Quite the list of times there so great job all round.
Congratulations 2018!!!
Here’s to hopefully an even better year for us all.
And to start the ball rolling, we’ll be running the only 2018 car that isn’t DLC at the famous SPA Circuit in Belgium in the day.
The car in question??
The 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS!!!
The current king of the production cars at the nurburgring north loop with a time only just faster than a Track only Pagani Zonda R, a 6:47.25 is the time for any future super/hyper car to take a swing at.
With nearly 700hp from a twin turbo Flat 6 and weighing under 3,200lbs, The Widowmaker is back at the top of the food chain and as the cover car to boot.
Will it be a relaxing Spa day for you or will the GT2 RS add another name to the very long list of people who couldn’t tame it?
The GT2 RS definitely has been improved since its demo debut which gave a lot of people cause for concern.
But it’s still a near enough 700hp rear engined rocketship that’ll very easily turn on you if you don’t treat it with the respect it’s reputation has given it.
When done so, it’ll respond with great agility, braking and acceleration that’ll take you up to 180mph on that long straight.
Definitely a successor to the previous GT2 RS and no supercar or hypercar is safe from it.
That's the best I could do... I did never hit 180 mph at the end of the straight However I do enjoy the car, it's now among my favorite Porsches in the game, it's a sleeper!
So with the scores on the board and the latest repeats from the specialty dealer in my garage, let’s break out one of the 2 spares that one previous winner couldn’t decide on.
I’ve decided to break out one of the other cars you had me decide on picking.
It’s the 1971 Chevrolet Vega GT!!!
Ballsy choice, A 2.3 litre 4 cylinder American compact from the same year as some of Detroit’s finest muscle cars were rocketing between the stop lights with giant 6.5+ litre V8’s.
The 2.3 4 banger made 110hp, but that was under the Gross HP rating, not SAE net which put it at 90hp, but the Costworth Vega (Yes, That Cosworth.) got back to 110hp under the SAE rating with a 2.0 litre twin cam engine, while also coming in 60 pounds lighter than the 2.3 engine.
But where as a 1970 Chevy Chevelle in full 454 SS trim weighs 3,799lbs, the Vega comes in at 2,230lbs.
So 110hp and 2,230lbs, that’s not far off what a mid eighties NA spec Toyota AE86 Corolla GT-S could have (112hp and weigh anywhere from 2,000lbs up-to 2,400lbs or 998kgs to 1089kgs if you like.
So with that in mind, this weeks battle is going to Dubai and we’ll be taking on the Mountain Circuit layout for a little Inital D(ubai) racing.
Be warned however, This track has no sector splits and given how Forza invalidates your next lap if you dirty your current lap in the last sector, It means even if you screw up at turn 1, your next lap will be invalidated regardless.
That would mean you would have to do the next lap clean just to get the chance to do a proper clean lap next time around.
Evil? not that far, Definitely anger inducing when you had to do it in a Group B rally S4 and up against the times of some of the quicker drivers out there, ask me how I know.
-Set up a free play session
-Set car division to any
-Select car
You'll find the car in the rent a car section, it will be the stock version if no division is set.
As of right now, it’s locked to those who want to buy it.
But to rent however... it’s all good.
Go to single player, pick the track in question, set car division to any, set allow upgrades to No under advanced rules, go to car select and go up to rent car, find car in question and voila.
Be warned however, This track has no sector splits and given how Forza invalidates your next lap if you dirty your current lap in the last sector, It means even if you screw up at turn 1, your next lap will be invalidated regardless.
That would mean you would have to do the next lap clean just to get the chance to do a proper clean lap next time around.
Just something I noticed, if you were to rewind after going of track or hitting the wall it won't count the incident. The current lap will still be invalidated but the next one won't be. That way you don't end up throwing two laps away in one go.
My first go at this combo I managed a 2:11
I found the trick to this combo is there are two or three corners where being in 2nd gear the car hits the rev limiter and in 3rd gear it seems to bog down the engine tricky little combo this week 👍👍
And does the last corner ever end seem to go on for ever in a low powered car like the Vega
As for the Vega GT, despite its low power, skinny tyres and soft suspension its not too terrible at this track, The gear choice for the hill climb is crucial.
When T10 decide to stop running repeats on the speciality dealer and inject some fresh choices into the mix, I’ll be picking one of these up, maybe keep it in its homologated class and look for a Cosworth Vega design as well.
What car will get the COTW treatment this week eh Nacho?
It is...
The 1990 Renault Alpine GTA Le Mans!!!
Yep, As it turns out quite a few cars were either called the Le Mans or had a special edition called the Le Mans, so it was inevitable that the french would indulge in it too but that’s no surprise given since Le Mans IS their track after all.
Sat in the back where you’d normally find the boot is a 2.5 litre PRV V6 that’s got a turbo strapped to it and making just under 200hp and 214 LB-ft of torque.
That’s pushing a car weighing 2,625lbs and it sends its power to a 5 speed gearbox.
So given it’s the Le Mans edition, it should no surprise we’re going back to the Bugatti Circuit lay out at Circuit De La Sarthe in the dry.
As for the DLC pack, in the end I settled on a car that (obvious one manufacturer games not counting.) has only showed up in the Gran Turismo franchise once, the Project Gotham Racing franchise once, NFS II and is now making its debut in the Forza franchise.
Like for example, in the quest for more power they ditched the Esprit V8 for a Chevy V8 that lotus helped build for the C4 ZR1 Vette, they then stroked it up to 6.0 litres from 5.7 and gave it a flatplane crank like you’d find on the Esprit or most Ferraris and that had around 600hp.
Can only imagine the sound of ones those at full blast.
After Lotus pulled out of GT1 racing, a privateer bought 2 old Elise GT1 chassis’s and stuck a pair of GT2 spec Viper V10’s in them and called them the Bitter GT1.
In Forza we get the Lotus GT1 in its most docile form as it’s 3.5 Twin turbo V8 from the Esprit is making 350hp, like the Esprit.
But from my testing, it’s plenty of grip and go and you’ll get to experience it as you blast around the Grand Prix layout of Silverstone in the dry.
Uff I've been swamped with work so I just run some laps with the Alpine, but I don't think I will improve my time much. I did have fun creating the pseudo Renault F1 80-ish livery!
However I do enjoy the car, it's now among my favorite Porsches in the game, it's a sleeper!
Oh well, I will set it to stock next time.