The spectacular scenery of eCoty 2024 – car pictures of the week
Just as important as the cars in eCoty is finding somewhere equally spectacular to put them to the test
The cars of evo Car of the Year 2024 are well established: we've already counted down the contenders and absentees, and you can also watch episode 10 of the evo Podcast where our judges discuss the cars and test at length.
Aside from the nine contending cars, there was a tenth star in this year’s test: the location itself. This year’s test took place amongst some of the most spectacular scenery that have featured in eCoty for some years. It’s these views that are the subject of this week’s car pictures.
Organising the ultimate test for the year’s best cars means trying to control as many movable factors as possible. A track to explore the cars’ handling abilities safely; and roads that offer the best chance to fully understand each car’s strengths and weaknesses, and the chance to photograph them unimpeded. This year’s test took place on routes that combined great corners, well-maintained surfaces (with a few pockmarked sections too, to challenge ride and handling), jaw-dropping vistas, and away from locals’ main commuting routes. Oh, and preferably, try and arrange some good weather. Nowhere can guarantee the latter but for 2024’s edition of evo Car of the Year, we fancied our chances better if we went abroad – the first sortie beyond the British Isles since 2019.
Judged against the above criteria, our chosen venue was the Navarra region of northern Spain. Launching from Pamplona, we found our way through the Navarra region’s basin floor before meandering up into the foothills of the Pyrenees – the topographically fractious seam joining France and Spain. The final flourish of the test was letting the cars loose on the newly upgraded Circuito de Navarra race track, to fully understand their dynamics closer to their limits.
All told, we're pretty happy with the resulting photography. That the almost unreal scenery sometimes stole the show from the cars themselves was a nice problem to have.
To read the full test, pick up a copy of evo 329 in-store or online.
