Car of the Week 228: COTY GTS Finale

  • Thread starter Thread starter Racer283
  • 3,110 comments
  • 829,793 views
Playing the Ponies in GT3...

klK93Wo.jpg


Well this past week, we took a hard look at one of 'Murica's best GT3 offerings, The Mustang.

I must admit, I've always had a "thing" for the Mustang... I've owned 2 of them in real life. And where GTSport is concerned, this particular Gr3 offering is my most used race car from any American manufacturer. It does surprisingly well in a bunch of areas, but it doesn't dominate in the world of GTSport's Group 3 action either. If you want consistency however, I would definitely recommend it.

I find it to be a great handling naturally aspirated powerhouse. Take it for a spin at Fuji or Bathurst or Suzuka to see what I mean. I'm always surprised on just how close my laptimes are at any of those tracks. And when tyre wear is on, it destroys the Ford GT's performance overall... cause that car just devours tyres by the truck full. Trust me. I found that out the hard way when I tried driving for Ford one season.

She's a fun car to drive on most tracks, but she can be thirsty... ask @Nismonath5 about that one. ;) We had some (cough cough) "small" differences on fuel performance at Mount Panorama during a weekly race "C" one time, if I remember correctly. But as with most V8 offerings, "Speed goes Up, Gas goes Down" is a major rule of thumb to remember.

For me, this one's a hard one to class... in the world of GT3's, she's a Neutral. For an American GT3, she's the Sleeper of the bunch. Either way, she's a Keeper, and she looks fine in any livery you could put on her.

Anyways, I've always wanted to publicly say Thank You to @Nismonath5 for this livery present from a while back... this is my most used livery for the 'Stang in the world of GTSport's Sport Mode racing. 👍👍 :cheers:



Nismonath5
​
View attachment 811544
I think someone should tell @Baron Blitz Red that's not how chicanes work.
Click to expand...

Yes, maybe so, but then it wouldn't have that WHHHEEEEEEEEEE factor! :lol: ;)

Cheers
 
Last edited:
Originally a Ford Capri MK-III in the late 1970s and early 1980s this was one of the infamous Group 5 Monsters. The engine was developed by german racing Team Zakspeed and its success eventually lead Zakspeed into Formula One in the mid-1980s (which meant that Zakspeed was the only team developing Chassis and Engine besides Ferrari).

It came in various Liveries, the most famous being „Mampe“ (German Liquor) and Würth (Manufacturer of wall plugs and other mounting equipment).

This livery is an hommage to the Zakspeed Capri „Würth“.
186A5170-3BC8-40E0-B09F-B30BD609A615.jpeg


C3083814-9EB5-473E-B7C9-326363983C7E.jpeg
 

Attachments

  • FA806FBD-7E31-46C6-8F13-6C6715E14EB3.jpeg
    FA806FBD-7E31-46C6-8F13-6C6715E14EB3.jpeg
    101.6 KB · Views: 38
Just give the chosen car a test drive, maybe take some pics and let us know what you think about it. Like @Rinsky mentioned we also meet up once a week to race. Typically they're one make races but we welcome other cars as comparisons, provided they're allowed in with the regs.

There's no real right way to test the car, just as long as you give it a solid hoon and tell us whether you enjoyed it or not!
 
Abarth 500 '09
1,368 cc
133 hp / 5,500 rpm
133 ft-lbs / 4,500 rpm
2,282 lbs (1,035 kg)

Fastest lap at Tsukuba:


The next slowest car after this one (4 seconds slower) is the Honda S660.

Cars within 0.500 seconds:

1:12.469 - Suzuki Swift Sport
1:12.527 - Abarth 500

A field of those two cars would be interesting.

And my fastest lap at Suzuka, tested fresh this morning:


The only other N100's I've tested at Suzuka so far are the Mazda Roadster NA and ND. The NA is less than 8 tenths faster.

It's a nice FF. Like the ND MX-5 it's a shame they didn't include the better engine with 160 hp. I wanted more power to match the great engine note. Under acceleration I was expecting lots of understeer, but it does seem to go where you want it most of the time.
 
New Week, New Lap, New Car !

This week is the Fiat 500 Abarth, eh ? Well here is where it stands around our proving grounds :
1 – Week 4 – Fittipaldi EF7 VGT : 1'15,991

2 – Week 24 – BMW M3 GT Gr.3 : 1'17,951

3 – Week 9 – Chevrolet Corvette Gr.3 : 1'18,275

4 – Week 21 – Subaru WRX STI Isle of Man Time Attack Car : 1'18,306

5 – Week 29 – Ford Mustang Gr.3 : 1'19,156

6 – Week 17 – Shelby Cobra : 1'21,171

7 – Week 12 – Lamborghini Diablo GT'00 : 1'21,462

8 – Week 9 – Chevrolet Corvette Gr.4 : 1'22,336

9 – Week 3 – Toyota S-FR Racing Concept : 1'22,483

10 – Week 20 – Jaguar F-Type R Coupe'14 : 1'22,719

11 – Week 10 – Renault Megane Gr.4 : 1'22,893

12 – Week 9 – Chevrolet Corvette Stingray'14 : 1'23,778

13 – Week 16 – Dodge Viper GTS'02 : 1'24,113

14 – Week 28 – Honda Project 2&4 : 1'24,543

15 – Week 27 – Toyota GR Supra'19 : 1'25,250

16 – Week 5 – Porsche 911 GT3 996 :1'26,845

17 – (2018 Car of the Year) Week 2 – Alpine A110 Premiere Edition'17 : 1'27,799

18 – Week 24 – BMW M3 Coupe : 1'28,179

19 – Week 7 – Honda NSX Type R'92 : 1'28,450

20 – Week 23 – De Tomaso Pantera'71 : 1'28,488

21 – Week 14 – Sung Kang's Greddy Fugu Z : 1'28,818

22 – Week 22 – Toyota Supra RZ'97 : 1'28,856

23 – Week 1 – Honda Civic Type R'15 : 1'29,156

24 – Week 13 – Subaru Impreza 22B : 1'29,349

25 – (2018 Beater of the Year) Week 11 – Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track'13 : 1'29,503

26 – Week 6 – Nissan 300 ZX : 1'30,978

27 – Week 10 – Renault Megane R.S. Trophy'11 : 1'31,768

28 – Week 15 – BMW M3 Sport Evolution'89 : 1'33,234

29 – Week 30 – Abarth 500'09 : 1'40,633

30 – Week 19 – Suzuki Swift'07 : 1'41,266

31 – Week 26 – Mazda MX 5 Eunos Roadster'89 : 1'43,429

You might not think it's that great at the track, and the answer is no. This car is really fun because of it's low weight. Yes it's understeery, but hey, it's a FWD, whatcha expect ?
 
eGRxK78.jpg

All Liveries by Nismonath5
​
Those who regularly leave me in the dust when we test race cars are probably better suited to give an opinion on this car. That said, I found that driving the GT3 Mustang wasn't too awfully different from the GT3 Aston Martin V12 Vantage I regularly drive for FIA races. Set the brake bias rearward a bit, manage the corners, then try to achieve speed from corner exit. Except the Mustang still wanted to spin its wheels when more than I liked when I got back on the throttle. I won't call it Beater or Sleeper, but I still think the Vantage is the better option for someone who wants a stable ride through corners.

Unfortunately, no good replays this week due to server stuttering issues, so have this one from recent history instead:

​
 
I'm kinda gonna gloss over the Mustang because the room was so laggy it would be unfair to judge it based on that. But from my experience with it I'd say it's a good all round GT3 machine. It's not particularly strong in either top speed, acceleration, or handling, but it's a well balanced, easy to drive package that is great for people just learning how to Gr.3.

Now, hopefully this week I'll have time to pen a full review on the 500. In the meantime, some vids!!! (more to come)


 
20190411210505.jpg


What is this sorcery? Am I about to actually do a review? Ontime?!!
​
Well well, this hasn't happened in a while! So, the Abarth 500. Compact, cheap, and most likely to end up in your garage thanks to the daily marathons. This unassuming little pocket rocket doesn't seem too threatening, so how was it to drive?

Like most compact hatchbacks, it was agile, forgiving, and relatively easy to get a hang of. Being front wheel drive, under steer was an issue if you pushed it too hard, but buy and large it was quite easy to get into a rhythm. It's no secret that I had a pretty big advantage. With my G29 and H pattern shifter, I was shifting a bit quicker than the rest, and that meant the first run to turn 1 was mine to lose. I can see why shifters are banned in Sport Mode though, I almost rammed into people ahead of me because I wasn't expecting that much of a speed boost!

Back to the 500, as mentioned it did suffer some under steer, but the usual solution was to just slow down or scrub off some pace, straighten it up and keep going. You'd lose some time, but not as much as if you'd gone full off and smacked the wall. The power was also surprisingly good, the turbo not giving a mega boost, but you can definitely feel the extra torque if you short shift a bit and make use of the lower revs rather than leaving it to the redline every time.

20190411210454.jpg


After a few races, I set about looking for a few suitable rivals. My favorite solution was the Honda S660. With the same power available through mileage points, a little more weight, and an MR drive train, it was of course much more tail happy than the 500, but a fun car to battle the 500s with! It even scored me my first podium with the wheel and shifter! In hindsight I would have wanted to try the Suzuki Swift against it, oh well.

It's cheap, it's cheerful, it's fun. I'd call it a sleeper any day!

Also props to @nicholas23 (P10der) for going door to door against Vic right off the bat!

Also also, another vid:
 
The lag we've been having (at least on my end) has been bad. When we ran the Miata I got booted out of the lobby, the PS4 shut off, and it screwed itself up. Last week, as you can see in @Nismonath5 's video, GT_Gentleman teleported through me. This week a newcomer again teleported through me at Autopolis and things got worse from then on. Just letting you guys know I have not been rage-quitting, it was to protect the PS4 from another unfortunate event.

A few mini-reviews. I love the Miata. I was not pleased to see this in an update, but after our session I changed my mind. It might not be fast, but it's just such a lovely drive. I much prefer it to the later version. But heck PD, why 2 Miatas yet we don't have an early Civic or a Silvia?
Verdict: Sleeper!

The Mustang Gr.3 is not so great (in my hands). I found myself struggling with it's understeer and the ease with which it loses rear grip. Having recently switched (and missing a lot of shifts!) to MT didn't help things either. There are more than a few other Gr.3 cars I'd rather drive.
Verdict: Beater

As for the little Abarth, it's quite a fun little car. I don't think it's exactly the best FF out there but it's pretty good. The suspension is a bit soft, it understeers a bit more than I'd like, and the pause between shifts is miserable. Overall though it's a nice package and handles good. A modest tune-up remedies those problems and it becomes a great drive.
Verdict: Sleeper

Group 3 close-up action highlighting Nate's great livery, thanks buddy!

7071218765254394368_0.jpg


Abarth, Liberty Bridge edition. Livery by miky_magawalaz

7070744955066548764_0.jpg




 
Are scorpions better than hamsters???

DP0rpXk.jpg


In the CarOfTheWeek world, the answer would be yes. And more fun too. Compared to the Fiat 500's hamster powered engine, the Abarth is a monster. But it is still a glorified go-cart no matter how you slice it. Yes, go-carts are fun... but do you really want to own one???

HLEFsbu.jpg


There's something definitely different about it about when comparing it to the GT6 version... I found it to be less peppy. Noticeably less in my humble opinion. The transmission was off too, as I found it slower between shifts and the gearing a bit taller. It would be interesting if @MidFieldMaven 's testing would support my thoughts when comparing the GT6 version versus the GTSport version. No matter if I'm right or wrong, it's effect has changed my thoughts on her from one game to the next. Sure, when taking into consideration it's only a little four banger to begin with, it's still a riot, but not as much... there's just something different, and I can't shake the feeling.

u1fWsT5.jpg


With the wide variety of liveries displayed from the COTW faithful this past week, she's a sharp looking go-cart for sure. Gotta give my thumbs up to people for dressing her up... I wouldn't be able to pick a fave, as I liked the wide variety of looks she had. She's a Sleeper for what she is, but just not as much as one in my mind this time round. I just can't describe it, but maybe further experience will help me.

Cheers
 
csAFfIv.jpg

Abarth Livery by SAN_GTCONCEPT
4C Livery by DAVITOH
​
The '09 Abarth 500 is not a bad car. Yet, it's one of those cars I find it difficult to recommend.

In everyday driving terms, it's relatively expensive for a small hatchback. While it makes sense to have a car this compact if you live in a heavily metro area, if you venture out onto an open road you'll likely experience pangs of jealousy anytime you come across a secondhand Camaro or M3 you could have had for about the same amount of money.

"But slow car fast is better than fast car fast!" you might justify this car to yourself. Yet at any moment you could come across a Miata driver waving to you from his long slung position with rear wheel drive at his disposal while you're sitting up on a relative bar-stool and stuck with front wheel drive.


​

The Abarth isn't terrible, certainly not deserving of a Beater verdict. But it doesn't really do anything exceptionally well either. Only a Neutral rating and a "meh" for me.
 
Surprisingly fun agile car through the hills, in the right tune. My bro just bought the 2018 Abarth Competizone, 180hp and the Koni shocks, certainly keeps the smiles on the dial. Couldn't sit in the Sabelt seats for long trips though. He lowered the seats an inch too, which made it feel heaps better and lowered the COG. Definite sleeper, except for the snarl and pops.
 
New Day, New Week, New Ride.
For week 31, we go with the latest 'Zilla available in GT Sport. Here's where it stands.

1 – Week 4 – Fittipaldi EF7 VGT : 1'15,991

2 – Week 24 – BMW M3 GT Gr.3 : 1'17,951

3 – Week 9 – Chevrolet Corvette Gr.3 : 1'18,275

4 – Week 21 – Subaru WRX STI Isle of Man Time Attack Car : 1'18,306

5 – Week 29 – Ford Mustang Gr.3 : 1'19,156

6 - Week 31 - Nissan GT-R Nismo : 1'21.158

7 – Week 17 – Shelby Cobra : 1'21,171

8 – Week 12 – Lamborghini Diablo GT'00 : 1'21,462

9 – Week 9 – Chevrolet Corvette Gr.4 : 1'22,336

10 – Week 3 – Toyota S-FR Racing Concept : 1'22,483

11 – Week 20 – Jaguar F-Type R Coupe'14 : 1'22,719

12 – Week 10 – Renault Megane Gr.4 : 1'22,893

13 – Week 9 – Chevrolet Corvette Stingray'14 : 1'23,778

14 – Week 16 – Dodge Viper GTS'02 : 1'24,113

15 – Week 28 – Honda Project 2&4 : 1'24,543

16 – Week 27 – Toyota GR Supra'19 : 1'25,250

17 – Week 5 – Porsche 911 GT3 996 :1'26,845

18 – (2018 Car of the Year) Week 2 – Alpine A110 Premiere Edition'17 : 1'27,799

19 – Week 24 – BMW M3 Coupe : 1'28,179

20 – Week 7 – Honda NSX Type R'92 : 1'28,450

21 – Week 23 – De Tomaso Pantera'71 : 1'28,488

22 – Week 14 – Sung Kang's Greddy Fugu Z : 1'28,818

23 – Week 22 – Toyota Supra RZ'97 : 1'28,856

24 – Week 1 – Honda Civic Type R'15 : 1'29,156

25 – Week 13 – Subaru Impreza 22B : 1'29,349

26 – (2018 Beater of the Year) Week 11 – Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track'13 : 1'29,503

27 – Week 6 – Nissan 300 ZX : 1'30,978

28 – Week 10 – Renault Megane R.S. Trophy'11 : 1'31,768

29 – Week 15 – BMW M3 Sport Evolution'89 : 1'33,234

30 – Week 30 – Abarth 500'09 : 1'40,633

31 – Week 19 – Suzuki Swift'07 : 1'41,266

32 – Week 26 – Mazda MX 5 Eunos Roadster'89 : 1'43,429

Wow ! It's the fastest road-going car we've had (not including the cars that are still missing 'cause i'm broke in the game (Thanks the SF19s. Still haven't recovered from that.).
 
I'm just going to try something. Is the Gr.4 version worth double the price? It's still losing 100 BHP at full Power Level.Down force is set to lowest and both will be on SS tyres. I'll use the NISMO Festival track. Fuji. 3 laps each.
D4T5D92U8AA2SME.jpg

D4T3VX1UcAACGRq.jpg


Edit: Well, that ended quickly. First lap in the NISMO and I was 1.8 seconds faster. :lol:

Edit2 Cool
 
Last edited:
TonyJZX
Is there an substantiative difference between the R35 Nismo Edition and the std. R35 Premium?
Click to expand...
From my Nations qualifying.
Top pick(in Australia) looks to be the 911. I've bucked the trend with the GT-R NISMO. Also tried the GT-R '17. Slightly slower than the NISMO.

I tried the Diablo and A90 Supra. Diablo felt real good. A90 Supra didn't feel like it has the grunt.
Click to expand...
img_6745-jpg.813567

img_6746-jpg.813568
 
Maybe it's the rum talking, (splashed out and went for three fingers tonight!) but I think I have a genius idea for the next time we get a heavy old beast on sport hard tyres like that GT-R.

Next time that happens, I'll do all my pre-Tuesday practise on comfort hards, and that way by the time Tuesday rolls around sport tyres will feel incredible as opposed to trash. :sly:
 
Nismonath5
Maybe it's the rum talking, (splashed out and went for three fingers tonight!) but I think I have a genius idea for the next time we get a heavy old beast on sport hard tyres like that GT-R.

Next time that happens, I'll do all my pre-Tuesday practise on comfort hards, and that way by the time Tuesday rolls around sport tyres will feel incredible as opposed to trash. :sly:
Click to expand...

I got to agree with you that the GT-R was horrible on SH but once we switched to SS it kinda came alive sorta.
 
FjnoBEr.jpg

GT-R Livery by hiroshi4343
​
Nissan GT-R Nismo. Looks like it's "Unpopular Opinion" time.

The GT-R feels like something that would be designed by an artificial intelligence if it was tasked with designing a car from the ground up. It certainly is impressive in terms of hard numbers; such as acceleration speeds and lap times. However, it feels lacking in things that can't be quantified through a series of ones and zeroes. For what's marketed as a supercar, it doesn't have eye-catching looks and its curb weight puts it more in Bentley territory than Ferrari.

Then, there's the experience of the living, breathing person behind the wheel. Driving it in GT Sport, I couldn't find a good handle on its driving characteristics. Traction control off wasn't enough to tame the beast, but even the TCS 1 setting just caused the car to plow on corner entry. Certainly not what I was expecting from a car that's supposed to make anyone a driving legend.

fQPnuRt.jpg

​
Recently I picked up Assetto Corsa for PC and I was able to get a "second opinion", being able to drive the car with wheel and pedals (Thrustmaster Ferrari Red Legend, before anyone asks) on Monza and Laguna Seca. While the car took well to Monza's long straights, the tight confines of Laguna caused some of the same issues I experienced in GT Sport. Trying to push the limits of the car at all just caused it to understeer hard through the corners. Rather than being helpful, the driving aids in the GT-R just felt like taking driver's training with an overbearing instructor in the passenger seat that's constantly ripping the steering wheel out of your hand to show you the "right" way to drive rather than just letting you learn by doing.

I respect what Nissan has done with this car from a purely technical perspective. However, the GT-R simply feels like an R34 with more power but worse front-end styling for the price of a supercar. A pretty emphatic "Beater" verdict from me.
 
Did a 07.19.055 stock with it on the Nordschleife. My thoughts: Simply amazing this thing. The grip is unbelievable. Nice style, good sound, it's very fast and amazing through corners! Its brakes are the obvious weak-point though. I can still relate to the understeer comments though.

To me it's a sleaper!

 
The game just doesn't do the real thing justice. I've only been on a real track in a '12 R35. The grip in corners is nothing I felt before. That Top Gear episode where Clarkson hurt his neck, it literally felt like that. G-forces on the screen showed 1.5 at certain corners.
One of the passengers on my ride, said it corners like a cat on carpet. That was spot on. In game, the closest I can get to replicating that feeling, is on RSS tyres.

The NISMO is a beast of a car, it's still Godzilla, even if it's not a "Skyline". For a car company to put out a an attainable car such as this, is remarkable. A gtplanet memeber, has the first ever R35 NISMO. Whether it's judged here as beater or sleeper, the main thing is, we get to sample a piece of automotive history, today.
 
Last edited:

Latest Posts

Back