Beater or Sleeper? GT6 Car of the Week Thread

[Numbers]

I have one thing to say about the F150 lighting.
DRIFT MACHINE!

 

[Soyuz 77]

Can someone take over hosting on Tuesday nights?

The veterans of the COTW group should start taking turns hosting. That's my opinion.

Anyway, I regret not having made an appearance at last night's meet. I've been working 13 hour shifts for the past few weeks on minimal amounts of sleep... Which has taken it's toll.
In order to include myself, somewhat, in this weeks events. I've decided I might give this review business a shot. 💡

Brace yourselves.

 

[Vic Reign93]

The veterans of the COTW group should start taking turns hosting. That's my opinion.

Anyway, I regret not having made an appearance at last night's meet. I've been working 13 hour shifts for the past few weeks on minimal amounts of sleep... Which has taken it's toll.
In order to include myself, somewhat, in this weeks events. I've decided I might give this review business a shot. 💡

Brace yourselves.

You're not alone in thinking that we should start taking turns hosting.

@McClarenDesign has a done brilliant job hosting the previous weeks and that earns him a break. He can still choose the winner each week and car we'll race, but we'll decide who hosts each week and anytime he wants to, he can return to hosting the event. 👍

 

[MustangManiac]

Ford SVT Lightning 2003​

She's a good looking truck.
Stock: 379hp/442pp, tuned: 519hp/484pp.

The lightning in its usual attitude.
Laguna Seca TT:
stock - 1:51.974
tuned - 1:42.785

A Ford drivers favorite pass time, passing Chevys. See what I did there Oh look, it's the new goat again, I think that car has been following me around the game ever since we tested her
IB American tour, Laguna Seca 4 lapper:
stock - P5 / total 7:30.819 / best 1:51.479
tune - P1 / total 7:00.111 / best 1:44.813

That little Challenger should know better.
In stock trim, with stock CS tires, this truck handled horribly. Talk about tight in and loose off! The 56/44 weight distro certainly didn't help, but I suppose is to be expected with a truck. The brakes were fine and I noticed little body roll. The stock box, as usual for a road car, was too long for the track...I rarely got out of 3rd gear. Tuned she was faster, and tighter in and looser off. The race brakes kept up with the speed increase and the lowered custom suspension helped with overall handling, but nothing could help the uneven weight. There was no aero help available and when I tried adding 100 kilos to the rear I only got 54/46 and it cost too much pp so I dumped it.

As you can tell I have been off road and trading paint.
I don't know, I just couldn't get into driving this big, heavy truck around. I suppose it may have something to do with what I have been doing in GT6 this past week. After all the Sena events and the last round of GT Academy I had a bunch of credits so I went on a shopping spree. One of the cars I bought was the Ford MK1 which I have been flying around Sarthe getting all hyped up for next weeks race. After driving all those fine race cars around some of my favorite tracks this truck just wasn't doing anything for me. She's certainly no sleeper, but with a name like lightning and the looks to back it up, I am not sure anyone would be surprised to see her flying around the track sideways 👍

 

[photonrider]

The veterans of the COTW group should start taking turns hosting. That's my opinion.

I do agree with this - it's hard work to do this every week, and McClarenDesign has done a stupendous job with this event - bringing activity to both GTPlanet and GT6 on PS3.
I have to apologise myself for not joining in as regularly as I used to - and even while being at the tail end of the pack more often than not, used to enjoy myself thoroughly because of the great hosting and the extremely decent racers that are involved in this event, as well as the great camaraderie shared by everyone.
Please don't let this event fall by the wayside.


H.

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

Thunder and Lightning!

Well this week saw us racing around in the 2003 SVT F-150 Lightning by Ford. Unlike most pickups, this one has an intercooled supercharger to help out with speedy deliveries of lumber, camping equipment or a large amount of beer.

With just shy of 380 hp and 450 ft-lb of torque, she's almost as quick as her name. Boasting a 0-60 time of 5.2 seconds, she outperforms quite a few COTW's we have tried out. And the thunder came out this week, as described by one word... BLAMO!

You definitely saw this side of her, if only for a quick second or two...

I was pretty impressed with it, and would definitely put her in the sleeper category. It's still a heavy machine at 2,132 kilos but it does get up and go, and will smoke the rubber as she drifts around corners at a good pace. It would be interesting to see if this would get better points drifting against the 300C.

So with 2 tonnes of fun, I could only hope our next victim of the COTW will shine as bright as the Lightning did, if only for a brief flash.

Cheers

 

[McClarenDesign]

Thanks for the kinds words. I'll still host this week, but whomever does cover for me on certain weeks, please keep it at the same date/time. It'll allow me some stability, just in case plans change and I can make it, etc.

I have one thing to say about the F150 lighting.
DRIFT MACHINE!

Congratulations Numbers!

Fantastic shots! I wish I'd taken some that clear and fast. Well done! What say ye?

the TTS (or as clarkson called it tits) is like a mini R8 minus the MR layout.

...the 2009 Audi TTS Coupe!!!

Thanks for ending the streak. It had to happen sometime, I'm surprised that we got this far. I'm not saying that you can't choose something we haven't already driven (new physics, afterall), but variety is the spice of life, and we've got tons more to choose from. Still, let's see how the TTS compares to the base Coupe, with its AWD and Peugeot RCZ-esque styling (it just isn't!).

As for #GranTurismoTuesday, I've gottime for 1 race... an Endurance race! We'll have a brief qualifying session at around 10:30p (because even I'm sometimes late), followed immediately by the Enduro, so grab your smokes before qually and OUT OF THE PIT AREA! Practice will start between 9:30p CST-10p CST, just as quickly as I can get it open. If you'd like to join and don't have me yet added (I think I'm full again), just PM me on the PSN and I'll get you the room number when it's ready. Depending on the Enduro, we may have a BONUS with the new Mitsubishi Vision Gran Turismo car, so be prepared just in case.

 

[NixxxoN]

"the TTS (or as clarkson called it tits) is like a mini R8 minus the MR layout."

Well, more like the R8 is a bigger version of the TT with the MR layout, as it came many years later

 

[Numbers]

Well, more like the R8 is a bigger version of the TT with the MR layout, as it came many years later

to be fair though,the TT did come first but it wasn't until this generation how ever they looked more like the R8.

 

[NixxxoN]

to be fair though,the TT did come first but it wasn't until this generation how ever they looked more like the R8.

I dont think both generetions are much different looking. Its a restyling afterall.
I always thought the first TT was ahead of its time in design and the 2nd generation hasn't beaten the futuristic looks of the first one.

Anyway, surely the R8 has its roots on the fantastic Audi Rosemeyer concept, which itself seemed to be an MR evolution of the TT, or at least the design elements look quite similar

Wish this concept was in GT6!

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

Vorsprung durch Technik ("advancement through technology")

I thought it appropriate to show off the 2009 TTS Coupe at the City of Arts and Sciences...

Well we should have known that this car would be showcased since we talked about it way back in Week 1. Back then, I had brought my thoughts to light that two cars were similar in profile...

Which got this as a response...

Let's just take a moment to dispel some tabloid myths, shall we?

1. -IT'S NOTHING LIKE AN AUDI! Minus the roof arch, it's completely different! This car makes you feel glamorous and sexy while the Audi tells everyone what a wanker you really are (Editor: Pot to kettle?). The previous Audi TT we tested was all-wheel drive, which is like comparing apples to oranges, and owning a front-wheel drive TT is more embarrassing than owning a moped. Or a base model Corvette.

Well, at least we agreed on one part...

So with a turbo added to the mix, this is high performance version of the Audi TT line. Should be fairly quick as it boasts a 0-60 time of 5.2 to 5.4 seconds depending on the transmission type. Not too bad for a little 4 banger!
http://www.netcarshow.com/audi/2009-tts_coupe/

And it's decent enough to look at, even from a distance...

Since I've owned this version for a while now, I have driven it both stock and mildly tuned. With some bolt on parts, it brings the numbers up to 510PP with 425 hp and 383 ft-lb of torque. In either scenario, it handles fairly well as it is AWD... and of course it is an Audi, so performance is expected.

So now it's just to wait til Tuesday night, and really see if I can prove this car out to be a Sleeper or if I'm just a Beater of a driver...

Cheers

 

[Vic Reign93]

Nice way of shaking things up with an Endurance race. 👍

If you wanted a turbo but didn't want a basic 200hp but also couldn't afford a TTRS then this was your choice.

Based on the standard 2.0 turbo, this TTS makes around 270hp out the factory and the one I own makes 500hp which is pretty decent.

My design idea for the TTS was an upgraded TTRS so it looks a tad more aggressive than standard.

It's sat at 545pp so it's capable of taking the fight to 550pp racers when properly dialled in.

I'll be honest, I'm torn on what to call it. It can't be a full blown sleeper seeing as it is the sports model and therefore will easily noticed and it can't be a beater due to it being not half bad to drive.

I'll call it a sleeper, but only in the context of being something you wouldn't normally see at around 550pp.

 

[McClarenDesign]

​

 

[MustangManiac]

Audi TTS Coupe 2009​

Well, it's not an E-Tron Quatro but...
So I'm late, I was busy watching a couple of other Audis take 1-2 at some big track in France. This car comes in at 268hp/442pp stock and with a bit of tuning I got 368hp/488pp.

Taking on the big cat.
Since we finally got some seasonal races here in GT6 land I decided to use one for testing this car. I chose the intermediate level race, a 5 lap event at Willow Springs for cars at 550pp or less on SS tires.

Somehow I seem to keep running into old cotw cars
Big Willow TT:
stock - 1:32.214
tuned - 1:23.122
The Audi beat out the Chrysler 300 from awhile go both stock and tuned (1:33.303/1:28.273). Of course, the 300 is a much larger car so this isn't so surprising.

Audi vs Audi...reminds me of that race in France this weekend
5 laps at Big Willow:
stock - P6 / best 1:32.946 / total 8:16.716
tuned - P1 / best 1:24.506 / total 7:31.766 finished less than .5 seconds ahead of a Gallardo

The pass for P1, the Lambo (and Ferraris) would charge back on the straights.

Leading the Gallardo and a herd of Ferrari to the checkers at Big Willow.
The car was very neutral, maybe too much so, I found it all too easy to scream into a corner too deep since I couldn't really feel the speed. That being said, the brakes were fine and she was easy enough to straighten out. The stock trans was better than most for a street car though gears 2-3 seemed particularly cramped. I didn't feel much body roll even though it showed in some of the pics, she felt solid.
Overall, she's a fine car and plenty fast, I suppose just a bit too "refined" for my tastes 👍

 

[McClarenDesign]

The problem with technical difficulties is that they're both technical and difficult.

Congrats Baron Blitz Red!

Can you believe he wanted to choose Justin Beiber's car!?! Then a schizophrenic! Finally, we settled on something terribly British.

The '72 Lotus Europa Special!

e problem with technical difficulties is that they're both technical and difficult.

Congrats Baron Blitz Red!

I guess Lewis_Hamilton_ gets home field advantage tonight.

Cheers!

 

[Vic Reign93]

Let me start the ball with 3 simple words, John, Player, Special.

That was my design idea when I bought the Lotus early on in my GT6 life. everything about the car is the same, Black with yellow highlights and black wheels with yellow lug nuts.

Black and yellow, black and yellow
Black and ye..(slap)

Sorry bout that. Anyway, before the uber powerful 97T came along, the Europa Special was the closet thing I had to it, small turbo charged engine, very low curb weight, mid engined and racing derived suspension.

Whilst around 240hp is nothing to shout about, the low weight makes the Europa fly down the straights and through the turns.

I've never been a fan of the looks but the Europa comes from the school of, "if it looks stupid but works,it ain't stupid" so I don't mind it.

In the right hands and with a good tune, this car can deliver the results. Hell, even stock it's a barrel of fun.

My verdict? The breadbox sleeper. :tup:

 

[McClarenDesign]

My uncle Jake traded his for a Miata... I disowned him the moment I found out. Then I was reminded:

Loads
Of
Trouble,
Usually
Serious

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

"Simplify, then add lightness" Colin Chapman

I figured there was no better place to tell this story but at Brands Hatch... in 1966, a variant of this car, the Type 47GT, performed a race winning One-Two punch here on Boxing Day piloted by John Miles and Jackie Oliver in the model's first outing. Thankfully, our cars won't have the snorkels over our heads.

What will be over our heads is everything else on the road...

The "Big Valve" version that we'll be driving this week produces 126hp and around 113 ft-lb of torque before the oil change, and in a car that weighs only 730 kilos!!!

So what makes these cars "Special"? Well in 1972, Lotus had won the F1 World Championship and a couple hundred of these cars were adorned with the John Player Special colours similar to what we have on the Senna 97T by Lotus. As far as I understand, these were only done here in North America, and not officially by Lotus themselves.

Originally designed as a concept by Ron Hickman, Chapman wanted these Europa's to succeed the timeless Lotus 7. Lightweight and agile, there's nothing like driving a Lotus for it's handling prowess. Now it's up to you as how they are to be judged! Lotus is capable of bringing victory home... are you???

Cheers

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

I guess Lewis_Hamilton_ gets home field advantage tonight.

Cheers!

I think Victoryreign will do a fine job with the home advantage. If I were able to race tonight, I likely would have stayed with the 2000gt I used the other night; it certainly made things interesting. Alas, like last week I have to miss out because I need to get up earlier, due to doing some extra edumacation to make me smarterer and stuff.

I hope you fellas have a good time tonight.

 

[Vic Reign93]

I think Victoryreign will do a fine job with the home advantage. If I were able to race tonight, I likely would have stayed with the 2000gt I used the other night; it certainly made things interesting. Alas, like last week I have to miss out because I need to get up earlier, due to doing some extra edumacation to make me smarterer and stuff.

I hope you fellas have a good time tonight.

Sadly, I couldn't enjoy the home field advantage. The impending maintenance had me and @Baron Blitz Red disconnect a few times so I bowed out.

Always next time.

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

Sadly, I couldn't enjoy the home field advantage. The impending maintenance had me and @Baron Blitz Red disconnect a few times so I bowed out.

Always next time.

Yeppers, me too @Vic Reign93, I managed to get 2 races in, was typing a message and boom... out again! Next time people! @Lewis_Hamilton_ the irony was deep the other night, as I was the one who had picked the 2000GT as a COTW in GT5... and you kicked my *** in it

Cheers

 

[Racer283]

Yeah it was fun while it lasted. Next tuesday we should have better connection than today. It's always fun racing against you guys.

 

[Vic Reign93]

Yeah it was fun while it lasted. Next tuesday we should have better connection than today. It's always fun racing against you guys.

Given what I've seen in the new update, It'll soften the blow a bit.

 

[Racer283]

Yeah I was just expecting the VW VGT but a good surprise with the release of the track and the two cars that was under wraps until today. It will be fun to recreate the Audi R18 versus the Toyota TS030.

 

[McClarenDesign]

I'll be hosting again tonight, to make up for last night's maintenance.

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

I'll be hosting again tonight, to make up for last night's maintenance.

Awesome, I'll be there, but very drunk

 

[MustangManiac]

Lotus Europa Special 1972​

Everyone knows that black is the fastest color.
This car I remember from GT5, yes, she is just as squirrely in 6 as she was in 5! I'm not a big fan of putting the wing on the back, but hey, I had to do something to try and help plant the rear end. She comes to us stock with 126hp/404pp and with a mild tune at 164hp/440pp.

Blowing by another Europa, I told you black is the fastest color
Since we got a new track this week and I am learning and loving it all over again (I don't think I have driven this since back in the GTR pc days about a decade or so back) I decided to take the Lotus out to the Red Bull Ring.

The Mazda dropped a couple of wheels and hip checked me coming back on track, d*mn this car is little!
Red Bull Ring TT, best of #laps? No, I never made 5 straight laps without spinning this little monster.
Stock - 2:08.773
tuned - 1:57.984

Speaking of dropping a couple of wheels...at least I am not the only one, the F1 drivers in FP2 this morning were missing this corner also.
Red Bull Ring 5 lap vs pro ai:
stock - P5 / best 2:07.238 / total 10:46.732
tuned - P2 / best 1:57.488 / total 10:00.170

And around she goes, letting both the scuby and Chevelle by.
At least I bettered my times from the tt at the races. The ai actually raced me, that scuby was all over me nearly the entire race. Even with sh tires and the big wing it was hard to keep the rear end from coming around in this car, especially at some of these high speed corners at the RB ring.

Getting by the Chevelle again after my slide.
This car would probably do very well at a small, twisty track, but with the high speed corners and long straights at RB ring she just didn't have enough motor. The Oullim Motorsports Spirro that won (by 39+ seconds) in the tuned race was never even seen!

Re-passing the scuby for P2.
She's a nice little car over-all even stock. Looks good, sounds good, brakes and trans are fine, what's not to love? Well, two things mostly. Her penchant for bringing the rear end around rivals just about any other car in the game, even upgrading the tires and a big wing couldn't tame that. The other thing, she just doesn't have enough motor, long straights are her downfall. I can't really call her a beater, she's too fun for that. I can't really call her a sleeper either, the Lotus name is pretty much synonymous with performance at least around here. She's just a typical light, quick British sports car that delivers about what you expect of her...plenty of fun 👍

 

[MidFieldMaven]

When did this thread get revived?! I've been gone for so long I stopped receiving alerts!

Here's my lap at Suzuka Circuit. It can get 2:33 but I lost interest lol. Change quality to 1080p!



I'd like to include this car as its closest GT6 rival.



Or this...

 

[Zenmervolt]

Photos to come.

Ahh styling. Seems as though there are an infinite number of ways to approach it. Some cars really aren't styled at all, like the 200-series Volvos (or the Chaparral 2J) that took form following function to its logical extreme. Some cars, like the Ferrari Daytona are rolling works of art that seem ageless. Some cars are simply products of their time, like the '78 Trans Am or the '87 Buick GNX. Some simply blend into the crowd like the Honda Accord and others, like the Spyker C8, practically beat you over the head with over-the-top fiddly-ness.

And then there's the Lotus Europa, which looks as though someone started working on a moderately attractive British period piece at the front bumper and then, upon reaching the B-pillar, decided to join in solidarity with whatever strike happened to be going on that week over at British Leyland and simply stopped. The end result is, well, let's just say there are better looking cars out there and leave it at that.

Of course, from behind the steering wheel the awkward looks don't matter. The 1,557cc engine seems ridiculously undersized by American standards but this is a Lotus and the little twincam puts out over 125 horsepower; double that of the similarly sized engine in the Spitfire 1500 and reasonably respectable even today. Doubly so in a car that seems to weigh about as much as a marshmallow. The acceleration isn't going to set the world aflame, but the car certainly doesn't feel sluggish either.

And then there's the way it goes around corners. Like all mid-engine cars it can get a little bit squirrely under heavy braking and lift-off oversteer is definitely a thing, but it's predictable and controllable. The feel reminds me very much of the NSX I tested several weeks back -- yes, the back will step out but the car tells you when it's going to happen and it's easily caught, setting up pleasant 4-wheel drifts through corners. If you try to muscle the car around you can provoke some nasty behavior, as I learned when I tried to treat this car the same way I'd treated the FWD hot hatch I'd driven just before it, but if you pay attention and drive with a bit more smoothness the car gladly rewards you.

At Streets of Willow the little bread van managed to break well into the 1:26s, posting a best lap of 1:26.724 and consistently lapping in the 1:26.9 - 1:27.1 range after acclimation. Even on the relatively short Streets, the small engine suffered a bit at the end of the straights (being light unfortunately doesn't eliminate drag and acceleration falls off around 90 mph). Still, the car manages to avoid feeling slow and at least it's in the same lap time neighborhood as modern cars, unlike its contemporary from Triumph which was more than 11 seconds slower around Streets.

Even with the Lotus badge, this one's a sleeper. The kit-car looks (and, admittedly, build quality) are enough to make most casual "car guys" ignore it. Tell them it has a 1.5 liter engine and they might even laugh at it. But when it walks casually away from them down a twisty mountain road like it's a Trueno delivering tofu they'll stop laughing.

Unless the electrics fail and it dies at the side of the road. It may be a sleeper, but it is still British, after all.

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

I see there's no car selected this week or sign of McClarenDesign

I'll host a normal Clean & Relaxed room in about half an hour if any one cares to join.