Beater or Sleeper? GT6 Car of the Week Thread

[Nismonath5]

Take a Leaf out of my book!
The EV that shows us not all EVs are dull and boring...

You hear that? Neither!

The Nissan Leaf is Nissan's first shot at a mass-produced fully electric vehicle, meaning there is absolutely no petrol going into the fuel tank.... Because there is no fuel tank. It's a funny looking thing, it looks like a futuristic Nissan March or Micra. But let's go a bit more in depth.

It will set your bank back $40,600. Straight away, if I were just starting out in GT6 and in need of a car I'd pick a Lancer Evo 4 or Pontiac TransAm over this, and save myself the extra $10k. But this is GT6, we grind $500,000+ seasonals and quick matches for fun, so money is never an issue.

It's an EV, so with no way to upgrade the power, what you see is what you get as far as bhp. 107 is the number. Pair that amount of power with a 1520kg weight and comfort medium tyres, and you can understand why one might be skeptical about it's performance abilities. I know I was. But in actual fact, the Leaf surprised us!

Nothing like a nice Autumn stroll...

As with all electric cars, power delivery is instant, meaning off the line performance is actually very good! Once that power's down though, the torque runs out, and you'll inch your way up to speed until it eventually tops out at a respectable 150km/h. (Or thereabouts, depends on the gradient.)

Now as far as the handling, here was another point I wasn't too hopeful about. I was expecting understeer, and a lot of it! Front wheel drive, heavy, crappy tyres. But despite all this, it does a great job at clinging to corners! It's no Super GT car, but it exceeded my expectations! I was able to throw it around quite confidently about the track. One thing I noticed though was the Leaf was a bit hard to overtake in without a bump or a knock.

Was I the only one thinking that?

As fun as the Leaf proved to be, it doesn't last long before running out of power. In an economy-style challenge, we cranked the consumption to max and went as far as we could around the Nurburgring. @Baron Blitz Red was the first to drop off, about 15km of the way (I think for memory, correct me if I'm wrong), then I ran out just after tackling the Karussell. I thought I had it... but before long everyone else zipped by!

The last surprise hidden away in the Leaf was it's rally ability. Again, it ain't no WRC car, but it was still quite playful, lively and more enjoyable than I was expecting! It wasn't half as unpleasant as I was expecting! It was great fun!


I be-LEAF I can fly....!

I'm gonna potentially be a bit controversial here, and actually go as far to say that I'd rather the Leaf over a Tesla Model S. The simple fact being that the Tesla is huge! It may be powerful, but it's super heavy, and handling is poor as a result. Wheras in the Leaf, it's not nearly as fast, but feels better to drive.

GOOD STUFF
-Relatively cheap
-Great off the line performance
-Surprisingly fun to drive
-It's a Nissan
-The best ion runner in the game (IMO)

NOT SO GOOD STUFF
-Lack of torque at higher speeds
-No way to squeeze out more power
-Inferior top speed

All in all, the Leaf is worth giving a go. It's nimble, it's zippy, and it's a lot better to drive than you'd think! Sure, it's an EV, and I typically don't like EVs, but with every rule, there is an exception...
It's a sleeper and a keeper! 👍

 

[Ryk]

The crunch of gravel cuts through the slumbering morning air like a selfish schoolgirl munching popcorn in a multiplex. No engine note, only the polyphony of a myriad of dusty pebbles crushed aside by the relentless advance of quartet of treaded rings of vulcanised rubber, echoing as you drive the Nissan Leaf off the service road and onto the Willow Springs track.

On the hard smooth Tarmacadam surface the power drips from the car, the Leaf creating noises that evoke images of science fiction. But this is science fact!

Science Fiction, Yesterday - In Japan​

The stereo barks into life as the race begins. Metallica's Master of Puppets, a great album... The first song begins, softly at first... the lyrics bark out counterpointing the Nissan Leaf as its tyres scream like Kirk Hammett's Lead Guitar. The car has a nice balance.

"Lashing out the action, returning the reaction, Weak are ripped and torn away. Hypnotizing power, crushing all that cower, Battery is here to stay."
"Smashing through the boundaries, Lunacy has found me, Cannot stop the battery. Pounding out aggression, Turns into obsession, Cannot kill the battery"​

Except...

...the battery of the Nissan Leaf will not last the 5 minutes of the Metallica song...​

18 minutes 11 seconds to complete the 20 miles of Willow Springs.
The Leaf only needed 3 pit stops for a complete swap of the batteries... on the plus side the tyres were in perfect condition after 1.75 laps of hard driving. Only 6 minutes 43 seconds behind the winning Ferrari FXX.

I then had a hunt for a "Just as naff" car... I didn't have any lesser Nissans but when I opened it up to any car... this car jumped out.

BATTERY - BAT.... how about this Arbarth 1500 Biposto Bertone Berlinetta Aerodinamica Technica 1 from 1952 took just 15m28 when it was downgraded to Comfort Mediums... It could also manage to do 6 laps on just a quarter of a tank of fuel... so I guess it could push hard for 24 laps... compared to the Leaf's pathetic 1.75 laps...

And it isn't that cheap - For the same Kazula outlay you could buy such fast fun cars as the 1996 Lotus Elise - or maybe a 2002 Mazda RX7
hell you could even buy a turbocharged 1987 Buick GNX

This will not come as a shock - (How could it. There is no charge left in the battery!)

Nissan Leaf G = Bea-tah

(Sorry for the Typos.)

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

Not the same Leaf in our flag...

It just can't be a Maple Leaf, but there's tonnes of trees out there to pick from... not only in my country, but your's as well. And you know it can't be the hockey playing Leaf, cause you'd already be golfing!

As I recall the past week's events (Oh that's right, there was no event this week ) and racing, there was quite a bit I picked up knowledge wise about the four wheeled Leaf. It handles exceptionally well for what it weighs. You really don't need to touch the brakes. Doing so gets you left behind. So rely on the first point... use the handling to your advantage and avoid the temptation, or at the very least, avoid the braking points you've learned with other cars.

It's way more nimble than it should be. As I eluded to before, my first experience with this Nissan EV was during the Thunderdome massacre. For that "race", I was thinking tactically... for hunting the first gen Honda Insights, it was the perfect weapon. It was basically the same type of car, as it was an Electric Hybrid, had the CVT tranny so people couldn't short shift their way out of destruction, but it was pretty well half the weight of the Leaf.



That's what I was doing for the entire race.

I didn't really need the brakes then either. So, in that race, the Leaf wasn't a Beater... it was a bully. After the past week, it won't be labelled a Beater by me, but because of where it does fail in other areas (range especially) it certainly is no Sleeper, not even close. Neutral status... which is not shocking at all.

Cheers

 

[Nismonath5]

When driving the Leaf, it actually has a little game of sorts you can play while driving. (Well it's not exactly a game, but still)

Driving smoothly and economically will slowly progress this bar. Completing one bar will add a part to your tree. After gaining five parts, your tree is complete and a new one starts to grow. You can grow up to four or five trees before the dash runs out of space.

 

[Ryk]

Ryk Leaf Rating - Tunguska Event!

 

[Nismonath5]

The Leaf now has a TT event live! I know I said Cape Ring, but screw it! Toscana was more fun :3

Also, McD has notified me that he has a car lined up for the new week, so stay tuned!

 

[Nismonath5]

Also, McD has notified me that he has a car lined up for the new week, so stay tuned!

McD sends his apologies, certain circumstanceshave left him unable to announce the car himself.
Regardless, in Sauber news, Honda and Sauber are going to partner up starting 2018. This means that the week's pick goes to the Sauber F1 Team!!!!

Shield your eyes...

It's the 2003 Honda Element!!!!

...yeah.
See ya tonight!

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

Well I didn't think I had any more tears after the Sauber announcement was made official... until I drove this thing stock.

I'm starting to wonder if I should see if the theme song for M.A.S.H. was right.

Cheers

 

[RobboGTAddict]

McD sends his apologies, certain circumstanceshave left him unable to announce the car himself.
Regardless, in Sauber news, Honda and Sauber are going to partner up starting 2018. This means that the week's pick goes to the Sauber F1 Team!!!!

Shield your eyes...

View attachment 644970
It's the 2003 Honda Element!!!!

...yeah.
See ya tonight!

Out of all the Hondas to choose from.....

 

[Vic Reign93]

Out of all the Hondas to choose from.....

What's the matter? Is it out of your Element??

 

[Nismonath5]

Out of all the Hondas to choose from.....

I know, right?! Remembering though that the point of COTW is having a go in cars you certainly wouldn't try by yourself.

What's the matter? Is it out of your Element??

Points to Vic for the pun!

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

Points to Vic for the pun!

@Vic Reign93 making a funny??? I'd say it's Element-ary my dear Watson!

Cheers

 

[RobboGTAddict]

What's the matter? Is it out of your Element??

I'm sure a Honda riding mower will be more exciting to drive then the Element. But what do I know? When it was my chance to pick the COTW, I choose the Prelude.

I'll give the Element points because you can fit a full set of drums in it.

 

[Nismonath5]

I'm a bit out of my Element...
It certainly wasn't built with racing in mind!

An interesting looking vehicle, let's read a little about it...

Honda adopted the phrase "Endless Summer" as the working theme when developing the Element, so its intent as a beach-going vehicle for young drivers was obvious. Its exterior design even hinted of a lifeguard stand, suggesting that the car belonged near the beaches of Southern California...

I'mma just stop right there, straight away we see this car's purpose. It's built for the beach scene. Endless sunshine, plenty of babes, no shortage of teens drinking and chilling out... That never makes for a good race car! Skip to the good bit, will ya, let's hear about the goods under the hood!

Under the hood of the boxy Honda was a 2.4-liter DOHC inline-4 with i-VTEC, and it came mated to only a 4-speed automatic transmission. It featured both front-wheel-drive and 4-wheel drive, so it could get to those out-of-the-way places that no family sedan would venture.

Allow me to clarify that part. It's an FF car, but whenever the front wheels slip, the rear kicks in. I'm not sure if this is accurately reflected in GT6, but anyway, it doesn't have enough power to find out regardless! At 165bhp with an oil change, and 1560kg of beach-going goodness to lug around, it's not exactly a car you'd look at and think "Oh, I oughta take that to a track day!"



Now, about the visuals!

The thing is, I like the early 00's. It's why I like Gran Turismo 3 & 4, as well as the concept cars from the time, like the Toyota Pod, Nissan GT-R Concept, Honda Dualnote, etc. But the Element doesn't quite have the same appeal. Maybe it's because, unlike concept cars, this thing made it to production, (is that, like, car-racist or something?) maybe it's just not doing something that those other concepts are, I'm not entirely sure. But either way, I don't entirely like it. The colour options aren't great either, the burgundy-orange is the main stand-out amongst a small range of grays other relatively bland colours.

When it comes to on-track performance, it's quite below-average, being slow and sluggish with a soft, vague driving feel. It really pushes you to fine-tune your lines, braking juuuust the right amount and being as delicate as possible with steering to extract the fastest laptimes from it. It features a rather tall-ratio 4-speed, and in all the races throughout the night I don't really recall hitting 4th... and 3rd was a rare enough occurence! This meant it completely lacked acceleration. Having said that, I did try to outpace it in an S13, but that plan blew up in my face..

Spoiler: In my defence...

To enter the race I had to reduce the S13's power to about 60%. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it!

Hmmm, so I couldn't out-drag them off the line... No matter, I'll get them in the corners!

Well this isn't working out quite how I envisioned it.

But really though, I fail to see why anyone would want to drive this. It's boring, it's ugly, it's slow, and it's standard. Come on, really. Beater any day of the week. 👎

 

[MidFieldMaven]

Honda Element '03
2.4L
157 hp / 5,500 rpm
161 ft-lb / 4,500 rpm
1,560 kg (3,439 lbs)
338 pp

Ugh. Less than 160 hp from a big 2.4L engine. That is sad. Well, not as sad as my 1998 Ford Ranger with 2.5L pushing out around 115 hp...Decent torque in the Element though. I like the practicality/utility, but it's heavy and slow.



99 mph was all she wrote. Couldn't even manage 100...

Cars within 0.500 seconds:

1:39.325 - 342 - Honda Odyssey '03
1:39.423 - 328 - Honda Insight LS '09
1:39.671 - 338 - Honda Element '03
1:39.728 - 340 - Honda Civic 1500 3door CX '79
1:39.777 - 326 - Mazda Demio GL-X '99
1:39.836 - 327 - Nissan Bluebird 1800SSS (910) '79
1:39.852 - 333 - Citroën Xsara VTR '03
1:39.884 - 329 - Toyota Vitz U Euro Sport Edition '00
1:39.995 - 323 - Mitsubishi Colt 1.5 Sport X Version '02

Wow look at that! Honda, Honda, Honda, Honda...All four are extremely close in performance. Funny how a 70's Civic can keep up around Mid-Field.

Beater. It can be a unique drift car if you throw on all the go-fast bits and pieces.

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

Wasn't the Avalanche ugly enough???

The year 2000 was a disaster in the making... the year before, 1999, wasn't really the party that was predicted by Prince in the 80's. Throughout most of the year, people were predicting doom and gloom especially were computers were concerned. Panic ensued as the year started in its last quarter, as the world prepared to fall apart... planes were going to fall from the sky, money would disappear, life was over. It was known as Y2K. dun dun duuunnn!!!



As we all know, it was over faster than most hangovers made from New Year's Eve celebrations. Sadly, the hangovers continued in the heads of designers for the next couple of years! The first gen Chevy Avalanche, amongst other victims, all had the same ugly plastic shoulder pads that weren't worn on the shoulders at all.

Which brings us to introducing this thing... The Honda Stove Element.

The nicest thing I could say about it is that it's exactly like the Ferrari F40... you never saw the last gear. At all. I've had shorter vacation times than this thing takes for second and third. You can almost hear Barney say in the background: "Wait for it...", but it never actually shows up.

I doubt it would be worth waiting for anyways.

Well let's hope that this "celebration" of Sauber's partnership with Honda isn't as bad as this thing is. Nothing short of Beater and forget 'er.

Cheers

 

[JackRyanWMU]

The F40. Mr. Ferrari's final opus. Did he save his best for last? Well, my foremost impression when I bought it was how incredibly affordable this Ferrari was in terms of GT credits. Previous reviewers had complained about its cost, but considering how astronomical the price of the most expensive Ferraris are in the game, most of which are of a far lower PP level; the F40 feels like you're getting away with a huge bargain. On the styling front, it is absolutely incredible. Despite being a hypercar from the 1980s, you could park this next to a Veyron and it would still likely draw a larger crowd vying to get a selfie with it.

But while it may have hypercar looks to this day, you can tell how rapidly time has advanced in other areas. For instance, having 400+ horsepower back in the late 80's/early 90's was an impressive feat. As time as has passed though, the F40 finds itself now slightly underpowered in the current crop of supercars. Indeed, it would currently find itself challenged by a wide variety of contenders such as..well....

​

But while more modern supercars are easier to get performance from, the F40 has very low weight, very loose handling characteristics, and demands its drivers to get the most out of it. It is truly a challenge to drive this car both fast and smooth. Yet it does feel like that's exactly the way that Enzo wanted it.

Beater or Sleeper? Are you kidding? It's earned another designation I've used in these reviews: "Icon."

 

[Nismonath5]

Now, last night I watched one of the best damn races in V8 Supercars history. Eighty three laps, no safety cars or retirements, and a Kiwi taking home the chequered flag! I'm not a Ford fan, but go DJR!! This season's really amping up to be the best in recent years, if you haven't already, make sure you at least keep tabs on the season. It's gonna be close between T8 Racing and Dick Johnson Racing!

So consequently, this week's car comes courtesy of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship!!!!

It's the 2000 Ford Falcon XR8 Race Car!!!!


Since the FPV models were dropped after GT4, this fire breathing track monster is all the Aussie Ford we have left! A senior citizen in the GT Franchise, is it still worthy of ownership, or is it time to retire the old girl?
...You know, Polyphony, some newer V8 Supercars from throughout the years wouldn't hurt...

Do I really need to tell you where Playing With TT's will be held?
Also, I'll do a TT event for the Element too. See you guys Tuesday!!!

 

[Obelisk]

Drove this thing a lot.

Neutral. Because it isn't a bad car, it just doesn't have enough punch to be competitive.

 

[Vic Reign93]

Lobby will be up at the usual time, I'll try and pry myself away from the Hot Wheels expansion on FH3 for long enough to write up the Leaf and the Element at some point.

 

[Nismonath5]

In case you missed it, on Tuesday we had a 10 lap race at Bathurst, with fuel and tyres degrading at max speed.

I was battling Vic for the lead, and at lap 5 the tyres were pretty toasted and the fuel load was pretty light, so Vic pitted. I stayed out to try and one-up him, which I thought was a good idea... but as I rounded the first corner, the fuel light came on...

That was the scariest lap I've ever done, I freewheeled it down The Dipper and Conrod, and although I didn't actually run out, from the looks of it I had only seconds left!! (This was my fuel and tyre reading as I entered pit lane)

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

WARNING... this post is X-R8'ed!!!

There are some places on this planet, inundated with kiwis and koalas, which happens to have a love affair with cars powered by V8 engines. So much so, they even have entire series of racing dedicated to cars of the ilk. One of these cars is even represented here in GT6... the Ford Falcon.

For a little over a million, you can get a V8 race car that pumps out 600+hp. Not too bad for a four door car that ONLY has three door handles...probably to save some weight.

I'm sure those weight savings help it out at Bathurst, just one of the stops in the slightly popular race series. In GT6, it's also REALLY easy to lay blame on the driver who causes havoc and mayhem on any given track. "It was the number 5 car!!!" After that, you're on your own, Sherlock.

For my tastes, in its stock form, it has a little too much camber and toe... making it hard to corner in tight areas. Monaco was proof of that. It's still a decent car, but being hampered by strict restrictions down under, it's not really useful for anything but one make racing. In the 600pp to 650pp range, there are tonnes of options that would leave the Falcon grounded instead of flying around your favourite tracks.

No, it's not a Beater by my standards but it's no Sleeper either... just like the amount of door handles, it gets a 3 out of 4 rating from me, or translated into our own COTW language, a Neutral status from yours truly.

Cheers

 

[Nismonath5]

Updated OP list

Review of the Falcon on the way!
(BY THE WAY: I don't have a car lined up, and no word from McD, so I'll give the pick to whoever inboxes me first with their choice.)

 

[Nismonath5]

Flame-spitting Falcon!!!!
Chuck some wallaby on the barbie, she'll be right!

One big problem with this car. It's a Ford...

It's kind of surprising for me that PD haven't added more V8 Supercar related content. They have Bathurst, and they have this car, sure, but there's so much more they're missing out on! Amazing tracks like Barbagallo, Sandown, Hidden Valley and Pukekohe, as well as some cars like the Kmart Commodore, TKR Commodore, Betta Electrical Falcon, etc....

Regardless, the Glenn Seton Racing Falcon is the car for this review, so let's get straight into it!
The first thing anyone will notice about it is that it's pretty rough looking. Being one of GT's older race cars, it's in dire need of a visual spruce up, seemingly more so than most standard cars. At least it has some parts of the rollcage modelled, giving it a small redeeming factor over other standard cars.

Count the pixels!

But when you're hurtling around a corner at high speed, the visuals don't entirely matter, do they?
When racing, it feels really good. 600bhp is nothing to take lightly, and yet despite the monstrous power and rear wheel drive tendencies, it's stable, it's precise, it's not going to veer off and smack a wall because you did something daft in the heat of the moment. I could throw it around quite comfortably and actually have some fun on a variety of tracks, from the harsh, bumpy Bathurst to the smooth, flowing Apricot Hill! And the racing proved it. The battle at Bathurst was only lost because of that one poor choice I made which cost me, if not for that I bet Vic woulda had a run for his money!

At $1.15m, it's certainly a lot more expensive than some of it's rivals, like the Diablo GT2 and Corvette C6 Zo6 LM, and to be honest I'm not sure why it was marked up so much. I swear it was a mere $450,000 in GT4... Really, the only reasons you'd buy this thing are if you're a V8 Supercars fan, such as myself, or if you like driving the less mainstream cars the game has to offer. Still, if you do already have it in your garage, I wouldn't get rid of it. It's still a more than capable racing machine, it's just old. That's all.

We need more Australian content, PD!!!!
The Falcon is a sleeper, purely because of it's underrated-ness and the fact that it's still competitive! 👍

Now, about the next car... I had about three responses, all within half an hour of eachother, and the first in was Obelisk!

Congratulations @Obelisk!!!

It's the 2003 Jay Leno Tank Car!!!!!

Because when you want a large car, you better go XXL, right?
See you Tuesday!

 

[Draggon]

My complaint about the Falcon is that it's meh. I've loved it since it first showed up in GT4, but it's just outclassed. It would be a lot more fun if there was a V8 Supercar class in the game. Sure it's eligible for a lot of races, and sure it can win, and it's even pretty decent with a good tune up, it's just not great. I'm not selling it though!

As for our friend the vertically placed prism's choosing the master of understeer push:

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

It took me less than 3 minutes to judge this week's pick...

BEATER OF THE YEAR

That's how much time I'll be wasting on that POS. It's already back in the stockyard.

Cheers

 

[JackRyanWMU]

The Nissan Leaf, just another underwhelming electric car, right? The styling is boring, it's stuck with low resistance tires that sacrifice both performance and accident avoidance in the name of trying to extend its severely limited battery range that will prevent it from ever being taken on a cross-country road trip.

Such a terrible car, only thing for it was to humiliate with a far better car then. How about the second gen Honda Insight? Similar performance level, still has "hipster cred" at any Starbucks you might pull up to, but still has a gas engine within its body. Surefire winner, right?

It was looking like it until my battery sure ran out of juice and ripped victory out of my hands just as I was starting to get a grip on it.

​

Alright, no more pulling punches, it was time to get into the '07 Toyota Vitz and defend the honor of the internal combustion engine. And on the streets of the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, it was looking like I was going to finally claim victory on one of my least favorite tracks.

Monaco Monkey, prepare to be jettisoned from my back.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
​

So the end result of these experiences? I do have to reluctantly call the Leaf a Sleeper within its performance level. But since it's nowhere close to the performance of the Honda Fit you get right off the bat in the game, there is pretty much no reason to buy it. Spend the long hours it would take to recharge the Leaf into finding a good second-hand economical gas-powered hatchback that can take you 400+ miles rather than 100 miles.

 

[Ryk]

As Princess Leia Organa once said, "You came here in that thing? You're braver than I thought!"

"That one's Garbage!" - some other star wars Girl.


The Millennium "Harrison Ford" Falcon XR8

---

 

[Nismonath5]

Environmentalism? What's that?
There's no replacement for displacement...

Everything about this screams American. Big, gutsy, hopeless in corners...

The Jay Leno Tank Car. Frankly, where do I begin? It's one of the biggest oddball cars in the GT franchise (both figuratively and literally), being introduced in Gran Turismo "by accident". The story goes that the game development team went to Jay Leno's garage to record some engine noises, noticed the Tank Car sitting there, and were so amazed at it that they put it in Gran Turismo 4. It is in almost every way totally unique. And it holds a few records in the GT franchise, including...
-Heaviest vehicle
-Most torque from an internal combustion engine
-Longest wheelbase
-Most displacement

Driving it is, as you may expect, rather difficult and treacherous, especially on tighter and more technical tracks...

Weighing 3500kgs, it has the cornering ability of a cruise ship. So on a track like GT Arena, there's really only two ways you can drive it. Slow right down, and fall behind, or get that back end out and try drifting it. Either way, you'll still lose to a Hyundai Click R. The huge torque makes it near impossible to get away from the start line without smoking out two grandstands and a small community, and although TCS can easily rectify this, it also prevents you from sliding particularly hairy corners. It's really dependant on what kind of track you're racing.
As much as I could critisise the brakes for taking as long as they do to bring the car to a halt, I'm not going to. It's 3500kgs, you weren't expecting it to stop on a dime, were you?

With a 23L motor, I'm curious how long the fuel would have lasted if we'd done an economy challenge... Would we have gotten further than we did in our Leafs? Not sure.

First corner lag sends my tank flying

Vic makes light of the near-excessive torque.

Caution: Do not overtake turning vehicle.

I couldn't achieve any high placings in it, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. It's one of those cars you hoon around in, rather than race competitively. You drive solo and have fun, slide around, play with the torque and sheer size of the brute! Practical? No. Fun? Oh yes.

It gets a neutral vote from me. I'll be back soon with the new car...

 

[Nismonath5]

Right, I'm back! And this week, (Yesterday in fact) there was a race-suspending crash in the Touring Car Masters, causing hundreds of thousands' of dollars worth of damage to some priceless muscle cars. Watch this video. Cry a little bit. (Skip to 1:56 to get the best angle of what happened or 3:33 if you like your crashes in slo-mo.)

So with our manly tears shed, it's time to get behind the wheel of another car.

Congratulations @Thematic!!

This week, we're driving a straight up car. No fancy technological assistance, no huge spoilers keeping you from taking off, but plenty of V8 powaaaaaaahhh!!!!!!!! But so much as scratch it, and it'll hurt your financial situation for the rest of your life. So be careful when battling for a win on Tuesday.

COTW #176- The 1966 Ford GT40 Mk.1!!!!

Mid engined, rear wheel drive goodness with the aggression and rawness of 60's race cars, this beast demands 11/10th's at all times, or you'll find yourself in the sand. This week's Playing With TT's will take place at Willow Springs, Big Willow! See ya'll Tuesday!