The EVO eCoty Dream Garage. Part One.

EVO magazine, the highly-regarded enthusiast magazine, has been crowning their Car of the Year annually since the publications inception in 1998.

eCoty as it's commonly abbreviated to, or Porsche Car of the Year as it's often jokingly referred as, sees the year's greatest performance cars brought together and judged by some of the industries most-well respected journalists.

Yes, Porsches have taken the honours many times over the years, but that only speaks to the quality of product the German manufacturer continually produces. Judges throughout the years have included Harry Metcalfe, Henry Catchpole and Richard Meaden to name but a few.

These scribes know what their talking about and have a huge wealth of knowledge. The appeal of eCoty being that these guys know what the every-man/woman want from a performance car. "Driving Passion".

So, for a bit of fun. Can we fill a fantasy 21-car garage with all the winners since 1998? To the classifieds!

1998: Porsche 911 Carrera 996.1

The 996. The 911 that gets the most hate, if a 911 can be hated at all. 911 aficionados lost their lunch when Porsche ushered in a new water-cooled flat six. Then there was those headlights. Gone were the infamous round lamps, for what were quickly nicknamed "the fried-eggs".

Not that any of this really mattered. The 996 drove brilliantly and moved the game on. So much so, it took the inaugural eCoty gong. Sales were a success too, meaning the used market is flooded, yet prices are still reasonable, with it being the ugly-duckling of the 911 back-catalogue.

Here's the one I've chosen. A 1998 navy-blue C2 with tan-leather. Unfortunately it's a tiptronic, but I couldn't find a manual currently for sale in Ireland (and I want as many Irish cars on this list as possible). On the plus side, it's relatively low miles for the age and comes with a Porsche service history. Plus, who wouldn't enjoy a Porsche for hatchback money, regardless of gearbox choice.

1999: Porsche 911 GT3 996.1

Yep, already. One-year in and another Porsche. Some may have rolled their eyes at the changes the 996-generation 911 brought in, but no one could deny one addition; and that was the GT3.

The GT3 took the ultimate drivers car, the 911 and turned it up to 11. Porsche stripped away all unnecessary weight and let their motor-sport department work their magic on the engine and chassis. It's a recipe that allowed the GT3 to take top prize at eCoty 1999, even with strong competition from Ferrari with their newly released 360.

I've had to go to the UK for this one. Unsurprisingly, there are no 996 GT3s for sale in Ireland and only two pre-facelift cars to choose from on Autotrader. The one I've chosen is a yellow Clubsport that has been slightly modified. The modifications won't be for everyone, but they are reversible and will only build upon an already great base.

2000: Porsche 911 Turbo 996

New millennium and new winner. No, of course not (you can see how the above nickname has stuck). To give the 996 generation 911 range a full sweep, the Turbo took the big prize, quite convincingly.

It's, for the time, mind-bending performance of 420bhp and 415lbs/ft of torque, mated to surefooted four-wheel-drive traction made the 996 Turbo the consummate all rounder. A super-fast sports car with everyday usability and comfort. So much so, that the 911-hating, Jeremy Clarkson, put the Turbo in the top 10 of his 100 Greatest Cars of all time list back in 2001.

Unlike the GT3, I have been able to find a Turbo for sale in Ireland, this silver 2003 model. It has the X50 pack, which added larger K24 turbos and intercoolers and a revised ECU, bringing power to 450bhp. It's only wearing 45k kms on its odometer too. Anyone got a spare 80 grand?

2001: Pagani Zonda C12 S

Praise-be, 2001 and Porsche didn't win. Probably helped by the fact they didn't have any new models released that year, but let's not get too pedantic.

2001's victor was the very special Pagani Zonda C12 S. The Zonda had been around since 1999, but the C12 S took it to a whole new level. The AMG-sourced V12 was bored out to 7 litres, which brought power up to 542bhp from 444bhp in the regular C12.

The Zonda had a manual gearbox, which, even in 2001, was unexpected in a super-car. The incredible design mated to the accessibility of the staggering performance made for the ultimate super-car experience. Harry Metcalfe (founder and former editor of EVO) even put his money where his mouth was and bought a Zonda.

The Zonda is a rare car, in all variants. There were only 16 C12 S made globally, so finding them for sale is tough. Again, I've had to go to the UK, but this C12 S is RHD. It has been upgraded to Zonda F spec, meaning more power and chassis tweaks. I'd like a standard car for our fantasy garage, but beggars can't be choosers.

2002: Honda NSX Type-R

2002 and not even Porsche could take the prize this year. The 996.2 911 took second place to the surprise winner, the Honda NSX Type-R.

The NSX was Honda's attempt at a serious sports-car in 1990. A honed, mid-engined, rear-wheel drive scalpel thrown atop a range, that, until then was full of hatchbacks and saloons. The NSX was always a left-field choice, buyers not convinced by a Honda badged car for the price of a Ferrari.

To some, it also lacked a few cylinders, having to make-do with a V6. What a V6 though. Developed with Honda's now infamous V-TEC valve-timing. The rev-hungry engine red-lined at 8000rpm. Matched to a perfectly balanced chassis (honed by a certain Ayrton Senna), the NSX was praised for it's performance in period.

The Type-R was added to the range in 1992, with the NSX going through an extensive face-lift in 2002, with the Type-R included. Type-R models are the peak of performance for Honda models, and the standard NSX was built upon in the Type R by having 100kg! shaved from it's already svelte weight and the V6, now bored out to 3.2 litres, produced 290bhp.

Like the Zonda, NSX Type Rs are rare. Only 160 were built, so I've had to go to Hong Kong to find this 35,000km example. Getting it here will be a pain, as importing from HK is a laborious task, but it would be oh so very worth it.

2003: Porsche 911 GT3 996.2

Normal service has resumed, a Porsche takes the top honours yet again. It's 1999 all over again, as the GT3 wins, this time in face-lifted 996.2 guise.

Porsche managed to make the best better, by honing what some thought, spiky handling, to be slightly more progressive and squeezing more power from that glorious flat-six.

Porsche was helped by a not so spectacular opposition that year, with an the Impreza STi Spec C taking second place. Not a bad car, by any means, but hardly legendary.

Again, finding a first-gen GT3 for sale in Ireland is unlikely, so a UK car had to be sourced. I decided to go other end of the spectrum from our 996.1 choice and went with this 2003, silver, Komfort spec car. It also happens to be one of the more affordable GT3s out there.

2004: Porsche 911 Carrera S 997.1

Would you believe it, Porsche has only gone and done it again. 2004 saw the newly released 997 generation 911 Carrera S take the big prize. It was a closely fought competition that year, with the Lotus Exige and Clio 182 Cup running the 911 close.

The Porsche just did it though, with the 997 taking up where the already brilliant 996 left-off. It was evolution rather than revolution, with a raft of small changes to the formula to make one giant step in performance.

The 997 is still regarded by most as peak-modern 911. A sweet spot in a very illustrious lineage. It being such a well received car means it sold by the bucket load, making finding an Irish car an easier task then others on this list.

I wanted a manual car, but they're scarce, so the only one I could find has some questionable addenda added to it. PDK wasn't added until the face-lift and I wasn't having a tiptronic, even though there were a few more of those to choose from. If it drives as it should, I can excuse the looks.

2005: Ford GT

Hip-Horay, 2005 gave us a winner that wasn't a Porsche. The only problem when EVO pick a winner that isn't a Porsche, it tends to be a low-volume car, making one for sale, hard to find and expensive.

The Ford GT was launched in 2005 as an homage to the infamous 1960s, Le Mans winning GT40. Retro throwbacks were all the rage in the early millennium, but this was no cynical piece of marketing tosh, the GT was a serious driver's car.

The recipe was relatively simple. Big American V8, six-speed manual, rear-wheel-drive. It had no drivers aids, so no electronics were masking some limp-wristed chassis. The GT could very much talk the talk. Earlier in the year, both EVO and Top Gear held the GT above the Ferrari 360. So much so, Mr. Clarkson famously bought one.

Despite a relatively large production run for what it was, of over 4000, GTs don't often come up for sale en masse. Partly because it's so highly regarded, people hang on to them, but also, that lack of driver-aids saw quite a few meet an early end.

So, an Irish car was never going to happen. Even going to the UK only threw up two cars. one being a 700-mile car for £350k, but you could never use that. So this option, a blue on white car with 4,507 miles on the clock. At £279,995, its's actually on the cheaper end of the spectrum too.

2006: Ferrari 599 GTB

Two years running and a Porsche not taking away the prize. More surprising is it's the first Ferrari to take the top step. Ferrari were on a serious role in the mid-millenium, making cars that beggared belief in the performance stakes.

They managed to meld highly developed mechanical know-how with the latest and greatest technology, to make cars do what us mortals didn't think was possible. The 599 probably the best embodiment of this amalgamation.

The 599 was Ferrari's V12 flagship in 2005, replacing the long-serving 550/575. Great cars in their own-right, but definitely leaned toward the more GT side of the performance car spectrum.

The trick with the 599 was it could play GT just as well as it's predecessor, but when the steering-wheel mounted 'manettino' switch was turned to it's 'Race' setting, the 599 could play spine-tingling sports-car like the best of them, if not better.

I thought I had found an Irish car, but the ad was marked as sold (this Irish car garage isn't going too well). So to the UK again. Which means I was able to find an incredibly rare manual car, with most having been optioned with the F1-semi automatic box. That means it carries a hefty, five-times-the-price premium, but this is a fantasy-garage, so to hell with cost!

2007: Porsche 911 GT3 RS 997.1

Aaaand we're back. Porsche wins prizes. However you see the bias EVO seems to have for Porsches, it's hard to argue the 997 GT3 RS taking the trophy this year.

The 997 GT3 RS is the most sought after modern-era Porsche. As mentioned above, the 997 was the sweet-spot in the modern 911 lineage. The GT3 took that base and improved it, the RS then came along and changed the game entirely.

All the elements were there. Light weight, motorsport-honed chassis, manual gearbox and the legendary 3.6 litre, Mezger flat-six engine. Objectively, GT3s have been improved since, but the analogue tactility of the 997 will never been matched or replicated.

Although I believe this infamous orange, Irish car has since been sold, the ad is still live, so I'm using my fantasy card again on this one. It's a car I will hopefully some day own, best start looking at organs to sell.

2008: Nissan GT-R R35

2008, no Porsche and the second winner from Japan. This time coming from Nissan. Previous generations of Nissan Skyline (although the Skyline name was technically dropped for the R35) were incredible sports-cars in their own right. Using Japanese technological know-how to create a different approach to the genre.

The R35 GT-R took this approach and then some. People couldn't believe the performance the Godzilla Nissan produced at the price point of just €75k. In fact, the performance was mind-bending at any price bracket. The GT-R's hand-built V6 produced 480bhp and 430lbs/ft of torque.

This allowed the 1700kg car to do 0-60 in a neck-snapping 3.2 seconds with it's stunning launch-control activated (which if used, voided your warranty, mind) and on to a top speed of 196mph. These were numbers produced by rivals costing two, if not three times the price.

So good is the GT-R, that it's still in production today, 12-years on. Albeit it, with minor revisions year on year to make it even better. The price has grown too, but early cars have to be one of the performance car bargains available today.

Thankfully, Irish cars are available. I've gone for this 2011 black car, with just 77k kms after nine-years of use. Buy now before this becomes a bona-fide classic.

A Decade of eCoty winners in our garage, so we'll leave it there for part one. Keep an eye out for part two, where yes, there will be more Porsches.