal roads at mellow speeds, the convertible felt sedate, the only clue to its elevated presence being the head-swiveling reactions from locals and the visceral joy it seemed to bring to children. The other side of the 12Cilindri comes when the road opens with enough space to fully exploit the incredible range of the V-12: with the top down and the gas pedal depressed, there is seemingly nothing that can stop the flow of power between the quicksilver shifts.
(Excerpted and paraphrased from Basem Wasef’s full review, available here.)
RML GT Hypercar Prototype
Image Credit: Max Earey, courtesy of RML
What happens when you take the 992.1-generation Porsche 911 Turbo S, reimagine it in carbon fiber and give it another 300 hp? Well, that’s exactly what the RML Group—a UK-based team of motorsport engineers that have been building race cars for more than 40 years—set about to find out. The result is the RML GT Hypercar (GTH) delivering 920 hp, which is more than the Porsche 918 Spyder. The sensation behind the wheel is a head-spinning blast of boost akin to igniting a jet afterburner. Even in this age of absurdly accelerative EVs, it still feels wild. The official numbers are zero to 60 mph in 2.4 seconds and a 205 mph maximum. And with its aggressive aerodynamics, including a massive rear wing, the car generates a maximum downforce of 2,035 pounds. Starting at $665,000 (plus donor car), the GTH will comprise only 39 examples.
(Excerpted and paraphrased from Tim Pitt’s full review, available here.)
Aston Martin Vanquish Volante
Image Credit: Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC
The closed-top version of the all-new Vanquish appeared stateside last year, and, because convertibles are proliferating in the ultra-luxury market, the droptop’s debut was inevitable. The Volante has gained only 200 pounds in convertible guise, while retaining everything else we love about the Vanquish coupe. The Vanquish convertible shares its 824 hp, 5.2-liter twin-turbo V-12 engine, eight-speed ZF torque-converter automatic transmission, trick limited-slip electronic differential, and front-mid engine/rear-wheel-drive power-train layout with its closed-top counterpart. Aston claims that the Vanquish Volante has a top speed of 214 mph and the ability to cover zero to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds, matching that of the coupe. While we did not attempt to meet the former, we can attest to the seat-of-the-pants accuracy of the latter. As for handling, it strikes an exquisite balance between suppleness and tethering grip, even in the sportiest settings.
(Excerpted and paraphrased from Brett Berk’s full review, available here.)
Ferrari F80
Image Credit: Lorenzo Marcinnò, courtesy of Ferrari S.p.A.
To call this 1,184 hp street-legal Prancing Horse magnificent feels like an understatement, but then the new F80 unleashes more power than any road-going Ferrari to leave the factory in history and distills everything the marque has learned in nearly 80 years. As with Maranello’s 499P and 296 GTB, the F80 carries a compact 3.0-liter 120-degree V-6. But unlike the others—or any production car apart from the Porsche 911 GTS—it uses energy derived from the battery to power two massive electric turbochargers spinning at 160,000 rpm. Straight-line performance is staggering: zero to 125 mph in a claimed 5.3 seconds, and zero to 60 in a mere 2.0. And while plenty of modern hypercars are absurdly quick, few offer the F80’s level of control: It invites total confidence. Understandably, all 799 examples have been presold starting at $3.73 million apiece.
(Excerpted and paraphrased from Jonny Lieberman’s full review, available here.)
Bugatti Mistral
Image Credit: Daniel Wollstein, courtesy of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.
Bugatti’s 1,578 hp Mistral is an ode to open-air motoring that recently set a roofless speed record of 282 mph and starts at about $5.8 million. Introduced in 2022, with all 99 examples already spoken for, the model began deliveries this past February, giving Robb Report the chance to pilot one. No matter how many hypercars you’ve driven, the maximalist Mistral still astounds with its breathtaking power at any throttle opening. Brush the accelerator and you’re whisked away; press it a mere quarter down and you’re flying; flatten it and, well, Godspeed on your catapult to the horizon—62 mph arrives in 2.4 seconds. The experience not only highlights the uniqueness of the W16 but also underscores the immense forces that allow the Mistral to reach nearly 300 mph with the top down—a mind- (and wind-) blowing feat that cements it as the fastest roadster on the planet.
(Excerpted and paraphrased from Basem Wasef’s full review, available here.)