C-Zeta's Forza 6 reviews

[C-ZETA]

Mitsubishi Evo X

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The Evo X came under the guise of a new Lancer generation, and it looked probably better than any Evo that had gone before. Mostly the fact it had actual curves to behold helped this, relative to the boxy bodies of the past two generations and the relatively curved but straightly done first three Evos.

It still packed the same stats as the ones of recent times though, with 295 horsepower in the new 2-litre turbo straight-4.

That said, after that base model Mitsubishi would take it further than any Evo would go before - 440bhp in the last version to come to the UK. But they took a while to make that happen. This is because they had all the time in the world to use the X - because they never introduced, say, a slightly upped 'Evo XI'.

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What would be the point? By now, the purpose of the Lancer Evolution to begin with was now gone. Anything else would have been nothing more than novelty, which is why the X has lasted since it came out...and is now going in March 2016, closing the whole series out. It will be a sad day...

I'll make replicas out of the 400 and 440bhp versions I so love at some point in this game. But we're sticking with the most standard 'FQ300' here, and putting it into the contest of my favourite Evo that I talked about with the VIII.

As I said there, the sheer length of time for which the Evo X has stuck around has put me close to it. As the big Evo at the time I came to love it, it was always going to be one of my favourites. Now I could prove why on Forza 6.

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I expected much the same as the previous two Evos, with the same attitude needed to driving this as was needed for them. All I had to do was just spot the difference between them to see which was better; the VIII, or the X?

It was the easiest game I ever played. Mostly because the two were very similar...for about 1 gear.

The X has SST here which makes a quite clear difference in terms of speed. It's accelerative as expected off the line, but the shifts are so much faster and that makes it feel a damn sight quicker too.

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Then I turned the wheel...and it wasn't even close to the Evo VIII. Indeed, struggling with the first real turn on Rio de Janeiro, I realised the Evo X wasn't on par with the VIII. The theme continued throughout the lap, as understeer aplenty left me rather too close to many of Rio's walls.

However, that was under the attitude that I could just waltz around in this thing without a care in the world. If I concentrated on driving it, then the Evo X became worlds better. At that point, it stuck to the racing line absolutely perfectly. Through faster corners in particular it was astonishing, although slower corners still tended to unstick it, especially given the braking isn't all that great.

If I'm honest, Rio de Janeiro is a rather unforgiving circuit. And it exposed the Evo X for what it really is here; a car you need to drive properly.

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This leads me to the conclusion that if you want a simple, easier drive, the VIII is the better bet. But if you know what you're doing, the Evo X has a higher ceiling and is consequently the faster car.

However, even if I try to know what I'm doing, this proved I still screw up a lot. I refuse to let my driving style get in the way of such an important opinion to me, though. But I can't argue with the facts here.

The Evo VIII fits me much better here in Forza 6. So if it's won that battle, it's won the war too...for now.

 

[C-ZETA]

Peugeot 908

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This is the car that broke Audi and indeed Germany's stronghold on Le Mans, at least momentarily. It might have done it a couple of other times actually, but this is the one that did it in 2009.

I remember seeing the original concept and thinking how brilliant it looked. I'd also come to know of the 905 by then, so the prospect of this being a thing really watered my mouth. Especially considering 2006 was the first Le Mans I properly followed.

Behind the Peugeot 908 is a 5.5-litre V12 running on diesel, which Audi had won with the year before the 908 first came to the fore. This makes 700bhp and, since torque is also important on diesels, 885lb-ft of it. That was nearly 10% more than Audi got at the time.

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As it was, within two years their car was much faster than Audi's on track but was hit by a couple of niggling flaws - lengthier pitstops and rain meant Audi beat it in 2008. Then as Audi cocked up with their new R15, this 908 took a 1-2 in 2009.

And with Xbox sponsorship plastered over the thing, it's got a free ticket to Forza 6. But then anything as fast as this should be in any game really.

Indeed this has the highest PI of anything not open-wheeled in the game. It is mighty fast.

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And as expected, it requires someone able to tame such a mad car. Lightweight as all prototypes are, this has the aerodynamics to go insanely fast if you dare. But the big challenge is the engine in the back.

The torque makes the car thrash about to an extent even greater than that of most prototypes. Whereas before diesel engines a prototype would've had very little torque at all - the Peugeot 905 long before this packed just 359lb-ft - the diesel gives masses more torque which makes itself felt very often. The car writhes about under initial acceleration, or indeed any acceleration at all, and requires a great deal of throttle control to keep it in line.

Furthermore, such is the power after wheelspin becomes an issue that you really need to have an eye out for the perfect braking point. It's hard to find this in the 908. Too early and you'll be going too slowly to corner properly. Too late and you're in the wall.

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But if you can hook it all up properly, the 908 will be immensely fast, and there will be little to stop its inevitable charge to the top. And with that very low-revving engine grumbling in the back, bouncing off the limiter like mad, the turboes whistling away and the sound from the outside letting you know what it can do, you know you're driving a real racing car.

The 908 perfectly encaptures just how hard one of these things is to drive, and how hard one of these things can go. If you're looking for the very best, and are one of the very best, it'll do...rather nicely, I suppose. It's only the fastest prototype around, apparently.

In fact it might've been even faster. Looking at the 2010 effort, it was so fast it burnt Audi to cinders everywhere...except Le Mans, where it mostly burnt itself to cinders, sadly. That was the fastest LMP car ever until this year's efforts came about. But in 2010, it was sponsored by Playstation and so it's not here but in Gran Turismo instead. Switching loyalties...remind you of anyone?

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[C-ZETA]

Renault Megane RS

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I love me some hot hatch action. There are countless hot hatches I like, but while there are many things I like many of, I always manage to find my favourite within all of them. This is mine, among all the great hot hatches.

The Megane RS became my favourite car on sale today not long after I discovered it. And dare I say it, it probably still is my favourite car on sale today.

It's certainly quite powerful for a hot hatch, for a start. Though this is the original version of this Megane RS which has 'only' 250bhp, they've now upped the real model to 275. Nowadays that's what you really need to get by in the hot hatch world, short of having a Golf badge on the back.

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Of course though, I wouldn't have minded how much power it had regardless because I think it just looks so damn good.

While the shape is good in any colour, the whole car looks best for sure in yellow. This yellow is probably the best colour I've seen because it shows the Megane's brilliant looks perfectly. Mostly this is because it blends so well with all the black body parts on it. It's quite difficult to quantify just how good it looks because it's just great from every single angle. I've seen many complaints about some modern styles, but this gets it just right.

That alone would be worth buying it for...but of course in the world of Forza 6, you've also got to go fast to win races. And knowing the Megane's pedigree in real life, it should be just as brilliant here.

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Though it's not the most powerful Megane, the speed of this in a straight line and aggression under acceleration is very surprising. It's much more rapid than the stats suggest here. And the sound is a superb growl. Only in the chase cams though - everywhere else it's mostly just the turbo reminding you that it's boosting this 2-litre straight-4.

But when I got to Catalunya's first turn...I was left rather wanting. Because it understeered wide. Just as the last two Renault hot hatches I've reviewed did.

Of course a front-wheel-driver is going to do this naturally, but I thought the Megane would be capable enough to nullify some of it. Turns out it is...if you know what you're doing. And you're in the right place.

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See, the Megane is left rather struggling if you lift off the throttle. But if you put it back on again, the Megane breezes through corners. So the way to drive the Megane is to keep on the throttle as much as possible. Which would be fine in some games where you can win even just by holding it down. Sadly, Forza 6 is not one of those games.

You'll have to put up with the understeer at some point, and the only real way to get around it is to take corners more slowly and precisely. This isn't too difficult in the Megane thankfully. However, in a long, tight turn, it is nearly impossible to get the Megane round it perfectly.

So as it happens, this is the third Renault hot hatch I've tested but also the third that has disappointed. Not sure what it is with them, but the Megane, while probably the best of them overall, still won't be for everyone.

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Indeed, to get the best out of it you need not just patience but also a degree of timing; picking the right moment to floor it so the Megane gets round as fast as possible. I do not have this and sadly, if you don't, the Megane is not for you. But if you can get it down, it should fly.

Still, you can always look at it if you want...I think that's all I've got with it. The car I love has rejected me. Sob.

 

[C-ZETA]

Ferrari FF

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I'm not actually that interested in most supercars. Sure, most of them are fast, but that's not always what I want. And besides, in situations like this, there's stuff that's even faster...they're called racecars.

And I think most of them look rather good...but not amazing. And this applies to several grand tourers as well, at least ones that can compete with supercars regularly. If I want a car that thrills me, I'll usually look somewhere else.

But if a supercar or grand tourer can tempt me in with much more than just the quintessential formula for such a thing, then it has a chance to pull me in. The Ferrari FF took this chance like nothing else I've known.

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The one simple reason for it was something I've brought up in the past, that being my love for four-wheel-drive. Though we'd seen it before on supercars and some less sporty grand tourers, they were either slightly nullified by the engine layout in the former's case, or didn't necessarily improve the driving experience in the latter.

But this is a little bit different, and I suspect it's quite possibly down to the Ferrari factor. I might not show so much interest in some of their offerings but the fact is, they are still the most popular brand in the world, and they have been for as long as I've known about cars. So mixing the name with one of my single favourite elements of a car was already a big plus point.

But of course it might not have been quite like anything else were it not for the fact it was a shooting brake. That was what really split it from anything else, made it unique and different from all the rest. And though people often criticise the back end's looks, I'm absolutely fine with them and I think the Ferrari looks just as brilliant as everything from the marque should.

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Of course, real life practicalities also come about from this design, which is pretty mad when you consider this thing had what was at the time Ferrari's largest engine, a 6.3-litre V12 making 651bhp. That's probably the ultimate factor with this thing; the sheer madness of the concept. And thankfully, it offers the best of both worlds thanks to the Ferrari touch.

And in Forza 6, all these characteristics should also add up to something quite unlike anything else a grand tourer can provide. And it does, and in more than just what the stats tell you...

The 4WD is of course an assist off the line, and sure enough all that power gets you up to nearly 186mph when you take away Monza's Rettifilo chicane and just head straight down to Curva Grande instead.

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And of course, the 4WD also keeps you far more stable out of the corners, especially given the engine is still at the front. (OK, technically it is mid-engined but all that's important is that the heart is still up front.) Whilst the actual cornering itself isn't the fastest in the world, given the 1880kg weight on it, the stability behind it is a serious help. That's not what you notice most of all when driving this car, though...

Indeed, what makes or breaks a drive in this car is what you do before the corners. Because you have to know exactly the right point to slow it down to a point it'll get round just how you want it to. Nowhere is this more noticeable than at the Variante della Roggia, probably the trickiest turn in this car to get around.

That might sound awfully obvious, but because it's the key factor behind the Ferrari FF, it means that driving it is all down to you. You're the one responsible for making it go, and if you do, it does the rest all for you, powering through a corner completely unfaltered. Whereas some cars just do what they want no matter what you try, the FF's speed all depends on whether you get it right. But it's not anything to do with skill - it's just simply picking the right moment.

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If there's nothing you like more than being in complete control, look no further. It might not be the greatest driving sensation in the game, but it rewards you like nothing else can. Give it a try, and you might just find out just how you want to drive everything else.

 

[C-ZETA]

Caterham R500

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I was rather hoping that in Forza 6, I'd be able to take the Caterham 620R, the ultimate version of the Caterham Seven, for a drive here. But that's not in. The best you can do is modify the Seven we already have instead. And the one in question is the R500, which is the next best thing.

Mostly, I've always really liked cars as ridiculously lightweight as this. And it helps if the looks are even remotely interesting as well. The Seven looks much more than that; it looks fantastically mad.

As per standard British tradition, the base of the Seven came from 1957. Caterham has been making them since 1972 but still, as ever, the car lives on in spite of its ridiculous age.

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Only that partly because it's such a rare thing, and partly because unlike some other long overdue icons, the Seven was built mostly for driving. So who cares if the thing's been around for nearly 60 years?

This one is packing a 2-litre Ford engine making 263bhp. That's not bad for a normal car, but for a Caterham it's much more than just 'not bad'. Because the car weighs just over 500kg, which means that the all-important stat here is the power-to-weight ratio - 520bhp per tonne. And that's ridiculous.

What the engine brings most of all is blinding acceleration - but unfortunately, if you go all out with the engine, you won't notice it much. Because the rear wheels will be going mad and sending the whole car into a doozy. Starting with no revs actually makes it a damn sight more noticeable.

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Indeed there's so much power on tap it's unquestionably absurd. If you have the throttle floored, the car will spin the wheels at every possible opportunity. Always in 1st, often in 2nd, in small quantities in 3rd and sometimes even in 4th.

You need to keep this car in check, always. And this turns out to be a difficult task, requiring a lot of throttle control. Very, very precise measuring to make sure the R500 is moved as little as possible and you can actually take advantage of its minimal weight.

Naturally, I didn't stand a chance. So it just threw me about at every opportunity. Which meant it didn't go very fast. Or indeed anywhere at all sometimes, so often I was just spinning around hopelessly.

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If you actually want to get anything out of this, you'll probably want to drive more sensibly than I did. If you do nothing else but go fast, you should find the R500 to be a weapons-grade piece of kit. And as that engine flings this super-lightweight body around and buzzes away as you'd expect any Seven to, you might just realise what this car can do.

Me, though...well, I wanted the 620R so I could have the fastest of all. But after this, I've realised what I really need, is a Roadsport.

Or Gran Turismo's ridiculously slow Fireblade. Seriously, their Seven is an insult to the name. At least this one really, really isn't...

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[RacerPaul]

@C-ZETA

OK, technically it is mid-engined but all that's important is that the heart is still up front

Not a criticism of you as such, but I disagree with the invention of the 'front-mid' description

The engine is in the front. I suppose its equidistant from the middle of the car, as is the accepted
definition of an MR car, but 'front-mid' just irks me for some reason

 

[C-ZETA]

LaFerrari

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Since they've been a thing, it's been nigh on impossible to get away from the 'holy trinity' of the road-going motorcar as we know it; the McLaren P1, the Porsche 918 Spyder, and LaFerrari.

Hypercars are nowadays rather more tempting than supercars, but still few float my boat absolutely. And that stands true for these three. The LaFerrari here is probably the only one that really interests me.

Besides, figures have always been important in things like these and the LaFerrari beats the other two in two big regards. It has more power, 963bhp from the combined efforts of its V12, and KERS electric motor, and has less weight to carry around.

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And it feels the most special. As I've said before, it's probably all down to the badge. It's great to see McLaren back in business and they've filled themselves into the supercar market superbly. But not only do I not know what the hell they're trying to do at this moment, but they seem very clinical. Porsche are unquestionably good and have met with immense success, but somehow have never absolutely seemed to be at the top level of premium brands. With Ferrari, meanwhile, you just sort of expect greatness everywhere.

It also looks the best to me. When I think of a mad machine designed for uncharted speed, this is what I imagine it looks like. And it looks really great. Just as a Ferrari should. Indeed, despite a slightly more modern engine relatively speaking, everything about this car lives up to its name - it is the Ferrari.

But of course, that's before you drive it. You have to wonder if anything really can contain 963bhp of power heading to the rear wheels at all times, no matter how much you try to tame it. We've seen not even race cars go mad under that sort of power, so what about this?

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Well somehow, it manages it. And superbly. Getting away it barely flinches, as the screaming V12 takes off and works its way through the short first gears at blinding speed. Just like that you're off and running. Then you get to the first corner where there's another surprise in store. It doesn't go mad once you get back on the throttle. Just a little flick and it carries on straight and true, at such speed you're onto the next before you even know it. It is fantastic.

As you probably would have guessed, absolutely flat out it's blitzkrieg. 7th gear is surprisingly tall, but this is probably just what a cruise gear would be in real life. And in it, you'll still hit 190 down Yas Marina's longest straight even if you're still nervy about touching the throttle beforehand. For the best of this, use onboard view where the speedo in kph changes faster than you could ever process.

I said I was still a little afraid to hit the throttle out of corners at first, but that was just me at first. Speaking of corners, LaFerrari isn't invincible through them. At the end of the day it is still a humble road car, so you have to know your limits here. However, while you have to keep cornering speeds calm, you can get out of them far faster and easier than anything else like it, so you're really totally safe in that regard.

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Where LaFerrari really makes its cornering gains is into them. The brakes are way, way better than you'd expect. I found this out the hard way - on one run into the first corner, I missed my braking point totally and completely. At the speed this thing goes, I was expecting to go straight into the wall without question. But such was its stopping power that somehow, I stopped just before it went nose first into the barrier. That was almost better, if anything, than the speed of the thing.

Really, LaFerrari has something for everyone here and it really is, quite simply, one of those must-try cars. With the status it holds in the modern world of cars, it's already quite noticeable. But it's more than just big numbers and speed. Because no matter who you are, you really can hold your own in this car. That's definitely the biggest achievement of them all.

Trust me. Once you've tried it you'll know what I mean.

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[C-ZETA]

IndyCar

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Back at the start of this year, I decided I would watch the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in full. But before I went out and did, I thought it would be right and proper to follow the start of the series it is a part of now: Indycar.

It seemed rather good. Sure, Honda had rather cocked it up by providing an aerokit that left them with no chance at all. Reminds me of something else they cocked up this year...not a good year for Honda in motorsport, this one.

But still, even though it seemed like there was only one team in the first race (Penske), the action still seemed rather good. And it was, unless it wasn't and everyone complained about it, like in the second race which was very much cut down by rain. Something which, incidentally, I thought was equivalent to the end of the world in most American racing. But these can cope, thankfully.

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And then came the Indy 500 itself. And then they all started flipping over. And it looked like it was turning into a farce.

But mercifully, the race passed by without major incident and was indeed rather good. And Montoya winning from where he was, was one hell of an accomplishment. Get him that Le Mans drive, boys!

So overall, I thought my experience of IndyCar was rather good. Granted it does appear to be run terribly and the crowds are far too low outside of the 500, but the racing at its best was electrifying. Indeed sure enough the season went down to the wire, and finished absolutely dead even between Dixon and Montoya, the former getting the wins needed to take the championship on countback. But of course a week before then it had been marred by the tragic death of Justin Wilson at Pocono. Indeed, whilst we've seen deaths in all forms of motorsport of late, nothing seems to be proving its danger more of recent than IndyCar.

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What is the big appeal of IndyCar then? Well the road course stuff is there of course, but that's relatively ordinary to me. Indeed it's a shame the 500 is the first speedway race of the calendar, because that's what I really like most of all about IndyCar: the speed.

My guilty pleasure has always been mad, top speed slipstream battles. Everyone makes the joke about nothing but turning left in this case, and sure, it's not that difficult - if you want to win you just have to hope you're going faster than the others. But the idea of racing at the absolute maximum speed that a car could ever possibly go has always been highly appealing to me. And IndyCar is one way of seeing it happen.

Trouble is, they don't race on the fastest 'super speedways' like Daytona where speed is probably at its very highest. To my knowledge this has something to do with the sheer force the speed would put on driver and car, but can't they just slow it down? That's how NASCAR has handled it...but then again, why would you want it to be slower? Still, you can't just tell the drivers to 'get fitter'...so it's not gonna happen. Sigh.

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Whatever, the large IndyCar cast present in Forza 6 all handled it just fine at 230mph. Well, the AI was doing rather less. But mine was doing fine. Mine probably would have had my own livery but I didn't have the time to make one. So I just went with the best looking, which was Scott Dixon's #9...coincidentally the champion this year, also.

As for the racing itself, well it's just as you'd expect. As flat out as racing ever gets in racing games, and indeed in Forza. The IndyCar moves through Daytona's turns like nothing, with the massive aero making it all a doddle. There's so much of it that the difficulty in it is working out how much to turn. As it turns out, you have to be very soft with your steering. Too much and you're either gonna be correcting too much or going off the banking entirely.

Unfortunately there's not too much way to gauge the IndyCar here other than this. It's certainly one of the fastest cars in the game on a road course as well, but you'd be hard pressed to find how it performs on one in this situation. You can't even really gauge acceleration, since standing starts here (why?!) tend to go all wrong thanks to the banking. But then this is what IndyCar is about for me. Just full out speed with no regard for anything else except the cars around you.

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Just make sure you don't end up like that.

 

[C-ZETA]

Formula E

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I'd been quite hyped for a while about Formula E when it finally came to our screens in 2014. And as the race closed out with Nick Heidfeld going upside-down over Nico Prost in Beijing, I realised it was the start of something great.

Normally, an electric series would be no cause for excitement for me. At least, not when the series was first conceived. I hadn't really been sold on battery powered electrics and still thought the sustainable energy that would actually keep the motor car alive would be hydrogen (which I'll stick by for the long term at least). However, the electric car has come on in leaps and bounds as of late, and Formula E has been a big part of that.

But what could have interested me so beforehand?

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Probably the big thing at first was the tracks. The idea of racing in all the world's big cities just has something thrilling about it. I mean, some of the great race tracks are very out of reach of even reasonably big towns. But Formula E brings it into the cities themselves. Of course, it was made rather more appealing by the calendar featuring my very home town of London on it. While it took time to announce the venue, I went to both days of what became a double race at Battersea Park and it was just terrific. Especially considering how the series ended.

Of course, it needed the right cast and crew to make it all happen. Fortunately, 10 teams were out in force with 20 (or more) drivers of very good motor racing pedigree in the races. Sure, they weren't the top bill, rather 'second tier' drivers as it were. In this regard Formula E is like the Championship - and much like some people say the Championship is better than the Premier League (I'm not one of them), Formula E has turned out to be just so.

And the reason for that is because of the racing itself. On paper, the recipe doesn't sound great. City circuits do not often lend themselves to racing, and yet here, especially towards the end of races, we see drivers going hell for leather for positions. Most races tend to be slow burners, but that's all the more reason to watch to the end...something exciting is bound to happen! And it comes packed with the one element of motor racing I love more than anything else - unpredictability. With the cars being identical for the first season, you just never knew who was gonna win one race or the next. Quite simply, the best driver would win...but all the drivers were so close! Brilliant. As teams are allowed to build their own cars, that'll probably be slightly less invoked, but for now at least the series has remained hard to call. IndyCar, which I previously reviewed, also has this quality to an extent.

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Of course at this early stage in its life there is much criticism towards some elements. Fanboost is often the biggest target, except most people don't realise it hasn't yet made even a hint of difference to a race yet. So it's pretty much invalid. Sound is also brought up, and given F1's recent troubles it is serious business. Personally I don't care about it, so I can't really argue against those who do. Besides there are subtle differences appearing in sound with the new motors. The last big point most people mention is the need to change cars at pit stops, which is certainly an innate issue with using electric cars. That'll only ever get fixed once quick charging finally becomes a thing, but for now pit stops not only shake up races, but add the element of strategy that often makes the late-race action what it is. So it's certainly doing a job for now.

Anyway, after all this talk about the real thing I suppose I should say I was delighted to see the first season's cars coming to Forza 6 in all their glory. Whilst the champion's car was still in the old livery, that was nothing that a design couldn't fix, as you see in the second picture.

The first thing to point out is you can rev the cars up slightly before you've even started. As far as I'm concerned, this is impossible on the real things. Trust me, I know.

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It's not too easy to tell, but judging by the sounds of the batteries they're rising up like something would from the bottom of the rev range. Speaking of the sound, it's accurate in terms of the sound itself, but not really in volume. Onboard it sounds fine, but whereas a real one at speed is as loud as this...

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They're about as quiet as a road-going electric in-game. So that's not quite so accurate.

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Still, the car itself is damn good. It's not that fast - it won't be going more than 140mph - but that just makes it all the easier to drive. The acceleration is still good anyway and it's very simple to use through the corners. It spins the wheels if you go full throttle all the time but controlling the throttle is such an easy task.

Of course, in keeping with the Formula E theme I'm driving it around a public road...yes, it is one, technically. But apparently lots of race cars are too dangerous to take around this one. The Formula E, however, felt no more dangerous around it than walking. Perhaps an idea to take into account, if the Berlin race is still running into troubles...

In Forza though, the car is certainly a superb racer in all important aspects. Given that it mostly races itself in this game, the speed issue is a non-factor typically. You really ought to give it a try. In face, since you have to complete the Formula E category races in career to 100% anyway, you have to give it several tries there.

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But what you should really give a try is the real thing. These are the cars from last year, and I'd quite fancy the ones from this year too - and some tracks from the series with it. Sure, Renault might be best at the moment (cunning how they made the original so they know what to do with it) and so everyone would probably just use that, and Trulli has sadly gone west now, but fear not...for Jaguar is coming next year, it would seem!

I hope for all intents and purposes they're the most caddish racing team the world has ever seen. Because it would beat F1 into a cocked hat in that regard as well.

 

[C-ZETA]

Jaguar F-Type

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If there's a sports car I'd buy more than any other today, it would be this, without question.

I've always really quite liked Jaguar, although before this came out most of their stuff was getting a bit long in the tooth. Except maybe the XJ - which remains my favourite luxury car right now.

But the F-Type had been hyped up massively before release and lived up to it once it went into production. The looks were the biggest factor by far, and I agree that the convertible is incredibly attractive.

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Mind you, whilst the coupe which eventually came was still rather good, it didn't quite meet the convertible's standards. However, with its release came the introduction of the top level F-Type - the 'R' model.

With 550bhp from the supercharged 5-litre V8, the performance was always likely to be immense. However, much of the praise towards the F-Type went towards the V6 S model, rather than the V8, and neither the R nor the Coupe were seen as quite as good.

Me, though? I don't give a damn. Because all I can say is...why not go for the fastest? To hell with the expense, if it blows away all the other F-Types it's good enough for me. This is a mindset I hold for almost all cars these days...

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And Turn 10, unsurprisingly, went that way too. So here's the fastest of the F-Types...although it now has the option of 4WD. Knowing my experience that model would have been even safer, but hey, nothing a little drivetrain swap can't do I guess. Here's the RWD version...

Firstly, the stability under initial acceleration is great. The gearing seems short, but when there's 8 speeds it's probably to be expected. And it certainly helps. Going off this, I thought that the same would hold for the corners, which would have been a surprise. I was expecting tail-out action 100% of the time...

...but before I could get down to that, I had to brake. And unfortunately on this car they're not very good. Still, if you do manage to make it through the corner properly it's alright, but if you do tap on the throttle, then you do get some tail-out action.

​

Unfortunately, it's never the sort you want. If you're just keeping it straight and true, it is a minor inconvenience, though relatively harmless. If you are wanting to slide it though, then you can, for sure...just don't expect a modicum of success.

The sweet spot for this car in terms of sliding is ridiculously small. You have to be perfect with the throttle control to make it work properly. Too little and it sort of slides, but not enough to be exciting. Plus it's not where you want to be in this car...on full throttle. Unfortunately that typically roaring V8 often sends the car into a frenzy if you use it as such. Turn in, and you spin so, so often if you go at it for too long. So while the F-Type seems to deliver the best of both worlds, it gives you the worst instead.

Still, a more accomplished driver than me could probably find that sweet spot more often and actually make the F-Type not only an effective slider, but also an effective racer too.

​

Me? Well, I thought the 4WD version would be better for me...then I thought I could go without it. Now, though? Definitely. Without hesitation.

 

[Neddo]

Thanks for the review. Although car looks way better in white.

 

[C-ZETA]

Tesla Model S

​

By ordinary standards, the Tesla Model S did not interest me at first. No saloon is going to interest me if it isn't at least reasonably powerful, no matter what power it's running under.

But then they went and gave the Model S 691bhp in the P85D model. That much power is already worth giving pause to no matter what car it's under, but for an ordinary saloon, it's unheard of.

Of course, this much power with an electric motor gives the advantages you'd expect of such a thing. The torque figure might not actually be that high - surprising for an electric motor. But regardless, it gives the Tesla - with help from 4WD - astonishing acceleration. Sure enough, many a video emerged of it beating many sportier cars.

​

And with this version in Forza 6, I had to give it a go. Much better than the less powerful model GT6 has, which is essentially crap in every way.

While it's hard to tell, I believe the same inaccuracy that the Formula E had might befall the Tesla in that you can actually rev it. I'm not sure if the real life thing has this.

But the reason it's hard to tell is because of the sound. There isn't any. And as you set off, the brisk acceleration is just as advertised...but the thing isn't making a sound. You can only hear it faintly except on onboard view, where it really is almost completely silent. While this is to be expected, it's still a pretty eerie experience.

​

That's not the only thing about this Tesla though - because it's not all straight lines as the internet might suggest it is. It has to corner as well, and it does it surprisingly well.

The actual cornering itself isn't anything to write home about - the car is nearly 2200kg so it's not even close to agile. Instead, where the Tesla makes a case for itself is out of them, because when you get the power down it just shoots out of them like nobody's business, hooking right onto your chosen line. It's great and makes the Tesla a viable choice all by itself.

That said, slow corners are so difficult for this thing that you're still screwed on them regardless. And, of course, as is the issue with all electric drivetrains, the top speed is very limited. Still, it's perfectly manageable as long as the course you're on doesn't have a really long straight.

​

It means the Tesla is at its best in a very unusual situation; a course with short straights but filled with medium-speed corners. There's probably a course out there to suit it - I mean, it certainly did its job on Prague, but even that had a couple of killer slows. But it's difficult to work out where the Tesla will be at its very best.

Regardless, it's still a fine drive no matter what and I recommend you give it a shot as at least some of its qualities can be put to use on almost any track. If you can just fight off its inherent flaws long enough, it should become a superb car.

Unfortunately, this isn't the Model S I'd have now. While Turn 10 didn't know it at the time, Tesla has now gone even further with this and upgraded to the P90D, which makes an even more ridiculous 762bhp, making the P85D look rather outgunned in my eyes. Sadly it's impossible to recreate that figure in this game, since the only upgrade for the electric motor goes way past the P90D, and you can't power limit it. Still, the one we all know about is around and I dare say that next time around we'll have a Model X to review as well. That'll be as insane as the third row of seats you can specify on this...I mean, how far is Elon Musk gonna go?!

​

 

[C-ZETA]

Caparo T1

​

The Caparo T1 was one of the first cars I ever actually found out about, and properly, properly liked, when I was a young 'un. It was first shown off in 2006 at the time when my love of cars really first started to bloom. And I thought it looked like one of the best things ever.

I still like the look of it today. The orange paint probably helps it. It's such a nice shade and shows very well what is a mad looking car.

The mirrors are actually part of the wheel covers. The brake lights are on the sides of the rear wing. And that engine cover and those tailpipes are just magnificent.

​

The actual car itself takes the concept of lightweight track cars to its theoretical maximum. This really is as close to a race car for the road as you can get. A Formula race car, that is. With a 575bhp V8 put inside 672kg of car - that is well over what this actually weighs, I understand - the speed at which this thing goes is beyond any road car will go.

But this speed comes at a cost. You have to be very good to use all of it. As you might come to expect, this is a difficult car to drive, what with it being as unadulterated as it is.

Unless you chicken out and put on TCS or STM, probably the best way to help you actually drive this thing with a modicum of ability is to use the chase cam all the time. You really do have to be seeing what the car is doing at every moment to know what to do with it. You have no chance of doing that onboard or from either the hood or nose. With something this narrow, and with such a tiny wheelbase, that's the name of the game.

​

To be fair, if there is somewhere all that extra weight is coming from, it's probably all the downforce the car generates at speed. It makes a serious difference at speed. Through the fastest corners it's unflappable, although you still have to be brave. Don't lift or else it'll be spinning out, again.

And of course, the car's characteristics make it weakest in slow corners. Wheelspin, understeer, everything you don't want is fighting against you at those points. So really the Caparo is strongest of all at courses with fast corners galore.

When you can get the thing in a straight line, its acceleration is magnificent. Speeding through the gearchanges with a whole mass of revs coming from the 3.5-litre V8, the car's outright speed at around 100 is most impressive. Because even here it is still picking up speed at a remarkable rate. A longer straight might well thwart it with all the downforce it packs, but make no mistake; on the right track, the Caparo is very hard to beat.

​

But there's no getting away from the fact that it is a seriously challenging car to drive at the maximum. There are a select few tracks the orange speedfreak would be very happy on, but many tracks would present problems for it. And it's up to a properly good driver to get around them and make the Caparo among the very best cars in the entire game.

I am not one of those drivers. And as a result, I spent a fair amount of time spinning it around. And who knew something could be so hard to recover? You spin it around on the spot and it just decides to turn around again, leaving you in exactly the same spot as before and even worse off, because you've wasted more time. The Caparo is still awesome in my childish mind, but it's not a car for me to drive. Just to look at, really.

​

 

[C-ZETA]

Lancia Montecarlo Turbo

​

There are many eras of racing I absolutely adore. I reckon F1 peaked in the early 80s, WRC was an absolute ball in the 80s as well, and even Le Mans was pretty good in the early 80s too. But one element of the early 80s I've never really embraced was Group 5.

Group 5 was effectively one of the earliest equivalents of GT racing. But whereas modern GT racing sees current supercars taken and only slightly modified into race cars, Group 5 saw rather smaller sports cars made into extensively modified, pure racers. The term they are perhaps best known by is 'silhouettes'.

They initially competed in the World Championship for Makes which evolved into the World Sportscar Championship. They were banished after 1982 in favour of Group B - but that was better known for rallying. Race-built prototypes from Group C took over the World Sportscar Championship instead.

​

Porsche's 935 was the most successful. It was untouchable when the regulations actually started, and it won Le Mans in 1979 - unusual to think given how road-car-like it looked like compared to modern prototypes...although it might not have seemed that way when Porsche did the same thing 20 odd years later with the 911 GT1.

But aside from it, there was also the Nissan Skyline and Bluebird silhouettes - the former of which was in Gran Turismo 2 - BMW's CSL and M1 racers, Zakspeed's Ford Capri, Ferrari's 512BB and this, the Montecarlo Turbo from Lancia.

I know plenty about the base Montecarlo with which this shares only the centre section with. Mostly I remember how the brakes were too strong and they fixed it by removing the brake servo entirely. Leaving it with no brakes at all. But it looked very sweet, a quintessential mid-engined sports car of the 80s.

​

If I'm honest, I haven't properly followed the Montecarlo Turbo that was built for Group 5 because I'm so much more interested in the other motorsport-built car the Montecarlo spawned - the 037. But I've already sung my song about that at great length.

The Montecarlo Turbo won the 1980 and 1981 variants of the World Championship for Makes, proving itself one of the best of its kind to come about, even if it rather late in the day in terms of Group 5 itself.

But I wasn't entirely sure what to expect in terms of driving it. I'd seen the stats of some Group 5 racers, and seen a couple of them in action, and was likely expecting something shouty, screamy, and very unforgiving yet still very appealing.

​

Yet the Montecarlo didn't seem all that savage to drive. Indeed, the actual stats do back this up. At 780kg it is seriously light but it's only got 400hp so the engine isn't the strongest around. So it feels rather slower than I expected.

There is one good trade-off of this though - it is a superb car to drive. Far from being a wild, out-of-control dervish, it is in fact remarkably stable in all cases. Even on a track like the Nurburgring, with bumps and inclines galore, nothing shook the Montecarlo. Only a very immediate change (i.e. accelerating on a kerb) shook it slightly, and even then it hardly deterred from its path.

That said, this isn't what you tend to notice most when driving the Montecarlo. What you do notice is the squirrel in the engine. Oh sure, it's actually a turbo, and turbo engines as tiny as the ones inside the Montecarlo - it's not much more than 1.4-litres - are supposed to do that with the way their wastegates are. But this squirrel is very, very prominent. It's great how mechanical some of the 80s cars sound in Forza 6 - I noticed this with the MG Metro too - but this one really doesn't shut up. A very hyperactive squirrel, this one.

​

It certainly does distract you from the sound of the engine itself. Which is fine. But it only really screams when you're as deep into the redline as you can go. Unfortunately, the car is so well-behaved you rarely get to hear this.

But make no mistake. On a driving front this Montecarlo is absolutely terrific. It's exactly what you want your racer to be - trouble-free, something you can take to the max at all times and, therefore, win races in. Even if it's not very fast in a straight line, you'll be the one winning at the end when all others ahead may well have fallen off. This really is a car anyone can get in and drive. I recommend you do so right now.

And yes, this isn't the livery it comes in. But what else is a Lancia supposed to have?

 

[Heldenzeit]

Have you driven the 512 BB LM yet? It's similarly easy to drive, but naturally aspirated.

 

[C-ZETA]

Koenigsegg One:1

​

If there's one thing that will attract me to a new car these days, it's a big stat. Koenigsegg are doing it in spades right now.

Now in production is their latest and greatest wheeze, the Regera. Quite apart from how beautiful it looks, a great evolution on the established Koenigsegg theme, it has a 5-litre V8 and three electric motors producing a theoretical maximum of 1822bhp (1500 in practice) through a one-speed gearbox. Its claimed 0-186mph time is 10.6 seconds, its 0-250mph time...20 seconds. And it's also a targa top. One day, it will come to a video game near us very soon, and it will be glorious. But it isn't here yet. Instead this is Koenigsegg's final version of its second act, the Agera. This is the One:1.

It's named for its power to weight ratio. Which means it has 1340bhp. It weighs a little more than 1340kg because it bases its name off PS. But in any case, the stats are biblical.

​

The One:1 is meant more as a track car than previous Koenigseggs. The sheer look of the thing probably tells you that. The wing on the back looks simply bonkers. Rather than simply sticking it on the back, it protudes right across the car's entire rear. And it also happens to be an airbrake. There's plenty of extra carbon paraphernalia too compared to the base Agera which you can also drive in Forza 6.

In the real world, the One:1 set a time of 'only' under 12 seconds to get to 186mph, a world record. Judging by what it does in this game, I can believe that. The way it picks up speed through third and fourth gears, well past 100, is way more than you can process. It's way more than any car has a right to. It's simply remarkable.

But surely it would fall to pieces when trying to accelerate out of a corner. But really, you do know full well that all the power from that high-pitched, roaring V8 is in the back and consequently you know to stay very far away from it. Which means it's mostly fine in the corners.

​

Obviously once you do get it on the throttle enough it will slide about a little. But it's really not hard to keep it in check. If you do go a little far, it does give you time to fix it back up. Not bad when you consider it has the most power in the entire game...

If there is any issue in cornering terms it'd be getting the car stopped in time. It's not too hard to work out why. A car with as much speed as this needs plenty of time to stop. So you'd better be on it all the time. Else you're going straight off the track and/or into the barrier.

But in any case this is without question one of the game's very fastest cars. There are a select few cars who could perhaps hang onto it down a straight. But at the maximum this would be among the best of them. And in the corners, it would probably have their number. Because even if the brakes and handling aren't completely perfect, it's better than any other road car that could hang onto it.

​

The Koenigsegg is one of those cars you really do just have to experience in Forza 6. Certainly its sheer speed does have to be experienced to be believed. And yet, you can get it round the whole track as well. Not just down the longest straight it has to offer. It's not the greatest drive in the game but it does feel very special when you are driving it.

Oh, and this is a targa top too. But you can't take it off in Forza 6. If only you could...and if only they could now get the Regera. One for Forza 7, that's for sure.

​

 

[C-ZETA]

Formula Mazda

​

By and large, I think the vast majority of lower Formula series are boring and relatively useless. And most especially one-make spec-series.

The most prominent of these is GP2 and GP3. But GP3 is hardly that fast and the only things of any significance to come out of it at the moment are Valtteri Bottas and Daniil Kvyat. So GP2 must be a right ball, surely? Not even close. The differences between it and F1 fail to spice it up at all, and most of the drivers that have been it aren't really relevant. In fact, the only time GP2 was ever worth watching was 2006, when Lewis Hamilton was in it, and won it. Because you sort of knew looking at him that year in races like Turkey that he was just going to walk into McLaren the next year and kick arse. Which he promptly did so the year after. If literally anything that season had gone a little better for him he would've been a rookie champion. Just as well he did win the next year, in what was an infinitely more competitive year.

There are other examples around. I actually went to the first ever A1GP race at Brands Hatch, the first car race I ever went to. It was great whilst my young self was there, but the series has long since died. Auto GP is more of a joke than an actual class of formula these days. Formula Renault has brought through a few gems but its main series is not a Renault thing any more. And I don't know what Superleague Formula was at all. Certainly not anything to do with football as its teams would appear to suggest.

​

Things are only a little better when you get to Formulas with more than one make. Formula 3 will always be important, but it's only just gotten itself back together again. The cars look great, mostly because they look like they have rocket boosters on the side. But then you hear about races being cancelled because its drivers are that ****, and that the rocket booster is actually an airbox, and it's not brilliant at all. If some drivers are terrible, let those weaklings go to the wall. I don't care as long as the cars really do have rocket boosters on the back. That would put F3 back on the map.

Lastly, the highest up the food chain aren't perfect either. IndyCar has its moments but it has more internal problems than a chain-smoking alcoholic. And whilst Super Formula was nearly as fast as F1 recently (and how hilarious would that be if it were ever displaced), no one is watching it outside of Japan and, besides which, it isn't even the best series in its own country. Only Formula E provides any great respite, and that was a spec series last year. It was the exception rather than the norm, though. Luckily even as the teams are allowed to change up the cars it is still staying very much competitive, so it'll be round for the long run, make no mistake.

But the fact is, if you want anything outside the undisputed top motorsport in the world - which hopefully will still be F1 by the end of the year - you don't want to look around any other formula (except Formula E). And even there you'll struggle too...

​

That said, Formula Mazda has always caught my attention. It hasn't ever been relevant to me because it isn't a thing outside of America, but over there it is big business. There are a very healthy number of entrants for each race and the racing is apparently genuinely competitive.

In Forza 6 is a variant of the original Formula Mazda. Whilst it has been updated since, the original is still legal in the USA for racing and so that's what we've got.

Instantly, you can tell this is by Mazda. Because it's powered by that iconic element of Mazda, a rotary engine. It is dead weight in road cars at the moment (though it is planned to be revived) but in racing it lives on in this Formula race car.

​

It has a relatively miniscule 180bhp (the modern Formula Mazda has 250hp among many other improvements), but it weighs all of about 570kg. About what any single-seater open-wheel Formula should do. And sure enough, it behaves exactly as you'd expect one too.

It corners without any disturbance. It remains straight and true through every corner, and never throws you around. That buzzy rotor in the back just gives it all the power it needs for a drive that's absolutely right.

It should also be noted that, particularly compared to a number of Formula cars these days, it looks terrific. Though I would like a good livery to match it too. If you find one, let me know.

​

But as for the Formula Mazda itself it can be quite simply said that it does exactly what you'd expect it to. Get round tracks at superb speed with its great cornering and magnificent handling. Now I'd like to see them throw it in against some other Formula cars, and show them what a modern day Formula really ought to be.

 

[C-ZETA]

Nismo Motul Autech GT-R

​

As several of the top racing series in the world continue to crumble for all sorts of different reasons, with very little in the way of fresh blood to truly fill the void, one series continues to go from strength to strength. This series is Super GT.

Since its early days as the JGTC it has been one of the coolest, yet underrated, series in the world. You and me were probably introduced to it through Gran Turismo, which has featured the series in bulk since GT2 in 1999. Indeed, if you want to go anywhere for Super GT and JGTC racing, Gran Turismo remains the series to go for to experience.

But Forza had a spell with it too. Its featuring of Super GT peaked with Forza 4, featuring a rather good mix of current and past GT500 cars with a few GT300s in the mix too. But all of them have been since sacrificed for no real reason.

​

There is a huge amount of appeal to Super GT itself. Everything from the drivers to the cars themselves have an aura of coolness about them, even if GT300 is largely just a GT3 championship these days with a hint of custom made original GT300 spec cars. But nothing is as cool as the racing, which is pretty much as perfect as it gets. Every variable that matters is down to a fine art in Super GT and the result is a magnificent bunch of races. Some have said that it tries to strive too far for perfection - but it hasn't cocked it up yet, so why would this be a problem? The one thing that might be a deal-breaker is the weight ballast system, but unlike other series who use it, Super GT applies it in a simple form; double the car's points, then half that for the penultimate race and get rid of it for the finale. Frankly, there's nothing wrong with it.

The cars themselves are way faster than you would expect. Gran Turismo, for all its support towards the series, has always undersold the speed of the cars massively. Recently, GT500 was close to LMP1 calibre with its new regulations. Forza, as you're about to see, gets it more right. Some of the speed is down to the tyres, which are not dominated by one manufacturer. A tyre war means that the marques involved have all created epic tyres that make for real speed. Downforce is also at a premium in this series as well, and recent power figures in some GT500s have been massive.

I suppose there's also at least one personal reason I have for sticking around - some of the liveries.

Spoiler: Specifically, some of the itashas that go around GT300 a lot.

(Yes, of course I'm going to throw in the two that won the championship)

(Yes, of course I'm going to throw in my favourite thing right now)

Put it like this: you would never see Ariana Grande on the side of Jimmie Johnson's NASCAR. Little Mix would not sign a sponsorship deal to be on the side of Gordon Shedden's Honda. But Hatsune Miku, mu's, and Haruhi Suzumiya, they don't know they're getting put on the side of race cars. And I doubt any of them would care. Because they all look so good on the side of a race car.

​

But that's only in the rather more kind and fluffy world of GT300. Where the real blood runs is in GT500, where the racing is at its most intense and the highest honours are at stake. And it's now different from what you might be used to. Regulation changes have made the cars faster but have kept the racing as close as ever. But the series' return to Forza 6, and the first serious representation of the new GT500 in a video game comes from the team who are threatening to run riot. It's Nismo's GT-R.

The team has won both championships since the start of the new regulations. The new season started on Sunday, and they won the first race too. I dare say they will be favourites to do a three-peat. Lexus have challenged them closely with the RC F (because Toyota don't make any raceworthy cars any more), whilst Honda, in their quest for a hybrid NSX, bottled it at first (remind you of anything?) but promptly fixed it up, before deciding to get rid of the hybrid system...and they have consequently found themselves at the very bottom of the barrel again. Honda's racing board must be about ready to hang itself at the moment.

But whatever. The 2015 championship winner is here and Forza 6 has a Super GT car to race in. So what's it like?

​

Well, it's as you'd expect a race car to be. Fast, furious and a great drive. And this GT-R does all that pretty well. Only with more sliding. But don't worry. While the car slides a lot, it's hardly ever harmful. It's easy to get back. Just don't go too far. Otherwise it will get very angry and spin you right out.

Unlike Gran Turismo, the often underrated speed of the GT500 is on full show here. Statistically it's already pretty great, 550bhp from the 2-litre 4-cylinder engine moving just 1020kg around. Its speed is perhaps best exemplified in both its acceleration and braking. That said, the gearing is unusual. From a standing start the fact that 1st is so long means it takes an age to properly get up to speed there, if you're starting from idle. Much like a turbo LM edition from GT1, actually. You also find yourself changing down into it a lot in slow corners. But from there the GT-R really gets going and can start to show its true colours.

The GT-R is well worth driving just for what it is - the game's only Super GT car. Yet it's more than that, as it's also the fastest car in the class Forza has assigned it - Modern GT Racing. It beats the fastest GT1s there, as it always has done with the downforce it has. GT1s which have actually tried to compete in GT500 didn't stand a chance after around 2001. Which is probably why they don't exist any more. GT500 very much does, and you should get on it. Not just with Forza 6 and the Nismo Motul Autech GT-R, but in real life too. Here's to another great year of Super GT!

​

 

[C-ZETA]

Nissan Skyline C110

​

As a member of GTPlanet, you, obviously, know every single variant of the Nissan Skyline. This is because Polyphony Digital have put each one into Gran Turismo. And with that it begs the question: which one would you have?

I can say straight away, it wouldn't be the first one. Mostly because it would be terribly slow, terribly expensive...just terrible. You could do so much better somewhere else these days. I like the S50/54 more but it is rather boring to be honest. I'm not having the horrid Skylines past the R34 since they're sold here as Infinitis. And I can't see myself driving the R30, mostly because some models come with that most horrific of styling features; square fender mirrors.

The rest are rather more interesting. And the rest (bar one) all have models that come with the red 'GT-R' emblem.

​

I suppose I should get the odd one out first, the R31. That came as a GTS-R - the last good car with anything like that name - and I think it's terrific. But while I'd certainly take it, it isn't quite good enough to overcome some of the others.

Where the Skyline name really reverberates is around models that have taken the GT-R name since - R's 32 through 35. (The R35 isn't a Skyline but I can definitely bundle it in with them.) The R32 and R34 are the pinnacle of the JDM era, both still worshipped the world over to this day. The R35, meanwhile, competes very handily against today's supercars. But I wasn't interested in the R35 when it came around, and even in its 10th year, I'm still not. And the R32 and R34 aren't my favourites. Because of this group, I've always preferred the R33. It always looked the most appealing of the bunch to me, especially in yellow. But because it stands as an awkward middle child in the Skyline's peak, it isn't as beloved. I don't think that should be so. But despite this, it's not the one I'd take.

There are two GT-Rs that preceded the 90s legends - the C10 and C110. The C10 is only slightly less beloved than the R32 and R34, and rightfully so, as the first ever GT-R. But I wouldn't have it. I think it looks too much of a box. And that means the one I'd take is its sequel - the C110.

​

Why would I take the 'Kenmeri', a GT-R that came at the wrong time and lasted only six months? Well, even if it wasn't the rarest of all Skylines, I'd still take it. Because it's massively underrated, because it's the most beautiful, and therefore, because it's my favourite. The C110.

I'd certainly have it down as one of the most beautiful cars ever made. It's certainly one of the most elusive. An oil crisis in 1973 forced it out of production nearly as soon as it began, with no motor racing to do and therefore no real-world purpose. Only 197 examples were sold in Japan, and it would be the last GT-R for 16 years.

But my god, just look at it. And it's even in Forza 6 now.

​

To drive, it's about what it says on the tin. A 160hp 2-litre straight-6 is much more brisk than most cars that rivalled it get, and it shows. This thing can hold its own at a good speed. 1145kg is a nice light weight in all cases, too.

The handling isn't perfect, but it's very easy to work. The main issue comes from the body, which rolls about quite a bit. It's noticeable from the inside, and causes a little understeer. But it's not even close to harmful. Especially when you can just touch the throttle and the rear wheels will put it back into line easily. It doesn't really slide about, merely it turns very briskly once you're on the throttle.

One thing the game definitely hasn't got down is the sound. No way could it sound like that stock. Not unless you put a racing exhaust on it. It's only really screamy when you put it into the redline - and the wheels never spin enough to put you in it - but it is noticeable. A common complaint with Forza's sound that I feel sure applies here.

​

But none of it detracts from the fact that the C110 is such a lovely thing to have around. It carries more than enough speed for its type, it's a very simple drive and it looks seriously good while winning races. Even if you never drive it, stick it in your garage for its sheer appeal.

 

[L8 Apex]

But Forza had a spell with it too. Its featuring of Super GT peaked with Forza 4, featuring a rather good mix of current and past GT500 cars with a few GT300s in the mix too. But all of them have been since sacrificed for no real reason.​

I'd be willing to bet their absence is because the series signed an exclusive deal with Polyphony or some other company that isn't Turn 10. Notice how the stock livery lacks any and all Super GT and Autobacs logos, meaning T10 probably licensed the car through Nissan but not the series.

 

[C-ZETA]

Porsche 962

​

The 1980s were by and large not a fun time for prototype racers, mainly because Porsche had monopolised it. With seven consecutive victories. In particular, a year after the Porsche 956 was released, Le Mans had basically come down to a '24 Hours of 956' in terms of top runners. Not even Lancia's speed-freak LC2 could beat it, not without breaking down long before the end of a race.

The Porsche 962 was a bonus that came in after 1985 and was basically a more legal version of the 956. It took wins in 1986 and 1987. Even when the stranglehold was finally broken, the 962 kept on going until 1994, when it won Le Mans in a slightly different guise. Yes, it won a race ten years after it had debuted. That good a car.

I tend to hate dominance on this level, but really the 962 is just sort of different. Mostly I suspect because of how good it looks with that Rothmans livery on it. Who care that it's not properly sponsored? Doesn't make it look any less impressive.

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The version that Forza 6 presents us with in its rather over-advertised Porsche expansion is the 1987 winner. 720hp comes about from its turbocharged flat-6 and it makes itself very much felt. Down the full Mulsanne that these cars used to race on before chicanes came in, it'll do 240mph. Which feels remarkable in some views, most especially the nose view.

The car weighs only 890kg and it will get thrown about a lot on the throttle. This is not an easy car to drive. Slow corners are a particular nemesis as the wheels spin about all over the place and while it has the nous to stay straight at times, other times it seems to just spin out without giving you any chance. It's almost blind luck at times, driving this thing, but in any case it is a challenge.

The experience is definitely one to be milked though. Onboard views really don't get much better than the 962's, with what you get from it. Quite apart from the 'overtake' button marked on the steering wheel, the sound you get from the gearbox as you change is another example of 80s mechanicals, and it's vintage 962.

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And that transmission really, properly wails, the way every race car does in your mind, in 5th gear. It makes the run down the Mulsanne, Indianapolis, and down to the Porsche Curves even better.

The speed is probably the most impressive part of it all. Once it's thrashed through the fairly long 1st gear - and if it's stopped wheelspinning through 2nd and even 3rd - it really picks up speed at a superb rate. And, of course, as I've mentioned, it'll keep right on going to a massive top end. Compared to this game's other prototypes, this is easily the game's fastest in a straight line. So you can always rely on that where needs must.

But whilst the handling is still pretty great when you get it all right, it isn't up there with what other prototypes can manage. And whilst braking is mostly fine, it is very definitely outgunned compared to other prototypes. Unsurprisingly, nowhere is this more noticeable than at the Mulsanne Corner itself, when you're braking from 240mph...

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Really, the Porsche 962 is probably what I expected it to be - and yet not. But it's difficult to compare it to something else. I was expecting it to be deranged, but within my grasp...sometimes. And it seemed to get a little too loose too often for my liking. But who am I to question a 17 time Le Mans winner?

The fact is, that if you're looking for out-and-out speed on a race track, the 962 is actually beaten by all the proper Le Mans racers, the ones that were either winners or seriously competitive after the 962 was (long) gone. So if you actually want to get round you'd be better off with one of those.

But come on. This is a Porsche 962. You know you wanna drive it no matter what. I have too, and so should you. Few other cars carry such a legendary aura, look or power about them.

​

 

[C-ZETA]

Porsche 911 GT1

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The mid-to-late 90s were a bizarre time for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But they also ended up being rather brilliant. Possibly my favourite time frame in Le Mans history, actually. Because at that time two classes were in with an equal chance of victory; prototypes and GT racers.

Not that it stopped Porsche taking four wins in the time frame. Even if only one of them was really their doing. They just took responsibility for three of them. Their last 962 win was with a car made by Dauer, and their WSC-95 was TWR's idea and based off a Jaguar XJR-14. But that car also won whilst this was in the frame, Porsche's real GT1 contender, the 911 GT1.

The 911 GT1 was one of the fastest cars at Le Mans in 1996 and 1997. But mechanical trouble meant it lost chances to win both. Odd that, given the reverse had given GT1 cars wins in the previous two years. Then they updated it to the 98 spec to contend with 1998's influx of new, very threatening entrants from the likes of Toyota and Mercedes. It looked a great deal more gorgeous than the original versions, looking a great deal sleeker than the 911 GT1s that had gone before the previous year.

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But the new car proved to be slower than the newcomers. Mercedes had already shown the old model a clean pair of heels in the GT Series the previous year and they and Toyota seemed top of the pile. Which is why the 911 GT1 finished 1-2 in the race, obviously, thanks to holding on longer than the rest. What did I say about Le Mans being bizarre at this time, eh?

After this victory, Porsche's 16th, the marque was not seen again at the race until 2014. And after 1999, both Mercedes' dominance in GT1 (and subsequent failure in LMGTP) along with high costs brought the most unpredictable era of Le Mans to an end and a vacuum of Audi (and other VW Group companies) victories has begun since. Not withstanding Peugeot's 2009 victory.

So it's great to see that one of the last gasps of a truly great time for Le Mans is in Forza 6. Although I suspect that if you tried to win Le Mans yourself in a 911 GT1, you may find you'll struggle a bit.

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The 911 GT1 wasn't the fastest car at the very race it won, and it definitely isn't the fastest car in the game either. I was expecting something pretty great, but with only 550bhp it does feel rather underpowered. Even the fact it weighs only 950kg doesn't seem to help. Most notably, the Toyota GT-One (albeit from the year after) is over 100 PI ahead of it. Given the stats, you'd think it'd be faster. I suspect a lack of downforce is the real problem.

But if that were the case, the 911 GT1 would probably corner badly as well. But it doesn't. It really, really doesn't.

It's exactly what you'd expect a race car to be. Nice and completely stable, with just a hint of the tail kicking out under acceleration. It's a remarkably composed car, and that's the biggest appeal of the 911 GT1. It might be reserved in terms of speed, but crucially, it's also inviting for a driver. It's very rewarding.

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If you're looking for outright speed, the 911 GT1 isn't the best. There's no getting away from the fact that it's nowhere near as fast as the Le Mans winners we know and love the most. But for driving, it's great to hear that simple, shouting engine in the back, and it's great to see it doesn't send the car into a frenzy every time you go near the throttle. It's, quite simply, a really nice car to drive. And there is nothing wrong with that.

​

 

[C-ZETA]

Porsche 959

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The joke goes around that the 911 looks exactly the same today as it did when it was first conceived. I wouldn't mind that, if they all looked like this instead.

The 959 isn't actually a Porsche 911. But it looks like one. It looks better than one. The front end is nothing special, it just looks like your basic Porsche. But the back end is fantastic. Mostly, the spoiler at the back looks great, but it's all better than what Porsche normally comes up with, actually.

It's easy to forget that the 959 was actually meant to be a Group B rally car originally. But it never did anything in the WRC; it was taken to Dakar instead. And in 1986, it got a 1-2 there. But the year afterwards, Group B was gone. So they made it a production car instead.

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It was the fastest in the world when it went into production, boasting a top speed of 195mph. But more than this, it was also perhaps the most technologically advanced car to come about at the time, and the forerunner of all future supercars. It was one of the first high-performance cars to come with all-wheel-drive, among other new technical innovations put into the 959.

The engine is a traditional flat-6 that has been in Porsches since forever, it seems. This one is twin-turbocharged and has 450bhp which, I imagine, was damn high by 1987 standards. I suspect that if I were an 80s kid, this would almost definitely have been my favourite car. I love tech-fests of this sort.

But the car is now nearly 30 years old. And having now driven it in Forza 6, I'm not sure it holds up today. Indeed, I have to say, it's fairly terrible to drive.

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I suspect that the weight of around 1450kg has plenty to do with it. That is a fairly typical going rate for cars of this calibre but it does make itself felt. And 450bhp isn't quite enough now to handle it. It still felt pretty brisk down VIR's longest straight but on medium length straights it feels rather wanting, at speeds of, say, around 120mph.

But the straight line speed isn't really the biggest issue. And there's definitely not much to complain about with acceleration. Of course there isn't, it's got 4WD so it initially goes off the line like a rocket, and the twin-turboes help it a lot in 2nd gear in particular.

Where the 959 does really fall down is in corners. The weight isn't even the main issue, though it doesn't do the Porsche favours. What really seems to hold it back is the brakes. I found that out almost immediately when it didn't stop in time for the first corner. Or indeed the two corners following it. And yet it seemed to handle some other situations just fine.

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I suppose the best way to describe the Porsche's handling is 'woefully inconsistent'. Half the time it slipped through corners absolutely fine, and I could rely on the rear mounted engine to slide me through the exit of a corner knowing that four-wheel-drive would keep me intact. But the other half of the time, the car was racked with understeer that put the car miles off line and left me either in no man's land or, worse, off track again. Sometimes, the car even did slide too far for seemingly no good reason and left it half-spinning.

This all means that I can't really recommend the 959. Putting sentimentality aside, it isn't quite fast enough down a straight and whilst immediate acceleration is at a premium, getting in a position to exploit it is difficult with the decidedly odd cornering of the Porsche.

But still, if you've got a reason to take it over something else, it's the looks. That rear end will always look as good as it does, thankfully.

​

 

[C-ZETA]

Ferrari FXXK

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The LaFerrari remains one of the best cars I've driven in Forza 6. The way it manages to be so stable in spite of the massive power it has is admirable. And it makes it so much more of a doddle to drive than you might reasonably expect.

So with the Ferrari FXXK, the track day version of the LaFerrari, now in Forza 6, you'd expect more of the same. Only even better. Faster, even better cornering...just better in every way.

1035bhp sounds like a remarkable amount. But it doesn't feel anything like that much when you're driving it. I suspect it's probably down to the way it works. 187hp of it comes from the electric motor and it seems to run out real quick. But it also creates another problem.

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The torque from the electric motor is instant, which means as soon as you touch the throttle, you feel it. But this can make it a bit of a handful coming out of a corner. This wasn't a problem in the LaFerrari, since it overcame that all pretty well. Maybe the extra power from the 6.3-litre V12, now up to 848bhp, has something to do with it...but then again, this is meant to be a track day car. It's supposed to have enough racing paraphernalia to make it properly good in the corners. And yet it struggles through them.

Perhaps a more likely reason for the disappointing straight line speed is the extra downforce. In any case, it'll still do nearly 200 down Monza's home straight, but it does make itself felt around 150. But it's justifiable because it'd make the cornering even better, surely.

But it doesn't help. Because the engine is still too much for it to handle now, for whatever reason. So the downforce mostly makes no difference. Again, there is no real reason why this should be when the road-legal LaFerrari coped with corners like these fine. Instead, the FXXK ends up spinning round. A lot.

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It's not as if weight is a big issue. 1285kg is pretty good for a car of this type, albeit heavy for a racer, and it makes the 1035hp look rather less impressive too. Still, the FXXK does not go as well as the game might suggest it does.

The acceleration is not really there either, because the wheels are spinning so often. This brings me on to one big problem with the FXXK; some of the gearing. 1st gear tends to be all absolutely fine for the car. Of course it swings about as it sets off, but that's to be expected given the characteristics of the car. But if you're in 2nd gear, you'd better not turn the wheel any more, because for no real reason, the FXXK is very incapable of dealing with its wheelspin.

So many times I ended up in second gear, and trying to accelerate out of a corner, it just went and spun without even giving me a chance. At Monza it could fall foul of this at every single corner. I suppose that's the fundamental problem with the FXXK - it doesn't let you shake it about. You have to put all your effort into keeping it still, when really what you want is a little leeway to do as you please with it. It's only going to favour a limited number of drivers, the FXXK.

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Then there's the other big problem with the FXXK, the braking. This isn't as good as a car as high speed as this would appear and it shows. It's worth noting that whilst it seemed pretty nifty coming to a standstill from 200mph, actually braking and turning into a corner gave it real trouble. Which is a problem when you're trying to aim for the apexes at the chicanes of Monza then realising that rather than hitting them, you're going to smash right through them and onto the kerbs/into the gravel/into the tyre barriers.

And again, there is no real excuse for this. Because LaFerrari has even better brakes if you find yourself suddenly needing to come to a standstill, feels faster in a straight line, much more forgiving and rewarding in the corners and slicker off the line.

The result is that I can't recommend the FXXK in any real capacity. I suspect Forza has massively overrated the car. If you want to drive something of its supposed calibre, take the properly fast yet manageable Koenigsegg One:1 instead. If you want to drive a LaFerrari, take a normal one and modify it up to the FXXK's level. Provided that doesn't ruin it in the process.

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[Heldenzeit]

Maybe try rolling into the throttle a bit slower to lessen wheelspin. Same with the 962. You'll probably enjoy them a bit more.

 

[C-ZETA]

Jaguar Project 7

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I was disappointed with the Jaguar F-Type in this game. It wasn't anything like I expected it to be and consequently I did not feel comfortable driving it. Also it was the wrong version in my mind. The R is great but I'd have liked it to be with 4WD and with the top off.

Luckily, there is now an equivalent to suit. And it's possibly even better than the R, albeit more limited. This is the Jaguar F-Type Project 7.

The 5.0 V8 is now pumped up to 567bhp, Jaguar's most powerful production car. Also the top is off on this, which means it looks even better. Although I'm not sure about the stripe and roundels. And I'm definitely not so sure about the spoiler or indeed the rest of the carbon paraphernalia. But I suspect that it helps the Project 7's cause a lot. And I suppose the D-Type influenced haunch is nice as well.

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Even with extra power, the F-Type still remains reassuringly stable under initial acceleration. That's already a good sign but it gets better yet. Because the cornering is a great deal different to the ordinary F-Type...and much better at it.

Whereas the Coupe threw a fit when you tried to slide but was also a nervy car to keep straight, the Project 7 can slide very consistently, very often and very safely. And that's exactly what you'd expect an F-Type to be. Only a big cock-up will send it spinning too, as its slides are always very controlled and generally nice and lovely. This is just what I want from a car such as this.

Obviously, speed is at a premium with this. But you don't tend to notice it so much because you're too busy spinning the rears to give a damn. That said, when you aren't doing that all the extra stability helps massively.

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There is one crucial aspect where the Project 7 really scores over its ordinary Coupe variant though, which is; it feels so much more like an F-Type should.

The engine sounds much more like the real thing. It's got the right sort of note from a V8, and even better, it makes all the (fake) crackles that the real one does as well. So they have absolutely nailed that this time. And you can even hear the supercharger going at with the V8 as well. This is a far better car than the Coupe, make no mistake.

That said, the Project 7 is not absolutely invincible. The one big flaw that stands out is the brakes. They tend to be not good enough, most especially into slow corners. ABS flicks like mad and means that at around 40, you just don't stop at all. You can probably get used to this, but even then it will still catch you out. So make sure you take caution in these instances.

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The Project 7 is a far better representation of the really rather lovely F-Type and I'm very glad it's come around and made its way into Forza 6. Far from being a mere copy of the base R Coupe, this is a very different car, quite apart from the fact the roof's come off, other bits and pieces have been added and the engine's been upped. It is, quite simply, better in every important aspect. It's just what I expect an F-Type to be, and I can therefore recommend it wholeheartedly.

​

 

[C-ZETA]

Jaguar XJS

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There's just something really rather cool about a Jaguar XJS. Mostly because I suspect it is the absolute perfect personification of the entire image of Jaguar. It is, quite simply, the car we all see a lovable rogue in.

I suppose I should say I'd quite like to grow up being a lovable rogue. I know some of their behaviour is awfully reprehensible these days, but the temptation to actually revel in some of it is all consuming when it comes to mind.

And a Jaguar is what all of them have these days. But supposedly the F-Type does not really fit the bill of a Jaguar, because it is not comfortable enough. Too hardcore, losing the point of the Jaguar brand. Same with cars like the XKR-S GT and XFR-S. And I'm not sure the XJ220 fits the bill either. If an XJR were in this game, though, that would definitely be my choice. It's still my favourite luxury car today. But it isn't. So I can't drive it.

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Speaking of which, despite the naming, the XJS was not a prequel to the XJ line. The XJ is a separate thing that was probably best known for looking the same as it did 40 years after it was first conceived, and before the current model was released. Rather, the XJS, in 1976 was a replacement for the E-Type which was less of a caddish car and more one to be seen driving in, down the Mediterranean, with a pretty girl in the passenger seat. Come to think of it, I'd quite like to do that all the time when I'm older, too.

And the car that followed this after it went out of production in 1996 (Yes. It was actually made for 20 years.) was the XK. And that's just a nice car in general. So nothing wrong there either. But a version fitting a Jag driver is not in this game either.

What is in this game are some old Jags that would fit the bill. The XK120, and both the D-Type and E-Type. Both of these I feel would fit the bill well. Oh, and for when you really need to get cracking, the XJR-9, the car that gave Porsche a bloody nose in 1988. Not in a Castrol livery, no. I'll have mine in only the finest livery, the Silk Cut one. Tobacco advertising ban? What's that? Not if I had my way.

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But the fact is, none of them look quite so right for the Jag driver as the good old, good looking XJS.

However, I look at myself today and at the moment, I am nowhere near becoming such a person. And I will not likely be seen in a Jag any time soon. But that's OK, because I can drive it in Forza 6 instead. And pretend I'm in a car chase in an exotic location such as Rio de Janeiro. Maybe in Forza 7 they could add locations as far flung as Egypt, the Bahamas and outer space.

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The first thing to note about the XJS is that there are plenty of drawbacks to it. Mostly this can be put down to either its very nature, or just its sheer Britishness. The engine produces what seems like a perfectly reasonable 300bhp, but then you realise the engine in question is a 5.3-litre V12. Which seems overly optimistic, somehow. And the majority of the power is ultimately lost within the 1800kg body and the hugely geared 3-speed auto.

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The weight does make itself known, but actually it's not to a level that the Jag is undrivable. Far from it, actually; all you really do have to counter the inevitable understeer and roll of the body is put a bit of throttle on it. You'll get through just fine. Maybe even force a slide if you're aggressive enough with it.

What does make itself known are the brakes. They are really not good enough. That is definitely a replication of British quality, and in this case it is rather accurate. But accuracy isn't much help when the car isn't actually going to stop before you have to turn in. Turning ABS off might fix some of it but then who knows what happens when you inevitably lock a brake...

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But really, the whole experience is virtually a cruise. The Jag is flawed, but not catastrophically so. In fact its relative lack of speed might help negate some of the other flaws around it. If it were a lot faster, who knows, the brakes and the understeer could cause much more problems and harm the Jag even more.

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Instead the Jag is a simple ride that also happens to look very good, and very cool, in the process. Oh sure, the car itself isn't great, but who cares? Because you can do whatever you like really and no one else will care because you're in a Jag.

 

[Neddo]

F Type and XJ220 are definetly Jaguars. Their character isn't comfy, but was C-Type comfortable? Jaguar isn't just about making comfy cruisers. Also F Type is quite comfy comparing how uncomfy it would be. What aren't true jaguars? S Type and X Type, built on a dated Ford platform!

 

[C-ZETA]

A few smaller reviews

Toyota TS040 & Porsche 919

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You and I can talk up and race our favourite prototypes all day long. But the fact is, if you want to win the most races in one, you have to take one of the modern ones.

And while the Peugeot 908 is possibly the fastest of them all, it will probably try and kill you too often for your liking. So the safest option is one of the most current breeds: the hybrid bunch. And Toyota and Porsche have two of the cars to go for in that regard. Sure, Audi also have two R18s but as Audis they are simply far too boring to take and so you really ought to spice it up with one of the other two.

The advantages these prototypes have are clear to see. They accelerate from a standing start faster than anything else, and without a hint of disturbance. They can accelerate out of corners without trying to kill you. And, whilst not unique to them, their stopping power is phenomenal with their immense brakes. The only sacrifice is a hint of extra understeer, and that's not the end of the world.

So which of these two should you take? Well, in an ordinary capacity, the 919, obviously. It's clearly more powerful, lighter, and is therefore the better for it. And it's not like the driving characteristics differ from the Toyota either. But there is something rather nice and soulful about the TS040's engine note. And until Toyota wins Le Mans (if it does), it is gonna go down as its best chance of Le Mans victory. One of the cars that should've Le Mans, but it got away from them. And that makes me feel sorry for it. So that's why I'd pick it. But you'll be wanting the Porsche otherwise.

Lykan HyperSport​

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Coming from that most powerful of car making nations, Lebanon (with the United Arab Emirates behind it, admittedly) came W Motors' Lykan HyperSport in 2013. No, I hadn't heard of it before Project CARS either, but it's now in Forza 6 too. The third most expensive car built to date, thanks to headlights with embedded jewels, it looks a properly good proposition with 740bhp and a weight of 1380kg. But can it really match up more established rivals?

Well, I think it looks pretty good in any case. Only in white though. Mostly because it seems to eccentuate that rather good looking sideblade most of all. And the interior looks funky too. Although when I say, interior, I mean 'dashboard'. The rev 'counter' graphics looks utterly mad and would probably be of no help at all in real life but not only do they do a good job making the car feel faster, but I think they look pretty great, if I say so myself.

But in terms of driving the car is an odd one to judge. The speed is obviously undeniable but when it came to turning the wheel, it didn't feel that rewarding. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't that good either. I suppose most notably that it could get into some slides but it could also spin at times while trying them. It isn't surprisingly stable nor completely deranged: it's in sort of a lukewarm point between the two extremes.

What probably made it all a bit weird most of all was the sound. Something like this would normally have a screaming exhaust note crying for blood at the back. But this has a 3.7-litre flat-6 from a Ruf in the back. So actually what it sounds like is a tuned up JDM car. Which this emphatically is not. Really then, it's difficult to sum up the Lykan in any reasonable way at all. But put it this way: be glad you get it free with the DLC. Because it's certainly not worth 1.5 million credits in this game.

Audi R8 V10 Plus​

I know for a fact that the one car that attracts females most is the previous gen Audi R8. And that's not just based on the fact my mum once said it'd be her ideal car. Because I'd heard some of her friends, when cars come up, saying that the R8 is their ideal car too. And when the subject comes up with girls my age, they say something similar as well.

So you'd expect Audi to have made sure its new R8 would be even more attractive to females. Sadly, I cannot report on this, because when it was launched, the one person it attracted most was...me. I just saw the looks and thought it was just so right in every way. I loved that front end, and the big rear end, and yet you'd very obviously still recognise it as an R8. If there is one big flaw, it'd be the fact they've now split the sideblade in half; it looked wonderful on the first one and now it's not really there any more. Let me have my silver/carbon combo, goddamnit! (I'm also not sure about the spoiler on this plus model but I suppose they'd always let you take it off.)

If I'm honest though, that wasn't the biggest attraction with the new R8. Above all was the fact they were finally putting the e-tron into production, and the stats looked pretty remarkable. But as far as I can see, it looks like Audi have decided not to bother again. The dirty backstabbers. I wish upon them eternal failure at Le Mans and many emissions scandals. No, hang on...

The R8 V10 has gone into production now though and I'm not sure the motoring press are sold on it. Quite apart from a little criticism towards Audi's perhaps futile attempts to put as much practicality as possible into that most impractical of things, a supercar, many point out, correctly, that it's all very similar to a Lamborghini Huracan - because that's what it's based off. Both cars are in Forza 6 and I have driven the Huracan. But that is a shouty car with a ridiculously loose back end that makes it far too hot to handle. The Audi, meanwhile, is far calmer both in terms of sound and cornering. It's very planted, which is always a good thing. But unfortunately it's not perfect. Indeed, through the corners, it's all a bit hit and miss. Sometimes, with no real warning, a lot of understeer will get you and it will hit pretty hard. It's probably possible to prevent this. If you're a very good driver, it'll be very easy to overcome and you'll probably get the best out of the R8. But if not, it is not the most forgiving car at all. Still, it's far from totally hopeless and you can definitely drive it with reasonable confidence. Just make sure you get back to me on if it pulls any birds or not.

 

[C-ZETA]

Have you driven the 512 BB LM yet? It's similarly easy to drive, but naturally aspirated.

I have. I had to, in order to get the Ferrari achievement. My drive in it wasn't very long so I don't recall much of it. But I think I might've spun it out at least once. So I'm not so sure about the easiness.

I'd be willing to bet their absence is because the series signed an exclusive deal with Polyphony or some other company that isn't Turn 10. Notice how the stock livery lacks any and all Super GT and Autobacs logos, meaning T10 probably licensed the car through Nissan but not the series.

That's what I'm thinking too. But even though Gran Turismo implies it's always had a deal with Super GT, PD have never made a big song and dance about it. Which would imply it's all OK for other racing games to have it as well.

Maybe try rolling into the throttle a bit slower to lessen wheelspin. Same with the 962. You'll probably enjoy them a bit more.

Sometimes my mind doesn't have the time, patience or inclination to bother with throttle control. I want a car that doesn't mind what I do with the throttle, as you might have guessed.

F Type and XJ220 are definetly Jaguars. Their character isn't comfy, but was C-Type comfortable? Jaguar isn't just about making comfy cruisers. Also F Type is quite comfy comparing how uncomfy it would be.

Oh, I didn't say the F-Type wasn't a Jag. I think it's great for the brand. But some have said it isn't quite what they expect from the brand. That it's not bad, just wrong. The XJ220 is difficult to judge, if I'm honest. But what is certain is the fact it had a bad press from the start of its life. So it's difficult to think of anything else with it. And I suppose it is worth noting that above all, people base Jag's image around the E-Type. Because that's the most important thing to come from Jaguar.