Category Archives: Chris Harris Videos

Chris Harris does some of the best car reviews on the internet. I enjoy them so much I decided he needed his own category.

The Nature of Performance – Chris Harris

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This video is for the people who have yet to test drive the Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ / Toyota GT-86 and don’t see the appeal of them because they don’t look like much of a performance car on paper. It’s my opinion that we as a generation of automotive enthusiasts are too concerned with on paper performance numbers. My theory for the reason is pretty simple. Another name for “on paper performance” is “impressive on an internet forum performance.” The problem is that on paper performance is all about power, acceleration and top speed numbers. What the paper doesn’t convey are things like chassis balance, feedback and the character of a car. Chris Harris does a truly exceptional job explaining the difference in this comparison video of the Toyota GT-86, Nissan 370Z and a used Porsche Cayman S. He says, “It’s time we got back to enjoying performance for its nature and not because of its quantity” and I couldn’t agree more.


Source: DRIVE on YouTube

Drag Race: Porsche GT2 RS vs. Ducati 1199 Panigale S

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Chris Harris hops into a 997 Porsche GT2 RS to go head to head with his counter part on a Ducati 1199 Panigale S Tricolore. He makes the video fascinating in his usual style by showing the 2 practice runs for the car and the bike. The guys had some trouble figuring out how to get the machines off the line smoothly given the ludicrous amount of power they make. They answered some questions and brought up some new ones for some sequel videos that I’m very much looking forward to.


Source: DRIVE on YouTube

Ford Shelby GT500 vs. Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 – Chris Harris

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Here is yet another comparison between the top representatives of the modern muscle car era, the Ford Shelby GT500 and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Normally I would wait a little longer to post this after the Motor Trend comparison, but I thought Chris Harris offered some fresh insights into these cars. He’s from the UK and spends most of his time driving cars in Europe, so he hasn’t had as much exposure to American muscle cars. Between the two comparisons, you get a really complete picture of what the two cars are like. Harris spends time in both cars driving them around Manhattan at slow speeds and then takes them the track at Monticello to see how they perform at high speeds.


Source: DRIVE on YouTube

Bowler Wildcat, Tomcat and EXR-S

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Bowler Motorsport is a company run by two brothers in Derbyshire, UK. They produce Land Rover based rally raid trucks used in desert racing events like the Paris-Dakar Rally. One of their early models was the Tomcat. It was designed by one of the Bowler brothers and then taken over by a company in Wales. The Tomcat was featured in the Iceland jet kayak race on Top Gear:

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Chris Harris on the 2012 Porsche Boxster 981

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The Boxster has always had a strange place in the Porsche lineup. It was introduced as an entry level model in 1996 to attract new buyers to the brand. Porsche decided to design it with a mid engine layout instead of their trademark rear engine layout that they’ve used on all of the 911’s. While the original Boxster was sporty, I don’t think very many people viewed it as a true sports car. Things got tricky as the Boxster became a sales success and Porsche began to improve its performance. The mid engine layout used in the Boxster and its sister car, the Cayman, is theoretically superior to the rear engine layout Porsche has gotten to work so well in the 911. Last year’s hardcore performance variants, the Boxster Spyder and the Cayman R, started to get dangerously close to outshining Porsche’s venerable 911. Some of the media reviewers even thought that Porsche purposely limited the performance on the Spyder and R with inferior spec tires so that they wouldn’t compete directly with the bread and butter 911.

Now there’s a new completely redesigned Boxster for 2012. Chris Harris attended the launch at the Route Napoleon on behalf of the DRIVE channel to review the new car. I’d say that this is one of his best reviews. First, he addresses the heritage and expectations of the new model. Then he talks about what he loves about the car and he’s realistic about the parts that bother him. Harris has an unparalleled ability to convey what a car is like to drive with his words and it really shows here. He concludes with a very interesting comparison between the new Boxster and the current 911 that may surprise you.


Source: DRIVE on YouTube