Car of the Week: Week 124 Alfa Romeo 4C Gr3

There's a guy down the road from me with two of these. One as a parts/donor car, the other as his driveway ornament. He drives it like he stole it though, doesn't seem to give it much respect, unfortunately! I always feel like offering him a small sum of cash for it to give it a better life...

 

Nani?! Kansei dorifto?​

The 90's was a very interesting era in car history. The advancements in computers and electronics opened a whole lot of possibilities in every area in science, technology, and subsequently, cars. Every manufacturer was trying to fit as many gadgets as they could in their new fancy models, a trend that doesn't seem to have stopped even today. At the same time however, it was a time when there was an abundance of small, cheap but fun sportscars, that in the mist of the computer take-over, they were all about pure, uninterrupted driving pleasure.

The design might be a liitle "bare" and simple for today's standards, but that is what gives it its charm
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Indeed, cars like the Nissan Silvia, the Mazda Miata and the Honda Integra were taking a major overhaul or just made thei debut and would later on be considered classics. The Toyota MR-2 tho, specifically the GT-S edition that came around that period, is a bit of an underdog compared to its comrades. The Integra is a JDM legend, along with the Silvia, and the Miata is produced even today, but the MR-2 doesn't seem to get the same love as those, or at least it doesn't seem to be talked about as much. So, is that relatively low popularity justified ?

Double exhaust and a rear wing that can rival the airport that is the R34's wing, you know this car ain't joking around
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Powered by a 2 liter, turbocharged straight-4 engine putting out around 240 HP from the rear wheels and pushing a chassis at a weigh of around 1200 kilograms, at a first glance it doesn't seem to be any different from your average, out-of-the-mill 90's agile and modest sportscar that you take out on weekends. But also at a first glance, you can tell that it's mid-engined. "So what ?" you may think "It doesn't have that much power, i can handle it" .

Welcome to Polyphony Digital, where we can model the molecules of the windshield wipers but can't get the circular lights of an old 911 look smooth
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Well, the thing is, althought its engine isn't that powerful, the car is light. Even GT3's would love to get to that weight the MR-2 is, and also it doesn't have the longest wheelbase in the world: At roughly 4,200 millimeters (or 160 inches), it is quite the compact sports car. And to top it all of, this is the 90's. Computers were advancing rapidly, but the same can't be said about suspension technology.

Despite its modest numbers, you can't really call it an easy car to drive
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All these elements make for a car that is essentially, the very embodiment of lift-off oversteer, requiring the constant attention of its driver to be kept at bay. When you start from the straight, you may get onto a false sence of security since it doesn't have that much power, but once you get to a corner, it's then that it shows you its true character and will try to throw you off. Basically, you need to know what you're doing before you decide to push it to the limits

You don't really see small details like these anymore...​

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At the same time however, that no-******** approach of the car is what gives it charm and character and makes it stand out. You have to accept that you will throw the tail of the car all around the track at some point, it is unavoidable with the way it's structured. Once you embrace that, it will gladly dance with you and give you a driving experience that no other car can provide. Nailing a drift at the last corner of Tsukuba with it is probably one of the most satisfying things in this game.

And let's not forget the pop-up headlight
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Overall, the MR-2 GTS is a drive that really stands out from the competition, catering to a more experienced crowd with its more unforgiving behaviour and character. Once you get the hang of it tho, it can become the most fun you can have in GT Sport and bring a huge smile on your face, and at the end of the day, this is what matters.

So at the end , the MR-2 GTS is a definite sleeper.

​

 

Mid-Mounted Mischief
I think the Puyo Puyo livery is going to stay from now on, if you guys don't mind.



Alrighty, I was hoping this review was going to be the big writing event of the week seeing as we've had very little to say about this car since this week started for some reason. Then @ThePotatoKing got his in before me so I guess not. Well, certainly the more the merrier as this car is definitely worth talking about.

The Toyota MR-2. From first glance at the spec sheet, it's actually a pretty boring car. N200, four cylinders, very cheap, sort of light. Just sounds like an older GT86. You might even question what the MR-2 could possibly offer us over the two other sports cars it shared the spotlight with at the time, the Celica and Supra. Well, it's certainly not down to the spec sheet on this car. In order to really understand the MR-2 and what it offers over its stablemates, we need to get behind the wheel (and in front of the engine!).



That's right, what sets the Toyota MR-2 apart from its contemporaries and makes it stand out the most amongst other 200 horsepower coupes and hatchbacks is where Toyota went about sticking the engine on this one. The mid-engine layout in this car is certainly unique and lends itself to some interesting handling.

In a seeming stroke of coincidence or copying (not sure which one), Toyota and Pontiac both launched similar cars at a very similar time. The Fiero and MR-2 were both very close rivals in their first generations. But whereas the Pontiac saw a prototype for a curvier second generation that didn't end up being put into production, the MR-2's curvier second generation was greenlit and we were welcomed to its presence for the 1989 model year.



This version of the second generation we see here in Sport is the 1997 turbocharged GT-S model. It's good for 240 horses and the layout of the engine on this one makes it good for all sorts of those Kansas Doritos you folks keep talking about.

Does sliding the tail end of an already not-super-fast car make it any faster? No.

Does it make it more fun than a Toyota GT86? You bet your cutie-patootie it does.



In many ways, sliding the MR-2 around feels a lot like a less aggressive Ferrari 458 GT3. I've got a lot of experience wrangling that prancing horse, so believe me when I tell you that the Toyota here handles extremely similarly with the way the back end likes to slip out. The big difference here being it isn't running fat slick racing tires and it's not the end of the race if you loose it. The Toyota here obviously has a limit but it's quite controllable and fun to drive.

What makes it even better is the going-fast bit is pretty much the same routine as the 458. Since this car has the same slipping tendencies, it made it very familiar when it came time to go fast and not drift. That sort of feeling you get when you're riding the slight oversteer out of corners but still keeping it under control is *click* 'ery noice.

Yes, the MR-2 here is certainly worth looking into over the GT86. A much more fun car to drive and actually faster when it comes time to not have as much of a fooling about. Gonna rank this one a solid Sleeper.

 

Brand association is usually the surest sign that a product has resonated with the market and achieved undisputed success. When you think of fizzy drinks, you think of Coke. Sticky tape? Scotch. Similarly, when you think of fast, expensive supercars, Ferrari is the brand that anybody would first name. A Dodge Viper would immediately bring to mind its thumping NA V10 mated to a manual box. An Elise would conjure up the nimblest and rawest of driving experiences served with the most delicious of steering feel. When it comes to this week's "Poor Man's Ferrari" however, the image- no, the scenario that first comes to mind is somehow, a 2 litre bottle, about half full, and horizontally sashaying about, the water within violently and uncontrollably sloshing back and forth in the process.

As well known a fact in the auto industry as "never unscrew a coolant cap when the car is hot because it's a surefire way to get horribly injured" is that driving a second generation MR2 is a surefire way to die from having one's butt ferociously and unpredictably introduced into a randomly selected tree with snap oversteer, best represented by the half full bottle of water sloshing about. Toyota engineers were so obsessed with the idea of bringing the joys of rear mid-engine motoring to the masses in a relatively cheap package, that they didn't stop to ponder if they should, instead of just whether they could. What we end up with is a car that has a short wheelbase and rear springs that wouldn't feel out of place in a Camry. Mid corner, you get a choice of understeering into a tree by not lifting off the gas, or oversteering into a tree by lifting. Either way, death is sure to result. And if that's not grandiose enough for you, the GT-S grade of the MR2 lets you add turbo lag into the mix, which is akin to a firefighter spraying gasoline from a fire hydrant into a fire. I mean... they're professionals, right? They had to have known what they were doing, right? They set all this up consciously and knowingly, right? Some committee would've had to greenlight this, right? So how the hell was this the end result?

In Gran Turismo Sport however, the car is... surprisingly pleasant, mild mannered, and easy to drive. There isn't even a hint of the horrific snap oversteer or lift off oversteer that the car is so notorious for in real life and in earlier Gran Turismo titles. What we end up with then, is a cheap car with stunning good looks, a rear mid-mounted engine, a manual gearbox, a stylish wing, and even pop up headlights! What's not to love? I daresay that it handles even better than the NSX-R in this game, which makes me wonder if lift off oversteer is even programmed into the game. Without the car's Achilles' Heel, it's actually a superb drive, though it's a little hard for me to fall in love with it just because of that, because that's akin to saying that cheating on your spouse is great if the risk of them catching you and you contracting an STD were magically removed from the equation. On some levels, I'd still hesitate to get involved in the act, in the same way I'd hesitate to get emotionally invested in the MR2, because I've been conditioned for years to think that those are bad things. I feel as if liking an MR2 would be the equivalent of knowingly unscrewing a coolant cap when a car is hot.

If I've any complaint against the car, it's that the engine in this sounds as uninspired and has the same drone as a typical econobox car, which is a bit of a turn off for me. Otherwise, it's brilliant.

Apologies for the shorter write up. The past few days have been really crazy for me. I still want to be part of Car of the Week guys I'm a good person I swear I just want to be loved and accepted.

 

This week we are taking a look at another classic car from the Prancing Horse Heritage. We are taking look at the Ferrari F40. This weeks car is chosen by @MisterWaffles

 

Here is a great race from last week.

 

The F40 eh, took long enough...

GTS Nordschleife hot lap STOCK Ferrari F40 '88: 07.19.108



Welp, this is certainly more my car than the F50. You can throw and throttle steer this thing rather easily around corners. It looks gorgeous, sounds great and is faaast. I love it!

Driven stock on hard sport tyres without any driving aids, except ABS. First lap in third person view, second one in cockpit view and third one in cinematic replay view. All driven laps are the same lap.

With its driven time, it is the 17th fastest car of all road legal cars. Its closest rivals are the Ferrari 458 Italia '09 with a 07.19.874 on the 18th place and the Nissan GT-R NISMO '17 with a 07.19.055 on the 16th place. It can reach a top speed of 338 km/h=210mp/h in the game (real life top speed being 325 km/h=202 mp/h), securing itself the 25th place place top speed wise of all road legal cars, while its closest top speed rivals are the Porsche 911 GT3 RS '16 with 337km/h=207mp/h on the 26th place and the both the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe '14 and the Mercedes-Benz AMG GTS '15 with 342km/h=213mp/h on the 24th-23rd place respectively.

Nordschleife comparison with closest rival:



Verdict: I mean it's the F40, you can hardly call it a "sleeper", but it was just so much ahead of its time, going by track lap times, that I almost have to call it a sleeper. I mean, its closest Nordschleife rival is a 2009 458 Italia...

 

There will be no livery from me tonight. This is by far and away my favorite car of all time, I have had a giant poster of it on my wall since it came out in 1988 when I was just 14 years old. It does not have a bad angle and simply looks perfect in its original form.
The first thing I did when I plugged in my psvr for the first time was to lap the Nordshlife in an F40 for about 2 hours strait.
We are in the middle of a rather nasty storm right now and I hope the power holds out for tonight if not, have a blast guys!

 

On a side note, I worked/raced at the Jim Russell racing drivers school in 1995, Lawerence Stroll was a regular on our formula 200 cars, he brought his F40 one day and took a few of us for a spin.
That is the only time I was in one, but working around the tracks in England I got to see a few in person. It truly is the most beautiful car ever made in my opinion.

 

Formula 2000*

 

Time difference doesn't really let me race with you guys, but luckily enough I made a livery for the F40 just yesterday for an LEC if you guys want to use it!
It's in this link, and it's this little car that was kept in a barn collecting dust, rust, and dirt.

 

What can one really say about the F40? Its a clear winner in n4/500 and even 600... although I would say the more power you stick into it, the more exponentially hairy it gets.

The handling is markedly improved over the 288. I took one with no points spent at 520hp and std. weight w/ tune and just about anything short of a 538hp McLaren F1 is easy meat.

It has less vices than the 288 and it exhibits entertaining traits like being able to point the nose directly at a corner apex, squeezing the power and you gently powerslide into a corner hardly losing any speed/time. Power seems to be mid biased, kinda slack down low but it pulls all the way to red.

Brakes are fine, the 5 spd box is enough, steering is sharp and it feels neutral stable as long as you lay off the gas too much and dont drive like an a'hole.

The "Ring is easy with this car. In fact any track bar the super short club circuits are fine.

Easily one of the most entertaining Ferraris this GT generation 'round and much more fun to be had than most of the modern ones.

I agree that GT Sport does feel like it makes the F40 much easier to drive than in real life because I dont think it should be this easy.



478hp so only about 40hp more than the N400 class but its so much faster than the typical N400 as it weighs nothing.

 

This week we are taking a look at the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. This weeks car is chosen by @TonyJZX

 

I'm assuming the race will happen the day after tomorrow because of the update?

 

GTS Nordschleife hot lap STOCK Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat '15: 07.30.628



Surprisingly fun and fast car. It's super wild and loose though.

Driven stock on hard sport tyres without any driving aids, except ABS. First lap in third person view, second one in cockpit view and third one in cinematic replay view. All driven laps are the same lap.

With its driven time, it is the 34th fastest car of all road legal cars. Its closest rivals are the X-BOW R '12 with a 07.30.678 on the 35th place and Mercedes-Benz AMG GTS '15 with a 07.29.335 on the 33rd place. It can reach a top speed of 361 km/h=224mp/h in the game (real life top speed being 315 km/h=196 mp/h), securing and sharing itself the 11-10th place top speed wise of all road legal cars with the Ford GT '17, while its closest top speed rivals are the RUF CTR 3 '07 with 360km/h=224mp/h on the 12th place and the Dodge Viper GTS '13 with 364km/h=226mp/h on the 9th place.

Nordschleife comparison with closest rival:



Verdict: Neither a sleeper, nor a beater. Does what it wants to do.

 

With an update on the way, we will race tomorrow same time as our normal Tuesday nights.

 

I quite like the Charger Hellcat... I think its the best iteration of the Hellcat theme/meme up until now.

There's the Challenger which I quite like as a manual and the Trackhawk/Durango 4wds and the various Demon and Redeye and Ram TRX models.

However as an N700 car its well outclassed given that its a 700hp 1,5 - 2.0 ton car among the Pagani and Enzos and McLaren F1's of the world of which it has no hope unless its on Tokyo Express and even then its not certain.

As N600 its a bit more well matched but even then you'll find it handles like a family sedan and not like the various mid engined supercars here.

On the "Ring its quite ok as long as you're aware you're in a large wide long wheelbase sedan so with either 640 to 740hp you'll be spinning up to 3rd gear and you need to place the car wisely so you use all the track.

I feel the car tends to plough understeer slightly then the whole body understeers slightly then you can gently apply power to *unsettle" then settle the car.

You get used to it. Nothing to say about the brakes, 6 pistons means they just work.

First thing, the gearbox is useless. I'm sure its fine in real life with its AI control but with user control its rubbish.

1st gear is useless. 2nd gear is near useless... I'll use 2nd gear to get into corners then immediately drop to 3rd to limit wheelspin.

7th is ok on straights, 8th is a useless fuel saving gear. Also I think in races with fuel use, fuel economy is not good. Use the race 7 spd box.

The car is easy to drift so use that to help in tighter corners. Tyre wear isnt too bad either. Engine feels like its a tad slow revving to me but its a typical big block Dodge trait.

I like these cars as they arent a sure thing like an N600 McLaren, You need to learn the car, fight the car a little to win.

 

Feels like I haven’t done a review since last year so let’s get start-

*Checks notes*

It WAS last year since my last write up, certainly feels like it what with all that’s happened since that write up.

Yeah, that’ll probably date when I started writing this.

Nevertheless, It’s better to do something right once than something fast twice, which is also good advice for all other aspects of ones life.

Here’s some more good advice, if the opportunity to buy a Toyota Yaris GR comes up, do yourself a favour and get it.

Yes 2020 was the year which the phrase famously said by GT6 COTW’s host with Ted Thomas’s Ghost, McClarenDesign would sum it up perfectly.

“An utter Fustercluck”

The motoring press were taken aback by Toyota announcing a homologation special version of their Yaris which would have a turbo charged 3 cylinder engine.

“A homologation special with a 3 banger?!, have they taken complete leave of their senses?!”

As it turned out though, Toyota had all their senses and they were on fine form when they started building the Yaris GR.

That 1.6 3 cylinder turbo was chucking out nearly 270hp, in a car weighing under 1300kgs, with all 4 wheels helping put that power to the road via a 6 speed manual gearbox.

The automotive journo’s fell in love with the punchy Yaris, outshining its bigger brother the Toyota Supra quite convincingly throughout 2020.

It was easy at the limit, but still playful to throw around, a modern day Evo or WRX Impreza if you will.

I may like cars with a knife edge, but a fun and forgiving car like the Yaris GR can be just as fun, plus the 3 banger does give a nice soundtrack to boot.

Virtual reality imitates life in the case of the Yaris, It was well received by critics and well received by us to the extent it was given the nod for COTW’s Car Of The Year for 2020.

Verdict: Sleeper

Up next is another homologation special, but this ones a little different.

It’s not real.

Yes we are looking at one of PD’s original creations based on the Gr3 Alfa 4C, The Alfa Romeo 4C Gr3 Road Car.

Imagine a normal 4C, now widen it, cover the rear window, fit some fatter tyres, up the power of the 1.75 litre turbo 4 banger to over 440hp and then add quite a bit of weight to it.()

Yep, despite being a homologation special, its
a lot heavier than the normal 4C with the Gr3 going from 950kgs to 1,320kgs.

Another thing that could count as a downgrade is the gearbox, both have a paddle shift 6 speed gearbox, but the normal 4C’s shifts like the dual clutch system it actually has.

Whereas the Gr3’s gearbox acts like a manual gearbox despite changing gears with the paddles.

But truthfully, they’re really the only real marks against the 4C Gr3, as it’s quite the pleasant racer thanks to the wonders of downforce which all Gr3 road cars get.

Hopefully the Gr3 cars aren’t just a one game special like other cars from GT’s past and cross over to GT7 where we could really fine tune them.

Verdict: Sleeper

And on the subject of fine tuning, The Ferrari Enzo.

Now I’ve given the Prancing Horse’s hypercars plenty of backhanding in the past, some of it for my experience and the rest of it from experiences we all shared on race night, all of it justified... mostly.

The LaFerrari lifted the front up in medium speeds, didn’t stop anywhere near as quick as you think, especially considering it was a lot lighter in game than IRL.

The Enzo is guilty of this too, in fact they both weigh 1255kgs according to the dealership specs, but the quoted IRL number is 1480kgs for the Enzo.

But another area where the two have common ground is the tyre width offset as both have huge 345 section rear tyres, but the front tyres on the Enzo are 245 section to the LaFerrari’s 265’s.

Now such a tyre width difference means the rear is gonna be planted(tyre compound and power output notwithstanding.) but the front tyres will wash out and cause understeer and trying to overpower the rears to compensate will be tricky.

That’s not to say it’s all bad, the Enzo’s 650hp V12 means business and anywhere where it can build up a full head of steam and rarely slowdown is where it thrives.

Hopefully the SLR can follow the Enzo over to GT7 and join up with their 3rd Musketeer, the Porsche Carrera GT.

Verdict: Neutral.

Up next is two cars from the hard knocks world of Gr3, One of which was/is my previous/current/retired? Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 and the other being the Porsche 911 RSR Gr3.

Old school front engined against rear engined, 12 cylinders vs 6 cylinders, 5.9 litres vs 4.0 litres, Britain vs Germany(again) and both are glorious noise makers.

Of course a lot of what i’ve said about Gr3 cars previously could apply to these 2 as well, But I’d say the 911 is good on fuel and tyres+ the RR layout helps with putting power down and the Aston is more user friendly in terms of stability, but can still put up a fight against established front runners.

In summary when it comes to Gr3, BOP will negate many differences so pick the Gr3 that’s right for you.

Verdicts: Neutral

Referring back to my closing line in the Enzo review, I mentioned the only rival it has that’s in GTS and it’s quite the automotive paradox.

I am of course talking about the Mercedes McLaren SLR.

A collaboration between the duo who at the time were partners in F1 with Mercedes power in the back and with the announcement that McLaren will once again get Mercedes engines for this season, it’s only fitting to look back at their road car collab.

Now why do I call it an automotive paradox?

Because what both manufacturers wanted to do with it cancelled each other out.

McLaren wanted a lightweight drivers car, because SLR in english stands for Sport Light Racing and so to keep with that goal, they threw A LOT of Carbon Fibre at it.

Carbon body panels, Carbon fibre tub, Carbon monocoque and Carbon Ceramic Brakes, the latter two being quite new technology for road cars back then.

Now Mercedes gave them a nice powerplant to work with, a 617hp 5.4 Supercharged AMG V8 built by hand in their factory, a trend I believe they still continue today for their AMG’s.

A Powerful engine, Much Carbon fibre, surely it’s a winner in the making right?


Well that’s what SHOULD have happened.

Mercedes wanted a comfortable Super Grand Tourer and added luxury’s like electric seats, cruise control, a decent sized boot and the big one, the 5 Speed Automatic that was hooked up to that 617hp sledgehammer.

While reliable and durable enough to take the power, it was heavy which coupled with all the prior luxuries meant the SLR weighed in at around a hefty 1,750kgs.

Sport Light my .

Ironically, the next super cars these 2 company’s built were the SLS AMG and the MP4-12C, a hardcore cruiser and a civilised super car respectfully.

The Paradox also carries over to GTS because like Toyota was for awhile, not many modern games have the SLR McLaren in their roster most notably the Forza franchise with FM6 being the last official time it was in Forza.

How’s the handling?

Despite it being heavier than a GTR, it can hold it’s own through the curves and the brakes have quite the bite to them.

Long gearing can be a negative IF the power and torque isn’t there to match, but the sledgehammer of a V8 upfront more than compensates for it.

Best of all, with the side exiting exhausts and the supercharger(‘s) whining, it certainly sounds like a Supercar.

For some, the SLR is underrated, for some it was too heavy and unfocused to ever be a proper Supercar and for others, it gives them 34 different forms of PTSD.

For me, It’s a car that made the best of a argumentative collaboration and deals with being a paradox to be a solid all rounder of its time.

And one that shouldn’t be forgotten.

Verdict: Sleeper

Next up is a classic Hollywood stalwart which like a few other classics, was better onscreen than offscreen.

Kinda gave the verdict right outta the gate didn’t I?

It’s the 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.

With a 6.6 litre V8 rated at 220hp, You’d be forgiven for thinking if it was a boat anchor upfront rather than an engine!

Yep this was during the time of America going through strict emissions testing and the change from Gross HP rating to Net HP rating meant that such big engines like the 6.6 or the 7.5 V8 being heavily nerfed in power output.

No wonder then when Burt Reynolds got his own Trans Am(1 of 4 he’d end up owning.), he’d had a 600hp 8.2 litre V8 dropped in it.

In stock form, you can’t spin the tyres from a start partly due to a longish 1st gear and the lack of overall power.

Once moving it is an ok experience, not great, but not terrible either.

Still has a higher top end stock than the Mach 1 Mustang so it’s not completely pointless, but that 6.6 V8 engine needs to breathe more as 220hp is just tragic.

Kinda like the Delorean DMC 12, Hollywood made it perform better than it actually could.

I mean the DMC 12 had its engine sound replaced in the movie with sound dubbed in from a Porsche 928 V8 and Bandits Firebird sound was replaced with the sound from a 1955 Chevy Custom (same car that was in Two Lane Blacktop.).

Why? Because they considered the 6.6 V8 to not sound intimidating enough.

Ouch.

So if you buy the ‘78 Trans Am, Be like Burt and give it MUCH more power.

Verdict: Beater

Next up is the last car from 2020 and its one that’s close to a certain @XSquareStickIt heart.

And now that you’re sat bolt up right and paying attention, let’s begin.

The Mazda RX-7 Sprint R Type A is the swan song model for the RX-7 which went out of production in 2002 alongside the Mk4 Toyota Supra and the Nissan Skyline GTR R34.

While the RX-8 would continue down the path of the Rotary, The RX-7 was the last production turbo Rotary engine to roll off the line.

Packing the all too familiar 13B 2 Rotor with twin sequential turbos, power was quoted at the Japanese Gentleman’s Agreement number of 276hp (Unofficially it was around 290hp.) and hauled around 1,270kgs which is balanced with a near 50-50 weight distribution.

Now of course when it comes to driving it, you’d expect it to be good, well behaved when you want it to and fun to throw around when you don’t want it to behave.

And that’s exactly what you get.

There’s a reason the RX-7 is still sought after even today, And no it’s not just because of all the movies it’s starred in.

Because unlike the MK4 Supra, it’s more than just a car with a good engine in it, it’s a legitimate sports car too.

And while when it comes to tuning, The Supra will very rarely have anything other than the 2JZ, the RX-7 is completely different.

Want to build an N/A 3 Rotor track toy? Sure.
Want to build the Rotary counterpart to the Hoonicorn with a Billet 4 Rotor turbo AND 4WD?! Go for it.
Want to anger Rotary fans? Drop an LS in it.

It’s a car that on its own stock merits, can actually back up the hype around it.

Verdict: Sleeper

Now on to the 2021 cars and starting with my pick which was always gonna be a debate starter.


The 2019 Porsche Taycan Turbo S.

Porsche’s first proper electric production car and it’s taking a swing at the established front runner in electric cars in the form of Tesla.

Certainly not starting in the shallow end are we?

Before we go further I do have to address the ONE thing I genuinely hate about the Taycan and you might already know what i’m referring to.


Yep, the ‘Turbo’ part of the name.

Just... Why?

You know full well that you can’t have an actual turbo on a fully electric car so why the hell do you call it a turbo?!

‘For branding only’

Branding?! What kinda reasoning is that?

What was wrong with calling it the GTS-E? It tells people you have a high end model spec while telling everyone it is in fact Electric.

Yeah Porsche used the Turbo name to a large extent over the years, but at least the cars that have that badge, THEY ACTUALLY HAVE TURBOS.

Granted some GTS models are turbocharged, but they at least they don’t claim to be turbocharged when they are not.

me, It’s just disingenuous to call it a Turbo, so i’m gonna refer to it by that previously mentioned GTS-E badge.

Ok now that thorn in my side has been dealt with, back to the car.

The Taycan GTS-E has 2 electric motors(1 for each axle) which normally chuck out 617hp in normal mode and over 750hp in Overboost mode, happily for us we get the full 751hp all the time.

Normally in electric cars both motors and axles are connected to a single speed gearbox, with the Taycan that’s the case for the front axle, but the rear axle gets a 2 speed gearbox to assist with acceleration.

And despite weighing over 2 tons, the Taycan GTS-E can certainly get off the line in a hurry with sub 3 second sprints to 60mph and topping out at nearly 165mph, but getting there in a hurry.

But as you’re probably already thinking, ‘But Vic, that sorta thing is a high performance electric cars bread and butter, what about when it comes to turns?’ Surely all that weight has to affect handling somewhat?

Well Yes and No.

While you can’t ignore physics, The Taycan handles remarkably better than any over 2 ton car has the right to be, you will feel that weight under braking however.

As for tuning, you can turn up the power the power to nearly 800hp and get the weight down to 1.7-1.8 tons from just under 2.3 tons.

BTW, I hope that on GT7 we can turn up the power in electric cars for once, plus let us tweak the final drive so we aren’t capped at the stock cars top speed.

Of course there’s the other side to all this, the things that make a normal car fun compared to electric, sound, feedback etc.

Yeah I’ll concede that’s something that no amount of Stuttgart Space Magic can’t recreate( at least not right now) But as a racer at what point do you draw the line on that?

At what point does the whole ‘Soul, feeling and feedback’ enthusiasts arguments start being outweighed by genuinely better all round performance and capability?

Make no mistake, Electric car tech has over the years been coming on pretty rapid and at some point, electric cars will be not just be one trick drag race machines, they’ll possibly be legitimate sport cars which can hang with the best in all aspects.

Unless they suddenly figure out and implement the infrastructure for Hydrogen fuel and have electric cars play second fiddle to that.

Looking forward to what you guys think on that subject.

Verdict: Neutral(Because unnecessary Turbo badge. Yes I can be petty.)

Figured that after one I should go back to basics.

And what’s more basic than a Go-Kart?

Er Vic, this Kart has a 6 speed sequential gearbox.

‘Sigh’ Ok not COMPLETELY basic, but not far off.

Yes we have got the 125 Racing Shifter Go Kart out, no Junior, 100 or normal 125 here.

So that means 49hp from a tiny 125cc engine, pushing 80kgs of kart, 6 speed sequential gearbox and the other big difference, front disc brakes.

Handling is like... well a Go Kart.

It grips, but you have to be ready because everything happens much quicker here, including the back stepping out and it’s very easy to overcorrect and stack it into the gravel trap.

While you’ll rarely go over 120+mph, you’ll be having a blast doing so long as you avoid the kerbs.

So PD, Any chance of a 250cc Superkart in GT7’s future? 100hp, 150mph, just saying, it’ll bridge the gap perfectly to the RBX Junior.

Verdict: Fun Times

Next up on my list is another swan song model, the 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X Final Edition.

Packing 309hp from its tried and tested 2.0 turbo 4 banger, all that power goes to all 4 corners via a 5 speed manual gearbox.

Now the 5 speed with the long 5th gear tends to hold it back on longer tracks and makes you wish it was the 6 speed dual clutch gearbox instead.

Sadly the Final Edition could only be had with the 5 speed, but straight line performance was never the Evo’s true calling, carving up the turns with the ever present Active Yaw Control lending a hand was where the Evo was a threat.

Realistically, my gripe with the gearbox wouldn’t be as noticeable if the engine had more punch to help it, but in the majority of markets where it was sold 309hp was the most you were gonna get.


Unless you were in the UK.


We got some spicier exclusive models with the FQ330, FQ360 with 330hp and 360hp respectively and that would’ve been enough for most.

But not Mitsubishi UK.

They wanted more so they teamed up with HKS to build a more potent FQ400 with 403hp, surely that’s all the power a road going Evo could want right?

Nope.

A limited run of 40 FQ440-MR’s were made to celebrate 40 years of Mitsubishi in the UK.

Yep, that does work out at 220hp per litre.

THAT sounds like a proper Final Edition instead of being a slightly fancier GSR model.

All in all, the Evo X Final Edition isn’t terrible by any stretch, but it could’ve been something much more deserving of the Final Edition badge.

Verdict: Neutral

Not much further to go now Vic.

With the Evo checked off, we now come to the Daihatsu Copen RJ VGT.

Easily the slowest of all the VGT’s with its modified 660cc turbo 4 banger making 146hp, pretty much identical as to what the normal Copen can make fully tuned.

But the VGT’s engine revs lower and makes peak power further in the power band than the normal Copen and weighs in at a very svelte 600kgs to boot.

Power is sent to the front through a 7 speed dual clutch gearbox which if the Copen VGT wasn’t a VGT and therefore stuck in GrX, would make it a very tough contender to beat in N100.

But sadly this a case of where the VGT name is a curse to the Copen, it gets thrown into the same group as the other VGT’s like the Tomahawk Trio, the Laser powered 2X amongst other picks and gets given the same price of a million credits.

1 million credits for a Daihatsu Copen.

Crying shame really, it’s actually a fun car to drive, perfect One make race series for Novices.

Verdict: Beater(I don’t take pleasure in this one.)


Gonna throw theses next 2 together as they both have common ground.

Both have turbos.
Both have 5 speed gearbox’s and rear wheel drive.
Both have mid mounted engines and rear wings.
Ones a Ferrari and the other is sometimes used to build kit cars that look like Ferrari’s.

Yeah it’s the Ferrari F40 and the Toyota MR2 GT-S.

The Toyota MR2 packs 243hp from the 3S-GTE 2.0 turbo 4 cylinder engine, which has its design based of the 503E engine which powered Toyotas Group C and GTP efforts and was capable of 800hp in the AAR Eagle MkIII.

The F40 has a 2.9 Twin Turbo V8 which was an evolution of the 288 GTO’s and the GTO Evoluzione’s engine, kicking out 480hp, but apparently according to journalists who drove it back then reckoned it was making over 500hp instead.

The MR2 weighs in at 1270kgs which isn’t half bad for the time, But the F40 with its use of carbon fibre and a sparse interior comes in at just 1100kgs, lighter than a McLaren F1.


Now the F40 in the past was not perfect, in GT5/6, the gearing was completely off and it was much heavier than what it was(US spec weight IIRC) and it was rather ill tempered under braking.

In GT Sport they corrected those issues and it now drives like an F40 should, phenomenally well.

The MR2 is kinda of a very diet version of the F40, with more snap oversteer and an engine which keels over at high Rpm.

This was the car that hammered home an issue I’ve had with how GTS does power upgrading, it’s fine for electric cars,(it allows us to actually add power to them for once.) but with ICE engines, all it does is just add power and torque, it doesn’t change where it makes peak power or torque or how the curves change before peak power.

Your N200 MR2 will have the exact same power curve as your N400 MR2, both can rev to 8K but drop off after 6k, whereas on GT6 that wouldn’t be the case thanks to tuning and power limiting.

The MR2 has potential to be great, The F40 is just great outta the box.

See Ferrari? I can be nice to your Halo cars.

MR2 Verdict: Neutral
F40 Verdict: Sleeper

And Finally..

The last and most recent car, The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat.

We all thought Dodge was nuts when they dropped a supercharger on to the Challenger and called it the Hellcat, if only if we knew what was coming in the future.

Since then Dodge went mad with the Hellcat engine dropping it into the Charger to make it a 200+mph super saloon, a Jeep Cherokee called the Trackhawk and a drag focused Challenger called the Demon.

Suffice to say, Dodge went full ‘Merica’ with it.

707hp from a 6.2 Supercharged Hemi V8(Later 797hp in the Redeye models.) sent to the rear via a 8 speed Automatic gearbox in a car weighing nearly 2 tons.

1st was useless once on the move, only with TC on and no revving at the start was useful to get a quick launch.

Braking was a bit limp, but then again it’s a near 2 ton car, handling was not bad provided you didn’t tread on the land mine that is the throttle too much.

But if you decide to just send it sideways, it’s got more than enough punch to do, heck it allowed me to do what I used to do in GT6, just yeet it sideways through corners and not immediately get swamped by everyone.

Yeah the fuel mileage on it at full load might be in the low single digits, yeah it’s not a proper serous track toy and yes it’s about as subtle as a pink tank blasting YMCA over its PA system.

“Absolute power corrupts, absolutely.”
But god damn is it a laugh to drive.

Verdict(Not so subtle)Sleeper

And just like that, i’m back up to date.

Welp, look forward to my next review in the next few months.

 

Here is last week's race at Red Bull Ring.

 

I really enjoyed that one, almost had it... that car was a blast to drive, I practiced on sport mediums and it was even more fun. Was great to have a couple new faces, I'll get my friend nexttime28 up to speed, he will join us when he can, I just gave him my t150 and he is learning to drive with a wheel.
Looks like another year until gt7 and I look forward to racing with you guys on sport until it arrives.

 

Back on Week 110 we tested the Alfa Romeo 4C Gr3 Road Car now we are going full stop with the Alfa Romeo 4C Gr3 race car. This weeks car is chosen by @RobboGTAddict