Car of the Week 228: COTY GTS Finale

  • Thread starter Racer283
  • 3,110 comments
  • 670,524 views
A current list of all not yet used cars for COTW:

ALFA ROMEO (1)
Giulia TZ2 Carrozzata da Zagato CN.AR750106 1965 (Gr.X)

Alpine (3)
Vision Gran Turismo 2017 (Gr.1)
Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.X)
Vision Gran Turismo Race Mode (Gr.X)

ASTON MARTIN (3)
DB3S CN.1 1953 (Gr.X)
DP-100 Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.X)
Vantage Gr.4 (Gr.4)

AUDI (5)
R8 LMS Audi Team Sport WRT 2015 (Gr.3)
R18 e-tron 2016 (Gr.1)
Sport quattro S1 Pikes Peak 1987 (Gr.B)
TTS Coupe 2014 (N300)
Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.1)

BMW (4)
M4 Coupe 2014 (N400)
M4 Safety Car (Gr.X)
M6 GT3 Walkenhorst Motorsport 2016 (Gr.3)
M6 GT3 M Power Livery 2016 (Gr.3)

BUGATTI (1)
Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.X)

CHEVROLET (1)
Corvette Stingray Race Concept (C2) 1959 (Gr.X)

DODGE (5)
SRT Tomahawk VGT Racing (Gr.X)
SRT Tomahawk VGT Street (Gr.X)
SRT Tomahawk VGT Technology (Gr.X)
Viper Gr.4 (Gr.4)
Viper SRT GT3-R 2015 (Gr.3)

FERRARI (4)
250 GT Berlinetta passo corto CN.2521 1961 (N300)
250 GTO CN.3729GT 1962 (Gr.X)
458 Italia 2009 (N600)
Dino 246GT 1971 (N200)

FORD (4)
GT LM Spec II Test Car (Gr.3)
Mustang Gr.B Rally Car (Gr.B)
Mustang GT Premium Fastback 2015 (N400)
Mustang Mach 1 1971 (N300)

GRAN TURISMO (4)
Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo (N600)
Red Bull X2014 Standard 2014 (Gr.X)
Red Bull X2014 Junior 2014 (Gr.X)
Red Bull X2019 Competition (Gr.X)

HONDA (3)
NSX Gr.3 (Gr.3)
NSX Gr.4 (Gr.4)
Sports Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.X)

HYUNDAI (4)
Genesis Gr.3 (Gr.3)
Genesis Gr.4 (Gr.4)
N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.1)
N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.X)

JAGUAR (6)
D-Type 1954 (Gr.X)
E-Type Coupe 1961 (N300)
F-Type Gr.4 (Gr.4)
XJ13 1966 (Gr.X)
XJR-9 1988 (Gr.1)
Vision Gran Turismo Coupe (Gr.X)

LAMBORGHINI (2)
Aventador LP700-4 2011 (N700)
Miura P400 Bertone Prototype CN.0706 1967 (N400)

LEXUS (2)
LC500 2017 (N500)
LF-LC GT Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.X)

MAZDA (3)
Atenza Gr.3 Road Car (N500)
Atenza Gr.4 (Gr.4)
LM55 Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.X)

MCLAREN (3)
650S GT3 2015 (Gr.3)
MP4-12c 2010 (N600)
Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.X)

MERCEDES-BENZ (5)
AMG F1 W08 EQ Power+ (Gr.X)
AMG F1 W08 EQ Power+ Color Variation (Gr.X)
AMG Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.X)
AMG Vision Gran Turismo LH Edition (Gr.X)
AMG Vision Gran Turismo Racing Series (Gr.X)

MINI (1)
Clubman Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.X)

MITSUBISHI (4)
Lancer Evolution IV GSR 1996 (N300)
Lancer Evolution Final Edition Gr.3 (Gr.3)
Lancer Evolution Final Edition Gr.B Rally Car (Gr.B)
Lancer Evolution Final Edition Gr.B Road Car (N500)

NISSAN (6)
Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.X)
GT-R Gr.B Rally Car (Gr.B)
GT-R Motul Autech 2016 (Gr.2)
GT-R Premium Edition 2017 (N600)
GT-R Safety Car (Gr.X)
GT-R Xanavi Nismo (Gr.2)

PEUGEOT (5)
208 GTI by Peugeot Sport 2014 (N200)
RCZ Gr.4 (Gr.4)
RCZ Gr.B Rally Car (Gr.B)
L750R Hybrid Vision Gran Turismo 2017 (Gr.1)
Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.X)

PORSCHE (1)
911 GT3 (997) 2008 (N400)

RENAULT SPORT (1)
R.S.01 GT3 2016 (Gr.3)

SHELBY (1)
Cobra Daytona Coupe 1964 (Gr.X)

SUBARU (5)
BRZ S 2015 (N200)
BRZ Falken Tire/Turn 14 Distribution 2017 (Gr.X)
WRX Gr.3 (Gr.3)
WRX Gr.B (Gr.B)
WRX STI Type S 2014 (N300)

TOYOTA (10)
86 Gr.B Rally Car (Gr.B)
86 GRMN 2016 (N200)
86 GT 2015 (N200)
86 GT Limited 2016 (N200)
FT-1 (Gr.X)
FT-1 Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.X)
FT-1 Vision Gran Turismo Gr.3 (Gr.3)
GR Supra Racing Concept (Gr.3)
GR Supra RZ 2020 (N400)
TS030 Hybrid 2012 (Gr.1)

VOLKSWAGEN (4)
Scirocco Gr.4 (Gr.4)
Golf VII GTI 2014 (N200)
GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.X)
GTI Vision Gran Turismo Gr.3 (Gr.3)


List of all this year's tested cars:
Mazda LM55 VGT Gr.1
Abarth 1500 Biposto
Mazda Roadster S modern
Bugatti Veyron Gr.4
Toyota S-FR
Honda NSX Gr.3
BMW M6 GT3
Mazda RX Vision GT3
Volkswagen Samba Bus Type 2
Ford GT
Nissan Skyline R34 GTR '02
Lamborghini Countach LP400
1989 Mercedes Sauber C9 Group C Prototype
Ford Mustang Gr3 Road Car
Subaru Impreza Coupe WRX Type R STI Version VI
Toyota Tundra TRD Pro '19
Porsche 962C
TVR Tuscan Speed 6
Citroen GT Gr.4
Dodge Tomahawk VGT Gr1
Volkswagen Beetle 1200 '66
Renault Sport Clio RS 220 EDC Trophy '15 and '16 versions
Peugeot 908 HDI FAP
KTM X-Bow R '12
Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec R33
Alfa Mito
2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe
McLaren Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo Gr.1
Peugeot RCZ Gr.3 Road Car
Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce
2016 au TOM'S RC F GT500
Honda S800 '66
Infiniti Concept VGT
Alfa Romeo 4C Launch Edition
Group C Nissan R92CP
Audi TT Cup Gr.4 '16
Nissan Fairlady Version S '07
Toyota 86 Gr.4
Aston Martin Vulcan
Mercedes Benz A 45 AMG 4Matic
Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Gr.1
Mazda Atenza Sedan XD L Package '15
Lamborghini Huracan Gr.4
Aston Martin DB11 '16
Tesla Model S Signature Performance '12
Audi R18 LeMans Jost Team
Mini Cooper S 2005
Lambo Huracan
Lexus RC-F Gr. 4
Peugeot L500 R VGT

My 2022 nominees:

Best looking car: Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce
Worst looking car: Volkswagen Samba Bus Type 2 (Beetle as a VERY close second)
Sky high roller: Peugeot 908 HDI FAP
Most American car: 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe
Best handling car: Porsche 962C
Worst handling car: Infiniti Concept VGT
Beater of the year: Infiniti Concept VGT
Car of the year: Peugeot 908 HDI FAP
(VERY close follow-up would be the R34 for me)
 
Last edited:
Sure, just make all your votes publicly visible here on this thread, why not?

For the shyer among us, you can still always send me a PM here on GTPlanet to cast your votes for the end of year awards! Now that we've sampled everything 2022 has to offer us, a reminder of the categories up for contention...

  • Best Looking Car

For... the car that looks the best? I think, anyway. Don't quote me on that.

  • Worst Looking Car

For maybe the car that looks the worst? I have no idea how to do this, help.

  • Most American Car

For the car that exemplifies America and the cars they've been known for. Loud, fast, wasteful, terrifying, cheap, drinks piss for fuel, and comes with incomprehensible turn signals. Hell, it doesn't even have to be American! As long as it makes you soil yourself silly with a smile on your face, it qualifies!

  • Sky–High Roller's Award

For the cars that roll sky hig- okay maybe this award isn't as self explanatory as I thought. It's the award for expensive cars. Because rich people need more things to feel better about the things they already own. What are the criteria for this award other than costing a lot? I dunno, ask the vets in this thread.

  • Best Handling Car

For the car that knows you better than you know yourself, telepathic in how it responds with the driver, and most importantly, puts a big smile on your face!

  • Worst Handling Car

You know what I just said? The exact opposite of that. Cars that turn too much when you want it to go straight, and cars that simply won't turn when the wheel is turned. Cars that make you wonder if the automotive industry have ever moved on from leaf spring suspension, bias ply tyres, and drum brakes!

...and of course,

Beater of the Year

and

Car of the Year!

I will count and tally the votes at 12 midnight CST on the 31st of December, but if you, you know, want to give this overworked, undersexed Asian kid more time to properly write the awards and finish up the half baked reviews he has in his ovens, you could send in your nominations early. In fact, please do. I still am yet to make my parents proud of me.
 
Last edited:
XSquareStickIt
Sure, just make all your votes publicly visible here on this thread, why not?

For the shyer among us, you can still always send me a PM here on GTPlanet to cast your votes for the end of year awards! Now that we've sampled everything 2022 has to offer us, a reminder of the categories up for contention...

  • Best Looking Car

For... the car that looks the best? I think, anyway. Don't quote me on that.

  • Worst Looking Car

For maybe the car that looks the worst? I have no idea how to do this, help.

  • Most American Car

For the car that exemplifies America and the cars they've been known for. Loud, fast, wasteful, terrifying, cheap, drinks piss for fuel, and comes with incomprehensible turn signals. Hell, it doesn't even have to be American! As long as it makes you soil yourself silly with a smile on your face, it qualifies!

  • Sky–High Roller's Award

For the cars that roll sky hig- okay maybe this award isn't as self explanatory as I thought. It's the award for expensive cars. Because rich people need more things to feel better about the things they already own. What are the criteria for this award other than costing a lot? I dunno, ask the vets in this thread.

...and of course,

Beater of the Year

and

Car of the Year!

I will count and tally the votes at 12 midnight CST on the 31st of December, but if you, you know, want to give this overworked, undersexed Asian kid more time to properly write the awards and finish up the half baked reviews he has in his ovens, you could send in your nominations early. In fact, please do. I still am yet to make my parents proud of me.
Click to expand...
And of course you left out my proposed 2 categories (best handling, worst handling), although they absolutely make sense and you even agreed upon them. Whatever.
 
Alex p.
And of course you left out my proposed 2 categories (best handling, worst handling), although they absolutely make sense and you even agreed upon them. Whatever.
Click to expand...
Whooooooops. I forgot. Edited.

You didn't have to be so passive aggressive about it. This is my first time handling things and I'm going to make mistakes, okay?
 
XSquareStickIt
Whooooooops. I forgot. Edited.

You didn't have to be so passive aggressive about it. This is my first time handling things and I'm going to make mistakes, okay?
Click to expand...
I'm sorry mate. :(

giphy (14).gif
 
While I've come to feel little more than downright disdain toward the vast majority of Italian cars we've tested here in Car of the Week, even someone like me can't help but to find the Nyanborghini Purracan irresistibly cool. The story goes that Canadian musician deadmau5 wrapped his Ferrari 458 Italia with a Nyan Cat livery, going as far as to replace the Ferrari badges on the car with Purrari badges. Now, of course, Ferrari being Ferrari, fiercely protective of their brand image, quickly C&Ded the man, in doing so causing more damage to their image than any pair of pixelated rainbow–farting cats could. And so what's a rich man to do in this trying situation but to buy a Lamborghini and wrap it in the very design that Ferrari was so vehemently against?

​


In essence, I think the Nyanborghini Purracan is the single coolest Lamborghini, at least in modern history, because it embodies the very spirit and sentiment that gave rise to Lamborghini as a car manufacturer to begin with: to do what Ferrari won't with a firm middle finger raised. And yes, in case you haven't figured it out by now, this livery is the entire reason why I bothered to choose an Italian car to begin with. I mean, I spent all this time making a livery for my own use, I might as well give myself the chance to actually like the car as a whole, right?

Peter Lougheed Provincial Park_.jpeg

Peter Lougheed Provincial Park_.jpeg


deadmau5 Nyanborghini Purracan by XSquareStickIt livery link (GTS | GT7)​

Even before it gets wrapped up in feline shenanigans though, the base Huracán looks really promising on paper! It's brash styling masks a deceptively tiny car, one that can somehow house what I consider to be the idea drivetrain layout for a sports car: a big, but not too big, high revving NA engine mounted rear midship sending power to all four wheels via a close ratio 7 speed gearbox. With the blessing of Audi, this combination of the perfect drivetrain and diminutive body proved wildly successful both in sanctioned racing and production peacocking, with the Huracán GT3 scoring wins at Monza, Daytona, and Laguna Seca, and the Performante holding the (rather pointless...) Nordschleife lap record at one point. It seems to me that, despite the Huracán being the "baby Lambo", the flagship Aventador is only for showboating and reskinning into various other overpriced models, whereas the Huracán is the work bull of the brand that gets called upon when things actually need to get done. While usually the flagship car of a brand represents the very best and distilled essence of a manufacturer, it seems to me that we are yet to give modern Lamborghini a fair chance at an impression here in COTW until we've sampled its darling baby, the Huracán.


Even within the confines of Gran Turismo Sport, a game which ruthlessly distills away any sense of speed from the player, the Huracán is properly "HOLY BALLSACKS" fast in a straight line, even without feeling the g forces, motion blur, or camera pullbacks of going 0–100km/h in 3.2 seconds on its default Sport Hard tyres. Hell, 0–100 feels too shallow a test for the Huracán, because this thing just does not stop pulling until 180km/h at the top of 4th gear. That's right—this 601HP supercar from 2015 feels like it has the first four gears of a 1999 Impreza with well over double the power of a 1999 Impreza, and ripping through 4 whole gears within 9 seconds, each time upshifting as near to the height of the NA V10's stratospheric 9,000rpm redline as one can manage, is just as ridiculous as you can imagine it being. Now, of course, I've sampled cars that pull way harder, from hybrid LMP1s to EV performance cars, but you grow to expect such savagery in a racing machine and harmonise with it, and EVs have none of that drama, surprise, and involvement that the Huracán possesses. By contrast, the Huracán is savagely involving without ever letting you get too comfortable with it, because once you reach fifth gear on a racetrack where it mellows out just a little bit, you'll have other "HOLY BALLSACKS" things to worry about.

Those being the brakes.


For some weird reason, even on the default and strongest ABS setting, the Huracán's front tyres will be pushed to their absolute limit under full braking, even on a dry, level, and smooth racetrack, with whatever road legal compound you fit on them persistently chirping and squealing just with the brakes alone. This of course means that the front tyres have next to nothing left to actually turn the car when the time comes, meaning that you have to come off the brakes almost entirely for this rear mid engined supercar to even start considering biting into a corner. The news isn't much better on corner exits, either, where the front tyres will lift and gasp for air as though they had been forcibly held underwater and asphyxiating the whole time, which doesn't feel too far from the truth. The braking issue might be remedied by shifting brake bias backwards towards the rear, but since a Brake Balance Controller is an aftermarket part in GT7, I don't much want to fiddle with it back here in GTS, since, you know, we're supposed to be testing cars stock.


What this all translates to is that the front tyres are always at their limits around a track, and as such, they are also the limiting factor in everything that you do. Aside from off–track whoopsies, the rear end of the car just doesn't feel alive at all, like a dead carcass just along for the ride like an FF hatch, and I never once had to apply any counter steer in my time with the Huracán. The front tyres being constantly overworked and at their limit in any situation also means that the baby bull is a very "one thing at a time" car; you're either braking or turning, not both at the same time. You're either turning or accelerating, not both at the same time. While "one thing at a time" can be great life advice for some, especially for those suffering with anxiety, it's a pretty awful ethos for a brash, shouty, hard accelerating rear mid engined supercar, for whom the pace is often set by the track and the cars around it rather than its driver. Overall, its cornering prowess, or lack thereof, feels completely disproportionate to its straight line bursts, and after a while, it just feels like I as a driver have to fight the car at literally every turn to get it to... turn.


Some might argue that the whole point of a Lamborghini is that you have to fight it a little to prove your worth as a driver, but because the Huracán never really threatens to actually kill you by spinning out or flipping over, fighting it just to get it to turn like a car ought to feels less like a testosterone filled fight to prove your worthiness against a feral beast and more annoying like trying to get your bratty kid to do their homework. I don't know about you, but if I want to feel like a disgruntled dad, I'd have bought a Honda Shuttle, not a Lamborghini Huracán.


To be entirely fair, the Huracán can corner, it just has a lot of "safety understeer" baked into how its set up, erecting a gargantuan barrier the driver has to overcome each time they attempt to take a corner at speed with the Huracán, making everything else about the car hard to appreciate when then understeer takes priority and dominates your every thought on the racetrack. It'd be too easy to blame Lamborghini's overbearing parents, Audi, for that understeer and the perceived safety said understeer brings, but really? Lamborghinis have been understeering like a house in a landslide without anything resembling a paddle even as far back as the 25th Anniversary Countach. Plus, I took a 2009 Ferrari 458 Italia to race against the Huracán on race day, and to my utmost surprise, the two cars drive almost identically, with a nose that is wont to lift, and the entire experience dominated by "safety understeer". It's a trait that is shared with most, if not all of the modern supercars I've tested here in Car of the Week thus far, from the 2017 Ford GT to the Aston Martin Vulcan.


And so I find myself at an awkward impasse in writing this review, because I don't know what conclusion I can come to for the Huracán. I don't know if it's a good car relative to its contemporary peers or not, because they all blend together seamlessly to offer the same driving experience of "much power, such understeer, wow". It doesn't matter what engine they have, how much they weigh, what they look like, or what their drivetrain layouts are; if they all drive the same, none of them have a distinct trait or a personality of their own that set them apart from the next car. If not for my Nyan Cat livery and the real life story behind it, the Huracán would feel like a 458 clone in this game. I may not like these cars, but from an objective standpoint, are they good? Which would I recommend over the other and why? I can't answer that at all.

Fortunately, I have some friends that sometimes make my desk job easier for me... by making my job on the racetrack way harder.


Here at Car of the Week, I'm not the only one with a darling Porsche I like to whip out unsolicited at every opportunity; Vic has a dung beetle coloured 991 GT3 RS he likes to sashay around from time to time, and the last race of the day at Suzuka was one such occasion. On paper, you'd think Vic was sending his Beetle to the Slaughter: it's a whole 110HP down on the Huracán, and while normally only 2kg (4lbs) lighter than the Huracán if you can believe any statistic the Italians give you about their cars, Vic had a few more scones and Earl Greys just before the race to get his car and driver combo to meet the minimum mass requirement of 1,422kg (3,135lbs), the mass of the Huracán according to this game. Also, remember the part where I said that I consider rear mid engine all wheel drive to be the ideal drivetrain layout for a sports car? The 911's RR layout is easily the worst layout ever mass produced, putting aside forklifts. So can anyone please explain to me HOW THE HELL I got utterly destrolished and humiliated by the 991 during the "race" at Suzuka?


First, Vic gave the whole field a 5 second head start. He then overtook everyone else in the race before hunting me in my Purracan down for the lead. The whole ordeal didn't take him too long, and by the midway point of lap 2, the dung beetle was already getting a very strong whiff of the distinct odour of cat poo. He then decided to start a smoke show by drifting and sliding around, before casually overtaking me at his leisure.

So what the hell happened?

My guess is that Porsche actually made a sports car that can actually handle, when everybody else was too preoccupied with "protecting" their drivers and clientele. Porsche made a car that's meant to be driven, whereas everybody else was obsessed with making trophies on wheels. Porsche will actually let you have your car and play with it too, and they didn't even have to lie about their mass figures to beat some cheaters. Above all else, Porsche has shown me that other car makers have no excuse to not do better; they just choose not to. Armed with that context, I can now confidently tell you that the Huracán is a bad car... at least, in base LP 610-4 form.

Yes. Yes, I'm aware that it's perhaps unfair to the Huracán that we ran the base model against a track focused, hardcore 911 GT3 RS. Perhaps a Performante or an STO would've been a fairer comparison, but oh would you look at that, we only get one road going Huracán, and it's the base model. How convenient.

Even when I actively try to like them, Italian cars just make me mad without fail.
 
XSquareStickIt
Apology accepted :) Shall we move on?

I wasn't expecting you to like the review, since I had next to nothing nice to say about the Huracán :lol: Glad you liked it though!
Click to expand...
It was very well written, and thus, as always very nice to read. Apart from that you didn't exactly tell any lies.
I still like the car though. :P
 
The total cost of all cars we haven’t used yet is 181.15 Million (Assuming your starting with nothing). There is still a lot of grinding to go before every car has been used. There are still 98 cars yet to be run, so you would have to make 1.85 Million each week to afford every car. Only 98/338 are left! Wait…. Is that good or bad?
 
Obelisk
Does GTS really only have 338 cars? I always thought something felt off about the roster.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but not as bad as the lack of tracks. I am disappointed that we didn’t get a GTS track builder.

Hopefully the time I spent adding up the price of the cars was useful though.
 
Jackattack-i
The total cost of all cars we haven’t used yet is 181.15 Million (Assuming your starting with nothing). There is still a lot of grinding to go before every car has been used. There are still 98 cars yet to be run, so you would have to make 1.85 Million each week to afford every car. Only 98/338 are left! Wait…. Is that good or bad?
Click to expand...
Thx for the statistics! I guess it's rather good. :)
 
Last edited:
I’m not even close to affording any expensive cars (I only have 2 Million)

How do you guys grind for cash?

I use the Amuse Racing S2000 Honda tun d down to N400 against Gr3. You can get just under 300000 from a thirty minute race. Is there a better way to grind whilst still having fun?
 
Jackattack-i
I’m not even close to affording any expensive cars (I only have 2 Million)

How do you guys grind for cash?

I use the Amuse Racing S2000 Honda tun d down to N400 against Gr3. You can get just under 300000 from a thirty minute race. Is there a better way to grind whilst still having fun?
Click to expand...
Best one truely is Gr. 1 Monza 10 laps I think. That's what I did for MANY hours.
 
The one I would grind is the 2 lap Le Mans Historic Race. That takes 8 minutes total with a total of 250,000 for clean race bonus. The only downside to that race you need one of the 15mil to 20mil cars to compete in it. The Ferrari 330 P4 is the best for that race followed by the Ford GT40 MK4.
 
Grab your popcorn from last year and strap in to your plush computer chair, because it is now time to announce the winners of the prestigious Car of the Year awards here at Car of the Week!

(One person cheers half heartedly and a single party popper goes off...)

Okay well maybe it's not all THAT prestigious, but it's a good excuse for us to look back at a year of tireless hard work and celebrate what we do, right?

We start with an eye catching award! Talent need not apply, for the Best Looking Car Award is given to cars who left the factory with half the battle already won. Cars with creases that begged to be caressed, angles that demand attention, and all in all make you feel that, "oh damn, I want that!" urge before even knowing anything else about the car. Thus, the catwalk for 2022 features the following nominees...

  • Alfa Romeo 4C Launch Edition '14
  • Aston Martin DB11 '16
  • Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce '15

And our winner is...

The Alfa Romeo 4C!​

20230102133526.jpg


Try not to break down on your way to the stage to collect your prize, ple- oh for Pete's sake. Do we have a tow truck in the back somewhere?

The yang to the ying, the pineapples in your pizza. We here at Car of the Week have an award as well for the opposite end of the retinal spectrum that pollute an otherwise perfect visage, the Worst Looking Car Award, to serve as a stark and solemn reminder that some people just have no taste, and they can pump out more offspring because of it! The eyesores on the chopping block are:

  • Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.4 T Sport '09
  • Volkswagen typ2(T1) SambaBus '62

And our unlucky loser is, with a whole two votes...

The Volkswagen typ2(T1) SambaBus!​

20230102133529.jpg


I'm truly sorry this fate had to befall you, you innocent bus. Those who work the hardest in society just seem to be the ones that needs to work the most, i.e. the ugly. Your hard work will be remembered along with your ugliness, at least.

Every major car make represented in this game is known for a certain something, but it's only in America where an entire continent comes together to create their signature dish on four wheels, feared and revered in equal measure around the world! Heavy, sloppy, loud, drinks piss for fuel and will still beat just about anything else to the quarter mile, there's just something about these American cars that has undienable character that endears them the world over, and the Most American Car Award celebrates our love–hate relationship with the red, white, and blue! The nominees are:

  • Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe '06
  • Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe '06
  • Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe '06
  • Tesla Motors Model S Signature Performance '12

And the winner is the Viper. Of course it is. Moving on.

20220711060540-jpg.1171674

There may be an unspoken gentlemen's agreement here in Car of the Week that just got spoken: don't choose something so expensive that everyone has to spend hours grinding for credits just to test it! Yet, we here at Car of the Week are duty–bound to test cars, especially those that many people usually won't bat an eye at, or will be hesitant to try, and a gatekeeping price tag will do just that to a car. For every time we couldn't outrun fate, the Sky High Rollers' Award goes to the car that can at least go fast or look good enough to make us forget, at least momentarily, the pain in our wallets and thumbs. In the sky far above the reaches of mere mortals this year are:

  • Aston Martin Vulcan '16
  • Lamborghini Countach LP400 '74
  • Peugeot 908 HDI FAP '10

The esteemed winner of this nefarious award is... wait, is this a good or bad award to win? Ahh, whatever, the one that rolls the highest in the sky is...

The Lamborghini Countach LP400 '74!​

20230102133533.jpg


If you thought this year's cars were expensive, wait till we transition over to GT7...

It can be slow. It can be unreliable. It can be as practical and visually appealing as a bullet hole in the fuel tank, and it might as well drink like one while at it, but if you focus on any of those negatives, you're missing the point of the car! The Razda Moadster Best Handling Car Award goes to the car that poured all their attribute points into handling and nothing else, and while such a car may not win Car of the Year award, its laser focus on handling is something worth celebrating all the same. The nominees are:

  • Lexus au TOM'S RC F '16
  • Porsche 962C '88
  • Toyota S-FR '15

And the winner is...

The Mazda Road- I mean, Toyota S-FR!​

20230102133536.jpg


Up to this point, I've only used my vote to break ties, but I really didn't like any of the two options I was presented, and so I voted for the S-FR... twice. What? You can't expect me to go through all this trouble of writing this without expecting me to help myself to some perks, did you? Maybe if you wanted to avoid this corruption, you should've voted more and chosen better cars! Yes, this is all your fault!

And, because we can't have our cakes and eat them too, with a "Best Handling Car Award" also brings with it an evil twin, the Amborghini Lventador Help Step Bro I'm Stuck How Do I Turn? Worst Handling Car Award! We've had to widen the ramps up onto the stage just for the nominees of this award, as turning the factory option steering wheels in these cars will cause multiple planets to explode, puppies to cry, and grandmas to get kicked... with a kick that misses. The bumbling idiots are:

  • Aston Martin Vulcan '16
  • Infiniti Concept VGT
  • Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce '15

And the winner is...

The Infiniti Concept VGT!​

20230102133437.jpg


Quick! What's the difference between an apex and this award? The Infiniti can actually reach this award.

And now... you've sat through all the filler awards. You've seen the peaks of our adventures and suffered through the worst of it together. It is now time for...

bubble-(ani)holdit.gif
What?

...there's a last minute award? Demanded by someone with more seniority than me in COTW? And the one vote it has is from the person proposing the award?

(Mic snatched away from me)

I’m also bringing back the Ron Howard’s “Rush” Award for Best On Track Rivalry. Basically, which 2 drivers had the most hard fought duels with each other for the win each week? Admittedly I’m somewhat tooting my own horn on this one, but it can’t be understated how good the battles between me and Pickle Rick ended up being :P
Click to expand...

(Mic returned to me)

And so, the winner of the Vickle Rick x Pic Reign Best Tsundere Track Bromance Award goes to...


You two are going to have to share this award like first place on a track, because our budget allows for only one trophy and you two are going to have to decide amongst yourselves whose name gets carved into it. We shall all now give you two privacy, an empty racetrack, and two equal machinery to discuss this matter among yourselves.

(cough)

And now... you've sat through all our filler awards. (Indecipherable sped up speech). The time has finally come now for the main event: The Beater of the Year and Car of the Year awards!

Expensive. Ugly. Sounds like aural cancer, handles like runny poo, and COMPLETELY useless. To be eligible for the Beater of the Year Award, the nominees must not not just meet, but exceed all expectations in every single aforementioned criteria. Cars this awful ought to be banned by the Geneva Conventions, and yet the brave (or bored. Or foolish) souls here at Car of the Week have waded through each and every one of these cesspools over the course of a year, though not all of us come away without mental scars. Oh well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? ...right?

The nominees are:

  • Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.4 T Sport '09
  • Infiniti Concept VGT
  • Toyota S-FR '15 wait, WHO THE F PUT THIS HERE AND HOW DARE THEY?!

And the winner is...

The Infini-

20230102133518.jpg


(Throws up on stage)

Right. Time for some much needed healing of body and soul, I think! Combining all of the traits of the positive awards listed earlier, cars deserving of even being nominated for our prestegious Car of the Year Award must shatter all prior expectations and set new standards. They must blow our minds, our wives, and everything else out of the water! Cars like this are the reason why we do what we do, trudging through beater after beater if need be, just to find this ONE gem that makes it all worthwhile. And so, the nominees of Car of the Year 2022 are:

  • Honda S800 '66
  • Mini COOPER S '05
  • Peugeot 908 HDI FAP '10
  • Toyota 86 Gr.4

And the winner is, by a staggering margin with two whole votes, both of which cast by Singaporeans and none of which counted more than once...

The Mini COOPER S!​

20230102133522.jpg


HOW DARE YOU let Singaporeans vote?

And with that, we begin the cycle anew in 2023! Happy new year to all! As per tradition, we'll be running last year's Car of the Year on the first week of the year. See you again on the track!
 
XSquareStickIt
Grab your popcorn from last year and strap in to your plush computer chair, because it is now time to announce the winners of the prestigious Car of the Year awards here at Car of the Week!

(One person cheers half heartedly and a single party popper goes off...)

Okay well maybe it's not all THAT prestigious, but it's a good excuse for us to look back at a year of tireless hard work and celebrate what we do, right?

We start with an eye catching award! Talent need not apply, for the Best Looking Car Award is given to cars who left the factory with half the battle already won. Cars with creases that begged to be caressed, angles that demand attention, and all in all make you feel that, "oh damn, I want that!" urge before even knowing anything else about the car. Thus, the catwalk for 2022 features the following nominees...

  • Alfa Romeo 4C Launch Edition '14
  • Aston Martin DB11 '16
  • Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce '15

And our winner is...

The Alfa Romeo 4C!​

View attachment 1220025

Try not to break down on your way to the stage to collect your prize, ple- oh for Pete's sake. Do we have a tow truck in the back somewhere?

The yang to the ying, the pineapples in your pizza. We here at Car of the Week have an award as well for the opposite end of the retinal spectrum that pollute an otherwise perfect visage, the Worst Looking Car Award, to serve as a stark and solemn reminder that some people just have no taste, and they can pump out more offspring because of it! The eyesores on the chopping block are:

  • Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.4 T Sport '09
  • Volkswagen typ2(T1) SambaBus '62

And our unlucky loser is, with a whole two votes...

The Volkswagen typ2(T1) SambaBus!​

View attachment 1220028

I'm truly sorry this fate had to befall you, you innocent bus. Those who work the hardest in society just seem to be the ones that needs to work the most, i.e. the ugly. Your hard work will be remembered along with your ugliness, at least.

Every major car make represented in this game is known for a certain something, but it's only in America where an entire continent comes together to create their signature dish on four wheels, feared and revered in equal measure around the world! Heavy, sloppy, loud, drinks piss for fuel and will still beat just about anything else to the quarter mile, there's just something about these American cars that has undienable character that endears them the world over, and the Most American Car Award celebrates our love–hate relationship with the red, white, and blue! The nominees are:

  • Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe '06
  • Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe '06
  • Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe '06
  • Tesla Motors Model S Signature Performance '12

And the winner is the Viper. Of course it is. Moving on.

20220711060540-jpg.1171674

There may be an unspoken gentlemen's agreement here in Car of the Week that just got spoken: don't choose something so expensive that everyone has to spend hours grinding for credits just to test it! Yet, we here at Car of the Week are duty–bound to test cars, especially those that many people usually won't bat an eye at, or will be hesitant to try, and a gatekeeping price tag will do just that to a car. For every time we couldn't outrun fate, the Sky High Rollers' Award goes to the car that can at least go fast or look good enough to make us forget, at least momentarily, the pain in our wallets and thumbs. In the sky far above the reaches of mere mortals this year are:

  • Aston Martin Vulcan '16
  • Lamborghini Countach LP400 '74
  • Peugeot 908 HDI FAP '10

The esteemed winner of this nefarious award is... wait, is this a good or bad award to win? Ahh, whatever, the one that rolls the highest in the sky is...

The Lamborghini Countach LP400 '74!​

View attachment 1220031

If you thought this year's cars were expensive, wait till we transition over to GT7...

It can be slow. It can be unreliable. It can be as practical and visually appealing as a bullet hole in the fuel tank, and it might as well drink like one while at it, but if you focus on any of those negatives, you're missing the point of the car! The Razda Moadster Best Handling Car Award goes to the car that poured all their attribute points into handling and nothing else, and while such a car may not win Car of the Year award, its laser focus on handling is something worth celebrating all the same. The nominees are:

  • Lexus au TOM'S RC F '16
  • Porsche 962C '88
  • Toyota S-FR '15

And the winner is...

The Mazda Road- I mean, Toyota S-FR!​

View attachment 1220032

Up to this point, I've only used my vote to break ties, but I really didn't like any of the two options I was presented, and so I voted for the S-FR... twice. What? You can't expect me to go through all this trouble of writing this without expecting me to help myself to some perks, did you? Maybe if you wanted to avoid this corruption, you should've voted more and chosen better cars! Yes, this is all your fault!

And, because we can't have our cakes and eat them too, with a "Best Handling Car Award" also brings with it an evil twin, the Amborghini Lventador Help Step Bro I'm Stuck How Do I Turn? Worst Handling Car Award! We've had to widen the ramps up onto the stage just for the nominees of this award, as turning the factory option steering wheels in these cars will cause multiple planets to explode, puppies to cry, and grandmas to get kicked... with a kick that misses. The bumbling idiots are:

  • Aston Martin Vulcan '16
  • Infiniti Concept VGT
  • Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce '15

And the winner is...

The Infiniti Concept VGT!​

View attachment 1220036

Quick! What's the difference between an apex and this award? The Infiniti can actually reach this award.

And now... you've sat through all the filler awards. You've seen the peaks of our adventures and suffered through the worst of it together. It is now time for...

bubble-(ani)holdit.gif
What?

...there's a last minute award? Demanded by someone with more seniority than me in COTW? And the one vote it has is from the person proposing the award?

(Mic snatched away from me)



(Mic returned to me)

And so, the winner of the Vickle Rick x Pic Reign Best Tsundere Track Bromance Award goes to...


You two are going to have to share this award like first place on a track, because our budget allows for only one trophy and you two are going to have to decide amongst yourselves whose name gets carved into it. We shall all now give you two privacy, an empty racetrack, and two equal machinery to discuss this matter among yourselves.

(cough)

And now... you've sat through all our filler awards. (Indecipherable sped up speech). The time has finally come now for the main event: The Beater of the Year and Car of the Year awards!

Expensive. Ugly. Sounds like aural cancer, handles like runny poo, and COMPLETELY useless. To be eligible for the Beater of the Year Award, the nominees must not not just meet, but exceed all expectations in every single aforementioned criteria. Cars this awful ought to be banned by the Geneva Conventions, and yet the brave (or bored. Or foolish) souls here at Car of the Week have waded through each and every one of these cesspools over the course of a year, though not all of us come away without mental scars. Oh well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? ...right?

The nominees are:

  • Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.4 T Sport '09
  • Infiniti Concept VGT
  • Toyota S-FR '15 wait, WHO THE F PUT THIS HERE AND HOW DARE THEY?!

And the winner is...

The Infini-

View attachment 1220039

(Throws up on stage)

Right. Time for some much needed healing of body and soul, I think! Combining all of the traits of the positive awards listed earlier, cars deserving of even being nominated for our prestegious Car of the Year Award must shatter all prior expectations and set new standards. They must blow our minds, our wives, and everything else out of the water! Cars like this are the reason why we do what we do, trudging through beater after beater if need be, just to find this ONE gem that makes it all worthwhile. And so, the nominees of Car of the Year 2022 are:

  • Honda S800 '66
  • Mini COOPER S '05
  • Peugeot 908 HDI FAP '10
  • Toyota 86 Gr.4

And the winner is, by a staggering margin with two whole votes, both of which cast by Singaporeans and none of which counted more than once...

The Mini COOPER S!​

View attachment 1220042

HOW DARE YOU let Singaporeans vote?

And with that, we begin the cycle anew in 2023! Happy new year to all! As per tradition, we'll be running last year's Car of the Year on the first week of the year. See you again on the track!
Click to expand...
giphy (24).gif
 
Pickle_Rick74
Sorry for being M.I.A. the last 2 weeks and for the vote. I am back, and very disappointed that the Mito did not get the "love" it deserved.. and by love I mean wiping it from my memory men in black style. Which probably isn't going to happen of I keep bringing it up...
See y'all in the mini!
Click to expand...
Well, it was nominated for worst looking and even BOTY. I even made that livery just to "commemorate" it, only to have it completely robbed by the Infiniti VGT :ill:

Blame Nismo for subjecting us to the Infiniti to begin with :lol:
 
So... I don't have a review to write this week, seeing as we're rerunning the Mini and all, but when recording the videos for the AWESOME races we had, my hands just moved on their own, and I wound up snapping photos as though I had a review to write, as though there were more to say about the Mini.

20230104205912.jpg


20230104205915.jpg


20230104205921.jpg


20230104205935.jpg


20230104205930.jpg


20230104205932.jpg


20230104205938.jpg


20230104205804.jpg


20230104205903.jpg


20230104205906.jpg


20230104205909.jpg

This car gives me LIFE. This car is almost literally god in that sense... or, well, my parents, going by that analogy. Anyone who voted for anything else to be COTY chose WRONG! Car of the Week might as well just rebrand to be "Cooper of the Week", because I think we can run this every week and not get bored of it.

20230104205900.jpg


Given a second week to run the Mini, I wanted to try two things with it that I hadn't when we first tested it. First, I wanted to run the DC2 Integra Type R against it, seeing as that was the previous standard bearer in my mind for FWD sports cars. Not being the sort of person that looks at numbers much, I had actually thought that it'd be a pretty close on–track comparison, until race day came and I realised that the Mini is a whole hundred kilos (220lbs) heavier AND 30HP down on the Teggy! That translated to a whole 2 seconds of difference around Tsukuba, but of course, I wouldn't bring an OP car to curb stomp my peers during race day, so I severely crippled by Teggy down to roughly match the Coopers' power and mass. Even with the numbers roughly equal, the Teggy still had a leg up on the Minis, in that it actually had a locking diff, meaning it puts down power much cleaner than the Minis. Given that it's a much older car than the Mini, the Teggy shows up the Mini really rather badly on track, and I do wonder if it'd have won Car of the Year instead of the Mini if we ran it in 2022. But, the Teggy feels a lot slower than the Mini with its wide and tall five speed gearbox and peaky NA engine, and without looking at lap times, I would never have guessed the huge difference in the cars' original capabilities. The Teggy might be the much faster car, but in terms of how a car makes you feel? The Mini might still have something over the Teggy.

20230104205940.jpg


The second thing I wanted to try is to run the Mini on dirt! Admittedly this want came from mostly impulse, seeing Vic and Rick run Hoonigan liveries, but IIRC the original Mini cut its teeth on dirt rallies, so why not? I'm aware that rally physics in Gran Turismo is insultingly bad, but even that didn't stop the Mini from being buckets of fun! The short wheelbase car will helpfully swing out with just pedal and wheel work alone, the short and close gearing made sure the car always had grunt to spin the wheels, and its virtually nonexistent overhangs meant that awkward landings from jumps aren't much to worry about. I mean, just take a look at these photos!

20230104205926.jpg


Anyways, I didn't come here to write... or spam you with photos (ignore the fact that I did both). I came here to drop videos! 4 of the 6 races we had were absolute barn burners!







​
 

Latest Posts

Back