Head 2 Head

On this episode of Head 2 Head, it's sibling rivalry time. Jonny Lieberman heads to the American Southwest in Utah with two of the best convertibles money can, the Audi R8 Spyder and the Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet. Amazingly, these two high-end, high performance wonders are both manufactured by the Volkswagen Automotive Group. Starting in Las Vegas, Lieberman works his way to a near magical road in Escalante, Utah to figure out which of these German wonders is the best drop top. Why Utah? After getting a good look at Highway 12, you'll never ask that question again. The two cars aren't bad to look at either. Will the Audi's AWD grip and extra horsepower be enough to counter the Porsche's lower weight and RWD sports car advantage? Will the manual Porsche have the strength and the chops to take on the higher tech, dual-clutch equipped R8? Please join us to find out.

On this episode of Head 2 Head, two of England's most prestigious brands duke it out as Motor Trend's Carlos Lago pits the 2013 Bentley Continental GT Speed against Aston Martin's 2014 Vanquish. With names like Vanquish & GT Speed, it's inevitable that some spirited driving awaits. Join Carlos as he he flogs both these fine automobiles through Motor Trend's dynamic testing course before heading out to carve up the canyon roads. Both Aston Martin & Bentley are synonymous with luxury, class & the finer things in life. However, there's nothing gentlemanly about the 12 cylinder motors each car packs under it's bonnet. Even more savage is their more than 500 horse power capabilities. Add carbon ceramic brakes into the mix & price tags near $300,000 & you've got an exotic match up.

On this episode of Head 2 Head, Motor Trend's Mike Febbo pits two tuner cars against each other. In one corner, the BMW 335i loaded with an BMW M Performance kit and aftermarket options. In the opposing corner, the Cadillac ATS tuned by D3. Because both cars are modified, Mike puts them on the dyno at european auto source. The contenders then head out for dynamic testing and real-world driving impressions. Do the combined forces of Cadillac and D3 have what it takes to out-run the German powerhouse? Find out in this episode, and check out Greg Emmerson's in-depth story in the December 2013 issue of european car Magazine or at http://www.europeancarweb.com

On this episode of Head 2 Head, Motor Trend's Jonny Lieberman referees the battle between two hotly anticipated Japanese sports sedans - the 2014 Infiniti Q50S and 2014 Lexus IS350. Lieberman starts out at the track where he puts both cars through the usual battery of Motor Trend instrumented performance tests. After that, it's off to one of California's premiere canyon roads to see how the cars behave in the real, curvy world. Will the new Lexus take the prize? Or is the all-new and quite surprising Infiniti Q50S the winner? Find out on this episode of Head 2 Head.

On this week's episode of Head 2 Head, certified wagon-freak Jonny Lieberman pits two of the very coolest station wagons in the world against each other. More than just cool, these are also two of the rarest wagons on earth. In fact, the E63 AMG Wagon is the rarest car Mercedes sells in the U.S. It's special order only through the dealer — it's not even on their website. Of course, the Icon Derelict is its own form of rare, being one of one. The Derelict started life out back in 1952 as a Chrysler Town & Country Custom Wagon, but things have changed. As for the E63 Wagon, we learned at Best Driver's Car that the stealthy Mercedes is quicker than several supercars. But does it have what it takes to defeat Icon's icon? Watch and find out!

On this episode of Head 2 Head, Carlos Lago and Randy Pobst restage our annual Best Driver's Car competition with this year's winning Porsche 911 Carrera 4S plus two contenders that missed the initial dance, the all-new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and the explosive, exotic Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. The Ferrari is the most powerful car we've ever taken around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with its ferocious 6.3-liter 731 horsepower V-12. The Corvette comes packing the latest version of GM's venerable small block, a 6.2-liter cam-in-block V-8 that kicks out 460 hp and 465 pound-feet of torque. The Porsche and its relatively tiny 3.8-liter flat-6 might seem out gunned, but remember that for the last two years the 911 has beaten back every BDC challenger we've thrown at it. Does the Corvette have what it takes to dethrone the 911? Does the wailing Ferrari? Watch and find out!

On this episode of Head 2 Head, Jonny Lieberman pits an American icon against itself. Since 1984 AM General's Humvee has served as the U.S. Military's primary multipurpose workhorse. However, after adding nearly three tons of armor plating, the already slow, ill handling beast gets slower and clumsier. One solution is to replace it with a new truck, but that would cost us a fortune. The other comes from Banks Engineering, which adds more sophisticated turbocharging as well as a revised, active suspension. If the Humvee is going to go down in history as the truck version of the B-52, it needs upgrades similar to what Banks is selling. That said, the Banks Humvee does cost a good deal more than the base Humvee. However, it's a much cheaper alternative to something like an MRAP or the Oshkosh L-ATV. But is it that much better than the regular production Humvee? Watch and find out!

On this episode of Head 2 Head Jonny Lieberman is joined by Mike Shaffer and two extremely potent hyper sedans, the 2014 BMW M5 Competition and the 2014 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S Model. Between the two of them, these two mighty Germans produce 1152horsepower and 1092 pound-feet of torque. On paper. After a day of horsing around/testing Shaffer and Lieberman grow suspicious of each twin-turbo V-8's actual output. So, they take them to the dyno gurus at K&N engineering to learn what's what. The results very well may shock and amaze you. However, the boys come to the conclusion that numbers are only exactly that: only numbers, and numbers only matter so much. One true test of a super sedan is how it handles a twisting stretch of tarmac. The other is how much you yearn for the car after you've walked away from it. How much the keys itch in your pocket. While the results are definitive, this Head 2 Head is much closer than most. Have a watch!

The 2013 Lexus GS F Sport has taken down the likes of the BMW 535i, Audi A6 and Infiniti M37 in previous comparisons, and is our reigning king of the luxury performance sedan segment. The new 2014 Cadillac CTS Vsport brings two turbos, over 100 more horsepower, and a history of excellent track-day capability to the table, but weighs over 100 lbs. more than the Lexus. Can the light, balanced, and nimble Lexus hold its own against the American powerhouse Cadillac CTS V Sport? On this episode of Head 2 Head, Jonny Lieberman takes both cars to the testing grounds, canyon roads, and finally the racetrack to find out.

On this episode of Head 2 Head, Jonny Lieberman heads to Graz, Austria, the home of one of the world's toughest off roaders - the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. The last time a G63 appeared on Head 2 Head, it beat out the all-new and quite excellent Range Rover Supercharged. This time, however, the G63 faces even stiffer competition — another G63. Of course, this particular G has an extra axle, because it's the $500,000+ G63 AMG 6x6! Costing roughly twice as much as the awesome twin-turbo V-12 powered G65, the 6x6 is the ultimate expression of the Gelandewagen... on paper. But is it actually any good? Is the 6x6 as awesome as it looks, or is the regular G-Wagen just too well thought out? And why is the 6-wheeled truck always jumping in the air like that? Watch and find out!

On this episode of Head 2 Head, Kim Reynolds re-enacts the Battle of Britain by pitting the Union Jack's two great luxury names again each other — Bentley versus Rolls-Royce. However, these two require testing that's elevated above the routine, so we've devised as few, ah, unorthodox challenges. With almost 1200-hp, twenty-four cylinders, and four turbochargers between them, the Flying Spur and Ghost can both paint tire streaks on the dragstrip. But can they paint with acrylics on canvas as well? We'll find out. And which car can turn more heads in ritzy Santa Monica? We aimed video cameras at the sidewalks and counted the eyeballs. All that, and the answer to which car has a $40,000 paint job, is just a click away

Randy Pobst – “For Head to Head, it’s episode 48, the Jaguar XKR-S GT versus the Aston Martin V12 Vantage S, because I got to drive the Jag in from Vegas the day before, and because the XKR-S GT was surprisingly wonderful hot lapping the Willow Springs track. It was a clear improvement on all other Jags I'd driven, especially in its ability to put its prodigious power down.”