Matt Farah
Editor-at-Large
Matt Farah is a lifelong car enthusiast who began his automotive career at dealerships, rental agencies, and detail shops before discovering the power of YouTube in 2006, with his channel The Smoking Tire. Farah has a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, with a concentration in Photography, helping not only create YouTube content but also providing his own photography for his Editor-at-Large position at Road & Track.
He has hosted and produced television series on NBC Sports, G4 Network, SPEED, and Esquire. The Smoking Tire Podcast is #1 in the category every week of the year. Now at 800+ episodes, The Smoking Tire podcast is the definitive guest stop for who’s who in the auto industry. Farah’s Westside Collector Car Storage is a game-changer in luxury, concierge parking that expanded to a second location in 2023.
The AMG-Powered 2024 Lotus Emira Gets a Perfect Engine and an Imperfect Transmission
To get the perfect engine for the Emira, Lotus had to take an imperfect transmission. It loses the manual and gets an automatic, sealed by AMG and not up to par.
The Porsche 911 Dakar Harnesses the Spirit of Its Rally-Dominating Ancestors
In this $252,270 Dakar, I’m a sideways rock star. I am Walter Röhrl. I am Jacky Ickx. And I want to drive this car the rest of the way across the Sahara.
The Perfect Plug-In Hybrid Performance Car Exists. It Just Costs $232,000.
There is, put simply, nothing bad about this car. It is nearly perfect, and for $232,000, it had better be.
Eddie Hall Did All 24 Hours of Le Mans by Himself, and He Did It in This Car
Matt Farah drives a bizarre bit of Le Mans History. The Bentley completed the 24 hours of Le Man with a solo driver, a feat that hasn't been done before or since.
It's the Most Successful One-Make Car Show in the World. So Why Can't Anyone Copy Luftgekühlt?
Leaving the ninth all-Porsche Luftgekühlt show, the harder I tried to mentally replace the cars with literally any other make of car the more I found myself failing to be able to make the math, or the imagery, work.
The American Super Sports Car That Couldn't Quite Conquer Le Mans
In 1953, there was no stopping Briggs Cunningham’s C-5R, the fastest car at Le Mans.
A Rental Chrysler 300 Has Never Driven Better Roads: Pre-Running the Smoky 600
Setting the route for Road & Track's Smoky 600 put me on the greatest roads in the Smoky Mountains, some of the greatest in America. Did I have a Lamborghini? No. Did I have a Porsche? Nah. Chrysler 300. Thanks Enterprise.
The Cars of Hip-Hop Legend Killer Mike
Hip-hop icon Killer Mike builds community with four wheels and a dream.
The Porsche 911 GT3 RS Makes Its Case Even Over $300,000
Porsche won’t say on the record, but those in the know say that if you put slicks on a GT3 RS, it’s faster around some tracks than a Cup Car.
The Porsche 911 Dakar Is One of the Most Special New Car Driving Experiences
This is no simple job. It would be very difficult if not outright impossible to directly replicate the Dakar in the aftermarket.
The Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica Is Silly Fun on the Track, but a Handful on the Road
The Tecnica is a more sensible version of the Huracán STO. But even a toned-down STO is a lot to handle.
How Tom Selleck and the Humble 308 Rescued Ferrari from Oblivion
Collectors assert that 308s aren’t for concours shows or stashing away in collections. They’re for driving.
The Hyundai Elantra N Is the Best Bang for Your Performance Car Buck
Don't overlook the Elantra N if you're searching for an affordable new performance car.
The 2023 Subaru WRX Is Good, but Outclassed on the Track
Subaru fans will appreciate its smooth engine, predictable dynamics, and composure over rough surfaces. But it'll take a bit of work to prep it for the track.
What Ken Block Meant to Us All
The untimely death of this quiet legend leaves a hole in the world of driving.
The Ultimate Porsche Boxster Break-In: Running Route to Vine in My 4.5-Liter DeMan Spyder
I needed to log over 1000 miles in my engine-swapped Frozen Berry Metallic Porsche 718 Spyder. I also had to test run this year's Route to Vine Experiences event. Combo!
The 2023 BMW M4 CSL Is Amazing but Exhausting
BMW's gnarliest M4 is brutally fast and shockingly precise, but it's a handful on the track and fatiguing on the street.
The 2023 Audi RS3 Is Excellent in Almost Every Way
There are few, if any, better sport sedans you can buy new for under $80,000.
The Porsche Carrera T Unlocks What You Want in a 911
It has just as much real-world pace as a car with twice the power and several hundred pounds of extra ballast.
The GR Corolla Is Unlike Any Toyota We've Seen in America in 20 Years
There are few cars I’d want to spend my last day on Earth flogging. The GR Corolla is one of them.
The P1800 Cyan Is the World's Coolest Volvo
Certainly, Singer and its reimagined 911s get a lot of credit for trendsetting at the high end of the restomod world. Now, there are reinvigorated classics across the spectrum.
The Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Is the Best Car Your Ears Can Buy
There is no question at all why the GT4 RS is a serious contender for our Performance Car of the Year.
Audi R8 GT: Saving the Best For Last
The irony that to build the best R8 ever, Audi shed its defining characteristic.
The 2023 Corvette Z06 Is a Ferrari 458 Speciale But Better
Here's how the new Z06 performed during its 3-Lap Review at our 2023 Performance Car of the Year test.
Video: The 2023 Honda Civic Type R Is an Impressive Track Machine
Here's how the new Civic Type R performed when pushed to the limit on track at our Performance Car of the Year test.
Everyone Has the Wrong Idea About EV-Converted Classic Cars
People keep asking me about converting their troublesome old sports cars into low-maintenance EVs. It's a mistake -- they're looking at the wrong genre of vehicle.
No Modern Car Can Match the Model T's Modding Community
With period mods, you could turn a Model T into a proper rock crawler or an open-wheel race car.
We Should All Be Driving Hybrids. So What's Wrong With Them?
Hybrids have an image problem, and I think it's that they have the wrong name. I have a better one.
Can We Just Admit Hands-Free Driving Is For Texting
I've driven all the best assisted-driving systems and they don’t drive better than a human. They’re just a cover for your using your phone.
They Will Never Defeat the Lamborghini Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae
Lamborghini's V-12 takes one last bow before hybrids assume control
The Porsche GT4 RS Is the Cayman That Finally Beats the 911
The GT4 RS smashes the hierarchy.
The 2023 Nissan Z Carries the Torch for Analog Sports Cars
Nissan’s next Z is a better Z at an A+ price.