Best competition for M3 in GT4

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Pungent
I will of course not make any conclusions yet until I've seen the new Vette, but they are still really nice cars. I'm simply saying they still aren't going to replace the Vanquish or M3 or Ferrari in my mind.

From the rest of your post, I want to apologize, I'm not trying to be argumentative about this, and it sounds like we are actually in agreement. I was just a tad upset regarding the write up about that article linked above, as the exotics are still in a different class to me.

I guess this has me thinking, just what IS an exotic really? The Ford GT to me would fit the description, its fast, can take corners, and was built to be raced. When you see it on a rotating platform at a car show it just takes your breath away, and then you suddenly realize, 'WOW, that is a FORD!?' ( true story, except the 'its a ford' part, that was my sister that said that ).

And yea, an Aston-Martin is a pleasure to just STAND next to, I could only dream of driving one :)

No, I haven't taken any offense. That's what this is all about. IRL, I would take an M3 over a vette--I have a baby girl, and I need a back seat. And we'll have more kids, and I'm a long way from being able to have a "play" car. In fact, a 2000 M5 sounds about perfect to me. But ii I had any intention of tracking a car, I'd take the vette any day.

And Skant has a great point. You would think an Aston Martin was wicked fast, and it is, but you would also be surprised what it is slower than, as well. Check out this link from Top Gear.

http://www.topgear.com/content/misc/TV/lap_times/

And that is a 400 hp "normal" C6 Corvette that is about as fast as an old (C5) Z06. The new Z06 has 500 hp, and was developed in conjunction with the new C6R race car. I'm not really trying to bash the exotics. I'm just saying that this general impression that they are untouchable performance-wise will hopefully soon be a thing of the past. I guess the point of that article and what I'm saying is that the "exotics" will have to find a new game to play to continue to be something special. I think Aston Martin has that extra something. I'd still be willing to sell body parts to get one. Important body parts, from the left side of the reproductive tract. But for a Ferrari? No way. Not when I can stomp one at the track without having to resort to selling organs on the black market to afford one.
 
Totally in agreement. Again I want to say I don't hate the Vette. I love those cars. Personally I would still take an M3 over a Vette, but thats just me, I prefer the styling and handling of the M3, it acts the way I expect the car to (in game here) and I don't have to adjust my driving to it.

Though the Viper thing, I really would want to believe what you are saying, but until I see a Viper taking a Ferrari, in a pro race with both drivers being intimately familiar with their cars, I'm still going to go with the Ferrari. The Viper can turn very well, if you slow down a lot, a whole lot more than I can push a Vanquish through the turn. I can't get the Viper to handle very well at all, its a knife edge between going into the wall or spinning out, wheras I can easily push a Vanquish around a turn with no problems. They are ungodly fast, as I mentioned my brother had (HAD, until he destroyed the front end ramping a steep hill) an SRT truck with the Viper engine, and it was unbelievable.

It sounds like american sports cars don't really click with your driving style at all. One thing you have to understand about them is that they come from a musclecar heritage. And as such, the credo of american sportscars has always been to be overpowered.

This can give some folks the impression that american sports cars have inferior handling. In fact, they handle very well... often better than their foreign counterparts. But because they have excessive power available, they require very careful and patient throttle control. They are definately harder to drive. But if you can master them, the rewards are there.

Oh, and if you wanted to watch Vipers beating Ferraris, you should have been watching the Le Mans series a few years back. In more recent years, it's the corvettes beating the ferraris.


You are totally correct about there are a lot of great cars out there. And man I do love the '69 Stingray, it is a great car. All of them have strengths and weaknesses. In some cases for me its just a matter of the styling of the car. All of this started from the comment of a fast Vette meaning that exotics have no place anymore.

I totally agree with you there. A fast vette doesn't change anything. If you want the fastest car you can buy for a significant portion of a million dollars, the answer has never been an exotic european supercar like a Ferrari.

The primary point of the exotics is just... to be exotic. I may have beat that Carrera GT on the track, but my vette will never turn heads like it does. That's what the guy spent $450,000 for.

But there are any number of 'common cars' I've raced with that could beat it on the track which cost a small fraction as much as it does.


I don't doubt that someone that is intimately familiar with a car can easily take someone in an exotic, like you were able to take a Porsche in your Vette. That doesn't really s urprise me. Some cars fit a persons driving style like a glove. And for that very reason is why the exotics will never have to 'go home'.

I very much agree. Except I would point out that exotics are rarely purchased because they match a person's driving style. With very rare exceptions, they're all hangar queens. Last I heard, there weren't any Ferrari F50's with more than 500 miles on the odometer. Most of them have less than 100. Folks don't buy these cars to drive them. It's a strange market.

I guess I get a little annoyed when people assume that some exotic car would automatically trample any 'common sports car'. Like they can't comprehend the possibility that it might not be true. The notion that Chevy or Dodge can't make a car as fast as a Ferrari is just silly. There are fine engineers living all over this planet.

In fact, the performance of a stock Corvette is _not_ dictated by the limits of technology. It's dictated by the market. Almost every year, there is the standard model corvette and then a special faster version of the corvette available. They don't sell a lot of the faster versions because they're too much car for most drivers to handle. They are simply _too_ fast.

When you start modifying a vette, it's very clear that the car is restrained. You're not so much modifying it as you are unleashing it.

Frankly, the recent explosion of powerful cars on the market has not happened because the performance just recently became available. It's been available since the 60's. Nope, it's a direct result of advanced computer controls making powerful cars easier for the common driver to handle. Traction and steering aids. Without a computer nanny, the average driver would kill himself with a 300+ hp car.

Heck, the average Gran Turismo player can't handle powerful cars without the driving aids either. And they're driving cars that are invulnerable to damage.

- Skant
 
I guess I get a little annoyed when people assume that some exotic car would automatically trample any 'common sports car'. Like they can't comprehend the possibility that it might not be true. The notion that Chevy or Dodge can't make a car as fast as a Ferrari is just silly. There are fine engineers living all over this planet.


I totally agree. I think thats why Ferrari and Lamborghini arent in the game. Ill admit licensing has some thing to do with it but does Ferrari and Lamborghini really want the everyday layman to know that you can get "exotic" performance with tuned Nissans, Mazdas, Toyotas, Chevys and Fords etc. for a fraction of the cost.
 
skicrush
No, I haven't taken any offense. That's what this is all about. IRL, I would take an M3 over a vette--I have a baby girl, and I need a back seat. And we'll have more kids, and I'm a long way from being able to have a "play" car. In fact, a 2000 M5 sounds about perfect to me. But ii I had any intention of tracking a car, I'd take the vette any day.

And Skant has a great point. You would think an Aston Martin was wicked fast, and it is, but you would also be surprised what it is slower than, as well. Check out this link from Top Gear.

http://www.topgear.com/content/misc/TV/lap_times/


Interesting list. Suprised the Enzo is at the top. And I wish they had tested the TVR Tuscan, thats my 'new' favorite exotic car. Yea, the "problem" with the Vanquish is that it has a lot of luxury features, and its actually quite heavy.

From one father to another I hear you on the family aspect. I have a 5 yr old son and a 7 month old girl myself, had to get the Lancer (base model not Evo) for its price and gas economy. I was pleasantly suprised to find that its VERY quick. Unfortunate part is that my wife likes the gas pedal too much, especially when there's a Mustang next to us. Yea, she put down a Mustang in a street stoplight drag (the kids weren't with us). The bad part is that she is really bad at braking and can't turn the car worth a damn. I need to teach her how to drive sometime.

skant
It sounds like american sports cars don't really click with your driving style at all. One thing you have to understand about them is that they come from a musclecar heritage. And as such, the credo of american sportscars has always been to be overpowered.
Yea, I have to say the US cars don't really fit me too well. I can adjust to them if I have to, but they don't turn well with my driving method.

skant
I very much agree. Except I would point out that exotics are rarely purchased because they match a person's driving style. With very rare exceptions, they're all hangar queens. Last I heard, there weren't any Ferrari F50's with more than 500 miles on the odometer. Most of them have less than 100. Folks don't buy these cars to drive them. It's a strange market.
I know, its really so sad, to me there is no point in owning such a fine auto and never letting it stretch its legs. You'd better believe I'd drive the thing everywhere, hell even the grocery store, because I buy something to use it, never to just show off.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by skant

I very much agree. Except I would point out that exotics are rarely purchased because they match a person's driving style. With very rare exceptions, they're all hangar queens. Last I heard, there weren't any Ferrari F50's with more than 500 miles on the odometer. Most of them have less than 100. Folks don't buy these cars to drive them. It's a strange market.



spot on mate, couldnt agree more, and it really is sad.
 
Chris Criswell
I love the sound of the M3's in real life. On GT4 THEY SOUND LIKE TOTAL GARBAGE AND IT MAKES ME TYPE IN CAPS IM SO ANGRY!

But seriously, I am pissed off that the M3's sound nothing like they do in real life. If anyone else has experienced the Nice Ripping sound when quickly revving an M3, it sounds great. It can make some people jump. And if you install a Dinan exhaust, man, that is a sweet sweet sound.


yes yes yes. WOW the first time i heard it i was freaked out, maaaaaaaad exhaust note, harsh metallic ripping shredding noise like nothing else that looks like it, the car is actually sedate at low speeds, but unleash it and you release a tiger..........literally.
 
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