The best cars in America: welcome to TopGear.com’s US Car Awards 2027

Welcome friends, to our second annual TopGear.com US Car Awards – a chance to name and explain the greatest new cars, car companies, car technologies and car people in America. If you live in the US and plan on buying a car, truck, SUV, supercar, sports car or restomod at some point in the future (let’s face it, that covers 99 per cent of you) then think of this as your handy guide to dodging the duds.

Stay tuned to TopGear.com over the coming days for the full features on each of these Top Gear Award-winning cars, tech, and people...

“RAM’s showstopper pickup is powered by a decidedly old-school V8 engine, specifically all the 6.2-liter HEMIs that were shelved when Stellantis made moves to downsize power units. Now that V8s are back on the menu, RAM wasted no time in tweaking the engine to blow the Raptor R’s 720hp off the spec sheet.”

“Of all of 2026’s take on the rabidly popular SUV formula, we fell hardest for the refreshing, relaxed Rivian. Unlike a Fisker, a Faraday-Not-The-Future (or perhaps the Lucid) you don’t fear that this is a company teetering on the brink.”

“The chassis just soaks up the ferocious power and allows you to really use it. The ZR1X has balance, poise and feels almost benign. It’s shockingly fast every single time you open the throttle but the fear is missing. It’s all thrill.”

“It’s a ballistic device in its own right. So fast, so clear in its purpose and re-engineered to a level where even that monster engine doesn’t overwhelm the package. The engine-driven cooling fan is loud and wearing. The ride is hardcore. But it rips."

“What guarantees success in life is creating and building something, pushing beyond what you think is possible. Pushing for that last tenth. It’s not a racing thing, it’s not about a tenth of a second. It’s about realising that when you think something’s good enough it’s not good enough. You’ve got to go further.

“That’s how you end up with cars that can do wheelies and trucks that can really jump.”

“One thing is for sure: this is the version of Tesla we want to see. The version focused on making important vehicles that serve normal people brilliantly. Amid all the recent noise it’s become all too easy to forget what this company is capable of at its brilliant best. The Semi is a potent reminder."

“The fundamentals are terrific. Central, quite literally, to its appeal is the hugely characterful engine, which is torquey and tractable but feels like it’d happily rev higher than its 6,600rpm redline.”

“BMW has a storied, tumultuous history (as most automakers who have survived the past century do) and it has found comfort in change. Throughout it all, though - even when the styling department dropped the ball spectacularly - building ‘the ultimate driving machine’ has been at the heart of its thinking.”

“There’s really only one problem with our engine of the year: its name. The new LS6 in the middle of the updated Corvette has the sort of spec list that the Founding Fathers would’ve enshrined in the Constitution.”

“The Magma GT feels coherent in a way that some concept cars - even some production cars - don’t. And the more time you spend with it, the better it gets. The GT feels real, and that makes it more interesting.”

“People still carry a torch for the WRX and its many rally-inspired incarnations, but the heart of Subaru fandom is its dutiful, rugged, useful wagon – the Trailseeker.

“Oh, you thought we were going to say the Outback? That was true, until the Trailseeker out-wagoned it.”