- 1,693
- Singapore
- XSquareStickIt
FINAL ENTRY
Just enough power to step out the rear without spiralling out of control (even in heavy rain), a chassis that is responsive while still being forgiving of mistakes and no aero (and dirty air) enabling wheel-to-wheel racing.
The NR-A embodies the fun and spirit of racing, no need for extreme power and downforce.
The Chinese have a practice of not leaving debt or undone work into the new year, so if I can borrow Vic's quick review style for just a moment...
VW Polo
This was by far the biggest pleasant surprise for me in the year. Just a good ol' fashioned hatchback light enough to give plenty of stick to and flick wherever you please. It makes the Golf VII feel like a bloated, oversized pig! For serious time attacks, this thing is a bit too playful and moves around too much, but there is just such a joy in working with and managing that playful demeanour of the Polo that may be hard to put into words, but extremely easy to understand.
Sleeper sleeper SLEEPER!
R53 Cooper S
The R53 Cooper S blew my mind so hard back in GT Sport that I voted it for Car of the Year instead of other things we tested that year, like the R34 GT-R, RX-Vision GT3, and Huracán LP 610-4. It was so intuitive, the field was always bunched up with close battles, was great on dirt, was endless theatre, and was just plain fun to drive even on its own!
Here in GT7, while the car retains its darty dynamics, it's somehow gotten a heck of a lot squirmier under braking than I remember. It's still an extremely fun car, and you literally can't avoid getting one for free in the single player "campaign", but it's just not quite as amazing as I had remembered and hoped for it to be.
Sleeper.
The Kart
I haven't the foggiest clue as to why this is even in the game. Its uselessness eclipses that of Vision Gran Turismo cars. At least those can fit different tyres and refuel in pit stops... Not to mention, run with other cars.
The Kart cannot share a track with anything else not a Kart in the game. I don't even mean the Himedic scenario where you can't choose your opponents in a rival race; I mean "you can't even select your Kart if the lobby isn't set to allow Karts, and if the lobby is set to allow Karts, then ONLY karts can enter". It's also the only Kart in the game, and no campaign race thus far to my knowledge requires players to own a Kart.
Its inclusion in the game might make sense if the Kart is a fixture in Sport Mode, but it's a rare novelty. All that might be forgiven if it drove well, but it's the fastest, most extreme, and most difficult of the selection of Karts originally on offer in GT6, packing more PP than a freaking GTAm Giulia; it's never going to be easy to drive. Not to mention, folks with real life karting experience, like Super GT, have been on record saying how unrealistic the in–game kart handles, having to run completely ass–backwards setups like TCS1 and ABS off to get the fastest time out of it, while the Kart remains a death trap.
And even IF someone were to point a gun to my head and force me to sample a kart, where would I race it? Daytona? la Sarthe? All these wide open tracks meant for Gr.3 and LMP1 cars? There isn't a single kart track in the game, and the kicker is, kart layouts are already visible in Spa and High Speed Ring; we just don't have access to them.
I'd run over an AI in a kart head–on with a Ford F150 if I could, but maybe that's precisely the reason why they won't allow it. It is the single worst vehicle in the game, a complete waste of polygons and disk space. I'd name it Beater of the Year—nay—Beater of the Game if I could.
RX-7 Spirit R
View attachment 1315496
I've already gone into a deep dive into the car's history and some highly opinionated philosophical rambling in my GTS review of the FD. Here in GT7, the price increase hurts, but otherwise, it's still the same ol' gem it always has been. It's just... a lot more nervous and snappy under hard braking than I remember it being, and a lot of times, it still catches me out despite my perceived familiarity with the car. The default ride height is still wrong, the curvaceous rear wing is still a nightmare to work with, and it still won't hesitate to bite if mistreated, but for anyone who might be wondering why I'm mostly negative in my car reviews, it's because I'm comparing every car to THIS, a car on a 30 year old chassis. Either make me a car that feels just as good at a bare minimum, or don't go around pretending it's a sports car.
With so many Mazda road cars able to accept the ungodly cheat engine that is the R26B quad rotor, the FD RX-7 might still be the best car that can take it; it's only 10kg heavier than the FC, but is much lower with way wider tyres. It just can't have a 6th forward cog, which is where the RX-8 might have a leg up on it.
Mazda 787B
I'm still holding onto faint hope that I can do a full length writeup for this one...
Honda S660
View attachment 1315494
After all the cars I loved in GTS having some weird quirk in GT7 that made them less enjoyable, I'm ultra happy to say that the S660 is exactly as I remember it: it's bloody magic. I have NO IDEA how they've managed to make a short wheelbase RMR car handle so predictably and tame as they have, but the sons of guns at Honda have done it! It's engaging without being challenging, it's fun without being too in your face about it. It's cute, it's stylish, it's thrifty, and it has all the speed it can have without becoming dangerous. There is quite literally no reason to need to look at the other Kei car offerings in the game when you can have an S660: It's the perfect modern day sports car, and it's out of production.
The world is a freaking sad place, and nobody can convince me otherwise.
M3 Sport Evolution
View attachment 1315495
It's simple, lightweight, FR, comes only with a stick, and is dripping with heritage; the M3 SE might be the perfect sports car. But while homologation requirements have shaped its body, its wings, and even its engine, what they didn't influence was its tyres. The M3 SE always felt choked by its lack of grip on its default CS tyres, which give up before any real fun can be had. I get the sensation that the chassis is capable of so, so much more.
It'd be an easy car to recommend, but like the R53 Cooper, you literally can't avoid getting one for free, so keep it, and maybe buy some better rubber for it
Autobianchi A112 Abarth
Maybe I need to stop giving Alex flak for his picks, because he's been running out of the woefully slow, and have given us some gems we never might have bat an eye at otherwise, and the A112 Abarth is one such car. It has an oldschool kind of compliance over bumps and such, a romanticised weight shifting, and is just a simple joy to be behind the wheel of. I wish this could've been one of the starter cars of the game! I think I'd much rather it over any of the three modern hatches, one of which is a Mazda.
Incidentally, my best time on the Nordschleife is an embarrassing 10:11. Yeah, I didn't try very hard, but the A112 is just as fun at 6 tenths as it is at 10 tenths
It is a Sleeper in the word's original definition: looks unassuming, unexpectedly good.
AAAAAND I am DONE! Bring on 2024!
Thx for not mentioning my name under the regulars. Much appreciated 😉Happy new year, everyone!
I know what you're here for, and you know what it is: Car of the Year Awards!
Let's just skip the meandering speeches and get right to it, shall we?
Best Looking Car Award:
- RE Amemiya μ Boost Up 7
Car That Facilitates The Best Racing:
- Mazda Roadster NR-A (ND) '22
Best Sounding Car Award:
- Mazda 787B '91
Most Influential Car of GT7 COTW Award:
- Mazda RX-7 GT-X (FC) '90
Car of the Year:
- Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD) '02
Thanks for the great year, everyone! See you all next year!
......
What? Do you have any idea how much time and effort I put into Car of the Week?! Don't you think I should be rewarded for it by abusing my power ONE day of the year?!
Ahh sheesh, okay, here's the real thing. Car of the Year: as voted by the majority, whatever THEY amount to... (mumble mumble...)
The Best Looking Car Award:
Talent need not apply! It may drive like a drunk, drink like a desert, and cost more than an alimony, but none of that really matters when you first see the genetically blessed car, which is where half the battle takes place. Now, I'm not saying the nominees of The Best Looking Car Award necessarily fit any of those descriptions, but they have been voted by the majority to have put our (eye)balls in a vice just by simply setting sights on the car. The nominees are...
- Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V GSR '98
- Toyota FT-1 VGT Gr.3
- Porsche 911 Turbo (930) '81
- Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD) '02
- Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm '20
Amazingly, two of the nominees have had two votes, and so it falls upon me to cast my vote as a tiebreaker. And the winner is...
(drumroll)
The Porsche 911 Turbo (930) '81!
View attachment 1315548
The 930 Turbo and Giulia GTAm both had two votes, and I personally don't like all the tacky bits stuck onto the Giulia. Besides, I already had the photo above shot and uploaded before Vic cast his pesky vote, and making the Giulia Best Looking Car would've meant retaking another, and ain't nobody got time for dat! Besides, Vic himself had the 930 in his honourable mentions, didn't he? Let's just say that's half a vote
I hope you guys realise I could've voted for the FD RX-7 to make this a three way tie instead. Y'all better recognise the sacrifices I make to keep this show going!
The Worst Looking Car Award:
On the flipside of the retinal spectrum, we find the Yin to the Yang: atrocities against taste and crimes against art. Cars like these are a sordid reminder that the world isn't a fair place, because if it were, a toddler would have the rather high paying jobs of these so–called designers, and yet we here at Car of the Week must expose ourselves to the entirety of the 500,000 polygons of straight FUGLY that somehow passes as automotive design. The unsightly nominees are...
- Toyota Prius G '09
- Chaparral 2J '70
- Genesis X GR3
- Mini Clubman Vision Gran Turismo
- DMC DeLorean S2 '04
- Daihatsu Copen RJ Vision Gran Turismo
With a last minute vote to break the six–way tie causing me to rewrite this entire section, the car with the dubious distinction of taste deficiency is...
(drumroll)
The Toyota Prius G '09!
View attachment 1315712
I personally find the Prius to be a really cool car, and I don't even think it looks bad at all. Maybe it is ugly, and the only reason I don't feel that way is because I'm just so accustomed to seeing them on our roads, born into some sort of dystopian hell that I'm not conscious of. Which would mean that the two people who voted it the Worst Looking Car of 2023 just aren't used to having the Prius beat over their heads yet.
C'mere and let me bash your head in with a Prius!
Regulars' Shoutout:
We take a bit of a break from the car awards to acknowledge some people that ought to have their own awards. After all, COTW wouldn't be possible without the community that makes it up!
Vic has been one of the mainstays of COTW since its early GT6 days, and has always been THE yardstick to compare oneself against in terms of utter, unadulterated, otherworldy pace, whatever weird or unwieldy machinery we may be in on any particular week! Since then, he's taken up the mantle of hosting the Tuesdays Americas lobby at an ungodly 3 A.M. on his side, and has been doing so almost without break for years now! As one of the most integral members of COTW, let me say a big "THANK YOU!" to all that you do!
SPD may be the newest regular here, but he wasted no time in pulling more than his weight, hitting the ground running with elaborate reviews, wrapped up in unique stories reminiscent of times long past! He shows up to both lobbies, partakes in special challenges... he does it all! Except for maybe saying the three words he's known for in FH5's COTW...
Thank you for being such an active contributor!
And of course, special shoutout to Obelisk as well for bringing SPD from Mexico over to here. Obelisk himself also deserves special mention for being an incredible friend whom I can confide in in more personal matters, from ugly emotions, writing tips, and so on! He was the one that floated the idea of weekly special challenges to me, so you have him to thank for that if you enjoy those!
@RX8 Racer is already a formidable opponent on the track in his own right, but it's only with the advent of Weekly Challenges introduced late this year that I really got to appreciate just how freaking fast he can be given enough time to really practice! And don't go mistaking him for a one trick pony, either; he's smashed a variety of special challenges from time attacks, livery creations, and even last week's photography challenge! And of course, he's stepped up to host the Saturday lobbies when real life hit me hard (quite literally!), and it's something I'm beyond thankful for. So thank you once again!
Back to the cars...
The Most American Car Award:
Just as the right to free speech and to bear arms have been with America's inception, The Most American Car Award has been with COTW since times immemorial, and has struggled and survived when other awards have been axed along the way! "What's the secret to such longevity?!", you might be asking. Well, apparently, it's being big, powerful, loud, clumsy, wasteful, will–drink–piss–for–fuel–and–still–beat–you–to–the–quarter–mile–by–the–way–wtf's–a–kilometer brash! The screeching eagles, machine gun fire, and profanity–laden theme song played with a healthy backing of explosions might also help...
Unlike the American political system, we actually have more than two options to choose from to represent your values and needs, and the nominees are...
- Jeep Willys MB '45
- Dodge Challenger SRT Demon '18
- Dodge Viper GTS '13
...okay, we have ONE more option than America's political system, but it's a start, alright?!
In a show of unity Americans can only dream of, the winner of all the oil in the world with a whopping four votes is...
(drumroll)
The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon '18!
View attachment 1315551
Style by Sagittarius-A_64: America, f### yeah !
#america #eagle #usa
...something tells me it isn't beating many things to the quarter mile in the game, though. Nor is it THAT powerful most of the time. And it wants to drink race fuel. And last I checked, a Glock isn't on the list of options. But hey, hopefully it will at least get you to the nearest Popeyes before running out of petr— oh, sorry, gas.
Boy, wouldn't it be funny if "The Most American Car" also happens to win the "Beater of the Year" award?!
The 2023 Beater of the Year:
And now, the big one. You might know it as that feeling when you're in a car that smushes up against the wall every time the track cambers a little, or that distinct sensation of a car blowing up when you turn on the windshield wipers. Or maybe even that slow, creeping realisation of having pissed away your life savings on an utter scam of a car... whose brakes fail on the way home from the dealership, the only thing saving the lives of those children in the orphanage you hit being that the car couldn't go fast enough to be a threat. The 2023 Beater of the Year Award nominees are...
- Toyota Prius G '09
- Daihatsu Copen RJ Vision Gran Turismo
- Toyota Ambulance Himedic '21
- Dodge Challenger SRT Demon '18
- De Tomaso Mangusta '69
Legal disclaimer: The fact that there are five nominees is in no way insinuating that we've hit orphanages five times this past year.
We have another tie for the Beater of the Year, with two seperate cars each receiving two votes! Looks like I'm going to have to cast a tiebreaker vote again, which means that the "winner" of the 2023 Beater of the Year award is...
(drumroll)
The De Tomaso Mangusta '69!
View attachment 1315552
If given the choice between the Himedic and Mangusta, the latter is the easy "winner" of my vote. The Himedic may be slow, but it at least won't kill its drivers unless they steer it head on into a wall. Not to mention, it's a fantastic canvas for liveries, and it has some really cool and unique sirens and announcements! AND it's a readily available freebie! How can anyone dunk on that?
The Mangusta on the other hand, is expensive, selectively available, and despite sharing what appears to be the exact same mesh, liveries between the De Tomaso and Dior Mangustas aren't interchangeable. It... also drives the way it does.
If I didn't have to use my vote as a tiebreaker, though? The Kart is a no brainer. I'm surprised NO ONE voted it for Beater of the Year!
The 2023 Car of the Year:
And here it is: the big one that you've ACTUALLY been waiting for (because we're rerunning this car this week!). The car we wade through cesspools to discover and experience. The car that makes doing this week in and week out worth it. The car that rewrites expectations and resets yardsticks in the minds of everyone who drives it. For as subjective as opinions ought to be, sometimes, there just is a correct answer, and this car, in our unprofessional opinion, is it.
The nominees are...
- Radical SR3 SL '13
- Chaparral 2J '70
- Volkswagen Polo GTI '14
- Mazda Roadster NR-A (ND) '22
- BMW M3 Sport Evolution '89
aND the winner is, with an Magnificent 3 votes...
The BMW M3 Sport Evolution '89!
View attachment 1315553
Simple, lightweight, FR, manual gearbox, and dripping with prestige and history. There is almost no argument against an E30 M3, except for maybe its price and availability, but when those things are attached to a car that's actually good, that just seems to make it all the more desirable.
Remember, for this week, we'll be running the 2023 Car of the Year again for the first week of 2024! Our weekly lobbies are at Tuesday, 2nd January, 10 P.M. CST (Host: Vic_Reign93) and Saturday, 6th January, 4 P.M. Singapore time (Host: RX8Racer556) if you'd like to join us in racing 2023 Car of the Year with BoP applied on its default tyres! Surely, the 2023 Car of the Year is going to be a blast to run again, right?
And with that, we begin the cycle anew in 2024! Thanks to everyone who contributed, and hopefully there's more good things to come!
@SomePlayaDude you did get creditSPD may be the newest regular here, but he wasted no time in pulling more than his weight, hitting the ground running with elaborate reviews, wrapped up in unique stories reminiscent of times long past! He shows up to both lobbies, partakes in special challenges... he does it all! Except for maybe saying the three words he's known for in FH5's COTW...
Thank you for being such an active contributor!
I feel you man...
Don't feel too bad: I get no props for being the F.N.G.
You guys do know that, if you put me in a position where I either have to shout out everybody or nobody, I'm just going to be lazy, right?I feel you man...
You guys do know that, if you put me in a position where I either have to shout out everybody or nobody, I'm just going to be lazy, right?
Nobody's getting a shoutout this year! You whiny children go sit in a corner and think about what you've done!
If you're putting this much worth into someone mentioning you/lack of a mention on a one-off post, you're looking at this the wrong way...As if it's so many more. (Like what? 3-5 more people. THAT is a lot to you? The one who writes entire books for reviews?) You made your priorities clear, and also often displayed your animosity towards my person. Look, I'm not gonna beg for any pathetic attention, but to give shout outs to regulars and NOT to mention the one, who had to say (and to show different hot laps, drag races, comparisons) of EVERY SINGLE CHOSEN CAR, well...
That's the last thing I'm gonna say about it. I'll keep posting my hot laps, thoughts on the cars, etc. as I know, that at least a selected few know to value those.
It was partially/mostly serious. Happy bday to RX8. Your post BURNS BTW.Am I the only one that noticed the “JK” at the bottom of Alex’s post?
At least I read that entire post as him just messing around….hence the “Jk”
@Yard_Sale sorry for snapping at you yesterday. I have been incredibly on edge lately, and it's regrettably spilling over to COTW. I'll probably take a step back and disconnect for a bit to breathe...
after next week
And @Alex p. , I've thought about it for the past few days, and I've realised that you're one of the most consistent regulars here too with your Nordschleife videos. Thanks for what you do, I appreciate it. Sorry for not mentioning it sooner.
Lobby is now up too
It is at this point where I feel like mentioning that RX8 Racer also has a free COTW pick he can use at any time, like, say, next week, and if they win the special challenge from next week, maybe we'll end up having a second Month of Mazda here at COTW... just a thought.RX8 Racer
Here’s my special challenge (taking a leaf out of Baron’s book for this one):
Build a car to 600PP and beat my modified RX-8 time of 11:05.050 with CRB at the 5 lap WTC 600 Tokyo South CCW (not the 12 lap Tokyo East CW). Fastest time wins!
Rules:
1) The car must be a street-legal (Road Car or Professionally Tuned) RWD car.
2) The car must either be Japanese in origin (engine swapping to a foreign engine is allowed) or be engine swapped to have an engine that is Japanese in origin (e.g. Abarth 595 with the K20 swap).
3) Since it is based on a Japanese RWD car, the GReddy Fugu Z is also allowed for this challenge.
4) Unlimited budget on car and modifications.
5) No nitro.
For the sake of convenience, I’ve compiled the list of eligible RWD foreign cars with Japanese engine swaps:
- Abarth 595 (Honda K20C1)
- Alpine A110 ‘17 (Nissan VR38DETT)
- Alfa Romeo 4C Gr.3 Road Car (Suzuki V8 VGT Gr.3)
- BMW M3 ‘89 (Suzuki V8 VGT Gr.3)