Welcome to our PCOTY track notes. These are the stream-of-consciousness scrawlings from our resident hot shoe, editor-at-large Jethro Bovingdon, following his hot-lap sessions in each contender:

So. Much. Grip. The Mustang, equipped with the Handling Pack and hence fitted with the new Pirelli Trofeo RS tire, was borderline outrageous on track for a car of this size, weight and at this price point.

Huge lateral grip, the braking performance to match, and a 5-litre V-8 with wicked response married to the superb 6-speed Tremac gearbox (the standard Mustang has a Getrag 6-speed). It would be an exaggeration to say that the Dark Horse ever feels small or truly nimble, but it hollers and bullies its way around the racetrack with such intensity and focus and is properly fast. Faster than a 911 Carrera T, for example.
It?s odd to sit so high and sense the sheer scale of the Mustang (it actually feels even bigger than it is from the driver?s seat), but still have such dependable front-end response. The rear axle can live with the turn-in, too. In fact, the locked-together feel of the front and rear really allows you to compress the phase between corner entry and exit. There?s an innate neutral balance that builds confidence whereas in, say, the M2, you're forced to manage the power and oversteer all the time. The Dark Horse frees you up to unleash the engine. You can really attack in this car. Oh, and the engine and gearbox are superb and really humble the Nismo's slightly flat ...