Best in Class - Episode 2: Turbo Titans - Video posted!

SaaaWeeeeeTTTTT! I can't wait to check out the first epi of this. I just hope I did a decent job of editing it. If all goes well it should be killer.
 
Best in Class Series Premier!

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The definition of a sports car is simple; it is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for performance driving and maneuverability. As vague as that may be, we've rounded up a handful of cars that are sure to grab your attention. Our criteria was as follows; light, cheap, moderate power, two-door, rear wheel drive, and must have a small displacement motor. The four cars we thought fit this best were the Honda S2000, Mazda RX-8, Nissan Silvia, and the Toyota GT86. All cars were tested on Comfort Soft tires. The way we will go about our tests in order to find the superior sport coupe will be through these methods. Speed testing, including 0-60, 1/4 mile and measuring Top Speed. A Hotlap around Laguna Seca piloted by the driving machine known as LVracerGT. Another Hotlap around the ring done by NurburgStig mike_gt3, and a braking test specially tailored by our crew. Fun factor as well as price and styling, will also play a huge role in the final results. If a car has a "Best in Class" Spec and/or result, it will be highlighted in green. Welcome to the series opener of Best in Class. We hope you enjoy your stay!
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First, let's begin with the S2000. Powered by a 2.2 Liter Vtec 4-banger, as-tested this car produced 246hp and 168ft-lbs of torque. Weighing in at 1250KG this car is the 3rd heaviest car in the group. Styling is pretty conservative, its pretty to look at while not being overly-aggressive. Personally I like the way this car looks front and back. First thing we notice when we brought it to the track was its massive rev-band.. It surpasses the 9 thousand mark, gotta love that Vtec.. Exhaust note isn't half bad either, surprisingly throaty and sounds decent all the way up its tremendous rev count. Time to get more in-depth with things. In a straight line this car is no slouch, 0-60 goes by in 6.1 Seconds followed by the 1/4 mile in 14.7. The S2K goes on to a 158MPH Top Speed, not bad at all. Watching this car climb revs is quite fun as well, with it's massive digital display gauges which seems quite racecar-esque. Straight line performance isn't even half of what a sport car has to do well to be successful, it must also go through the twisties with ease. The little Honda sends mixed messages through many turns, it bites in harder then the rest of the field into a turn, stays planted, and can rocket out of the apex. High speed turns are a different story however, under steer is present and is hard to correct with throttle. Balance seems very off through a bend if you take it at anything above 55, but like I said, anything under that speed and this car is an absolute joy to drive. Massive fun to drive on the limit, just takes a lot of focus to drive at a high pace. It's brakes aren't bad, 3rd best in the group but not off by far. Biggest down-sides to the Honda S2000 are it's surprising body roll, it's not horrible but it's a small car and one wouldn't expect it to have as much motion as it does. It's biggest down side is it's price, 37,800cr. Pretty steep pricing if you ask me. You can get much more car for that dollar. We brought it to Laguna Seca California and let LVracer drive the wheels off of it to see what she's capable of. A 1:45.889 was the number, and on Laguna Seca that is nothing to laugh at. On the Ring Mike was able to run an 8:15 which might not seem that fast but for a 4-cylinder sport mobile it's not half bad. The major downfall was its high speed under steer that I touched on earlier, and on tracks like the ones we are using today, it's a killer. We'll see how it stacks up with the rest of the fleet.
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Next up we will check out the Mazda RX-8. At first glance the 1.3 liter motor would seem underwhelming, but turn that frown upside-down because this is a Rotary Wankle motor. This little 1.3 was producing the most horse power in this test, 255hp. Torque figures aren't as top notch, cranking out 165ft-lbs. The RX-8 is the heaviest car out of the bunch, tipping the scales at 1310KG, still not what you would call a remotely heavy car. Styling wise is, let's say busy. Lots of curves and shapes and swooping lines. It's not the prettiest car we've tested, yet I for some reason think it's elegant. Exhaust note is very nice, I highly recommend putting the sport exhaust on it though, with that exhaust it is by far the best sounding car in this test. I guess I should also mention, this rotary motor revs up a fair bit. How does 9500RPM sound? This car moves very quick as well, 0-60 goes by in 5.6 seconds and the quarter mile mark is met in 14.46 seconds. Top speed was equally impressive, coming in at 164MPH. Let me remind you again, this is a 1300cc motor. Show it some turns and you will be all smiles; turn in is immediate and grippy but under-steer will attempt to rain on the parade occasionally. This can be easily fixed with a blip on the throttle. It will drift for as long as you keep your foot on it, and then some. This car is amazingly controllable, beautiful balance and as much grip as you could need. Any car that can go through any kind of turn as well as this one and yet rotate on demand is a great set of wheels in my book. On Laguna Seca the RX-8 will run a Best In Class time of 1:44.281 blisteringly fast. On the Ring it can muster up a 8:07.603 also being the fastest. Price-wise it is the 2nd cheapest car here, coming in at 28,980 which is a great price for all that you get. Not only did it do these things well, it also tied for having the best brakes as well. The thing about this motor, is how smoothly it accelerates. Power comes in as linear as a it could possibly be. Main downside of this car is its gearing, to the point where 3rd can almost wreck your driving experience. This car is still shaping up to be a dangerous contender.
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The Nissan Silvia S15 is next in the spotlight, being the only turbo-charged car in the test. This car's looks are very neutral, kind of boring if you ask me. Front fascia being nice looking but the rear has nothing special going on at all. It has a 2.0 liter inline four producing 251 horsepower and 206 ft-pounds of torque. This is the 2nd lightest car in the group weighing in at only 1240KG. On paper that would make this the fastest car out of the four correct? Unfortunately not. 0-60 goes by in a modest 6 seconds, and the 1/4 mile goes by in 14.7, making this the 2nd fastest accelerating car. Top speed however is the fastest, coming in at 168MPH. Handling isn't what this car does well. The suspension is just way to soft to be a sportily handling automobile, at times it is humorous how badly the car leans. Kind of reminds me of a Land Rover. The handling characteristics are so hard to predict which makes it hard to be fast, once you really get the hang of driving it it isn't all that bad. You can get it nice and sideways out of a turn but it still under steers hard. Uphill this car gains the most speed thanks to it's 206 ft-lbs of torque and low curb weight. The exhaust gives off the most boring audio throughout the test, and seems to just drone on. Lap times for this car go surprisingly well, it lapped Laguna Seca in 1:44.838 just six tenths off that of the Mazda, and went around the green hell in 8:13.337 making this car the second fastest track car for the least cash, only 25,000cr. But what seemed like a car with more downsides than up, could it really contend for the win?
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Finally we have the Toyota GT86. This car was highly anticipated by all enthusiasts, as it would be Toyota's first sport car in quite some time, and boy did they do a good job on this one. The GT86 is powered by a 2.0 liter Boxer 4 motor that produced 205hp and 194ft-pounds of torque during the tests. This car is the lightest car here by 10KG as it weighs 1240. The styling of this car is in my opinion the best out of all four vehicles, everything comes together from the front to rear bumpers nicely. The exhaust note is that classic boxer rumble, sounds fairly nice although not nearly as good sounding as the RX-8 or S2000. In a straight line this car is nothing to sneeze at yet nothing to cheer about either, 0-60 comes in 6.6 seconds while the 1/4 mile passes by in a lengthy 15 seconds flat. Straight line performance however was not Toyota's goal when building the GT86, their sights were set on the car's handling attributes. The center of gravity in this little Toyota is lower than the CoG in a 458 Italia. The product is something that should silence most critics. The car handles like none other in this test, in fact, the car handles like almost none other - period. There may be slight amounts of safety understeer, but the car's natural balance it to have a small slip angle through a corner. It's meant to be a fun, all smiles kind of car - and it achieves just that. When taken to the track it begins to lose it's handling edge to the other's power, but it still holds its own, lapping Laguna Seca in 1:46.226 and making its way 'round the 'Ring in 8:17.945. Slightly off the pace but not by much. It simply takes the idea of cars needing to be faster, grippier, and more advanced, and sets it ablaze. Rather than those things, it says "let's have less grip, let's have less weight, even less power and go back to driving pleasure".
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With our testing finished, it's time to reveal our results, starting from fourth place going down to first. Before we do that I want to stress just how close that this comparison was, we had to really think about the order in which we would place the cars. Now without further ado, the fourth place car.
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4th: This may surprise many of you, but fourth place goes to the Honda S2000. If price was not part of this test it would have been much higher up the list, but the 37 thousand cr. price is hard to justify when driving it. It's not the best at anything whether it be acceleration, top speed, handling, fun, power, or even looks. It's not often the biggest motor in a group review is the one powered by Vtec. I feel that if they were to solve the under steer problem that this car would fair better as well, because that is what prevents this car from being an absolute blast to drive. All in all fourth place is not that bad in this comparison mostly because just how close they really were. With that said, let's see how the podium shapes up.
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3rd: Now this was the hardest decision right here. What has a bigger weight-factor? Price, or driving dynamics. We took the enthusiasts approach and came to the conclusion that price is irrelevant when the car isn't fun to drive. So, as expected, the Nissan Silvia S15 comes in third place. Some may argue that for only 25k we shouldn't have expected much more, but when you drive this thing around the track you are wanting SO much more. On paper it may be the second fastest car we tested, but you can't measure fun, and the fun factor is what brings this car down. With a stiffer suspension this car would have been a huge competitor. Rather than being a ready to go sport car out of the box like the other three in the group, this car feels like a budget street fighter meant for the customer to make upgrades with the money he saved just by buying it. That isn't the kind of car we were after, and for that reason it lands itself in third.
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2nd: Now for the runner-up. This car is meant to be fun, and everyone knows I have a soft spot for fun, simple cars. Second place goes to the Toyota GT86. On paper this car seems to be the most boring. Lowest HP rating, widest stance, lowest PP. By now everyone should know that what a car looks like on paper, means nearly nothing. Handling is far superior to the rest of the cars, and it doesn't feel a whole lot slower on the track. In fact, on a small circuit such as Autumn Ring, it has no trouble being faster than the cars in 3rd & 4th. The one flaw in it's suspension geometry are the rebound settings. When coming to the bottom of a drop in altitude, it has almost no rear end grip. Not in a fun way either, just a snap oversteer that won't hesitate to ruin your hot lap (just ask LV!). The fun factor is un-rivaled by most cars, especially in this price range. In all honestly though, I feel that Comfort Softs were still too much grip to get the most out of this car. After all, this car doesn't know the meaning of numbers. It only understands smiles. And Smoke.
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1st: First place obviously goes to the Mazda RX-8. No question the best bang for the buck car in this test, being the second cheapest. It's the fastest accelerating, fastest around any kind of track, and has the most controlled slides. Very well balanced, very smooth, and very fast. I couldn't find much of a negative to this car, now mind you it's looks are an acquired taste but I personally like them. The only real downside might be the MPG rating of this car, like that actually matters. So after reading this hopefully you go buy one and drive it around a track and can agree that it is a great car. There you have it, the first ever winner of Best in Class: the Mazda RX-8.
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It wasn't to long ago, that stating you had the best small displacement car on the road, was much like saying you were the healthiest man in intensive care.. That is not at all the case for this group of cars. This concludes the first of many more to come episodes of the Best in Class series. Thanks for stopping by. Drive on!


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I hope you thoroughly enjoyed the first episode of Best in Class. As it is with many "Firsts" there will always be room for improvement, so if you have an idea or a criticism that you think will make this series better I'd be glad to hear it. Did you like the layout? I would like to thank the crew for helping to make all of this possible!

~The Crew~
MOTORTRENDmitch - Writer, Tester Driver
TurboLefty78 - Editor in Chief
Mac K - Test Driver, Photographer
LVracerGT - Chief Test Driver
mike_gt3 - Nurburgring Hot Lapper
SebaEspinosa - Test Driver
BigPete - Test Driver
Jesse208 - Test Driver
 
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Nice read! well done! :)
I will add that the GT 86 had to run comfort soft instead of its stock sport hard tires, all other cars had comfort soft. :)
 
Great write up Mitch! Let me know the next time you're getting on so I can throw some ideas and suggestions at you 👍

Btw, Chief test driver?! I'm honored! :sly:
 
Really nice read and sweet pictures as well! 👍 Reading this really made me wanna go race these cars. :)

Ever since I met you in that room one night when you were testing I've been eagerly waiting for your writeup and it didn't disappoint. Hope you do more in the future.

(btw you wrote vehicals in the GT86 review)
 
Nice read! well done! :)
I will add that the GT 86 had to run comfort soft instead of its stock sport hard tires, all other cars had comfort soft. :)

Thanks man, always good having you!

Great write up Mitch! Let me know the next time you're getting on so I can throw some ideas and suggestions at you 👍

Btw, Chief test driver?! I'm honored! :sly:

Yes I know.. Pretty prestigious title I must say :sly:
JK ;)


OK8
Really nice read and sweet pictures as well! 👍 Reading this really made me wanna go race these cars. :)

Ever since I met you in that room one night when you were testing I've been eagerly waiting for your writeup and it didn't disappoint. Hope you do more in the future.

Well, I'm glad it made you want to go drive them, I was hoping it would give that vibe off 👍 and I know it seemed to take months to make this.. I don't really know how long it took but I put it off for too long.
 
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LVracerGT
Great write up Mitch! Let me know the next time you're getting on so I can throw some ideas and suggestions at you 👍

Btw, Chief test driver?! I'm honored! :sly:

Mitch just wants to be your friend, you know ;). Nice one again Mitch, glad I could help. thanks to the rest of the team to.
 
Well done, man. You should work for Motortrend.

The test was well made. There were a lot of factors to consider, and I think you made it through well. Too bad I couldn't make it to the photo shoot since it looked like fun.

The Silvia S15 is showing its age, but I think it was fair that it made it through 2nd place, since that car has a lot to offer if we consider it's weight and that it has the strongest engine in the group. too bad that it's handling isn't too good. But consider that the Japanease made that car to be tuned.

The S2000 is an awesome little car, but I feel like it doesn't behave too well. It's like if it's lacking rigidity, but at the same time, if you ad the rigidity upgrade it gives it more under-steer.

The RX8 is the obvious winner, but I must point out that such low torque makes it feel like it only has 180HP. You should try it with the SC; that makes a HUGE difference whithout ruining it's natural ballance.

About the Toyota, I think the car's chassis could handle at least 280hp. If you drive it on big tracks it's underpower 2.0 engine shows it's weakness. It's like if they placed the wrong engine under that hood. It's a great car, but lets wait until Subaru Tecnica International takes care of the car(if it ever makes it to GT5, that is).

Great job, man. I remember when I was younger and made stuff like thins when playing GT2. I actually had a notebook where I made comparisons and small journals about cars.
 
Nice writing and photos Mitch. I'm surprised that the RX-8 won, because it's outclassed by it's predecessor. I like all of the cars here a lot.

I have a soft spot for the S2K, because my dad works on Hondas and Infinitis a lot. It's a revvy, fun,lightweight roadster, so I'm disappointed that it came in last, but you do have a point. It has low torque and somewhat unbalanced handling.

The S15 Silvia is a really fun car. With a powerful, torquey engine and low weight, it moves itself pretty quickly. It's good looking too, with an aggressive front fascia and a good overall shape. This car is loads of fun to drive, but pretty tail-happy. Like others said, this car benefits greatly from tuning.

The Toyota 86 is a fun car to toss around, but it suffers from not being as tail-happy as I wished it was. More realistically it should come with comfort soft tires, something that's bothered me. The car is a bit down on power, but something easily remedied with things like ECU tuning or an air filter.

I was surprised with all of the praise the RX-8 gained, but I suppose they don't call it the torqueless wonder for nothing. In it's nickname lies the weak point of the rotary engine: Low torque (it's also fuel thirsty but in GT5 I couldn't care less). I was surprised it had the fastest track times though. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the styling either, I think it looks a little overweight and kind of bland. But I do like the rotary shaped triangle on the front and rear, because it shows pride in being rotary-powered.

Oh hey, I've written a little micro-review myself! :lol:

~Turtle
turtle.gif
 
To all Involved in this fantastic Job guy's...

One that I have found good comparing is HOT Hatch's

Golf
Megane
Mini
207 gti

etc.

These are great little cars to hot lap around the ring and TGTT. We used to pick a small standard hatch back etc, and see who can get the fastest time round each track. One thing that this proved ot me, is how good the TGTT actually is as a test track for cars. As generally of a pack of cars, the fastest round the ring, was also the fastest at TGTT.

Anyway bit off topic. Again Great job to all on this. I would love to see a hot hatch review.
 
Well done, man. You should work for Motortrend.

The test was well made. There were a lot of factors to consider, and I think you made it through well. Too bad I couldn't make it to the photo shoot since it looked like fun.

The Silvia S15 is showing its age, but I think it was fair that it made it through 2nd place, since that car has a lot to offer if we consider it's weight and that it has the strongest engine in the group. too bad that it's handling isn't too good. But consider that the Japanease made that car to be tuned.

The S2000 is an awesome little car, but I feel like it doesn't behave too well. It's like if it's lacking rigidity, but at the same time, if you ad the rigidity upgrade it gives it more under-steer.

The RX8 is the obvious winner, but I must point out that such low torque makes it feel like it only has 180HP. You should try it with the SC; that makes a HUGE difference whithout ruining it's natural ballance.

About the Toyota, I think the car's chassis could handle at least 280hp. If you drive it on big tracks it's underpower 2.0 engine shows it's weakness. It's like if they placed the wrong engine under that hood. It's a great car, but lets wait until Subaru Tecnica International takes care of the car(if it ever makes it to GT5, that is).

Great job, man. I remember when I was younger and made stuff like thins when playing GT2. I actually had a notebook where I made comparisons and small journals about cars.

Thanks a lot man, I know what you mean.. S2k to drive didn't deserve last but on paper didn't deserve much more. I wish is was about 5k cheaper and it would be pretty well priced!
The RX-8 feels slower then 255hp, but I found that the reason behind it is just how smooth the motor is. On paper it is certainly faster than what it would be making 180hp, and while it feels slow alone, put these cars next to it and it won't feel slow at all!

Nice writing and photos Mitch. I'm surprised that the RX-8 won, because it's outclassed by it's predecessor. I like all of the cars here a lot.

I have a soft spot for the S2K, because my dad works on Hondas and Infinitis a lot. It's a revvy, fun,lightweight roadster, so I'm disappointed that it came in last, but you do have a point. It has low torque and somewhat unbalanced handling.

The S15 Silvia is a really fun car. With a powerful, torquey engine and low weight, it moves itself pretty quickly. It's good looking too, with an aggressive front fascia and a good overall shape. This car is loads of fun to drive, but pretty tail-happy. Like others said, this car benefits greatly from tuning.

The Toyota 86 is a fun car to toss around, but it suffers from not being as tail-happy as I wished it was. More realistically it should come with comfort soft tires, something that's bothered me. The car is a bit down on power, but something easily remedied with things like ECU tuning or an air filter.

I was surprised with all of the praise the RX-8 gained, but I suppose they don't call it the torqueless wonder for nothing. In it's nickname lies the weak point of the rotary engine: Low torque (it's also fuel thirsty but in GT5 I couldn't care less). I was surprised it had the fastest track times though. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the styling either, I think it looks a little overweight and kind of bland. But I do like the rotary shaped triangle on the front and rear, because it shows pride in being rotary-powered.

Oh hey, I've written a little micro-review myself! :lol:

~Turtle
turtle.gif

Your mini review was better than my whole write-up ;) haha
I know that the RX-8 is out classed by it's elder, how ever the RX-7 also out prices it, putting it in direct competition with porsches of its time. I like what they've done with the RX-8, long live the rotary motor!
The main reason the RX-8 won is because of how good it really is and only being 3k more than the Silvia, where could you go wrong? Also the GT86 if it has less grip may have won, due to the fact that, it is exactly what toyota wanted it to be, a light fun sport car.. & You can't penalize them for that!


To all Involved in this fantastic Job guy's...

One that I have found good comparing is HOT Hatch's

Golf
Megane
Mini
207 gti

etc.

These are great little cars to hot lap around the ring and TGTT. We used to pick a small standard hatch back etc, and see who can get the fastest time round each track. One thing that this proved ot me, is how good the TGTT actually is as a test track for cars. As generally of a pack of cars, the fastest round the ring, was also the fastest at TGTT.

Anyway bit off topic. Again Great job to all on this. I would love to see a hot hatch review.

Hop Hatches will certainly be a future episode. Something like,
Ford Focus ST
Honda Civic Si
Peugeot 207
VW Golf GTi
Mini Cooper S

etc..
 
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Great work as always guys, I love the photos especially! I do have a suggestion for future episodes though, perhaps you could have a results chart; showing the cars performance specs side by side with their competition, like magazine comparisons. find them useful because its difficult to remember whats fastest when they're separated my just tenths of a second.

Thanks for the great read!
 
Great work as always guys, I love the photos especially! I do have a suggestion for future episodes though, perhaps you could have a results chart; showing the cars performance specs side by side with their competition, like magazine comparisons. find them useful because its difficult to remember whats fastest when they're separated my just tenths of a second.

Thanks for the great read!

Yeah, to be honest we are actually planning on making your suggestion happen, whether it will be a graphic or just through typing, we'll have to wait and see.
 
Back to work today fellers, so I'll try that little trick I spoke with Mitch about and see if I can get something together for the column. I should know later on today and will post my results.
It's been "one of those" weekends here. Ever have car problems that seem to multiply faster than rabbits?
 
Going to be making another episode soon, I have to redo a Stock vs Tuned, my computer crashed when it was done.. Never saved :lol:

Oh well, I guess I can only make it better.
 
great work guys, really appreciated; as someone said before, You should eventually add results charts; also, gradually posting new episodes You should add direct link on the first page of the thread;

really look forward to read next episode.

bravo, bravissimo!
 
great work guys, really appreciated; as someone said before, You should eventually add results charts; also, gradually posting new episodes You should add direct link on the first page of the thread;

really look forward to read next episode.

bravo, bravissimo!

Thanks a lot man :)
It will get better don't you worry.
 
This EPIC comparison will be a 2 part series, featuring the AMS Alpha 12 GTR, Under Ground Racing TT-Gallardo, and Bugatti Veyron SuperSport to exact spec. One will decide who the King of Speed is and the other will see who fairs the best around the track. I've always wondered this myself and the outcome may surprise you. If you want to subscribe to my channel now here is the link

www.youtube.com/Starky513

If you want a sample of what I'm capable of, my first video is there now. It is an edited drifting montage that I made last Sunday.

I'm currently making the video, In the midst of editing it now... Should be out tonight but we'll see.

It will be my first YouTube review, so be sure to leave feedback when you see it.

Any guesses or suggestions for me to add that I may have missed?

My first video 👍
 
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If you have friends who hack GT5 you would be able to get hold of more accurate replica's of the AMS and UGR cars as they can share them.
Having 'built' (pfff) both myself I can attest that 1,600bhp (what I believe the full-bore AMS speed run has and maybe the UGR too) isn't something GT5 likes on non-race cars!
 
If you have friends who hack GT5 you would be able to get hold of more accurate replica's of the AMS and UGR cars as they can share them.
Having 'built' (pfff) both myself I can attest that 1,600bhp (what I believe the full-bore AMS speed run has and maybe the UGR too) isn't something GT5 likes on non-race cars!

I built them myself

UGR = 1500hp (Stage 3) With actual twin turbos on it.
AMS = 1500hp (Alpha 12) With the spoiler delete that the 1/4 mile record setter had
Bugatti Veyron SS = 1200 with identical weight and a new suspension.

We tried to make these as realisitc as possible. The only problem is, that the Lamborghini's Twin turbo's spool up a little faster then I feel they do in real life.. Either way, the video turned out cool. Both cars are extremely driveable on stock chassis. (reinforced)

Hey MTmitch.

How about a AUS/USA/GER edition?

Say, Monaro CV8 '04 vs Camaro '10 vs BMW M5 '05

Not a bad idea, how ever the gap in price/year/etc might impede it from being a good episode.
How ever, I WILL do a Mustang, Camaro, Challenger episode. 👍

Even better, I may do European muscle (AMG cars) vs North American Muscle (Camaro etc)
SLS vs Corvette
C63 vs Camaro
we'll see I guess.
 
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