Beater or Sleeper? COTW! [Closed]
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Hope all is well Obe.I sincerely apologize for the massive delay today. A lot has happened, some terrible news has been received and this just fell by the wayside.
This week's car is the Colorado ZR2, at any cross country course you desire.
From Las Dunas Cross Country Rivals.
The Chevy Colorado ZR2, while the name is a nice callback to FH1’s festival location, it’s set up to conquer more than just the odd dirt road around the first ever Horizon festival.
The ZR2 trim level builds on the Z/71 trim level Colorado with a load of extra off-road parts, including raised suspension, wider track, bigger off road tyres, skid plates, locking differentials, a high angle approach front bumper, Multimatic Shock Absorbers to name a few of them.
There’s no factory V8 option, just a couple of 4 & 6 bangers, both diesel and petrol and we’ve got the 308hp, 3.6 litre V6.
Power goes to all 4 corners via an 8 speed Automatic, but unless you’re yeeting down the side of a Volcano, you’ll probably only use 5 of those gears for the most part.
It handled the off road sections just fine, but the long gearing did make the 308hp V6 feel a bit anaemic, not helped by it sounding pretty uninspiring in stock form.
It does wake up when you add some performance parts and boost to it though, over 730hp maxed out with twin turbos.
But if you can’t live without your V8 Pick-up, fear not as the 3 engine swaps are all V8’s, the Chevy 6.2, the Racing 7.2 and the Funco 7.4TT.
You can add some extra off road visuals to the Colorado, both by Chevy and the regular Forza Off-road parts.
Now in FH4, this was one of the first ‘Hard To Find’ cars in Series 1, but in FH5, you can pick one up for 46k at the Autoshow, or as low as 13k at auction buyouts.
Overall, while it didn’t exactly light a fire in me, it is an alright off-roader and a good base for more potent builds. 👍
Verdict: Neutral 🙂
- 2,817
- Lincoln
- Victory_Reign93
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Decided on the Baja Circuit to test the Bronco this week, given the theme of the upcoming Rally Adventure Expansion dropping on Wednesday.
So the 1975 Bronco, The original, Not the later ‘OJ’ version.
Packing the biggest engine you could get for it, the 4.9 litre 205hp V8, it sent that power and 300ft-lbs of torque to all 4 corners via a 3 speed manual gearbox.
The long 3rd gear did make that 205hp feel a bit weak, but around the Baja circuit, it wasn’t too much of an issue.
You can grab a factory fresh Bronco for 38k or a second hand one at Auction for 16k and you do get a healthy amount of upgrades to pick from.
Now while it’s max tyre width is only 245’s, it can still be a decent C or B class off-roader with the right parts.
You can add a bull bar and rally lights upfront and you can take the roof off completely for over 100lbs of weight savings.
Engine swaps? most of the usual suspects are here, Chevy V8, Powerstroke V8, Viper V10, Lambo V12, Racing V8 7.2 and Funco 7.4 TT V8.
But there IS an outliner here, the 5.8 Supercharged V8 from the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 with 662hp.
Overall, while the new Bronco is one of the cover cars and getting all the press(both good and bad.), it’s nice to drive the car that started it all.
BUT, just don’t get one in white.
Verdict: Sleeper 😉👍
Obelisk
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Thread will be getting a bit of a clean-up and will be caught up tomorrow.
We have a special announcement tomorrow, at 9:30 AM EST.
And yes, the rally DLC did just drop so that's going to be looked at later. I would recommend taking the Bronco in as a choice if it's possible as it's quite a solid off-roader.
Neutral.
We have a special announcement tomorrow, at 9:30 AM EST.
And yes, the rally DLC did just drop so that's going to be looked at later. I would recommend taking the Bronco in as a choice if it's possible as it's quite a solid off-roader.
Neutral.
Obelisk
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After 228 weeks, or over four years, our counterparts on the GT Sport thread are shutting the doors to it and making the jump to GT7. Us COTW admins just have to celebrate the occasion with a crossover announcement across both games!
So this week, to mark the occasion, we're taking a retro sports car from both games and putting it through its paces.
This week's crossover special is the...
Mazda FC RX7!
The middle brother of the three RX-7s, the FC was a blend of 80s and 90s styling and an often-forgotten one due to the popularity of its newer FD sibling.
We'll be running the RX7 on both an Event Lab and one of the circuits in the base game:
Our track this week is the Plaza Circuit, to challenge both car and driver.
Our EventLab is Special Stage Route 5, by Xochan3888. 517 676 116. This eventlab features AI, so this is not a time trial but rather a proper race to test the car.
Let's welcome our GT7 crew along with some spinning Doritos!
So this week, to mark the occasion, we're taking a retro sports car from both games and putting it through its paces.
This week's crossover special is the...
Mazda FC RX7!
The middle brother of the three RX-7s, the FC was a blend of 80s and 90s styling and an often-forgotten one due to the popularity of its newer FD sibling.
We'll be running the RX7 on both an Event Lab and one of the circuits in the base game:
Our track this week is the Plaza Circuit, to challenge both car and driver.
Our EventLab is Special Stage Route 5, by Xochan3888. 517 676 116. This eventlab features AI, so this is not a time trial but rather a proper race to test the car.
Let's welcome our GT7 crew along with some spinning Doritos!
Last edited:
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And here's the brand spanking new, sparkling newborn thread over on Gran Turismo 7! Do join us over there if you have the time! The only thing Obelisk has that we don't is... uh... Special Stage Route 5, but we have scantily clad women if you have a bit of an imagination.
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(1:44.087)
So the 1990 Mazda RX-7.
This is I believe our first non Autoshow available car we’ve tested with it being only attainable via wheel spin,(possible Festival playlist prize too?) or getting the Three Of A Kind Accolade by completing the Super7 3 times.
You can buy one from the Auction House, But you are NOT gonna get one for the cars value of 25k, you’re looking at mid to high six figure buyouts for the RX-7.
But that’s the nature of the beast when it comes to these rarer cars on Forza, the AE86 is a prime example of that, with buyouts on them going for over 3 million.
And people on GT7 complain about some JDM’s costing six figures.
As i’m typing this up, i’m looking at listings for another “Hard To Find” car, the Toyota Land Cruiser Artic Truck AT37 with buyout prices of 20 million credits.
I’m not even including the 143 million credits you’ll need if you want to buy the 1955 Mercedes 300SLR at the Autoshow because you missed it in a Festival Playlist.
Oh wait, guess I just did.
Anyways, The RX-7 packs 200hp from a 1.3 Turbo 2 Rotor engine, which sends that power to the rear via a 5 speed Manual gearbox, which gives a 0-60 of 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 156mph.
It does have some aftermarket visual upgrades including a Widebody Kit which allows you to put 295 width tyres at all 4 corners.
The factory 2 rotor is good for 485hp fully tuned, but there’s 3 engine swap options if you want something more potent and you don’t need to be lucky with Roulette Tickets to get them either.
There’s a 6.2 Chevy V8 or the 1.6 Turbo Rally I4, but if you want something with more Brap, you’re covered there too.
Enter the 2.6 litre 4 Rotor Racing with 690hp, yep the 787B’s engine.
Fun Fact: You can drop that 4 Rotor into the C4 ZR-1 Vette in FH5.
As for how it drives, It revs smoothly to past 8k Rpm, grips up nicely as long you don’t push it too far and stops decently even without ABS.
Despite being turbo’d, you still need to keep the revs high to keep the 2 Rotors singing with power, it will however reward you for it as that time I set was only 6 tenths off my current best lap there in a Bugatti Type 35C built to C600, 42PI more than the RX-7.
Overall, your mileage may vary on your verdict if you won this car on a wheel spin or unlocked it via the previously mentioned Accolade instead of getting via the Auction House.
Just on its own merits, It’s a Sleeper. 😉👍
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SPD Writes Car Of The Week: Week 74 - Mazda Savanna RX-7 (FC)
Byeah, I'm keeping the spinning inside the body. Outside is all smooth sailing.. I hope!
It's a brief list of cars, but we're getting on that rotary list quite quick with the FC RX-7. After a quick first look of the car, it seems even the late 80s couldn't fully whiff out the Japanese trend of having strong inspirations from western designs. Things like Toyota's 2000GT being a Japanese E-Type, for example. The second generation RX-7, known more widely as the FC, was a result from copying the front engined Porsches that were starting to get traction at the time. One of our COTW Alumni: the 944, is unmistakably the main study for the design.
Starting off with only components from the RX-3, the RX-7 started off mainly as a carbon copy with the main elements of having all the good elements of the 944, but with one main omission: the cost of a Porsche. Also introduced was a newly redesigned 13B rotary from the latest variant of the FB, which was a two rotor design that was heavier, but as a result, positioned in a way so the car's weight balance was close to a 50-50.
What made the FC work was how it actually delivered these elements. It started off nicely, with the initial 1986 release getting a lot of praise. However, it was in later revisions we get to see a combination that retained to the FD: turbocharging a rotary.
With the release of the FC Turbo II, this would allow the FC to be a good step ahead of its main competitor: the A70 Supra. And aside the usual coupe, there is a convertible too. I've never seen this at all. A quick Google search might help sate this curiosity I'm sure.
Oh doof! The FC spins its heart to give us a PI of 558. Despite its main inspiration being one whole class ahead, looks to me the FC's a middling C class car! I'm sure anyone who understands me know what's coming, but.. yes, there's a rear end to this..
But due to the given track, I propose we don't do a Throwback here. Let's head off to another place for that. If we look at the roster of cars included in this performance level, it's one that got me going wow at the Corrado for a good minute, and we all know that car's going to steal the show. Again. I know it. It's born that way. That and the MINI JCW Countryman, actually.
Also a first for Horizon's COTW, the FC is a Wheelspin car, meaning one can't buy it off the Autoshow. You're in luck since the car itself is quite common at the Auction House, though the most common and lowest price of the car comes in a cool half million credits. Being a JDM icon plus also being the only gate to access Hertlife's Twerkstallion maybe has something to do with that.
And if you're in a money saver mood, lucky enough the car has an Accolade tied to it that's named 'Three of a Kind', which requires you to complete 3 full Super7 events. Why 3, though? This is a more.. leaning towards number 2 kind of RX-7.
Before I return to mentioning Dr. Wankel's often construed as lustful passions, let's come back to not-so-bad city track Plaza Circuit for a return to a possible good side of the city racing scene.
The issue with bridging the worlds together is that I have to decide on the COTW mascot that I proclaim am responsible for after a certain slippery adventure around Ek Balam. Is this section supposed to be a hint? Or more of pure coincidence?
"Blast along a main thoroughfare before heading into the suburbs of Guanajuato, this undulating and technical circuit will keep you on your toes throughout."
Let's put it simply: my notes in the past mention while Guanajuato exists only to be hated, some places aren't so bad. Take this track: a tricky technical circuit which mixes speed and handling in an okay fashion, contains a few annoyances such as the usual Forza puts all the road signs and curbs on the race track, and oh be wary for the track contains a few challenging spots such as the sharp inclines in a few spots, and of course that final turn.
I suppose good looking rotaries come in red most of the time. There's the one case where it didn't come in red, but it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But I always wondered what exactly is the signature color for the FD. I personally think it's yellow, but dark green or silver is fetching too.
- Despite its overall wedge shape, I find the car view from the inside very pleasing. Clear HUD elements with a deceptively large front window. And what's not for racing is minimal. I like to provide imaginary points for cockpits with less distractive elements.
- Much like any car with this much power, the FC can handle a full launch from stop with 100% of the power down in an instant. Now, with this week onwards, the game has released the Launch Control assist to be used in races, so that analysis also comes in here. For the FC, you can, but I say don't want to be using the Launch Control. I say it's suited more to cars that has maybe around double the power. Muscle cars, mid engined monsters with big engines, an upcoming SPD's-so-nominating-this man killer.. you get the idea. The car redlines at around the 8500 RPM zone, and since this is a turbo rotary, you want that close as you can towards when shifting upwards.
- When you brake with the car, you try not to get it turning. You need to be a bit more precise with your trail braking with it, as braking too hard with an angle will lock up the rear, but not violently. Other than that, there's not much to give extra care about the solid brakes.
- It might not be powerful, but the car isn't engineered for racing. I mean, this one, not the IMSA GTO. But where I'm heading to comes to the car's handling: the suspension isn't sports hard, and thus you're going to get a less responsive feel to the weight moving around. I should mention how the GSX that we tested the last we got here was much softer, but I guess I also have a favored taste for soft springed muscle.
- Speaking of the weight, it doesn't respond well if you let the throttle go. Your rear will slide off, but not really slide. I often just put a light feather on the throttle to alleviate this. But beware: you're not driving something terribly easy. The rear is willing to go wild if you let it, which is when you use up all the effort to bring that baby wide. You'll notice this tendency when in the mid of a sharp turn.
- There's not much power, but this car accelerates similarly to some other middling C class cars. The Starion and the Alpine duo come to mind. Yes, they're coming. The torque isn't so high, but I like it more when that's at a higher capacity. This does mean at least when you're not turning quite the angle, you're going to be okay accelerating out the corners at least.
- I didn't touch much on the car's ability to handle bumpy surfaces, but it's not a track car or anything with wings and carbon fibre up the bum. It can react to some of the curbs in the track, so be cautious. But with the right changes, I guess it's okay to make a rallying FC. It's still RWD so don't get eager on the car's stability on uneven terrain as the classes go up.
- Track advice? It's a closed circuit, so people who like to go wild with the racing lines, like me, might want to center down a bit more. The punishment often includes uneven roads and the many obstacles, along with the occassional Barry R.
- Believe it or not, the final advice for me and this car.. in Mini Mexico at least, is that you gotta watch your inputs. While with the last time we were here, my piece of advice is to use the torque. We don't have that, so this is the twist I have to make so that it makes sense for this time around. Accelerate at the right places, because at the wrong places, this is a car that isn't willing to correct itself.
I didn't stay super long, but the time I remained on the roads of this city was full of pleasure. Easy enough to say I can call it a Mark of Zen #18, right? Plaza Circuit will come as the first track to hold two of these awards from 2 different cars. While the Buick was a boat, it was a boat that knew how to keep its flow going good with this venue. This Mazda's case comes in how much better it was to race with, how it has a sense of learning and challenge.. and not to mention it has a rotary, which is cheating if you think about the aesthetic sense.
I wasn't thinking about Dr. Wankel, and definitely not imagining how many combinations of his passions are around, but the FC did land a best lap of 1:46.293.
Yeah, I haven't used a Rivals Leaderboard picture for quite some time!
For my 2 sessions here, I was chasing a flagged 1:45. But it was that fine a lap for my standards, and I can't seem to get it back without. Oh well. For the record, the similarly performant GSX landed a time of a late 1:50, so it's either there's tons of room to improve on, or this car is way more suitable for this track. I'd say the latter, but the former's not exactly wrong.
The car also lost to my first run here with a stock Volkswagen Corrado by about 3 tenths. Let that sink in for how much of a Sleeper that... thing(!!) truly is.
Hey, you know, just like the week with the GSX, I'm afraid this Throwback will be thrown forward a bit ahead on the time line. Let's head to the verdict quickly before I lose enough motivation to get on Horizon 5... because seriously that's how I've been feeling about the game for the past few weeks. And this week for the matter.
And not to mention I've been getting back on other games. Less time behind the wheel is an excuse after all.
So..
What is the Mazda Savanna RX-7 (FC)? It is..
Just a Porsche then OOPS all dual rotary turbocharged Japanese sports car that looks like said Porsche 944
Let's head back to me about these Japanese cars in the early 90s. To me, all other selections were way more appealing to me, despite this being the car with the best sound or maybe one of the best successors. I guess I never had a thing for Japanese cars that copied designs from western lands. And after comparing times, it didn't impress.
But the journey for me getting there.. did. And not to mention I'm starting to get along with this old rotary, appreciating the idea of putting a turbo in the car that started that trend. It's not high, but I can definitely feel it's a Sleeper. Not remarkable, but it led to something so majestic, I hope it's coming.
Wait, I just remembered that we're bridging the dimensional gaming gap this week. I should consider getting a proper mascot there. I mean, for me, it did work out in the end. I guess there is an end.
Byeah, I'm keeping the spinning inside the body. Outside is all smooth sailing.. I hope!
It's a brief list of cars, but we're getting on that rotary list quite quick with the FC RX-7. After a quick first look of the car, it seems even the late 80s couldn't fully whiff out the Japanese trend of having strong inspirations from western designs. Things like Toyota's 2000GT being a Japanese E-Type, for example. The second generation RX-7, known more widely as the FC, was a result from copying the front engined Porsches that were starting to get traction at the time. One of our COTW Alumni: the 944, is unmistakably the main study for the design.
Starting off with only components from the RX-3, the RX-7 started off mainly as a carbon copy with the main elements of having all the good elements of the 944, but with one main omission: the cost of a Porsche. Also introduced was a newly redesigned 13B rotary from the latest variant of the FB, which was a two rotor design that was heavier, but as a result, positioned in a way so the car's weight balance was close to a 50-50.
What made the FC work was how it actually delivered these elements. It started off nicely, with the initial 1986 release getting a lot of praise. However, it was in later revisions we get to see a combination that retained to the FD: turbocharging a rotary.
With the release of the FC Turbo II, this would allow the FC to be a good step ahead of its main competitor: the A70 Supra. And aside the usual coupe, there is a convertible too. I've never seen this at all. A quick Google search might help sate this curiosity I'm sure.
Oh doof! The FC spins its heart to give us a PI of 558. Despite its main inspiration being one whole class ahead, looks to me the FC's a middling C class car! I'm sure anyone who understands me know what's coming, but.. yes, there's a rear end to this..
But due to the given track, I propose we don't do a Throwback here. Let's head off to another place for that. If we look at the roster of cars included in this performance level, it's one that got me going wow at the Corrado for a good minute, and we all know that car's going to steal the show. Again. I know it. It's born that way. That and the MINI JCW Countryman, actually.
Also a first for Horizon's COTW, the FC is a Wheelspin car, meaning one can't buy it off the Autoshow. You're in luck since the car itself is quite common at the Auction House, though the most common and lowest price of the car comes in a cool half million credits. Being a JDM icon plus also being the only gate to access Hertlife's Twerkstallion maybe has something to do with that.
And if you're in a money saver mood, lucky enough the car has an Accolade tied to it that's named 'Three of a Kind', which requires you to complete 3 full Super7 events. Why 3, though? This is a more.. leaning towards number 2 kind of RX-7.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before I return to mentioning Dr. Wankel's often construed as lustful passions, let's come back to not-so-bad city track Plaza Circuit for a return to a possible good side of the city racing scene.
The issue with bridging the worlds together is that I have to decide on the COTW mascot that I proclaim am responsible for after a certain slippery adventure around Ek Balam. Is this section supposed to be a hint? Or more of pure coincidence?
"Blast along a main thoroughfare before heading into the suburbs of Guanajuato, this undulating and technical circuit will keep you on your toes throughout."
Let's put it simply: my notes in the past mention while Guanajuato exists only to be hated, some places aren't so bad. Take this track: a tricky technical circuit which mixes speed and handling in an okay fashion, contains a few annoyances such as the usual Forza puts all the road signs and curbs on the race track, and oh be wary for the track contains a few challenging spots such as the sharp inclines in a few spots, and of course that final turn.
I suppose good looking rotaries come in red most of the time. There's the one case where it didn't come in red, but it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But I always wondered what exactly is the signature color for the FD. I personally think it's yellow, but dark green or silver is fetching too.
- Despite its overall wedge shape, I find the car view from the inside very pleasing. Clear HUD elements with a deceptively large front window. And what's not for racing is minimal. I like to provide imaginary points for cockpits with less distractive elements.
- Much like any car with this much power, the FC can handle a full launch from stop with 100% of the power down in an instant. Now, with this week onwards, the game has released the Launch Control assist to be used in races, so that analysis also comes in here. For the FC, you can, but I say don't want to be using the Launch Control. I say it's suited more to cars that has maybe around double the power. Muscle cars, mid engined monsters with big engines, an upcoming SPD's-so-nominating-this man killer.. you get the idea. The car redlines at around the 8500 RPM zone, and since this is a turbo rotary, you want that close as you can towards when shifting upwards.
- When you brake with the car, you try not to get it turning. You need to be a bit more precise with your trail braking with it, as braking too hard with an angle will lock up the rear, but not violently. Other than that, there's not much to give extra care about the solid brakes.
- It might not be powerful, but the car isn't engineered for racing. I mean, this one, not the IMSA GTO. But where I'm heading to comes to the car's handling: the suspension isn't sports hard, and thus you're going to get a less responsive feel to the weight moving around. I should mention how the GSX that we tested the last we got here was much softer, but I guess I also have a favored taste for soft springed muscle.
- Speaking of the weight, it doesn't respond well if you let the throttle go. Your rear will slide off, but not really slide. I often just put a light feather on the throttle to alleviate this. But beware: you're not driving something terribly easy. The rear is willing to go wild if you let it, which is when you use up all the effort to bring that baby wide. You'll notice this tendency when in the mid of a sharp turn.
- There's not much power, but this car accelerates similarly to some other middling C class cars. The Starion and the Alpine duo come to mind. Yes, they're coming. The torque isn't so high, but I like it more when that's at a higher capacity. This does mean at least when you're not turning quite the angle, you're going to be okay accelerating out the corners at least.
- I didn't touch much on the car's ability to handle bumpy surfaces, but it's not a track car or anything with wings and carbon fibre up the bum. It can react to some of the curbs in the track, so be cautious. But with the right changes, I guess it's okay to make a rallying FC. It's still RWD so don't get eager on the car's stability on uneven terrain as the classes go up.
- Track advice? It's a closed circuit, so people who like to go wild with the racing lines, like me, might want to center down a bit more. The punishment often includes uneven roads and the many obstacles, along with the occassional Barry R.
- Believe it or not, the final advice for me and this car.. in Mini Mexico at least, is that you gotta watch your inputs. While with the last time we were here, my piece of advice is to use the torque. We don't have that, so this is the twist I have to make so that it makes sense for this time around. Accelerate at the right places, because at the wrong places, this is a car that isn't willing to correct itself.
I didn't stay super long, but the time I remained on the roads of this city was full of pleasure. Easy enough to say I can call it a Mark of Zen #18, right? Plaza Circuit will come as the first track to hold two of these awards from 2 different cars. While the Buick was a boat, it was a boat that knew how to keep its flow going good with this venue. This Mazda's case comes in how much better it was to race with, how it has a sense of learning and challenge.. and not to mention it has a rotary, which is cheating if you think about the aesthetic sense.
I wasn't thinking about Dr. Wankel, and definitely not imagining how many combinations of his passions are around, but the FC did land a best lap of 1:46.293.
Yeah, I haven't used a Rivals Leaderboard picture for quite some time!
For my 2 sessions here, I was chasing a flagged 1:45. But it was that fine a lap for my standards, and I can't seem to get it back without. Oh well. For the record, the similarly performant GSX landed a time of a late 1:50, so it's either there's tons of room to improve on, or this car is way more suitable for this track. I'd say the latter, but the former's not exactly wrong.
The car also lost to my first run here with a stock Volkswagen Corrado by about 3 tenths. Let that sink in for how much of a Sleeper that... thing(!!) truly is.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey, you know, just like the week with the GSX, I'm afraid this Throwback will be thrown forward a bit ahead on the time line. Let's head to the verdict quickly before I lose enough motivation to get on Horizon 5... because seriously that's how I've been feeling about the game for the past few weeks. And this week for the matter.
And not to mention I've been getting back on other games. Less time behind the wheel is an excuse after all.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So..
What is the Mazda Savanna RX-7 (FC)? It is..
Just a Porsche then OOPS all dual rotary turbocharged Japanese sports car that looks like said Porsche 944
Let's head back to me about these Japanese cars in the early 90s. To me, all other selections were way more appealing to me, despite this being the car with the best sound or maybe one of the best successors. I guess I never had a thing for Japanese cars that copied designs from western lands. And after comparing times, it didn't impress.
But the journey for me getting there.. did. And not to mention I'm starting to get along with this old rotary, appreciating the idea of putting a turbo in the car that started that trend. It's not high, but I can definitely feel it's a Sleeper. Not remarkable, but it led to something so majestic, I hope it's coming.
Wait, I just remembered that we're bridging the dimensional gaming gap this week. I should consider getting a proper mascot there. I mean, for me, it did work out in the end. I guess there is an end.
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- XSquareStickIt
This one's a little modified, but here you go!
It's really, really funny you should say that...
Resurrection: The Pikes Peak 20B 4WD RX-7 - Speedhunters
Exactly four years, 10 months and 24 days previous to this story, Speedhunters poked its nose into a shed in the rural outskirts north of Auckland, New Zealand. Modest in stature and tucked away from prying eyes, inside the resurrection of a modern legend was taking place. That legend, an ex-Rod...
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Hey folks, come sit down with your favorite beverage and join me while we look into this week's car.
This is the FH5 version of the review. You can find its counterpart on the GT7 thread...soon! As soon as it crops up in the UCD.
==
If I described a car as a wedge with pop-up headlights, you'd probably think of many, many different cars from the 1980s and 1990s like the MR2, the old Diablo, the Countach, the Ferrari Berlinetta, the Toyota 86… There's a lot of them. A lot of them. I could probably give every person in the world a late 80s, early 90s wedge and it would be more than enough door wedges for humanity to stop two doors each.
Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit, but you get my point. There are a ton of wedges from this era, and this week's Car of the Week is no exception.
Meet the 1990 Mazda RX-7 Savanna.
A.K.A. one of the many versions of the FC RX7. The model in-game is a right-hand drive variant, so it's probably one of the varisnts that never made it over here to the US. At the end of the day, it's here with us in mini-Mexico, so let's see what it's got going for itself.
First things first, the FC RX7 is valued in the $75k+ range when sorting by value. While that's modest compared to its younger stablemate, that's unfortunately not a relevant value anywhere in the game. The car can only be obtained by completing the Super7 three times (a relatively simple, 20-25 min task if you're halfway decent at the game) or via Auction House/Wheelspin, where examples are going for a staggering $782k buyout.
So, yeah. If you want an FC the easy way, just go do the Super7. Trust me, some of the challenge cards are pretty fun.
Stat-wise the FC is, appropriately enough, a C class car. It's rated at 558 PI, leaving it a few points ahead of the NC MX5 and the Starion, and smack dab in the middle of the band of C class cars we've tested extensively in COTW.
The FC is producing 220 HP and 191 ft-lbs of torque from a 1.31 liter twin-rotor engine. It's not as lightweight as it appears, given that it tips the scales at 2,981 pounds. That weight is pretty nicely distributed at 51:49, so it's pretty promising!
Comparing the base stats of the FC to a tuned C class car - a balanced tune Escort RS Cosworth - we get the following stat differences:
(note that + numbers mean the FC is better, - numbers mean the FC is worse)
Speed: +0.4 speed (5.7)
Handling: -0.5 handling (4.5)
Accel: -0.6 accel (4.3)
Launch: -0.1 launch (3.3)
Braking: -1.8 braking (3.1)
Offroad: -1.2 offroad (5.4)
The FC being a bit worse at everything's kind of expected given the nature of stock vs tuned, but the speed being higher comes at a bit of a surprise.
So what is the driving experience like?
Quite a pleasant car. Gets from point A to point B pretty well, and it can tolerate some off-road hijinks. Not that you'd ever subject a spinning dorito to the rigors of off-road driving.
The game tells you the redline is 7,000 RPM on the dot. However, the fuel cut-off is 8,500 RPM. Normally I'd recommend revving the nuts off the engine, but as it turns out the power curve decays immediately after 7,000 RPM, linearly down from 200 to 190 HP by 8,000 RPM. After 8,000 it just drops off a cliff and ends at 154 HP at fuel cut-off. Over-revving to 7500 might be OK depending, but I wouldn't recommend going past that.
The game tells me that this car can do 0-60 in 6.5 seconds, and has an outright top speed of 156 MPH. These are both pretty respectable numbers for a 200 HP sports coupe - some cars that are 20 years newer still struggle to get numbers like that!
Time for the Plaza Circuit run! My best lap on the leaderboard is a 1:45.618 in a C599 Buick GSX, currently at 2,077th in the world. Let's see what this rotary legend is capable of.
Around Plaza Circuit, I found that the brakes were actually quite good - I only had lock-ups when I was going for 100% braking force and going over a very small crest near the end of the lap. The handling is pretty balanced, though the car is a little quick to oversteer. It can carry a surprising amount of speed despite this.
That said, it does not like the curbs or objects around the track, so you're bound to get sudden oversteer should you run the outside tire up curbs or hit one of the light poles.
The car will also snap under two other circumstances:
Unfortunately, it is in fact a C class car, and the best lap I could muster is a 1:46.6. I don't have a screenshot at the moment.
Normally, I'd try to mention swaps/upgrades but Vic has taken up that torch with his car dives on this thread, so I'll instead wrap up with some recommendations:
Potential classes and surface type for the car would be C, B and A class Road Racing.
In C class, upgrade the handling and brakes first.
In B class, it wouldn't be hard to get a solid balanced tune that leans towards good top speed.
In A class, pretty much anything goes. That meta scares me.
Overall, the FC RX-7 is a Sleeper.
This is the FH5 version of the review. You can find its counterpart on the GT7 thread...soon! As soon as it crops up in the UCD.
==
If I described a car as a wedge with pop-up headlights, you'd probably think of many, many different cars from the 1980s and 1990s like the MR2, the old Diablo, the Countach, the Ferrari Berlinetta, the Toyota 86… There's a lot of them. A lot of them. I could probably give every person in the world a late 80s, early 90s wedge and it would be more than enough door wedges for humanity to stop two doors each.
Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit, but you get my point. There are a ton of wedges from this era, and this week's Car of the Week is no exception.
Meet the 1990 Mazda RX-7 Savanna.
A.K.A. one of the many versions of the FC RX7. The model in-game is a right-hand drive variant, so it's probably one of the varisnts that never made it over here to the US. At the end of the day, it's here with us in mini-Mexico, so let's see what it's got going for itself.
First things first, the FC RX7 is valued in the $75k+ range when sorting by value. While that's modest compared to its younger stablemate, that's unfortunately not a relevant value anywhere in the game. The car can only be obtained by completing the Super7 three times (a relatively simple, 20-25 min task if you're halfway decent at the game) or via Auction House/Wheelspin, where examples are going for a staggering $782k buyout.
So, yeah. If you want an FC the easy way, just go do the Super7. Trust me, some of the challenge cards are pretty fun.
Stat-wise the FC is, appropriately enough, a C class car. It's rated at 558 PI, leaving it a few points ahead of the NC MX5 and the Starion, and smack dab in the middle of the band of C class cars we've tested extensively in COTW.
The FC is producing 220 HP and 191 ft-lbs of torque from a 1.31 liter twin-rotor engine. It's not as lightweight as it appears, given that it tips the scales at 2,981 pounds. That weight is pretty nicely distributed at 51:49, so it's pretty promising!
Comparing the base stats of the FC to a tuned C class car - a balanced tune Escort RS Cosworth - we get the following stat differences:
(note that + numbers mean the FC is better, - numbers mean the FC is worse)
Speed: +0.4 speed (5.7)
Handling: -0.5 handling (4.5)
Accel: -0.6 accel (4.3)
Launch: -0.1 launch (3.3)
Braking: -1.8 braking (3.1)
Offroad: -1.2 offroad (5.4)
The FC being a bit worse at everything's kind of expected given the nature of stock vs tuned, but the speed being higher comes at a bit of a surprise.
So what is the driving experience like?
Quite a pleasant car. Gets from point A to point B pretty well, and it can tolerate some off-road hijinks. Not that you'd ever subject a spinning dorito to the rigors of off-road driving.
The game tells you the redline is 7,000 RPM on the dot. However, the fuel cut-off is 8,500 RPM. Normally I'd recommend revving the nuts off the engine, but as it turns out the power curve decays immediately after 7,000 RPM, linearly down from 200 to 190 HP by 8,000 RPM. After 8,000 it just drops off a cliff and ends at 154 HP at fuel cut-off. Over-revving to 7500 might be OK depending, but I wouldn't recommend going past that.
The game tells me that this car can do 0-60 in 6.5 seconds, and has an outright top speed of 156 MPH. These are both pretty respectable numbers for a 200 HP sports coupe - some cars that are 20 years newer still struggle to get numbers like that!
Time for the Plaza Circuit run! My best lap on the leaderboard is a 1:45.618 in a C599 Buick GSX, currently at 2,077th in the world. Let's see what this rotary legend is capable of.
Around Plaza Circuit, I found that the brakes were actually quite good - I only had lock-ups when I was going for 100% braking force and going over a very small crest near the end of the lap. The handling is pretty balanced, though the car is a little quick to oversteer. It can carry a surprising amount of speed despite this.
That said, it does not like the curbs or objects around the track, so you're bound to get sudden oversteer should you run the outside tire up curbs or hit one of the light poles.
The car will also snap under two other circumstances:
- allowing the engine RPM to spool under 5,000 RPM, which only happens if you're a gear too high and decelerating.
- Flooring it out of a turn in 1st or 2nd gear.
Unfortunately, it is in fact a C class car, and the best lap I could muster is a 1:46.6. I don't have a screenshot at the moment.
Normally, I'd try to mention swaps/upgrades but Vic has taken up that torch with his car dives on this thread, so I'll instead wrap up with some recommendations:
Potential classes and surface type for the car would be C, B and A class Road Racing.
In C class, upgrade the handling and brakes first.
In B class, it wouldn't be hard to get a solid balanced tune that leans towards good top speed.
In A class, pretty much anything goes. That meta scares me.
Overall, the FC RX-7 is a Sleeper.
Obelisk
Premium
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Yesterday sure was a riot for me, haha. Anyways, let me get the dust off my clothes and call us all back to HQ for the next car-
[phone rings]
Hold on. Yello?
First off, drop the call and deal with whatever the heck Vic is doing back there.
Second off, Square has been given the car choice for this week in exchange for... something. He'll reveal that in due time.
Our car this week is the 2013 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S!
Our vanilla FH5 track this week is Cañón Run, a Street Scene I'm pretty sure we've never done.
As a bonus, you can also try the Senda de Montaña Apex Predators event in the Rally Adventure Rivals list.
Let's give Square what he wants, eh?
EDIT:
[phone rings]
Hold on. Yello?
XSquareStickIt
First off, drop the call and deal with whatever the heck Vic is doing back there.
Second off, Square has been given the car choice for this week in exchange for... something. He'll reveal that in due time.
Our car this week is the 2013 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S!
Our vanilla FH5 track this week is Cañón Run, a Street Scene I'm pretty sure we've never done.
As a bonus, you can also try the Senda de Montaña Apex Predators event in the Rally Adventure Rivals list.
Let's give Square what he wants, eh?
EDIT:
About that...
Last edited:
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- SomePlayaDude
SPD Writes Car Of The Week: Week 75 - Aston Martin V12 Vantage S
Most of the time, a V12's role as a main ingredient for driving satisfaction seems to never get old.
About time we get an Aston Martin on COTW. I forget when, but I did mention that this brand, with a whole bevy of cars, was missing representation around here. Until now.
It's not a car with deep levels of history, but the V12 Vantage was born under one concept, namely what happens if you shove in Aston Martin's powerful V12 in their Vantage, which fans have named the baby Aston body. Now this is a company who's got a lot of time to refine their expertise with the in house V12, starting off with the likes of the DB7 getting one all the way back in 1999.
And with now declared its mainline engine, you'd expect a V12 in just about any of their cars from here on out. The 5.9 liter V12 would move on, going to cars like the DB9, the V12 Zagato, the Rapide, and of course the V12 Vantage. It's in the name, after all. The car we're focused on is the 2nd gen V12 Vantage, which is hard to tell apart from the initial model that came out in 2009 if you're not into the details, or the scooped hood.
At release, the V12 Vantage S would be better known as the fastest Aston out there, if we don't count the extremely limited One-77. This is a name it doesn't inherit lightly, with the car being bred on the Nurburgring, and also getting into GT racing. This variant of the car we see in Gran Turismo Sport and onwards, representing the company in Group 3.
It's not even the final trim of the car, with the car receiving a few limited run versions. One noted one is the GT12: a complete track pack with carbon fibre and aerodynamics all over. Even with a completely Korean popstar diet variant around, this Vantage has sexy numbers: 565 horsepower from their AM28 V12, a top speed of 205, and all that power bringing about 1.6 tons through a 7 speed semi-auto manual.
If you fancy a more modern British V12, this Aston Martin's got a PI value of 796, just shy of the top of A. If we look within the class of Super GTs.. unsure if a certain Steve needs to be mentioned, the V12 Vantage has a few in class rivans with its successor the DB11 just 9 PI behind, and the German powerhouse, and GT Sport cover car the Mercedes-AMG GT S that's a single PI ahead. Unlike last week and some cars in certain weeks, you can go and get your own Vantage S with 240,000 credits paid upfront to your nearest Autoshow.
This week, I can declare it's hard to low key bring a V12 to the north east end of Mini Mexico, with the Aston bringing some beef to Canon Run.
It's not been a whole year, but there's something sweet about this blue painted MINI besting the likes of a white sports car. How else can I give this away as some kind of hint?
"Emerging from Copper Canyon, this route thunders along the forested region of Riviera Maya, opening up to stunning views of the coast and finally arriving at Playa Azul."
Okay so there IS a part 3 of this.. Ruta Norte to Copper Canyon Sprint road, with Canon Run being the end of it going towards Playa Azul. Aside from the two 90 degrees right handers, there's nothing that'll fool you on this road to the locale with the same definition of my name on it. It's speedy, and if you're racing here, traffic's going to be the only issue. Aside from me finding issues with Street Scene events having a fairly innacurate racing line on the whole.
All this action just screams butterflies and hurricanes in my mind.. because this is the cover car for Criterion's NFS Most Wanted. The Burnout with less carnage but with real cars. I know this is the car review, but I don't agree with everyone's opinion about Most Wanted 2012 on the whole. I just love that game.
- In this older Vantage, the insides are as clear and bright like the old British ways. What's not in those ways is that the game got us a right hand drive version to work with. It's a bit tight, but I know these things have nice deep seats to cushion us with.
- Launching the car is slippy, and it's going to hold you back.. but the newly added launch control allows this car to get going from the start with all my might on the.. whatever foot it is on a left hand drive car that drives it forward. But in any case, since launch control wins the day and is always on for racing, there's no tricks to launch the Vantage, and thank goodness. This'll be the first COTW car to utilize this new feature to a game changing level. The car redlines at the 7600 RPM zone, so you want to shift sometime before. I'm a 6400 RPM guy myself.
- It's brakes time, and it's early because in week 1, that's the main source of grief. Considering this car's close proximity to Pinky's stock performance, this had better be good, right? Well, have no fear: they're great. Just no last minute jerk reactions or you're going to go way off the intended path.
- On a quick note, it's actually not bad off the road. No wonder it has a rally car form in the Dirt series, despite its class there just existing to completely disect and disassemble the body parts and organs of anyone involved.
- Onwards to the handling, and I am quite surprised by seeing how excellent it is. Responsive, yes but not race car sort of good. But it's smooth, and the car isn't jittery. It's not turning too deep at all: just very mild understeer. Wow, way to go Aston Martin, easy A+ on how I like my cars to turn on the track.
- If you like your braking techniques, the ones that'll bite you in the FC last week seems to balance out here, as the Vantage LOVES for you to engine brake or trail brake or brake you apart or whatever.
- We're riding a V12, and that means we got a whole load of smooth power to bring out. And that brings me to traction: where the heck does it ever skid out?! This you can find when braking hard for the tighter corners. But if you can master that, you'll find this Vantage to be such a sensational driving feeling.
- If you analyze the current gearing setup, you'll find how much of a race setup that 7 speed semi-auto's got. It's getting tighter as it goes on. This means you get a good flow of the car accelerating at higher speeds. And I've noticed how great it accelerates. I didn't mention this, but this is a non aspirated car. I've yet to test on a hill, but acceleration is, just at the very least, good.
- A new track means maybe 3 blurbs for advice. So, no Barry R means you're able to go extra wide on select turns. Can't say which exactly, but you'll notice on my Rivals ghost which ones I did use.
- It seems speedy, but there are some portions that tests out a car's handling. Like a stock DB11 on GT7, the Vantage S is a car that handles magnificently at stock. There's a road with weaving, and as the game tells me to brake, I didn't and got through it with light taps on the accelerator. It was a moment of thin beard rubbing satisfaction, only that it's the car rubbing its handling on the road, or something I dunno.
- Halfway on the track, you will see some good 'friends' of ours known as the rock fences of, maybe not doom cause we still living. They're notably on the inside, and as SPD's a very inside driving guy for perfect racing lines.. I gotta go a bit wide. It follows with maybe the only troubling turn on this track: chicane to-AHA 90 degree left hander. You're in a solid car with little issue to take this, so it's on you.
- The track has 2 instances of a rammer's best friend and worst enemies: the destroyable bridge. Care you don't go wide and follow their example this time around, especially when there's no reason for this wanton destruction.
- It's not a way to end without a final note, and my final advice comes to how the Vantage S is a superb car to work your way through getting used to the pace here. Can't find the right car to get started? I've covered a good portion of these machines in this range. So you can put the Aston on the radar if someone wants the combo of a good drive with a great body and an amazing sound.
I've always been a simp for Jaguar when it comes to British grand tourers, but unfortunately for my bias, the XKR-S months ago didn't earn a certain award like how I'm giving this Vantage S combo the Mark of Zen, this combo being number 19 of this.
I've always loved the crescendo of an Aston Martin's V12, be it the racy ones on the One-77, or the grunts of a Vantage. My best of these comes to a 2:20.654.
I don't care who you are, or what you're doing here in Mini Mexico. But please: I am asking you once again for you to try this combo. It might or might not be the most zen you'll ever feel from this car. Or even get the car, drive out somewhere and just pretend it's the wind blowing your hair back.. even if you gotta know SPD's overall hairline is a bit thinning.
You can see how much I like this car, but the lack of a Test is kind of jarring, right? Yes, but I just want this to end for the time being. I will come back to the Vantage whenever it deems necessary.
So..
What is the Aston Martin V12 Vantage S? It is..
High speed, low drag.
I'm noticing a trend on how me declaring a top Sleeper in my book are slowpokes with a high potential. Take the Corrado slaughtering cars 20 PI above, or the Buick GNX being the right kind of car for a chill drive.. or the MINI Countryman giving me understanding on how potent AWD modern cars are with a PI deficit.
There's where the Vantage S comes in: to be that, but against supercars. There, that's my reasoning. This car drives so much better than a lot of the high powered cars we got on nomination. That probably means it is slower, but it's got an aesthetic that's already made iconic today.
I mean, what makes it a good sports car? If it was a bad sports car, I wouldn't be sitting here, convincing its amazingness with you, now would I?
In a different universe, another duel is brewing. But the same elements remain: a blue MINI and a white sports car. The only missing element is Def Leppard.
Yes this is the biggest hint that I'm doing something on that thread, and it's me going back to story writing. It's what makes the SPD soup bubble. Wait, that doesn't sound right..
Most of the time, a V12's role as a main ingredient for driving satisfaction seems to never get old.
About time we get an Aston Martin on COTW. I forget when, but I did mention that this brand, with a whole bevy of cars, was missing representation around here. Until now.
It's not a car with deep levels of history, but the V12 Vantage was born under one concept, namely what happens if you shove in Aston Martin's powerful V12 in their Vantage, which fans have named the baby Aston body. Now this is a company who's got a lot of time to refine their expertise with the in house V12, starting off with the likes of the DB7 getting one all the way back in 1999.
And with now declared its mainline engine, you'd expect a V12 in just about any of their cars from here on out. The 5.9 liter V12 would move on, going to cars like the DB9, the V12 Zagato, the Rapide, and of course the V12 Vantage. It's in the name, after all. The car we're focused on is the 2nd gen V12 Vantage, which is hard to tell apart from the initial model that came out in 2009 if you're not into the details, or the scooped hood.
At release, the V12 Vantage S would be better known as the fastest Aston out there, if we don't count the extremely limited One-77. This is a name it doesn't inherit lightly, with the car being bred on the Nurburgring, and also getting into GT racing. This variant of the car we see in Gran Turismo Sport and onwards, representing the company in Group 3.
It's not even the final trim of the car, with the car receiving a few limited run versions. One noted one is the GT12: a complete track pack with carbon fibre and aerodynamics all over. Even with a completely Korean popstar diet variant around, this Vantage has sexy numbers: 565 horsepower from their AM28 V12, a top speed of 205, and all that power bringing about 1.6 tons through a 7 speed semi-auto manual.
If you fancy a more modern British V12, this Aston Martin's got a PI value of 796, just shy of the top of A. If we look within the class of Super GTs.. unsure if a certain Steve needs to be mentioned, the V12 Vantage has a few in class rivans with its successor the DB11 just 9 PI behind, and the German powerhouse, and GT Sport cover car the Mercedes-AMG GT S that's a single PI ahead. Unlike last week and some cars in certain weeks, you can go and get your own Vantage S with 240,000 credits paid upfront to your nearest Autoshow.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week, I can declare it's hard to low key bring a V12 to the north east end of Mini Mexico, with the Aston bringing some beef to Canon Run.
It's not been a whole year, but there's something sweet about this blue painted MINI besting the likes of a white sports car. How else can I give this away as some kind of hint?
"Emerging from Copper Canyon, this route thunders along the forested region of Riviera Maya, opening up to stunning views of the coast and finally arriving at Playa Azul."
Okay so there IS a part 3 of this.. Ruta Norte to Copper Canyon Sprint road, with Canon Run being the end of it going towards Playa Azul. Aside from the two 90 degrees right handers, there's nothing that'll fool you on this road to the locale with the same definition of my name on it. It's speedy, and if you're racing here, traffic's going to be the only issue. Aside from me finding issues with Street Scene events having a fairly innacurate racing line on the whole.
All this action just screams butterflies and hurricanes in my mind.. because this is the cover car for Criterion's NFS Most Wanted. The Burnout with less carnage but with real cars. I know this is the car review, but I don't agree with everyone's opinion about Most Wanted 2012 on the whole. I just love that game.
- In this older Vantage, the insides are as clear and bright like the old British ways. What's not in those ways is that the game got us a right hand drive version to work with. It's a bit tight, but I know these things have nice deep seats to cushion us with.
- Launching the car is slippy, and it's going to hold you back.. but the newly added launch control allows this car to get going from the start with all my might on the.. whatever foot it is on a left hand drive car that drives it forward. But in any case, since launch control wins the day and is always on for racing, there's no tricks to launch the Vantage, and thank goodness. This'll be the first COTW car to utilize this new feature to a game changing level. The car redlines at the 7600 RPM zone, so you want to shift sometime before. I'm a 6400 RPM guy myself.
- It's brakes time, and it's early because in week 1, that's the main source of grief. Considering this car's close proximity to Pinky's stock performance, this had better be good, right? Well, have no fear: they're great. Just no last minute jerk reactions or you're going to go way off the intended path.
- On a quick note, it's actually not bad off the road. No wonder it has a rally car form in the Dirt series, despite its class there just existing to completely disect and disassemble the body parts and organs of anyone involved.
- Onwards to the handling, and I am quite surprised by seeing how excellent it is. Responsive, yes but not race car sort of good. But it's smooth, and the car isn't jittery. It's not turning too deep at all: just very mild understeer. Wow, way to go Aston Martin, easy A+ on how I like my cars to turn on the track.
- If you like your braking techniques, the ones that'll bite you in the FC last week seems to balance out here, as the Vantage LOVES for you to engine brake or trail brake or brake you apart or whatever.
- We're riding a V12, and that means we got a whole load of smooth power to bring out. And that brings me to traction: where the heck does it ever skid out?! This you can find when braking hard for the tighter corners. But if you can master that, you'll find this Vantage to be such a sensational driving feeling.
- If you analyze the current gearing setup, you'll find how much of a race setup that 7 speed semi-auto's got. It's getting tighter as it goes on. This means you get a good flow of the car accelerating at higher speeds. And I've noticed how great it accelerates. I didn't mention this, but this is a non aspirated car. I've yet to test on a hill, but acceleration is, just at the very least, good.
- A new track means maybe 3 blurbs for advice. So, no Barry R means you're able to go extra wide on select turns. Can't say which exactly, but you'll notice on my Rivals ghost which ones I did use.
- It seems speedy, but there are some portions that tests out a car's handling. Like a stock DB11 on GT7, the Vantage S is a car that handles magnificently at stock. There's a road with weaving, and as the game tells me to brake, I didn't and got through it with light taps on the accelerator. It was a moment of thin beard rubbing satisfaction, only that it's the car rubbing its handling on the road, or something I dunno.
- Halfway on the track, you will see some good 'friends' of ours known as the rock fences of, maybe not doom cause we still living. They're notably on the inside, and as SPD's a very inside driving guy for perfect racing lines.. I gotta go a bit wide. It follows with maybe the only troubling turn on this track: chicane to-AHA 90 degree left hander. You're in a solid car with little issue to take this, so it's on you.
- The track has 2 instances of a rammer's best friend and worst enemies: the destroyable bridge. Care you don't go wide and follow their example this time around, especially when there's no reason for this wanton destruction.
- It's not a way to end without a final note, and my final advice comes to how the Vantage S is a superb car to work your way through getting used to the pace here. Can't find the right car to get started? I've covered a good portion of these machines in this range. So you can put the Aston on the radar if someone wants the combo of a good drive with a great body and an amazing sound.
I've always been a simp for Jaguar when it comes to British grand tourers, but unfortunately for my bias, the XKR-S months ago didn't earn a certain award like how I'm giving this Vantage S combo the Mark of Zen, this combo being number 19 of this.
I've always loved the crescendo of an Aston Martin's V12, be it the racy ones on the One-77, or the grunts of a Vantage. My best of these comes to a 2:20.654.
I don't care who you are, or what you're doing here in Mini Mexico. But please: I am asking you once again for you to try this combo. It might or might not be the most zen you'll ever feel from this car. Or even get the car, drive out somewhere and just pretend it's the wind blowing your hair back.. even if you gotta know SPD's overall hairline is a bit thinning.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can see how much I like this car, but the lack of a Test is kind of jarring, right? Yes, but I just want this to end for the time being. I will come back to the Vantage whenever it deems necessary.
So..
What is the Aston Martin V12 Vantage S? It is..
High speed, low drag.
I'm noticing a trend on how me declaring a top Sleeper in my book are slowpokes with a high potential. Take the Corrado slaughtering cars 20 PI above, or the Buick GNX being the right kind of car for a chill drive.. or the MINI Countryman giving me understanding on how potent AWD modern cars are with a PI deficit.
There's where the Vantage S comes in: to be that, but against supercars. There, that's my reasoning. This car drives so much better than a lot of the high powered cars we got on nomination. That probably means it is slower, but it's got an aesthetic that's already made iconic today.
I mean, what makes it a good sports car? If it was a bad sports car, I wouldn't be sitting here, convincing its amazingness with you, now would I?
In a different universe, another duel is brewing. But the same elements remain: a blue MINI and a white sports car. The only missing element is Def Leppard.
Yes this is the biggest hint that I'm doing something on that thread, and it's me going back to story writing. It's what makes the SPD soup bubble. Wait, that doesn't sound right..
- 2,817
- Lincoln
- Victory_Reign93
- Linthium Reign
First the Canon Run, I noticed my 1st run which I felt was decent, was over 3 seconds behind @SomePlayaDude and naturally that had to be readdressed.
This is when the Aston Martin V12 Vantage S really came alive for me.
565hp from Aston’s tried and tested 5.9 litre V12 going to the rear via a 7 speed gearbox.
Actually let’s talk about that gearbox, for a Grand Tourer it’s gear ratios are very race car like, starting long and getting shorter the faster you go, it helps keep that glorious V12 on song and I quite like it.
Despite the 1,665kgs of weight, it hides it very well and the handling and the brakes back that statement up.
It feels eager, but not skittish, well behaved, but not floaty.
And when you consider you could snatch one of these up for 35k(!!) at the Auction House, suddenly it looks like one hell of a bargain.
In terms of customisation, you can add a supercharger to the stock V12 or swap it out for the 4.7 Racing V12 from the Ferrari F50GT and in terms of visual customisation it’s just the normal Forza aero parts if you want it to be more track focused.
But if you want a track focused version of the V12 Vantage, then the GT12 is the one for you.
But there’s a catch, this is a rare car in FH5 like the RX-7, but even more so as the GT12 can only be got via Auction House or completing The Levels Advocate Accolade.
Overall it held up very well on the roads of Horizon Mexico.
Over in the Horizon Badlands…
It held its own.
I will say the roads of the Rally Adventure are certainly some of the best i’ve driven on for a Forza Expansion, even though that route would’ve wrecked the Aston’s suspension IRL with the humps & jumps it has.
Overall, I can’t really fault the V12 Vantage, especially if you get a cheap one at auction.
Verdict: Sleeper 😉👍
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SPD Writes Car Of The Week: Week 76 - Vauxhall Corsa VXR (2016)
If you're competing for the likes of UK top Hatch, and you're up against the powerhouse that is Ford's Fiesta.. it sounds like a job for a VXR.
This is one thing I wonder about Mini Mexico: the strong UK presence they had with cars from Horizon 4 linger, while not exactly in full force. They really didn't do justice with the Mexican presence of automobiles. And also: I guess it needs mention, but I'll be referring to the car as a Vauxhall, not an Opel.
So here's a car where.. my quick review may be short. Mainly because that most internet articles I take a look around with this car's name and this specific fifth generation of said car was.. very minimal. New body, sporty looks, 202 horsepower over a 6 speed manual. The more I try to find information online about this love letter of Vauxhall's performance badge, the more I see its rivals in the Fiesta, Clio, Peugeot 208s and Polo: cars that I see as the one to go for.
Given that usually we're given the best trim for the car to represent, I'm sure the Corsa we have has the performance pack, which gives it harder suspension, sports brakes and a limited slip differential. This little hatch also got a turbo and with a cutting edge interior combining technological touchpads and sports seats. So we have what looks to be something that wants to be sold like a sports car, shaped and priced like a hatchback. Hmm.. I'm still not quite sold yet. Let's head to the numbers.
Placed with a PI of 584, the Corsa VXR shines a hue of green away from our populated middling C class. In its Hot Hatches class.. a class we don't even touch before today, it sits on the lower spectrum of their bunch, beating out the FN2 Type R Civic by 10 PI, and just behind by 8 PI from the Clio R.S. This class on the whole isn't packed super close, but nothing here is past the top of B: probably where you'd like one if upgraded. This budget sports hatch can be yours with just 28,000 credits at the Autoshow.
Once again, we're free to do what we please to find out how well this week's car does in our own self satisfaction.
So, how do you want to attack your SPD? With my main writing focus now on the Gran Turismo 7 COTW, that would come with well, when the Countryman finally makes the long awaited (fat chance ha) appearance on Gran Turismo 7, then withhold of me getting a nomination down.. that is going to be the biggest COTW themed middle finger in the world, and even if it's me that suffers, I really REALLY like this evil plan.
And just like with the week of the Mazdaspeed NB, I'll just take the car around Mini Mexico for a quick drive at any pace I like. This does mean if anything stands out, I will note it down with eagerness.. however eager this Vauxhall can be.
Now with a car that's.. just here to satisfy our UK hot hatch tastebuds. It's a very limited scope, but I wonder if this car can shoot that further away?
- The way I see it, the Corsa feels a bit lacking on the inside. It functions well with a nice open view and HUD elements that stand out well enough for me to maybe get this whole analysis in first person. I guess it's the design: it feels horribly tacked on. And for some reason, the car's turbo is quite loud, it dominates from the inside when you accelerate in later RPM ranges.
- With its short 1st gear, the launch can be having you bounce that redline zone until you shift up when it reached 30 MPH. There's little difference if you decide to use launch control or not, but having it on is a.. very slight advantage, I'd say. Still got bouncing of the top end. Speaking of which, the car tops out at the 7300 RPM zone, but I find it's best to shift at the 6200 RPM range. Just like the Copen at.. I'm hopping through dimensions now..
- Hahah, it's brakes. And it's got something to do with next week's COTW at.. that other place. Anyhow, the brakes: they're biased to the rear, as noted when braking to a stop at an angle. They actually do their job well, due to the car's naturally FWD setup, meaning they're good brakes. But good brakes have to exploited. For this car, you tap the brakes before a turn to get quite a good chunk of angle in. And in high speeds, you're gonna need it.
- When we look at overall handling, the car handles pretty nicely at all speeds, but it has tendencies to have terrible understeer if you brake late or do some voodoo magic on your corner entry. Terrible, but still workable. And if you turn it all the way, the car's going to turn this great stable angle that's going to lose you speed if you keep it up. Managing this is key to taking on bigger turns at the best way. It's also notably much more hard on the springs, meaning more responsiveness, but let's look down at off-roading, one bullet point down..
- A road bred hatchback means we might get into some trouble going off-road. It's not supercar levels of trouble, but the car feels much too roadworthy to get results offroad when stock. It's bumpy and the handling feel is too stiff to make it properly go off-road. I feel week 10's Buick GNX can do off-road better. My only Corsa that's not stock is a B class off-roader, and to be honest: I haven't even tested it. It's going to be quite a doozy now that I have a taste of it stock.
- While the gearing is something I find no complaints of, it's overall a little bit too tall. With a rated top speed of 140 ish, the car's gears go about 10 MPH higher. You might think that's fine, but wait till you go up a hill. You'll find this turbo not whooshing hard enough to get you up without deceleration.
- Power wise.. it looks fast, but I feel it doesn't have that oomph. And I'm sure it's placebo, but some middling C class cars feel more satisfying to accelerate, or even go fast with. The acceleration feels just as lacking as Rambo Lambo's, and that car at least can redeem itself in what it does best in.. saving POWs on the jungles of Nam!
- A car like the Corsa VXR comes in with very few to like from my end. But what I do find liking is when you do get the speed right to get those turns in and out like a race car driver. That moment can come, and finding that moment is my final tip.
I'm not sure about you, but as sporty this car seems, this might be the least remarkable car so far. I hoped I could find the next calling of Sleeper Corrado or something, but that didn't even come. Let's go on with the ending.
So..
What is the Vauxhall Corsa VXR (2016)? It is..
Quick shopping trips inspired by Doritos and Mountain Dew.
I'm unsure what to say. It's not interesting to drive, it's style is just bizarre, and nothing it offers really gets to me. A letdown so far low that if I decide to do laps at some locale with this and the Corrado, that Corrado is going to find a way to impress so hard. Beat it? Nah.. or will it? Sounds like a fun little excursion to try out if I get to it.
You have all this kit and shining green paint, and you can't even stand out when I do end up inside the car. I'm going to go with Beater. You can't do much, and what it can do just isn't to my preferences. Very close to a Neutral, really.
Once again, forgot to take a third pic, so random album pic goes vroom.
But looking back at that Minor, this generation of Corsa's well known for its outlandish take on green. I wonder when we're going to get something proper fast and just as exaggerated in the paint splash department.
If you're competing for the likes of UK top Hatch, and you're up against the powerhouse that is Ford's Fiesta.. it sounds like a job for a VXR.
This is one thing I wonder about Mini Mexico: the strong UK presence they had with cars from Horizon 4 linger, while not exactly in full force. They really didn't do justice with the Mexican presence of automobiles. And also: I guess it needs mention, but I'll be referring to the car as a Vauxhall, not an Opel.
So here's a car where.. my quick review may be short. Mainly because that most internet articles I take a look around with this car's name and this specific fifth generation of said car was.. very minimal. New body, sporty looks, 202 horsepower over a 6 speed manual. The more I try to find information online about this love letter of Vauxhall's performance badge, the more I see its rivals in the Fiesta, Clio, Peugeot 208s and Polo: cars that I see as the one to go for.
Given that usually we're given the best trim for the car to represent, I'm sure the Corsa we have has the performance pack, which gives it harder suspension, sports brakes and a limited slip differential. This little hatch also got a turbo and with a cutting edge interior combining technological touchpads and sports seats. So we have what looks to be something that wants to be sold like a sports car, shaped and priced like a hatchback. Hmm.. I'm still not quite sold yet. Let's head to the numbers.
Placed with a PI of 584, the Corsa VXR shines a hue of green away from our populated middling C class. In its Hot Hatches class.. a class we don't even touch before today, it sits on the lower spectrum of their bunch, beating out the FN2 Type R Civic by 10 PI, and just behind by 8 PI from the Clio R.S. This class on the whole isn't packed super close, but nothing here is past the top of B: probably where you'd like one if upgraded. This budget sports hatch can be yours with just 28,000 credits at the Autoshow.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once again, we're free to do what we please to find out how well this week's car does in our own self satisfaction.
So, how do you want to attack your SPD? With my main writing focus now on the Gran Turismo 7 COTW, that would come with well, when the Countryman finally makes the long awaited (fat chance ha) appearance on Gran Turismo 7, then withhold of me getting a nomination down.. that is going to be the biggest COTW themed middle finger in the world, and even if it's me that suffers, I really REALLY like this evil plan.
And just like with the week of the Mazdaspeed NB, I'll just take the car around Mini Mexico for a quick drive at any pace I like. This does mean if anything stands out, I will note it down with eagerness.. however eager this Vauxhall can be.
Now with a car that's.. just here to satisfy our UK hot hatch tastebuds. It's a very limited scope, but I wonder if this car can shoot that further away?
- The way I see it, the Corsa feels a bit lacking on the inside. It functions well with a nice open view and HUD elements that stand out well enough for me to maybe get this whole analysis in first person. I guess it's the design: it feels horribly tacked on. And for some reason, the car's turbo is quite loud, it dominates from the inside when you accelerate in later RPM ranges.
- With its short 1st gear, the launch can be having you bounce that redline zone until you shift up when it reached 30 MPH. There's little difference if you decide to use launch control or not, but having it on is a.. very slight advantage, I'd say. Still got bouncing of the top end. Speaking of which, the car tops out at the 7300 RPM zone, but I find it's best to shift at the 6200 RPM range. Just like the Copen at.. I'm hopping through dimensions now..
- Hahah, it's brakes. And it's got something to do with next week's COTW at.. that other place. Anyhow, the brakes: they're biased to the rear, as noted when braking to a stop at an angle. They actually do their job well, due to the car's naturally FWD setup, meaning they're good brakes. But good brakes have to exploited. For this car, you tap the brakes before a turn to get quite a good chunk of angle in. And in high speeds, you're gonna need it.
- When we look at overall handling, the car handles pretty nicely at all speeds, but it has tendencies to have terrible understeer if you brake late or do some voodoo magic on your corner entry. Terrible, but still workable. And if you turn it all the way, the car's going to turn this great stable angle that's going to lose you speed if you keep it up. Managing this is key to taking on bigger turns at the best way. It's also notably much more hard on the springs, meaning more responsiveness, but let's look down at off-roading, one bullet point down..
- A road bred hatchback means we might get into some trouble going off-road. It's not supercar levels of trouble, but the car feels much too roadworthy to get results offroad when stock. It's bumpy and the handling feel is too stiff to make it properly go off-road. I feel week 10's Buick GNX can do off-road better. My only Corsa that's not stock is a B class off-roader, and to be honest: I haven't even tested it. It's going to be quite a doozy now that I have a taste of it stock.
- While the gearing is something I find no complaints of, it's overall a little bit too tall. With a rated top speed of 140 ish, the car's gears go about 10 MPH higher. You might think that's fine, but wait till you go up a hill. You'll find this turbo not whooshing hard enough to get you up without deceleration.
- Power wise.. it looks fast, but I feel it doesn't have that oomph. And I'm sure it's placebo, but some middling C class cars feel more satisfying to accelerate, or even go fast with. The acceleration feels just as lacking as Rambo Lambo's, and that car at least can redeem itself in what it does best in.. saving POWs on the jungles of Nam!
- A car like the Corsa VXR comes in with very few to like from my end. But what I do find liking is when you do get the speed right to get those turns in and out like a race car driver. That moment can come, and finding that moment is my final tip.
I'm not sure about you, but as sporty this car seems, this might be the least remarkable car so far. I hoped I could find the next calling of Sleeper Corrado or something, but that didn't even come. Let's go on with the ending.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So..
What is the Vauxhall Corsa VXR (2016)? It is..
Quick shopping trips inspired by Doritos and Mountain Dew.
I'm unsure what to say. It's not interesting to drive, it's style is just bizarre, and nothing it offers really gets to me. A letdown so far low that if I decide to do laps at some locale with this and the Corrado, that Corrado is going to find a way to impress so hard. Beat it? Nah.. or will it? Sounds like a fun little excursion to try out if I get to it.
You have all this kit and shining green paint, and you can't even stand out when I do end up inside the car. I'm going to go with Beater. You can't do much, and what it can do just isn't to my preferences. Very close to a Neutral, really.
Once again, forgot to take a third pic, so random album pic goes vroom.
But looking back at that Minor, this generation of Corsa's well known for its outlandish take on green. I wonder when we're going to get something proper fast and just as exaggerated in the paint splash department.
- 2,817
- Lincoln
- Victory_Reign93
- Linthium Reign
(From Los Jardines Circuit)
So.. The Vauxhall Corsa VXR.
Over here in the UK, the regular Corsa’s in the past tended to attract a certain demographic of people because they were cheap to buy, cheap to insure, cheap to run and so on.
Now all those plus points meant that ‘boy racers’ or ‘Chavs’ flocked to it as their first car.
And then proceeded to ruin it, by adding cheap lowered suspension to it, sticking on a badge from another car(like a Type R badge), a cheap fart can exhaust which wakes everyone up at 3 in the morning, huge set of rims and a sound system in the back worth more than the car.
Those are some of the things ‘Chavs’ do to their cars, but it’s not just the Corsa that gets that treatment, 106 Peugeot’s, Saxo’s, Punto’s and VW Golf’s & Polos are just some other notable examples.
While Chavs are somewhat less prevalent these days, it’s the Corsa that gets lumped with the Chav stereotype more than most.
And the VXR version doesn’t exactly help with breaking that stereotype with a slightly more aggressive visual upgrade over a normal Corsa.
But with 202hp from a 1.6 litre turbo 4 banger, it’ll actually go as quick as it looks.
0-60 in around 6.5 seconds and a top speed of around 140mph, power is sent to the front tyres via a 6 speed manual gearbox.
Handling is a mixed bag, but it’s mostly understeer, but the brakes are certainly its weakest point, it doesn’t take much to lock a rear wheel under braking.
Not exactly a combo to have when the Corsa was used for The Trial about 2 weeks ago with other players that are supposedly on your team.
On the whole, it’s a good thing I managed to snag another Corsa for this week for only 5K at Auction, that’s the only reason it’s getting a Neutral verdict, not even the 16k buyout would’ve saved it.
Verdict: Neutral(only just)😶
Obelisk
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I feel like this is one instance where a wheel gives you better results with a car. A lot of the technical stuff has already been covered, but let me describe the experience on a wheel.
If I had to summarize it, it's a slightly less friendly, more powerful version of the Daihatsu Copen we reviewed last week over on GT7. You get the most out of it by driving under 100% and extending the track to give the car room to understeer. It requires a bit of precision, so a lot of this is better done on a wheel than on a controller.
To prove the point, I went and beat Vic's time.
It felt a lot more neutral on a wheel than I was expecting, and the experience during the Trial impressed enough to make it the car of the week.
Long story short: It's a solid car but has some pretty glaring flaws. You can get around these flaws if you're on a wheel... but at that point, it's kinda pay to win, isn't it?
Neutral.
If I had to summarize it, it's a slightly less friendly, more powerful version of the Daihatsu Copen we reviewed last week over on GT7. You get the most out of it by driving under 100% and extending the track to give the car room to understeer. It requires a bit of precision, so a lot of this is better done on a wheel than on a controller.
To prove the point, I went and beat Vic's time.
It felt a lot more neutral on a wheel than I was expecting, and the experience during the Trial impressed enough to make it the car of the week.
Long story short: It's a solid car but has some pretty glaring flaws. You can get around these flaws if you're on a wheel... but at that point, it's kinda pay to win, isn't it?
Neutral.
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The Vauxhall has earned itself a Neutral. Not bad.
This week at COTW, we're looking at something a little different.
Our car this week is the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona!
In order to obtain this car, you have to complete the Mastery Tree on the Charger R/T from the same era.
We'll be taking it for a run at the Cruce Del Valle Street Scene event.
So let's ask ourselves:
Is this centerpiece of the 1970s NASCAR escalation a worthwhile grind, or is it a farce?
This week at COTW, we're looking at something a little different.
Our car this week is the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona!
In order to obtain this car, you have to complete the Mastery Tree on the Charger R/T from the same era.
We'll be taking it for a run at the Cruce Del Valle Street Scene event.
So let's ask ourselves:
Is this centerpiece of the 1970s NASCAR escalation a worthwhile grind, or is it a farce?
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- SomePlayaDude
SPD Writes Car Of The Week: Week 76 (I dunno, I guess I mixed the numbers so this is 76 now) - Dodge Charger Daytona HEMI
Look on the road. Is it a bird? Is it a horse? Nope, it's a classic example of an Aero Warrior redefining an American definition of fast.
By all things juicy and tasty: the Charger Daytona. I'm having thoughts on how do I cover the classic Charger. Maybe I'll leave the details on the original Charger when that car comes, or else there would be an awkward bunches of paragraphs that eerily look similar..
Maybe the proper way to introduce the Daytona is to mention its roots: as a road going variant of a stock racecar. Stock car racing back in those days wasn't conformed to the likes of today being shells shaped by certain models. They were like how we have the cars based off current production cars, similar to homologation models for certain racecars over the years. You gotta reach a road going production limit to have them go racing. And of course: it's competitive. More wins on track means your car's worth more on appeal, meaning more sales.
Dodge was going strong in the American muscle car department with a whole load of options, but none as iconic as their Charger. For this variant, they went and gone fitting it with its eventual iconic super tall rear wing and an aerodynamic nose cone. As a result, the Dodge Charger Daytona was born, and it had one prime directive: win races. Named after the prized Daytona 500 race and location on the American East Coast, the car would start the era of the Aero Warrior, which would close after 2 years due to their overwhelming performance and costs.
Famously known for starting this trend, the Daytona's racing variant broke the 200 MPH threshold in NASCAR. Before you ask, no: we're not getting this level of performance for the road legal version. While it did get its share of wins, the Daytona was eventually succeeded by Plymouth's Superbird: a car that got me into classic American muscle to begin with. I mean, if you go ahead and look at my second entry to the Gran Turismo 7 COTW, you can see how I made tribute to this era of speed.
Though after a couple years of dominating the track, NASCAR had enough of these outlandish parts and banned the giant Aero Warriors by the end of 1970. Dodge's Charger still would be the only name that remained today of the lot, with their performance 4 door saloon of death. Today, people are more likely to know the Daytona particularly as an important side character in Disney Pixar's Cars.
By the edges of C class, this classic ring racer reveals its power level of 595 PI. If we look for another Classic Muscle to contend with, that comes in the form of the Camaro SS at 10 PI behind. Unrelated, but said Camaro is one of my favorite classic cars of all time. If you want to find the base car, that's placed at an.. interesting 42 PI behind. The Charger Daytona is nearly 100 kilos heavier, and they have the same engine, so it's interesting how much aero and race engineering improves the car.
Priced at a costly 900,000 credits, it's actually not for sale. You actually have to spend much less for your own Daytona. That more accurate cost would be 103,000 credits for the regular Charger R/T, then spend at least 64 Mastery Points for the quickest route in its Car Mastery tree. If you're that weirdo that values your Mastery Points, the Auction House has you covered with 634,000 credits for both the least buy out cost and most common.
It's not a high speed oval speedway, but we're taking the Daytona through a set southbound road in Cruce Del Valle.
I guess I should expose myself to more MINI cars on any driving game. Obviously the JCW Countryman's already grown on me like a vine on a tree. It's such a pleasure to drive after a long time tuning and refining the drive
"Speed through the lava fields of San Juan, past the living desert, and over the Sierra Verde Dam. The finish line awaits at the Aeródromo en la Selva."
Uhh, lava? After disappointing me with how the volcano crater got none of it, I'm not suprised anymore. Why is there lava fields? What is this supposed to reference, anyways? I don't think Mexico is hell, or a plane in Oblivion.
What this road offers is a great balance of speedy roads and speedy turns. But beware: it's on tight country roads, so slipping off the side might be something to worry about. Street Scene event does mean no Barry R's to catch you, so getting the right line and taking them at the right speeds is paramount for going through the road at the best you can.
I do love me an Aero Warrior, but I figure that 23 inch wing's going to be a problem for practical garage storage purposes.
- A tight interior in a racing car isn't surprising. But since it's American, it's probably fine when it comes to space. There's really nothing of note in the inside, except that steering wheel. It's a classy car, this.
- Here's a muscle car with power, and of course you should go for the launch control. It's miles ahead in predictability, and should you not use it, that's fine too. You're never getting any serious revs bouncing with this one. The car tops out at 7500 RPM, and I shift just by the 7000 area, maybe earlier.
- An old muscle car's brakes must be weak for today's standards. It's definitely in full force here. Even with ABS on, you feel that's not the car with this car as it locks really easy at the rear. Brake responsibly, or you might not get what you want around the corners..
- It's got muscle handling. Okay, not surprising. I don't know if it's because of the adjustable rear spoiler, but the car's bound to veer to the side quite a bit with this if your turn inputs are too rigid. The springs must be pretty soft.. which isn't normal for a homologation model in recent years. But these soft springs actually aren't terribly soft as some past muscle nominees. Although, it does give a fairly nice drive no matter the terrain. No wonder classic muscle cars are common off-road racers in Horizon: it's interestingly suitable.
- Looking at handling tendencies, the Daytona is capable of both over and understeer. If you're driving it calm and stable, that's understeer. And if your accelerating and braking inputs are hectic and all over the place, you're likely to get oversteer. Its traction on the whole isn't bad, however, so if you're doing too much of something, it'll lose itself. You're more likely to catch oversteer in racing situations.
- The other more interesting quirk you'll see is its gearing. With good power levels, it accelerates very quick, even if you short shift or forget to shift down at all. However, the car is limited to a top speed of 140, pretty standard stuff from a 60's muscle car. I doubt you want to be reaching 200 miles at all with the car's muscle based handling.
- But one thing I like about the car is its size. You're able to clip the checkpoints with the deepest or widest of lines. There's a lot of this impromptu off-roading sessions in my many runs with the car. It's also how I found how well it goes off-road
- Looking at the track.. aside the lack of walls, there's no gimmicky turns or notable unique sectors. There's that one bridge segment like what we had with the Aston 2 weeks ago, but yeah: nothing stands out here if we look in the past.
- A thought to make is what you should do when you tackle the various speedy corners of the track. My approach is to just shift down and let the car do some natural engine brake. And the car behaves really well when doing this.
- Around the 70% region is a nasty uphill chicane that can make or break your run. It's a spot where you're really going to go wild with the Daytona hitting a tree via understeer.
- The final word on mastering the road going Charger Daytona is discipline. It's prone to making a lot of mistakes to sloppy drivers, but incredibly rewarding to those who can unleash what it does best.. just not in a track with long straights. This track.. mostly unsure, but I guess it's okay. What it does best? Umm.. engine braking, and acceleration. Traction is also solid too.
I generally have trouble with 3 minute runs. It's the kind of events that sort of give me a want for something fast. This car is fast, and has a tamed muscular character written all over the handling. You're going to top out quite often, and there's a charm for weaving in and out of the asphalt trying to keep the car going.
It's no speed record, but the Charger Daytona sets a best from me that looks like a 3:25.115
For the first time in a long while, I reached my goal of 3:25. From me, I feel this can go lower by.. about 2 seconds? But that's a gut feeling that's yet to be proven.
Overall, the combo works great, but it barely misses that Mark of Zen feeling. I mean, it accelerates like a B class car, but the consistency is all over the place. Despite how chaotic my best run might be, I find it quite fun. And considering the way to earn this car if you're on a budget, it's fine to skip. Maybe give it a go with the base car upped to the top of C, or inside my favorite pony car mentioned earlier: the Camaro SS.
Not feeling well, so I'll just wrap this up.
So..
What is the Dodge Charger Daytona HEMI? It is..
Stark realization that new clothes don't change what's inside.
If this is supposed to be a step up from the normal Charger R/T, it's just a high Neutral from me. I love these Aero Warriors, but the presentation this car gives out isn't exactly super remarkable. Not to mention out of the box I expected a lot more from a straight up upgrade. The 48 PI from the base model, has the same engine power, and around the same weight.. I don't quite find it. Maybe this issue I can clarify more if I do take out the regular R/T for a spin personally.
But if you're looking for a classic American muscle car that stands out in more than one way, I feel the cost in this one is just way too high.. Don't get me wrong, I love these ridiculous takes of the muscle car. I probably said it already about the Superbird introducing me to this genre of car to begin with.
If you've been following the game's social feed, you'd agree this car's nominated a week too early. Right?
Look on the road. Is it a bird? Is it a horse? Nope, it's a classic example of an Aero Warrior redefining an American definition of fast.
By all things juicy and tasty: the Charger Daytona. I'm having thoughts on how do I cover the classic Charger. Maybe I'll leave the details on the original Charger when that car comes, or else there would be an awkward bunches of paragraphs that eerily look similar..
Maybe the proper way to introduce the Daytona is to mention its roots: as a road going variant of a stock racecar. Stock car racing back in those days wasn't conformed to the likes of today being shells shaped by certain models. They were like how we have the cars based off current production cars, similar to homologation models for certain racecars over the years. You gotta reach a road going production limit to have them go racing. And of course: it's competitive. More wins on track means your car's worth more on appeal, meaning more sales.
Dodge was going strong in the American muscle car department with a whole load of options, but none as iconic as their Charger. For this variant, they went and gone fitting it with its eventual iconic super tall rear wing and an aerodynamic nose cone. As a result, the Dodge Charger Daytona was born, and it had one prime directive: win races. Named after the prized Daytona 500 race and location on the American East Coast, the car would start the era of the Aero Warrior, which would close after 2 years due to their overwhelming performance and costs.
Famously known for starting this trend, the Daytona's racing variant broke the 200 MPH threshold in NASCAR. Before you ask, no: we're not getting this level of performance for the road legal version. While it did get its share of wins, the Daytona was eventually succeeded by Plymouth's Superbird: a car that got me into classic American muscle to begin with. I mean, if you go ahead and look at my second entry to the Gran Turismo 7 COTW, you can see how I made tribute to this era of speed.
Though after a couple years of dominating the track, NASCAR had enough of these outlandish parts and banned the giant Aero Warriors by the end of 1970. Dodge's Charger still would be the only name that remained today of the lot, with their performance 4 door saloon of death. Today, people are more likely to know the Daytona particularly as an important side character in Disney Pixar's Cars.
By the edges of C class, this classic ring racer reveals its power level of 595 PI. If we look for another Classic Muscle to contend with, that comes in the form of the Camaro SS at 10 PI behind. Unrelated, but said Camaro is one of my favorite classic cars of all time. If you want to find the base car, that's placed at an.. interesting 42 PI behind. The Charger Daytona is nearly 100 kilos heavier, and they have the same engine, so it's interesting how much aero and race engineering improves the car.
Priced at a costly 900,000 credits, it's actually not for sale. You actually have to spend much less for your own Daytona. That more accurate cost would be 103,000 credits for the regular Charger R/T, then spend at least 64 Mastery Points for the quickest route in its Car Mastery tree. If you're that weirdo that values your Mastery Points, the Auction House has you covered with 634,000 credits for both the least buy out cost and most common.
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It's not a high speed oval speedway, but we're taking the Daytona through a set southbound road in Cruce Del Valle.
I guess I should expose myself to more MINI cars on any driving game. Obviously the JCW Countryman's already grown on me like a vine on a tree. It's such a pleasure to drive after a long time tuning and refining the drive
"Speed through the lava fields of San Juan, past the living desert, and over the Sierra Verde Dam. The finish line awaits at the Aeródromo en la Selva."
Uhh, lava? After disappointing me with how the volcano crater got none of it, I'm not suprised anymore. Why is there lava fields? What is this supposed to reference, anyways? I don't think Mexico is hell, or a plane in Oblivion.
What this road offers is a great balance of speedy roads and speedy turns. But beware: it's on tight country roads, so slipping off the side might be something to worry about. Street Scene event does mean no Barry R's to catch you, so getting the right line and taking them at the right speeds is paramount for going through the road at the best you can.
I do love me an Aero Warrior, but I figure that 23 inch wing's going to be a problem for practical garage storage purposes.
- A tight interior in a racing car isn't surprising. But since it's American, it's probably fine when it comes to space. There's really nothing of note in the inside, except that steering wheel. It's a classy car, this.
- Here's a muscle car with power, and of course you should go for the launch control. It's miles ahead in predictability, and should you not use it, that's fine too. You're never getting any serious revs bouncing with this one. The car tops out at 7500 RPM, and I shift just by the 7000 area, maybe earlier.
- An old muscle car's brakes must be weak for today's standards. It's definitely in full force here. Even with ABS on, you feel that's not the car with this car as it locks really easy at the rear. Brake responsibly, or you might not get what you want around the corners..
- It's got muscle handling. Okay, not surprising. I don't know if it's because of the adjustable rear spoiler, but the car's bound to veer to the side quite a bit with this if your turn inputs are too rigid. The springs must be pretty soft.. which isn't normal for a homologation model in recent years. But these soft springs actually aren't terribly soft as some past muscle nominees. Although, it does give a fairly nice drive no matter the terrain. No wonder classic muscle cars are common off-road racers in Horizon: it's interestingly suitable.
- Looking at handling tendencies, the Daytona is capable of both over and understeer. If you're driving it calm and stable, that's understeer. And if your accelerating and braking inputs are hectic and all over the place, you're likely to get oversteer. Its traction on the whole isn't bad, however, so if you're doing too much of something, it'll lose itself. You're more likely to catch oversteer in racing situations.
- The other more interesting quirk you'll see is its gearing. With good power levels, it accelerates very quick, even if you short shift or forget to shift down at all. However, the car is limited to a top speed of 140, pretty standard stuff from a 60's muscle car. I doubt you want to be reaching 200 miles at all with the car's muscle based handling.
- But one thing I like about the car is its size. You're able to clip the checkpoints with the deepest or widest of lines. There's a lot of this impromptu off-roading sessions in my many runs with the car. It's also how I found how well it goes off-road
- Looking at the track.. aside the lack of walls, there's no gimmicky turns or notable unique sectors. There's that one bridge segment like what we had with the Aston 2 weeks ago, but yeah: nothing stands out here if we look in the past.
- A thought to make is what you should do when you tackle the various speedy corners of the track. My approach is to just shift down and let the car do some natural engine brake. And the car behaves really well when doing this.
- Around the 70% region is a nasty uphill chicane that can make or break your run. It's a spot where you're really going to go wild with the Daytona hitting a tree via understeer.
- The final word on mastering the road going Charger Daytona is discipline. It's prone to making a lot of mistakes to sloppy drivers, but incredibly rewarding to those who can unleash what it does best.. just not in a track with long straights. This track.. mostly unsure, but I guess it's okay. What it does best? Umm.. engine braking, and acceleration. Traction is also solid too.
I generally have trouble with 3 minute runs. It's the kind of events that sort of give me a want for something fast. This car is fast, and has a tamed muscular character written all over the handling. You're going to top out quite often, and there's a charm for weaving in and out of the asphalt trying to keep the car going.
It's no speed record, but the Charger Daytona sets a best from me that looks like a 3:25.115
For the first time in a long while, I reached my goal of 3:25. From me, I feel this can go lower by.. about 2 seconds? But that's a gut feeling that's yet to be proven.
Overall, the combo works great, but it barely misses that Mark of Zen feeling. I mean, it accelerates like a B class car, but the consistency is all over the place. Despite how chaotic my best run might be, I find it quite fun. And considering the way to earn this car if you're on a budget, it's fine to skip. Maybe give it a go with the base car upped to the top of C, or inside my favorite pony car mentioned earlier: the Camaro SS.
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Not feeling well, so I'll just wrap this up.
So..
What is the Dodge Charger Daytona HEMI? It is..
Stark realization that new clothes don't change what's inside.
If this is supposed to be a step up from the normal Charger R/T, it's just a high Neutral from me. I love these Aero Warriors, but the presentation this car gives out isn't exactly super remarkable. Not to mention out of the box I expected a lot more from a straight up upgrade. The 48 PI from the base model, has the same engine power, and around the same weight.. I don't quite find it. Maybe this issue I can clarify more if I do take out the regular R/T for a spin personally.
But if you're looking for a classic American muscle car that stands out in more than one way, I feel the cost in this one is just way too high.. Don't get me wrong, I love these ridiculous takes of the muscle car. I probably said it already about the Superbird introducing me to this genre of car to begin with.
If you've been following the game's social feed, you'd agree this car's nominated a week too early. Right?
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Quick note, @SomePlayaDude. Week 76 is correct. I need to fix the title.
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Yeah, I put the Corsa on Week 76, so somewhere in my posts is a car that's a week ahead, and that sort of followed through from then on.
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C600 Daytona, not possible to set final gears on the 4sp so I had to use a 5sp.
code: 153 468 452 Try this SPD
code: 153 468 452 Try this SPD
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So let's sidetrack my review for a small detour, sourced from the post above. Said detour leads to a quick tune that puts the Daytona at the top of C. The full deets are as follows..
The only thing that's not mentioned is the gear count: it's a 5 speed manual now. Now since I'm no tuning pro, I don't know what's exactly added except that rally suspension, which I guess is the way to get a fully adjustable spring setup following restrictions to PI and perhaps .
Some quick notes:
And of course, I came back to the chosen track.
I'm not sure how much I'm supposed to improve with 5 PI, but with a 1.5 second advantage, I say this tune is staying. A reasonable leap ahead with little cost, while also retaining much of the stock variant's identity.
The only thing that's not mentioned is the gear count: it's a 5 speed manual now. Now since I'm no tuning pro, I don't know what's exactly added except that rally suspension, which I guess is the way to get a fully adjustable spring setup following restrictions to PI and perhaps .
Some quick notes:
- Understeer has been minimized, but can't say it's entirely gone. The oversteer, while still manageable, has increased in how quick the rear slips off. This I prefer, as it allows me to get more angle in sweeping turns.
- Increased top speed by a whopping 30 is very welcome with this car's alrady superb acceleration. Sometimes, I have to remind myself this is top of C, not B. Comes at a small cost to traction since the gears are shorter.
- Nothing has been done to the brakes, but you shouldn't get new brakes at this low a class.
And of course, I came back to the chosen track.
I'm not sure how much I'm supposed to improve with 5 PI, but with a 1.5 second advantage, I say this tune is staying. A reasonable leap ahead with little cost, while also retaining much of the stock variant's identity.
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SPD; so it both over- and understeer? That`s called slippery tyres and has little to do with the cars balance.
It acts just fine in my hands but then I drive from inside the car
It acts just fine in my hands but then I drive from inside the car
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Hmm.. when you mention it, it probably is the grip. I do cut a lot during the track analysis.
The whole mini analysis was done minutes before bedtime. So maybe I got a few words mixed up. I'm not gonna fault anyone but myself. Sounds like an excuse to revise my vocabulary.
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(Huh, less than a tenth behind SPD’s C600 Daytona.
)So the Dodge Charger DAAAYTONAAA.
As noted by @SomePlayaDude in his review, the differences at first glance from a performance perspective between the Charger and the Daytona don’t seem to favour the Daytona.
Both have the same legendary 7.0 Hemi V8 rated at 425hp and 490ft-lbs of twist, the same 4 speed gearbox with the same gearing, but the Daytona weighs nearly 100kgs more, is nearly 4 tenths slower to 60mph and has pretty much the same top speed as the Charger.
And yet, it’s nearly 2 seconds faster to 100mph and has a 47PI advantage over the Charger.
Surely that can’t all be down to the aero package can it?
Well as it turns out, it isn’t.
Despite having the same engine, the Daytona’s revs out to 7500rpm, the Charger revs out to 6750rpm.
So that means either the Daytona has a shorter final drive on it’s gearing or the Charger has a longer final drive to offset the lower max rpm.
And after testing the regular Charger against the Daytona, the results were quite stark, 6 seconds off the Daytona’s pace and I was working harder to keep it close.
Heck the Daytona was pulling away at the first straight despite all the numbers saying the Daytona should be slower to 60mph, but faster to 100 mph.
The aero package meant it’s not only cutting through the air more efficiently, it’s more composed in the turns compared to the Charger, but it’s still a late 60’s muscle car, it’s still on the soft and wobbly side for suspension.
So in conclusion, the performance numbers in the tuning section aren’t 100% indicative of a cars true performance.
As mentioned before, the Daytona could be had via one of two ways, the Auction House where you’re looking at least 600k for a buyout or buying a Charger for 110k at the Autoshow and spending 64 Skill Points on its Car Mastery to get a Daytona gifted to you.
As for upgrades, aside from the Daytona not having the 8.9 Supercharged Monster Truck swap unlike the Charger, they both have the same swaps, the Chevy SS 6.2 V8, the 6.7 Ford Powerstroke Diesel V8, the 6.2 Hellcat Supercharged V8, the 8.4 Viper V10 and the 7.7 V12 from the Speed 12.
You can add a front splitter to go with the rear wing or you can even remove the wing.
Overall, it’s a noticeable step up over the regular Charger and it’s only outclassed on PI in its class by the 1970 Corvette ZR-1, the Stingray 427 and the Napalm Nova(Not really counting it as it’s a pre tuned car.).
So the question on getting one comes down to this, Do you value skill points over money or money over skill points?
Verdict: Neutral(high) 🙂
Now two more things, there does exist a car that’s a middle ground between the Charger and the Daytona, it’s the Charger 500, a regular Charger with revised aerodynamics, but no nose cone or rear wing.
The other thing? I will be using the Daytona for that upcoming stadium oval race so don’t worry SPD.
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A homologation special purpose-made for the superspeedways of the 1970s, the Daytona now finds itself in a fictionalized version of Mexico where the celebration of speed doesn't start and end at the gates of a racetrack. In this mini-Mexico it's rated at 595 PI, just shy of hitting the hard cap for C class.
Even though it's this far down the PI index, this car still has a 7 liter engine producing 425 HP and 490 ft-lb. Its sleek, aerodynamic shape betrays its enormous size, with the car itself weighing a whopping 3,875 lbs.
Looking at the Forza stats, this car's stat chart shows the following:
5.0 Speed
3.5 Handling
3.8 Acceleration
3.7 Launch
2.8 Braking
5.6 Offroad (oddly enough)
The car itself is a mixed bag in terms of handling. At speed, it's stable but very understeery. Coming out of corners, you have to be gentle with the throttle lest the rear tires snap on you thanks to the high torque and very long wheelbase.
The soft suspension does mean that it's pretty forgiving if you extend the track, but it also makes the car sluggish to respond when you're reacting to something ahead on the road.
I am not in the best shape at the moment, and my time is reflective of that, but this is what I was able to get out of it.
And whenever we have a C car between 550 and 600 PI, I have to ask the question:
Can my Miata beat it?
So I took that to the track.
Just barely. On a power track to boot. So what is the Daytona?
If the Superbird is the King, then the Daytona is the Prince.
Neutral.
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SPD Writes Car Of The Week: Week 77 - Apollo Intensa Emozione
An arrow's supposed to fly straight to its destination, but this is the one that'll take the scenic route at blistering speeds and still end up reaching the destination.
Roland Gumpert's history has been bumpy. After leaving the director seat of Audi Sport, he went on to start his own company under Audi's watchful eye: GMG Sportwagenmanufaktur Altenburg GmbH. Then in 2004, he went on to make his planned out street legal sports car that's got traits like a race car. Yeah, there's a lot of these nowadays, so you ain't the first, Mr. Gumpert. But if you think that surname's sort of familiar, this is the gist on how the Gumpert Apollo came to the world. As interesting and quick it is (see: Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2010), the company couldn't make ends meet and got bankrupt by 2013 with the funding that's keeping them alive suddenly got pulled.
Things have been quiet until the company's bought in 2016 from a Hong Kong based business consortium known as Consolidated Ideal Team Venture. Notably being the current holder of the DeTomaso brand, they rebranded Gumpert as Apollo Automobil GmbH, and kicked poor old Gumpert out of the company by the end of the year, which explains why the name didn't stay. Then, they got to work.
And what did that work look for the next 2 years? So, they made a whole derivative of the 6.3l V12 from a LaFerrari, putting all that power to the rear tires through a 6 speed sequential gearbox. They had design philosophy of using the flows of those thin, aggressive insects, seen in the bodywork, and how the driver is in a cocoon shaped cockpit. The body is nearly all carbon fibre, with an open engine bay. This design works, as it's built in partnership with HWA AG: the group that constructed the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR ages back. And that titanium triple exhaust setup is said to be both 3D printed and priced at about 69 thousand USD. They did not cut corners in paying off for the car's sound!
The end result is this 1.25 ton track monster that can reach 2Gs of turning force, 0-60 in 2.7 seconds, topping out at 208 MPH. With 780 horsepower and 560 foot pounds of torque. Nice big numbers from a car with no complex electronics or a form of aspiration. Everything you see here is built and ran on old school, old fashioned philosophies of what makes a car exciting to drive. The car would debut in 2018's Goodwood Festival of Speed, named the Intensa Emozione.. It doesn't take a genius to say that means intense emotion, in Italian; strange for a German car. Anyways, after 14 years, the successor to the Gumpert Apollo arrived and the only thing big it did for me is wonder why we're not seeing the OG Gumpert Apollo in any form of media anymore.
Holding a massive PI of 963, the Intensa Emozione couldn't quite snuff out the Jesko for the most PI within cars we've nominated now, aside DLC exclusive Bad to the Blade. As the first of the non DLC Extreme Track Toys class nominated, this will be quite the car to push around any track it gets its filthy treads on. In its class, a stock IE will duke it out with the likes of the Koenigsegg CCGT, the Maserati MC12 Corsa, the Ultima, the Zonda R, the Divo.. it's packed in competition. Getting your own IE will cost you 1,500,000 credits off the Autoshow. Auction House buy out enthusiasts can find deals in there within about the 1,000,000 credits for the most common, and 845,000 credits for the least cost.
And now we head to this semi permanent fixture in the Horizon Stadium in the form of the Horizon Oval Circuit.
I am speed.
I am speed.
I am speed..
IamthebyproductofthemostcomedicallyhistoricalmomentofForzaHorizon5COTWhistorythatinvolvesSPDnotgettingtonominatetheJCWCountrymanwhenhe'sgonnadoso, thussendinghimtoafitofcomicalragethemomentit'smentionedtohimcausingamentalimprintthatgetshimoverlyparanoiditmighthappenagainbuteagertogetaCountrymanasapropercartoowninreallife.
WHAT?!
WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!
TO ME?!!
Umm.. I am speed?
"Push your car to the limit as you race around the Horizon Oval Circuit"
Yeah, umm.. incredibly vague. Don't know what to expect, really. The closest idea this track has I can think of is easily Gran Turismo Sport's Northern Isle Speedway.
But then, 'I am speed' maybe isn't the best advice you want to use when going on this track. Rather it's 'I am consistency and handling', because of the short length. The A class Countryman gets around this track averaging at 150 MPH getting a best lap of 15.199 seconds. A hint saying the time difference between classes is quite minimal; it's not much different to my runs with the stock IE..
So, even though we do have a track to measure rubrics with, The overwhelming simplicity means I'm going to go with what we did with the Corsa VXR and the Mazdaspeed NB, and take out the IE around Mini Mexico for a cruising and a bruising. Maybe not a bruising; it's quite lightweight.
Recently there's been an issue with launch control that gets the car to start in reverse gear. Hilarious in hindsight for sure. But the thing about the oval circuit that's a wasted opportunity is to introduce rolling starts.
But first: what's my best time with a stock IE?
Make the loop de loop and pull, and you shoes are looking good.. Umm. I mean, I managed to get around this oval with a best of 13.665.
To be honest, I shouldn't even have an opinion. This is all too simple to even get any form of note. It did get me two things: how well the car turns, and how it can handle bumps. The former.. is excellent, since this is the same class with indycar influenced Bad to the Blade. The latter.. well, if you look like an Intensa Emozione, bumps off the road isn't what you should be aiming to drive towards.
But it's track time.
- Right in the insides of the Intensa Emozione, we have a completely digital setup that has all these blue hued buttons up front. You'd have to not have your license if you're not familiar with these symbols. That one with the suspension might be the least familiar. I'm sure that is the Sport mode button, or whatever it is that hardens the suspension. Another oddity I find is the car having a reverse view camera, when it has working side mirrors. Maybe I'll find out if there's an added layer of complexity. I don't dig the racecar style steering wheel, however practical it is or if it's only to accumulate imaginary cool points.
- When launching with the launch control, care be taken when you reach the end of 1st: it's a slippery toy there. But on the whole after, the drive is smooth sailing. The car redlines at 9400 RPM, and it's a car that wants you to rev it real high. I make it a habit to shift by 9200 RPM at the latest, because this is a very powerful car, and you won't stay at a certain RPM longer than your usual C or B class car.
- They paid 69 thousand dollars for the exhaust, so while I'm sure they don't spend that much on the brakes, they have to be just as lofty. The brakes, already adjustable by default, is excellent and will stop you to the speed you want to reach. I mean, even the car's in game braking stat is a straight up 10 outta 10 best game best game. I'm quite surprised the IE doesn't carry any adjustable body part for assistance with braking, actually. They really did nail that old school car philosophy.
- The IE was built a race car, so its handling has to be the best it can. It's already very on rails, just like what you'd see in advanced track racing machines today. The handling has that tiny bit of oversteer which loses you speed but not control if you use the full angle. And the car grips very nicely when cornering, meaning it's kind of impossible to slip out unless some clown taps you from behind. You will learn to approve of the car's handling in bigger, long winded turns, where it will hold on to your line incredibly well should you not exceed the limits. Do take extra car when leaving a corner at low speeds: you still need to make the car behave exiting corners then before you coast away.
- Looking at the gears, you can see from the tuning menu that: 1) It's already fully adjustable, and 2) the 6 speed gearbox is very suited for racing as it is, with a wide 1st and incredibly thin gears that get even thinner following that. A quick observation of the powerband gave the idea that the car wants to be shifted as late as possible.
- If you're thinking of bringing the car to rally.. I say forget it. It doesn't need an explanation. Who rallies S2? I'm not even sure you can bring this down to S1 for that purpose. I haven't tested this enough, but the stock car might not like you putting its slick tires off the tarmac.
- For an S2 monster, the IE pretty much offers handling as its main selling point. Its acceleration and top end is lacking, and while it is by design, in speed fuelled Mini Mexico, it's actually a drawback. I can attribute a lot to what the car offers. No aspiration, combined with monster downforce and fairly reasonable levels of torque. Then I realized this is part of the game where the two top performance car classes can only offer handling or speed, and it's very hard to say what kind of car can do both.
- Finding your flow in the IE is what's going to get you wins in the car. This is a proven handling beast in both Forza Horizons 4 and 5, notably when it's a meta car in 4. It's not the best starter car for the mad mad mad mad world of S2, because I say things like the AMG ONE and other AWD swapped creations can do that better. Not saying you should, but there are times where an AWD drivetrain swap on this car has gotten results, but a RWD one works much better, I'm sure.
No, there's no way I'm giving it a Mark of Zen in the oval. Nuh uh. Even the MINI felt exceptionally great there, and that's a fallacy. Maybe if it was given a place like Bahia de Plano Circuit, or Arch of Mulege Circuit it can earn its stripes in this SPD branded award. Let's finish up and head for the verdict.
So..
What is the Apollo Intensa Emozione? It is..
Overstyled bodypanels for days
An excellent car but no way I'm calling it a Sleeper. It's on the radar for Forza ever since its Horizon 4 debut. It's already put on show for the new Forza Motorsports, and everything it offers backs its incredibly high price point. But it's an excellent ride and if this is what you get for paying even less, then I can call it a Sleeper. It's a very high Neutral, but if you have the chance or need a handling car, go ahead and catch a ride in this.. Italian named, Hong Kong owned sexiness with a German name. Yup, this is one international undertaking. Kind of like the assets of the Ukrainian war effort.
You know what else gets my emotions on intense? Pretty sunsets. And also the fact that for some reason I've been extra crazy this week. Could be celebrating Eid, could be just me having too much time with a Jeep. It's not MINI related, I assure you!
But then again, that last statement could very well be a lie.
An arrow's supposed to fly straight to its destination, but this is the one that'll take the scenic route at blistering speeds and still end up reaching the destination.
Roland Gumpert's history has been bumpy. After leaving the director seat of Audi Sport, he went on to start his own company under Audi's watchful eye: GMG Sportwagenmanufaktur Altenburg GmbH. Then in 2004, he went on to make his planned out street legal sports car that's got traits like a race car. Yeah, there's a lot of these nowadays, so you ain't the first, Mr. Gumpert. But if you think that surname's sort of familiar, this is the gist on how the Gumpert Apollo came to the world. As interesting and quick it is (see: Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2010), the company couldn't make ends meet and got bankrupt by 2013 with the funding that's keeping them alive suddenly got pulled.
Things have been quiet until the company's bought in 2016 from a Hong Kong based business consortium known as Consolidated Ideal Team Venture. Notably being the current holder of the DeTomaso brand, they rebranded Gumpert as Apollo Automobil GmbH, and kicked poor old Gumpert out of the company by the end of the year, which explains why the name didn't stay. Then, they got to work.
And what did that work look for the next 2 years? So, they made a whole derivative of the 6.3l V12 from a LaFerrari, putting all that power to the rear tires through a 6 speed sequential gearbox. They had design philosophy of using the flows of those thin, aggressive insects, seen in the bodywork, and how the driver is in a cocoon shaped cockpit. The body is nearly all carbon fibre, with an open engine bay. This design works, as it's built in partnership with HWA AG: the group that constructed the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR ages back. And that titanium triple exhaust setup is said to be both 3D printed and priced at about 69 thousand USD. They did not cut corners in paying off for the car's sound!
The end result is this 1.25 ton track monster that can reach 2Gs of turning force, 0-60 in 2.7 seconds, topping out at 208 MPH. With 780 horsepower and 560 foot pounds of torque. Nice big numbers from a car with no complex electronics or a form of aspiration. Everything you see here is built and ran on old school, old fashioned philosophies of what makes a car exciting to drive. The car would debut in 2018's Goodwood Festival of Speed, named the Intensa Emozione.. It doesn't take a genius to say that means intense emotion, in Italian; strange for a German car. Anyways, after 14 years, the successor to the Gumpert Apollo arrived and the only thing big it did for me is wonder why we're not seeing the OG Gumpert Apollo in any form of media anymore.
Holding a massive PI of 963, the Intensa Emozione couldn't quite snuff out the Jesko for the most PI within cars we've nominated now, aside DLC exclusive Bad to the Blade. As the first of the non DLC Extreme Track Toys class nominated, this will be quite the car to push around any track it gets its filthy treads on. In its class, a stock IE will duke it out with the likes of the Koenigsegg CCGT, the Maserati MC12 Corsa, the Ultima, the Zonda R, the Divo.. it's packed in competition. Getting your own IE will cost you 1,500,000 credits off the Autoshow. Auction House buy out enthusiasts can find deals in there within about the 1,000,000 credits for the most common, and 845,000 credits for the least cost.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And now we head to this semi permanent fixture in the Horizon Stadium in the form of the Horizon Oval Circuit.
I am speed.
I am speed.
I am speed..
IamthebyproductofthemostcomedicallyhistoricalmomentofForzaHorizon5COTWhistorythatinvolvesSPDnotgettingtonominatetheJCWCountrymanwhenhe'sgonnadoso, thussendinghimtoafitofcomicalragethemomentit'smentionedtohimcausingamentalimprintthatgetshimoverlyparanoiditmighthappenagainbuteagertogetaCountrymanasapropercartoowninreallife.
WHAT?!
WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!
TO ME?!!
Umm.. I am speed?
"Push your car to the limit as you race around the Horizon Oval Circuit"
Yeah, umm.. incredibly vague. Don't know what to expect, really. The closest idea this track has I can think of is easily Gran Turismo Sport's Northern Isle Speedway.
But then, 'I am speed' maybe isn't the best advice you want to use when going on this track. Rather it's 'I am consistency and handling', because of the short length. The A class Countryman gets around this track averaging at 150 MPH getting a best lap of 15.199 seconds. A hint saying the time difference between classes is quite minimal; it's not much different to my runs with the stock IE..
So, even though we do have a track to measure rubrics with, The overwhelming simplicity means I'm going to go with what we did with the Corsa VXR and the Mazdaspeed NB, and take out the IE around Mini Mexico for a cruising and a bruising. Maybe not a bruising; it's quite lightweight.
Recently there's been an issue with launch control that gets the car to start in reverse gear. Hilarious in hindsight for sure. But the thing about the oval circuit that's a wasted opportunity is to introduce rolling starts.
But first: what's my best time with a stock IE?
Make the loop de loop and pull, and you shoes are looking good.. Umm. I mean, I managed to get around this oval with a best of 13.665.
To be honest, I shouldn't even have an opinion. This is all too simple to even get any form of note. It did get me two things: how well the car turns, and how it can handle bumps. The former.. is excellent, since this is the same class with indycar influenced Bad to the Blade. The latter.. well, if you look like an Intensa Emozione, bumps off the road isn't what you should be aiming to drive towards.
But it's track time.
- Right in the insides of the Intensa Emozione, we have a completely digital setup that has all these blue hued buttons up front. You'd have to not have your license if you're not familiar with these symbols. That one with the suspension might be the least familiar. I'm sure that is the Sport mode button, or whatever it is that hardens the suspension. Another oddity I find is the car having a reverse view camera, when it has working side mirrors. Maybe I'll find out if there's an added layer of complexity. I don't dig the racecar style steering wheel, however practical it is or if it's only to accumulate imaginary cool points.
- When launching with the launch control, care be taken when you reach the end of 1st: it's a slippery toy there. But on the whole after, the drive is smooth sailing. The car redlines at 9400 RPM, and it's a car that wants you to rev it real high. I make it a habit to shift by 9200 RPM at the latest, because this is a very powerful car, and you won't stay at a certain RPM longer than your usual C or B class car.
- They paid 69 thousand dollars for the exhaust, so while I'm sure they don't spend that much on the brakes, they have to be just as lofty. The brakes, already adjustable by default, is excellent and will stop you to the speed you want to reach. I mean, even the car's in game braking stat is a straight up 10 outta 10 best game best game. I'm quite surprised the IE doesn't carry any adjustable body part for assistance with braking, actually. They really did nail that old school car philosophy.
- The IE was built a race car, so its handling has to be the best it can. It's already very on rails, just like what you'd see in advanced track racing machines today. The handling has that tiny bit of oversteer which loses you speed but not control if you use the full angle. And the car grips very nicely when cornering, meaning it's kind of impossible to slip out unless some clown taps you from behind. You will learn to approve of the car's handling in bigger, long winded turns, where it will hold on to your line incredibly well should you not exceed the limits. Do take extra car when leaving a corner at low speeds: you still need to make the car behave exiting corners then before you coast away.
- Looking at the gears, you can see from the tuning menu that: 1) It's already fully adjustable, and 2) the 6 speed gearbox is very suited for racing as it is, with a wide 1st and incredibly thin gears that get even thinner following that. A quick observation of the powerband gave the idea that the car wants to be shifted as late as possible.
- If you're thinking of bringing the car to rally.. I say forget it. It doesn't need an explanation. Who rallies S2? I'm not even sure you can bring this down to S1 for that purpose. I haven't tested this enough, but the stock car might not like you putting its slick tires off the tarmac.
- For an S2 monster, the IE pretty much offers handling as its main selling point. Its acceleration and top end is lacking, and while it is by design, in speed fuelled Mini Mexico, it's actually a drawback. I can attribute a lot to what the car offers. No aspiration, combined with monster downforce and fairly reasonable levels of torque. Then I realized this is part of the game where the two top performance car classes can only offer handling or speed, and it's very hard to say what kind of car can do both.
- Finding your flow in the IE is what's going to get you wins in the car. This is a proven handling beast in both Forza Horizons 4 and 5, notably when it's a meta car in 4. It's not the best starter car for the mad mad mad mad world of S2, because I say things like the AMG ONE and other AWD swapped creations can do that better. Not saying you should, but there are times where an AWD drivetrain swap on this car has gotten results, but a RWD one works much better, I'm sure.
No, there's no way I'm giving it a Mark of Zen in the oval. Nuh uh. Even the MINI felt exceptionally great there, and that's a fallacy. Maybe if it was given a place like Bahia de Plano Circuit, or Arch of Mulege Circuit it can earn its stripes in this SPD branded award. Let's finish up and head for the verdict.
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So..
What is the Apollo Intensa Emozione? It is..
Overstyled bodypanels for days
An excellent car but no way I'm calling it a Sleeper. It's on the radar for Forza ever since its Horizon 4 debut. It's already put on show for the new Forza Motorsports, and everything it offers backs its incredibly high price point. But it's an excellent ride and if this is what you get for paying even less, then I can call it a Sleeper. It's a very high Neutral, but if you have the chance or need a handling car, go ahead and catch a ride in this.. Italian named, Hong Kong owned sexiness with a German name. Yup, this is one international undertaking. Kind of like the assets of the Ukrainian war effort.
You know what else gets my emotions on intense? Pretty sunsets. And also the fact that for some reason I've been extra crazy this week. Could be celebrating Eid, could be just me having too much time with a Jeep. It's not MINI related, I assure you!
But then again, that last statement could very well be a lie.
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