Car of the Week 228: COTY GTS Finale

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Had this long post about how much I did the M4. It being the one of two(second goes to the Mustang), current looking, real GT4 cars, in the game.

One of my most hated this about the M4, is now something I enjoy while watching replays. The engine/exhaust. Now, it's no howling GR.4 Supra, but the M4 dors have a nice scream to it.

Handling is entertaining and the speed, at some circuits, is disappointing. Overall, it can be speedy in the right hands. I've used it in those early seasons, when FIA debuted and am using it in the current FIA season.

I think I like it because I can drive this one in GTS and the real model in ACC(PS4). Probably that fascination gives it the thumbs up from me. Good car.
 
If you wanna win, bring the Finn BMW

For a brand that started out with what could be best desrcibed as a motorcycle with bodypanels, BMW has a strong presence in almost every discipline of motorsport. And a successful one at that. With numerous DTM championships, a Le Mans overall victory and countless GT championships to make even Porsche tremble, BMW is no joke. Whenever the iconic kidney grill is present on the grid you have already a winner guarranteed.

Compared to the rest of the German automakers, BMW is kind of an oddball. Mercedes is methodical, with a "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" mentality, more visible in its GT3 effort, which still uses the same engine after 10 years. Audi always strives for innovation, with its diesel powered Le Mans racers and Formula E effort. Opel...um, has the Astra TCR and the Calibra i guess??? And of course, Porsche is synonymous with GT racing thanks to the 911's continuous success over the brand's history.

It's rare not to find a BMW today in any kind of GT competition, regardless of the class, and for a good reason

BMW is a bit different. Its racing cars fall under 2 categories. First you have the "conventional" racing cars, that are basically your run-of-the-mill racers in their respective categories, like the Group 5 320i and the V12 LMR. And then, you have the "let's put a V8 into it and see if it works." kind of cars. What about BMW and V8's? you might think. Well, you see, BMW has a history of putting V8's where you wouldn't otherwise see. Oh what's that ? Porsche is running away with the ALMS championship and your Inline 6 ain't doing nothing? Just stick a V8 into your E46 M3 and you are basically guarranteed champion. You want to use the Z4 as a a platform for your GT3 racer but its engine is absolute garbage for racing? Put a V8 into the bonnet and your problems are all gone! This recipe gave birth to the M3 GTR and the Z4 GT3 and although the first one was banned eventually, both of them became cult classics and automotive icons. The M4 GT4 Gr.4 falls into the first category, so it's got a bit less going for it right out of the box.

The kidney grill is essentially the de-facto icon of BMW. It is to BMW what the 911 is to Porsche
At first glance the M4 is quite a conventional deal. Front-engined, rear-wheel drive coupe, equipped with a 3-liter Straight-6 turbo engine pushing a 1300 kg chassis with around 400 horsepower, it is quite standard and down-to-earth compared to other cars in Gr.4 with 4-wheel drive or W16 engines. Being a Gr.4 car means that, apart from weight reduction and minimal aero, you are essentially driving a road-going M4 with race tyres. The rear wing and front splitter will do their job in high speeds, but in slower corners the reliance on mechanical grip really shows. And since the engine is turbocharged, the extra torque can easily catch you off-guard, so caution is required. Overall, the M4 requires a unique mindset to be driven effectively. Instead of a "watered-down GT3" approach, a "pumped-up M4" driving style is more appropriate, closer to the road car's driving. This means that you need to play alot with the weight transfer, in high and low speed corners alike, and since it's easier to catch the rear if it gets loose, being reliant on mechanical grip and all, it leaves room to press the gas pedal a bit more if you want to rotate it faster.

And of course, BMW had quite an amount of success in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring
Staying true to the class' spirit, the Gr.4 M4 retains the road car's main characteristics while also being a competitive race car. This can be a double-edged sword however, in race conditions. While easy to control and push to the limit, the standard M4 has quite the large front-end, making understeer a common occurence. Plus, for a 2-door sportscar, the M4 isn't what you would call small, or even compact at least, giving the car extra weight, resulting in a more sluggish handling. All these disadvantages carry onto the Gr.4 version to some degree. This isn't by itself a bad thing, however, in the same class you have supercars like the 650S and purpose-built race cars in the likes of the TT Cup and the Megane Trophy. These cars are build for the track from the get-go, effectively making the M4's flaws that much more apparent.

Nurburgring and BMW. Name a more iconic duo

In summary, the M4 Gr.4 stays true to its road going counterpart in handling and experience, but at the same time it retains its flaws, hindering its competitiveness when put up against other, more track ready cars in its class.

A neutral overall.
 
@Alex p. asked if the Renault R8 Gordini been tested well you get your answer this week. This week we are taking a look at the Renault R8 Gordini. This weeks car is chosen by @Draggon

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I was going to chuck this in the liveries section of GTP, you know, like a normal person. However it's not actually my livery, so I'll not be "That guy" who takes the credit...

Anyways, @Baron Blitz Red asked, so here it is! This is the new Hooncorp livery, and hopefully it'll be finding its way onto the real life cars too! I'll try set up some staged shots to really showcase it in the coming days.

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There are two ways to obtain the prestigious S Driver Rating on Gran Turismo Sport: You can either be among the top scoring 10 drivers in your country, or the top 10 scoring drivers for a manufacturer. If you're not an alien, the S rating isn't necessarily out of reach, as you can reside in or simply create an account in a barren hellscape like Singapore, where the general populace is so stressed and tired from work that "gaming" is as alien a concept as someone willingly signing a manufacturer contract with Alfa Romeo, both of which will automatically guarantee you place among the top scoring 10 drivers, because you would be hard pressed to even find ten drivers for Alfa Romeo and their utterly hopeless 4Cs in both Gr. 3 and 4.

Of course, Gr. 3 and Gr. 4 cars vary wildly in viability and competitiveness from update to update, with constant changes to not only their own mass and power with the ever-changing Balance of Performance, but also those of their competitors as well. The 4C Gr. 3 however, has consistently been among the least powerful of Gr. 3 machines, currently the second least powerful of Gr. 3 cars with BoP applied, with only the Mazda RX-Vision GT3 having less power. Despite this, the 4C has been horrendously crippled in terms of its mass as well at various points in the game's life cycle. What we end up with then, is a Gr. 3 car that, in a straight line, falls farther behind its competition than my writing, and is just as hopeless off the line as the sublime 911 RSR we tested a few months ago, which begs the question: does it handle like a 911 RSR?


The short answer? No.

I actually think the 4C handles better than the 911 RSR. While the 911 is a GTE car competing in a GT3 equivalent category, Gr. 3, the 4C is built from the ground up to be a Gr. 3 car. It's therefore a lot stiffer sprung than the 911 RSR, and lacks the tendency for sudden violent outbursts of the rear common in other maladjusted or misrepresented GT3 cars such as the R8 LMS, Ferrari 458 GT3, and not to mention, the utterly horrifying Lamborghini Huracán GT3. As far as a "pick up and drive" car is concerned, this is right up there with the RC F GT3 that I cannot recommend enough. It was so accessible and easy to learn that I very quickly got to grips with the car even before the first race at Maggiore began, and made me feel racing driver emotions I haven't felt in a long, long time. Not ever since I quit Sport Mode entirely.



Of course, as with any racing car, especially one without a grandiose history such the fictional Gr. 3 cars, these things are more akin to tools for a job rather than the more relatable road cars we like to humanise and romanticise. As such, it's difficult to recommend anyone, not unless they're looking for a cheap and easy S Driver Rating. It's painfully slow on the straights, and you're better off just keeping the engine in boost range by wheelspinning off the line than to actually use Traction Control like a millennial plebian, and it looks unlikely to me that BoP will ever change the straight line deficiencies of the 4C. It's also horrifically unstable over kerbs and other such road imperfections, and the car feels like its underbody was in contact with the road more than the wheels over even the flattest of rumble strips, such as the ones found in Maggiore that you're "meant" to cut. Again, BoP will never change that. Where I can see a case for the car being good is in a long race with accelerated tyre wear and fuel use, especially in the newly elongated pit times. Whether that finally gives the 4C Gr. 3 the much needed edge in competition or not remains to be seen, but it'd be a challenge to even hold onto a competitor's slipstream in a 4C regardless, meaning you'll always be fighting an uphill battle if you choose to sign with Alfa Romeo.

It's a fun little car that created very good racing, but it's just hard to recommend when you've so many other better options in Gr. 3 like the RC F, AMG, and 911. It's therefore a neutral for me.
 
Already done the McLaren Mercedes...

Good comparison because its the M156 6.2 v8 vs. the new twin turbo 4.0 v8 vs. the old supercharged 5.5 v8....

I would always take the n/a M156 every time.

Not a huge fan of the everyone doing a turbo 4.0 v8 but I do think the old 5.5 has a lot of charm... and horsepower... and torque.
 
GTS Nordschleife hot lap STOCK Mercedes Benz SLS AMG 10': 07.23.195



Pretty oversteery with some pronounced snap-oversteer. Drives still rather well and is quite a bit faster than expected.

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 23rd fastest car of all road legal cars. Its closest rivals are the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE Package '18 with a 07.23.642 on the 24th place and the Ford GT '06 with a 07.22.984 on the 22nd place. It can reach a top speed of 346 km/h=215mp/h in the game (real life top speed being 317 km/h=197 mp/h), securing itself the 21st place top speed wise of all road legal cars, while its closest top speed rivals are the Mercedes-Benz McLaren '09 with 345km/h=214mp/h on the 22nd place and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE Package '18 with 348km/h=216mp/h on the 20th place.

Nordschleife comparison with closest rival:



Verdict: Is it a sleeper? Hm not really, maybe somewhat, it is what you would expect it do be. Is it really good? Yeah it is. It is the best in any metric of those three as well:

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You can immediately count out the McLaren Mercedes. The car is just too heavy and its age shows... and it has a 5 spd automatic.

I think the AMG GT is just the better car... it just drives better and I think the power delivery is better than the SLS. The 4.0 turbo v8 is an ok motor. I even think the turbo makes overtaking easier than the 6.2 v8 in the SLS as you sort of get that mid range hump rather than the need to wind the piss out of the 6.2 v8.

The GT IS the faster car... I think I'm anywhere 5-10 secs faster on the 'Ring and its a much more composed and easier drive. It doesnt display any truly glaring handling vices. Its is what it is... a very good handling FMS (front mid ship?) RWD 7 spd dual clutch. You can play with the handling and I dont think it ever gets truly out of shape. Works well n400/500.

However I prefer the SLS. The motor seems to have more savage power delivery. Coupled with the more unruly chassis that makes it easy to power slide it is the more entertaining ride. You work hard and maybe have more fun but you post worse times than the GT. Its much harder to be clean and draw clean race lines.

Both of their 7 spd gearboxes feel good with lots of ratios.

I think the AMG GT feels a bit anonymous to me. Mercedes wanted to take on the 911 and they kind of... didnt succeed?

The SLS is kind of its own thing. I dont think I've ever had these up to N600 but I think they're getting out of their class here where the MR supercars dominate.

I also think people dont really gravitate towards the AMG GT and SLS that much? They dont seem to have that rabid following the Porsche and MR cars have?

People arent super in love with FR type cars in this class?


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Chose the lot because they're underused. Been using the SLS GT3 off and on. It's a good GT3 car, even though it's 10 years old.
Held its own around Interlagos some weeks back. Ran good at Suzuka yesterday. Used it in GT League Bathurst endurance to channel some Bernd Schneider feels.

The GR.4 car, I won a race from Pole, by 9 seconds.

Road car is definitely a pleasure to drift. The power is smooth and addicting. Can't recall reading about the purpose of the SLS. It's just a long nose luxurious GT. Not a brute, scary or menacing. Something to nail the throttle and enjoy.
 
Those of you who lurk in other sections of the forum might already have seen this, but just let me pretend this is new and shocking and amazing for a second, okay?

I've been meddling with the COTW logo again, because I was thinking that the logo could be used as advertisement to get new members to join us when we slap it on our cars. The following is the result:


I didn't inform Rob this time when editing the logo, so I don't want to share this publicly before obtaining his approval. Not to mention, I'm not exactly a design major (can you tell by the plain body cars I show up to meets with?), so I figure I'd ask for feedback/ opinion/ if this is a good idea to begin with here before sharing it publicly.

I personally think the logo is a little large, both in dimensions and file size (krisduv the wizard has had to chop both versions into two for me to get them under 15kb). Also, I'm not sure about any of the fonts I've used: Century Gothic for "Car of the Week", and TT Lakes Medium for "Tuesdays, 10P.M. CST". "Join Us!" is handwritten by me to make the whole thing not look so stiff and intimidating, but I get this very distinct feeling it looks like crap. If anyone has any font suggestions, or any other areas of improvement, please let me know.

Here are some of the fonts I had been considering:

Thank you!
 
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Those of you who lurk in other sections of the forum might already have seen this, but just let me pretend this is new and shocking and amazing for a second, okay?

I've been meddling with the COTW logo again, because I was thinking that the logo could be used as advertisement to get new members to join us when we slap it on our cars. The following is the result:


I didn't inform Rob this time when editing the logo, so I don't want to share this publicly before obtaining his approval. Not to mention, I'm not exactly a design major (can you tell by the plain body cars I show up to meets with?), so I figure I'd ask for feedback/ opinion/ if this is a good idea to begin with here before sharing it publicly.

I personally think the logo is a little large, both in dimensions and file size (krisduv the wizard has had to chop both versions into two for me to get them under 15kb). Also, I'm not sure about any of the fonts I've used: Century Gothic for "Car of the Week", and TT Lakes Medium for "Tuesdays, 10P.M. CST". "Join Us!" is handwritten by me to make the whole thing not look so stiff and intimidating, but I get this very distinct feeling it looks like crap. If anyone has any font suggestions, or any other areas of improvement, please let me know.

Here are some of the fonts I had been considering:

Thank you!
Love it, maybe the TT medium for the "car of the week" looks more video gamey. Just my opinion, feel free to disagree... lol
 

"Oh great, another has-been RR rally car that's blue", I thought to myself when I saw that whichever genie Alex P has no doubt fervently rubbed was so pleased with him that it granted his wish for the R8 to be chosen for Car of the Week. After the horrific nightmare that is the Alpine A110, I would sooner drop an LS engine into my RX-7 than to ever have to drive another ancient Gacha machine of death. We know RR cars are terrible. We know rally cars are an irrelevant joke in this game, and that the rally experience in Gran Turismo Sport is seemingly — and hopefully, the nadir of the series. I then wondered how I'd make a one sentence review calling the R8 Gordini a Beater entertaining, and then mentally prepared myself for a whole afternoon of spins, crashes, and mayhem with 28 year old Vic gleefully drifting his way to victory with a 55 year lead over the rest of us.


So traumatic was my experience with the last RR rally car that I had blocked it out mentally, hence my surprise when I found out that I already had an R8 Gordini in my game, that wasn't a gift car. A visit to my therapist later, I was made to remember the fact that I had in fact already driven the R8 Gordini, and if it was even remotely as bad as the Alpine, then there was no way I could completely block it out mentally. In fact, I was surprised to find out that it was RR to begin with, because I wouldn't guess its cartoonishly foolish layout just by looking at its conventional 4 door sedan body style. I certainly didn't guess it either when I last drove it in Week 105, because not only was it not a disastrous mess, upon closer inspection this week, it is sublime.


The R8 Gordini is downright delightful in how it handles. It's calm, composed, predictable, agile, lightweight, well balanced, and what little sliding the rear end undergoes only helps the nose rotate into the corner with just a slight hint of a drift. Needless to say, being an RR car, you can certainly... encourage it to have some fun if you so desire. The car was so small and easy to place, that even the narrow, winding mountain roads of Bathurst felt like a wide open racetrack in the R8 Gordini, and Vic, Nismo, and Rick even went three wide there at one point! And all this is on Sport Hard tyres, down from the Sport Mediums the car originally comes with. The engine is similarly sprightly, being a NA unit that makes a nice carbureted noise that packs just the right amount of poke for the size and mass of the car, proportional to how much you wring it out. At just 80,000 Cr, it is even cheap, considering its grandiose history and the sheer amount of fun that will find you the moment you get into the car and turn the key. And because it's styling is best described as "(looking) like it was designed by a 5 year old that was given a crayon and told to draw a car", it fits the definition of a sleeper like a tailor made sheep clothing to hide a flame spitting wolf underneath. And guess what? When If Gran Turismo 7 comes, it will become even better, simply because it will finally be able to share its glory with other cars on the track with a similar PP rating to bring it out of obscurity.


In fact, I don't think I'm even doing the car justice with words. It somehow feels more than the sum of its parts. It has a certain magic to it that I can't describe. I think all of us who raced it on Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning felt it as well. I think that the mark of a truly amazing sports car is that it somehow encourages closely fought, nail biter races, bridging skill gaps and helping us all become better racers all while having the time of our lives we won't soon forget.





It's small, it's light, it's rear wheel drive, it handles miraculously, it makes all the right noises, it has a small, rev happy, flame spitting NA engine that begs to be revved, mated to a 5 speed stick, it's cheap, looks deceptively tame, and boasts a rich heritage. It even seats four! It is everything we petrolheads claim we want in a car, and it somehow still feels more than the sum of its parts. I said it during race day, but it needs to be repeated here on record: This car is an early contender for my vote of 2021 Car of the Year. Thank you so much @Alex p. for bringing this gem of a car up, and @Draggon for selecting it, because I never would've bat an eye at this otherwise. Hell, I wish I could daily this thing: that's how much I love this thing and want one.

 

"Oh great, another has-been RR rally car that's blue", I thought to myself when I saw that whichever genie Alex P has no doubt fervently rubbed was so pleased with him that it granted his wish for the R8 to be chosen for Car of the Week. After the horrific nightmare that is the Alpine A110, I would sooner drop an LS engine into my RX-7 than to ever have to drive another ancient Gacha machine of death. We know RR cars are terrible. We know rally cars are an irrelevant joke in this game, and that the rally experience in Gran Turismo Sport is seemingly — and hopefully, the nadir of the series. I then wondered how I'd make a one sentence review calling the R8 Gordini a Beater entertaining, and then mentally prepared myself for a whole afternoon of spins, crashes, and mayhem with 28 year old Vic gleefully drifting his way to victory with a 55 year lead over the rest of us.


So traumatic was my experience with the last RR rally car that I had blocked it out mentally, hence my surprise when I found out that I already had an R8 Gordini in my game, that wasn't a gift car. A visit to my therapist later, I was made to remember the fact that I had in fact already driven the R8 Gordini, and if it was even remotely as bad as the Alpine, then there was no way I could completely block it out mentally. In fact, I was surprised to find out that it was RR to begin with, because I wouldn't guess its cartoonishly foolish layout just by looking at its conventional 4 door sedan body style. I certainly didn't guess it either when I last drove it in Week 105, because not only was it not a disastrous mess, upon closer inspection this week, it is sublime.


The R8 Gordini is downright delightful in how it handles. It's calm, composed, predictable, agile, lightweight, well balanced, and what little sliding the rear end undergoes only helps the nose rotate into the corner with just a slight hint of a drift. Needless to say, being an RR car, you can certainly... encourage it to have some fun if you so desire. The car was so small and easy to place, that even the narrow, winding mountain roads of Bathurst felt like a wide open racetrack in the R8 Gordini, and Vic, Nismo, and Rick even went three wide there at one point! And all this is on Sport Hard tyres, down from the Sport Mediums the car originally comes with. The engine is similarly sprightly, being a NA unit that makes a nice carbureted noise that packs just the right amount of poke for the size and mass of the car, proportional to how much you wring it out. At just 80,000 Cr, it is even cheap, considering its grandiose history and the sheer amount of fun that will find you the moment you get into the car and turn the key. And because it's styling is best described as "(looking) like it was designed by a 5 year old that was given a crayon and told to draw a car", it fits the definition of a sleeper like a tailor made sheep clothing to hide a flame spitting wolf underneath. And guess what? When If Gran Turismo 7 comes, it will become even better, simply because it will finally be able to share its glory with other cars on the track with a similar PP rating to bring it out of obscurity.


In fact, I don't think I'm even doing the car justice with words. It somehow feels more than the sum of its parts. It has a certain magic to it that I can't describe. I think all of us who raced it on Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning felt it as well. I think that the mark of a truly amazing sports car is that it somehow encourages closely fought, nail biter races, bridging skill gaps and helping us all become better racers all while having the time of our lives we won't soon forget.





It's small, it's light, it's rear wheel drive, it handles miraculously, it makes all the right noises, it has a small, rev happy, flame spitting NA engine that begs to be revved, mated to a 5 speed stick, it's cheap, looks deceptively tame, and boasts a rich heritage. It even seats four! It is everything we petrolheads claim we want in a car, and it somehow still feels more than the sum of its parts. I said it during race day, but it needs to be repeated here on record: This car is an early contender for my vote of 2021 Car of the Year. Thank you so much @Alex p. for bringing this gem of a car up, and @Draggon for selecting it, because I never would've bat an eye at this otherwise. Hell, I wish I could daily this thing: that's how much I love this thing and want one.


Fantastic work as always. Look forward to your write ups every week.
 
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