Car of the Week 228: COTY GTS Finale

  • Thread starter Racer283
  • 3,110 comments
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If you haven't seen the crossover pm yet, I letting you guys pick the next car.

So TEAM COTW please pick a car for the CROSSOVER CUP season 2.

Thanks
 
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YEEEES! I've been quietly waiting for the Amemiya FD to feature in COTW, since I already wrote a review for it on my photo gallery. I don't usually write reviews, but I hope the good folks here at COTW would tolerate my torrent of BS for just one post, because I love the FD RX-7 too much.

A car that has been on my wishlist of cars to appear in Gran Turismo Sport was the RE Amemiya μ過給圧上昇7, or the... uh... *checks Google translate* the Micro Boost Pressure Up 7. This thing.


The FD generation Mazda RX-7 is already on its own one of the finest handling, best looking sports car to ever see mass production, in my obviously biased opinion. However, as with most automotive fairy tales, the legend is only half in the machine, with the other half being in the culture it inspired, the competition it bred, and the memories it created for those lucky enough to be able to own one. That is to say, it's impossible to think of RX-7s without mentioning the still thriving aftermarket support for it; no surprise given how great a base for a performance car it is fresh from the factory: lightweight, low slung, low drag, wide spread 2 door body with a perfect 50/50 mass distribution, and a rev happy, compact engine up front driving the rear wheels.


And if one were to think of Rotary specialists in the aftermarket, most will, for good reason, first think of RE Amemiya. Founded by Isami Amemiya, the living legend has modified and raced his own Rotary Engine powered monstrosities in Yatabe, D1GP, and even GT300, and remains active to this day, still coming up with bespoke designs and wild concepts. The 2006 Micro Boost Pressure Up 7 that was last seen in Gran Turismo 6 however, is still by far my favourite FD ever. It retains the flowing, beautiful, natural curves and evocative shape of the FD, yet sports prominent aero parts that are not only fully functional, but seem to build off and further accentuate the pre-existing lines of the FD, instead of destroying them in the name of performance.


I fully admit I am biased, but I wholly believe that this is the sort of principle all aftermarket cars should aspire to, almost as though this car was some sort of tuning bible. So beautiful and so inextricably intertwined into Japanese car culture is this FD, that it looks equally at home in a bustling metropolitan city as it does an isolated mountain pass.



If I had the means to own an FD, I would spec it out EXACTLY like this one, aside from a few nitpicks. First off, I'd retain the pop up headlights, because, come on man, pop up headlights!


Aside from that, a pet peeve of mine is when cars don't come with a third brake light in the middle, or is somehow removed by the owner when de-winging their cars. Even the rear light cluster cover wasn't spared by RE Amemiya in the modification process, and is also a bespoke part, that's been pulled out to act as a small ducktail spoiler. I'm a massive fan of the part, but I really wish it kept the transparency and the middle brake light the stock FD had.


The in-game description of the Micro Boost Pr- look, can I just call it the Boost Up 7 from here on out? The Boost Up 7's in game description is surprisingly modest about the extensive list of changes this FD underwent to become to "Demon Lord of Mountain Passes", yet, I think it's a car that does all the speaking it needs to when you get behind the wheel. Aside from the visible aerodynamic parts, the car's chassis has been stiffened to confidence inspiring levels. The car's suspension was stiffed to more than three times its stock value, at around 18kg/mm, and visibly lowered. 5th and final gear ratios have been stretched out, though the car still retains a 5 speed manual, resulting in long gearing that is optimal for twisty mountain roads. The already spartan interior of the FD gains a power FC controller, bespoke, larger, more informative boost gauge than the pitiful one in the original that looked like an afterthought, and even a speedometer that doesn't max out mid fourth gear. The smallest details are just as important as the big performance changes: redline has been increased by about 500 to 8,500rpm, and the beeper that reminds drivers to shift up has been recalibrated accordingly to come on at 8,000rpm. It's little things like that that really tell me that this car is designed by and for someone who daily drives these things, which instills confidence beyond words, to me. Though, the last 500rpm has nothing really to offer, and is there moreso for engine braking, or for those pesky situations where you need to upshift, but you're fast approaching a corner. This is the one Rotary Engine car you might actually want to short shift at the stock redline of 8,000rpm, as heretic as it may sound.


Also, real quick: the turbo boost gauge in this car actually works! I am still unbelievably mad that the stock FD RX-7's turbo boost gauge in this game only toggles between full boost and no boost, nothing in between. But, hey, at least the gauge moved. The turbo gauge on the FC DOESN'T EVEN FREAKING WORK. I've lauded PD for their insane attention to detail in their cars, especially in this current generation, but wow, how could you miss something as big as a turbo boost gauge?!

A quick little fun fact: the stock radio unit in the JDM only RX-7 Spirit R is filled with atrocious English, as can be seen below:


Push LOAD buttin
Insert duscs after"IN" is displayed

I was genuinely curious as to whether the Boost Up 7 retained these... er... very charming quirks of the stock FD. The radio in the Boost Up 7 however, appears aftermarket as well. I wonder if Amemiya-san just didn't like the audio quality of the stock radio, or the English? Probably the English. Probably.


Surprisingly to me, this car comes fresh from Brand Central with Sports Hard tyres, down from the Sports Softs in GT6. I'm not sure if grip levels directly correlate from GT6 to GTS, but either way, the car feels most natural with Sport Softs, as though the car was set up with around that grip level in mind. With comfort tyres, um... well...



...you will basically never see your steering wheel straight again, as you adjust counter steering angles several times a second while the car hops over bumps, only to be immediately grounded and find grip again due to the spectacular aero of the car, all while the beefed up turbo tries to break the rear loose and the reinforced chassis struggles to keep all this mayhem in check. As beautiful as this car looks in pictures, I feel it really comes alive when viewed in motion.



I think easily the biggest difference I felt in the transition from 6 to Sport is that torque curves seem to be a lot better simulated now. I've heard journalists mention how, in the stock FD, the secondary turbo coming on mid corner can cause some hairy scenarios, yet I've never really had that problem in the confines of GT. Maybe it's because I'm sitting in my living room couch, isolated from the physical sensations a good sports car delivers. Maybe it's because the secondary turbo comes on at 4,500rpm in the stock car, and you're basically never dipping that low on the track. Maybe it's because the stock FD never did have that much power to begin with. In the Boost Up 7 though, holy HECK is it pronounced and scary. If you're used to driving Rotary Engine cars, you'd be hard wired to mash the throttle when revs are "low", because Rotaries are very peaky by nature, especially the turbocharged ones. When you mash the throttle in the Boost Up 7 however, it will freaking deliver. It won't even sound like much, but it will freaking deliver. Maybe it won't have the burnout in 4th style of torque muscle cars give you, and maybe it won't give you McLaren F1 throttle response, but it will still give you enough to break the rear tyres sideways if you're not careful, which, truth be told, is a hella scary combo. Oh, and have I mentioned? It's a rather thirsty beast, as Rotaries tend to be. Your rear end will be rapidly lightening over the course of an event, which further takes away from rear grip. If it's any saving grace though, the car retains its nimble, able, and willing handling up to and past its limits, which ironically I find makes it a phenomenal drift car, especially given it's willing and able to break its rear out over a wide rpm range. ...don't take my word for it, though. I can't and won't drift.




Sadly, while the car retains its agility and eagerness in corners, I feel that it has lost any and all of its predictability from 6 to Sport, and hence why I cannot consider it "Handling Nirvana" anymore. Don't get me wrong: on the Sports Soft tyres that I believe it should've come with, it's still an absolute joy to hoon around. I just find that its behaviour changes too much with mortality turned on; that is, the car's behaviour changes too much for my liking when tyre wear and fuel depletion comes into play. And, hey, maybe that was never a priority when RE Amemiya was setting this up for Touge runs in Hot Version. Maybe it's this car finally showing its age. Or maybe it's because I've been spoiled silly by all the bona fide racecars that are the main focus of GT Sport. I've even taken what I currently consider "Handling Nirvana", the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, and slapped Comfort Softs on it. Of course the pace fell, but its behaviour stayed very consistent with how it would usually handle. I'm probably doing something really asinine by downgrading tyres on a car, but as a street legal car you can drive daily if you're crazy enough, it's all the more important to me that its behaviour stays somewhat consistent, even as the pace falls. Of course, I put no other car to this test, but that's only because I expect and want so much more out of this car, because I love it so much.


I've never been a fan of replica racing liveries, because the liveries all scream "racecar" while the body sheepishly whimpers "stock". The Boost Up 7 looks almost like a Gr. 4 machine if I dare say so myself, which makes it a way better candidate for these replica liveries.







1998 RE Amemiya FD3S GT300 Livery by Not1Name Download Link.
[R] MAZDA RX-7 GT-C LM Livery by Skyline_539 Download Link.

I admittedly had way too much fun with this car, both on and off the track. This car doesn't come with any physical badging at all, only decals, so it's an extremely wide open canvas for you to create whichever variant of the FD RX-7 you want. I tried my hand at making two Type RZs, because this wouldn't be a Gran Turismo title without twenty million variants of the same car, right?








1992 ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type RZ RE雨宮仕様 Livery by XSquareStickIt Download Link
2000 Mazda RX-7 Type RZ RE雨宮仕様 Livery by XSquareStickIt Download Link

Lastly, enjoy a video of my horrendous driving. Stock settings, default ABS, Comfort Soft Tyres.



Thank you for putting up with the photo spam and walls of text!
 
Last edited:
YEEEES! I've been quietly waiting for the Amemiya FD to feature in COTW, since I already wrote a review for it on my photo gallery. I don't usually write reviews, but I hope the good folks here at COTW would tolerate my torrent of BS for just one post, because I love the FD RX-7 too much.

A car that has been on my wishlist of cars to appear in Gran Turismo Sport was the RE Amemiya μ過給圧上昇7, or the... uh... *checks Google translate* the Micro Boost Pressure Up 7. This thing.


The FD generation Mazda RX-7 is already on its own one of the finest handling, best looking sports car to ever see mass production, in my obviously biased opinion. However, as with most automotive fairy tales, the legend is only half in the machine, with the other half being in the culture it inspired, the competition it bred, and the memories it created for those lucky enough to be able to own one. That is to say, it's impossible to think of RX-7s without mentioning the still thriving aftermarket support for it; no surprise given how great a base for a performance car it is fresh from the factory: lightweight, low slung, low drag, wide spread 2 door body with a perfect 50/50 mass distribution, and a rev happy, compact engine up front driving the rear wheels.


And if one were to think of Rotary specialists in the aftermarket, most will, for good reason, first think of RE Amemiya. Founded by Isami Amemiya, the living legend has modified and raced his own Rotary Engine powered monstrosities in Yatabe, D1GP, and even GT300, and remains active to this day, still coming up with bespoke designs and wild concepts. The 2006 Micro Boost Pressure Up 7 that was last seen in Gran Turismo 6 however, is still by far my favourite FD ever. It retains the flowing, beautiful, natural curves and evocative shape of the FD, yet sports prominent aero parts that are not only fully functional, but seem to build off and further accentuate the pre-existing lines of the FD, instead of destroying them in the name of performance.


I fully admit I am biased, but I wholly believe that this is the sort of principle all aftermarket cars should aspire to, almost as though this car was some sort of tuning bible. So beautiful and so inextricably intertwined into Japanese car culture is this FD, that it looks equally at home in a bustling metropolitan city as it does an isolated mountain pass.



If I had the means to own an FD, I would spec it out EXACTLY like this one, aside from a few nitpicks. First off, I'd retain the pop up headlights, because, come on man, pop up headlights!


Aside from that, a pet peeve of mine is when cars don't come with a third brake light in the middle, or is somehow removed by the owner when de-winging their cars. Even the rear light cluster cover wasn't spared by RE Amemiya in the modification process, and is also a bespoke part, that's been pulled out to act as a small ducktail spoiler. I'm a massive fan of the part, but I really wish it kept the transparency and the middle brake light the stock FD had.


The in-game description of the Micro Boost Pr- look, can I just call it the Boost Up 7 from here on out? The Boost Up 7's in game description is surprisingly modest about the extensive list of changes this FD underwent to become to "Demon Lord of Mountain Passes", yet, I think it's a car that does all the speaking it needs to when you get behind the wheel. Aside from the visible aerodynamic parts, the car's chassis has been stiffened to confidence inspiring levels. The car's suspension was stiffed to more than three times its stock value, at around 18kg/mm, and visibly lowered. 5th and final gear ratios have been stretched out, though the car still retains a 5 speed manual, resulting in long gearing that is optimal for twisty mountain roads. The already spartan interior of the FD gains a power FC controller, bespoke, larger, more informative boost gauge than the pitiful one in the original that looked like an afterthought, and even a speedometer that doesn't max out mid fourth gear. The smallest details are just as important as the big performance changes: redline has been increased by about 500 to 8,500rpm, and the beeper that reminds drivers to shift up has been recalibrated accordingly to come on at 8,000rpm. It's little things like that that really tell me that this car is designed by and for someone who daily drives these things, which instills confidence beyond words, to me. Though, the last 500rpm has nothing really to offer, and is there moreso for engine braking, or for those pesky situations where you need to upshift, but you're fast approaching a corner. This is the one Rotary Engine car you might actually want to short shift at the stock redline of 8,000rpm, as heretic as it may sound.


Also, real quick: the turbo boost gauge in this car actually works! I am still unbelievably mad that the stock FD RX-7's turbo boost gauge in this game only toggles between full boost and no boost, nothing in between. But, hey, at least the gauge moved. The turbo gauge on the FC DOESN'T EVEN F:censored:ING WORK. I've lauded PD for their insane attention to detail in their cars, especially in this current generation, but hot 🤬 how could you miss something as big as a turbo boost gauge?!

A quick little fun fact: the stock radio unit in the JDM only RX-7 Spirit R is filled with atrocious English, as can be seen below:


Push LOAD buttin
Insert duscs after"IN" is displayed

I was genuinely curious as to whether the Boost Up 7 retained these... er... very charming quirks of the stock FD. The radio in the Boost Up 7 however, appears aftermarket as well. I wonder if Amemiya-san just didn't like the audio quality of the stock radio, or the English? Probably the English. Probably.


Surprisingly to me, this car comes fresh from Brand Central with Sports Hard tyres, down from the Sports Softs in GT6. I'm not sure if grip levels directly correlate from GT6 to GTS, but either way, the car feels most natural with Sport Softs, as though the car was set up with around that grip level in mind. With comfort tyres, um... well...



...you will basically never see your steering wheel straight again, as you adjust counter steering angles several times a second while the car hops over bumps, only to be immediately grounded and find grip again due to the spectacular aero of the car, all while the beefed up turbo tries to break the rear loose and the reinforced chassis struggles to keep all this mayhem in check. As beautiful as this car looks in pictures, I feel it really comes alive when viewed in motion.



I think easily the biggest difference I felt in the transition from 6 to Sport is that torque curves seem to be a lot better simulated now. I've heard journalists mention how, in the stock FD, the secondary turbo coming on mid corner can cause some hairy scenarios, yet I've never really had that problem in the confines of GT. Maybe it's because I'm sitting in my living room couch, isolated from the physical sensations a good sports car delivers. Maybe it's because the secondary turbo comes on at 4,500rpm in the stock car, and you're basically never dipping that low on the track. Maybe it's because the stock FD never did have that much power to begin with. In the Boost Up 7 though, holy HECK is it pronounced and scary. If you're used to driving Rotary Engine cars, you'd be hard wired to mash the throttle when revs are "low", because Rotaries are very peaky by nature, especially the turbocharged ones. When you mash the throttle in the Boost Up 7 however, it will f:censored:ing deliver. It won't even sound like much, but it will f:censored:ing deliver. Maybe it won't have the burnout in 4th style of torque muscle cars give you, and maybe it won't give you McLaren F1 throttle response, but it will still give you enough to break the rear tyres sideways if you're not careful, which, truth be told, is a hella scary combo. Oh, and have I mentioned? It's a rather thirsty beast, as Rotaries tend to be. Your rear end will be rapidly lightening over the course of an event, which further takes away from rear grip. If it's any saving grace though, the car retains its nimble, able, and willing handling up to and past its limits, which ironically I find makes it a phenomenal drift car, especially given it's willing and able to break its rear out over a wide rpm range. ...don't take my word for it, though. I can't and won't drift.




Sadly, while the car retains its agility and eagerness in corners, I feel that it has lost any and all of its predictability from 6 to Sport, and hence why I cannot consider it "Handling Nirvana" anymore. Don't get me wrong: on the Sports Soft tyres that I believe it should've come with, it's still an absolute joy to hoon around. I just find that its behaviour changes too much with mortality turned on; that is, the car's behaviour changes too much for my liking when tyre wear and fuel depletion comes into play. And, hey, maybe that was never a priority when RE Amemiya was setting this up for Touge runs in Hot Version. Maybe it's this car finally showing its age. Or maybe it's because I've been spoiled silly by all the bona fide racecars that are the main focus of GT Sport. I've even taken what I currently consider "Handling Nirvana", the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, and slapped Comfort Softs on it. Of course the pace fell, but its behaviour stayed very consistent with how it would usually handle. I'm probably doing something really asinine by downgrading tyres on a car, but as a street legal car you can drive daily if you're crazy enough, it's all the more important to me that its behaviour stays somewhat consistent, even as the pace falls. Of course, I put no other car to this test, but that's only because I expect and want so much more out of this car, because I love it so much.


I've never been a fan of replica racing liveries, because the liveries all scream "racecar" while the body sheepishly whimpers "stock". The Boost Up 7 looks almost like a Gr. 4 machine if I dare say so myself, which makes it a way better candidate for these replica liveries.







1998 RE Amemiya FD3S GT300 Livery by Not1Name Download Link.
[R] MAZDA RX-7 GT-C LM Livery by Skyline_539 Download Link.

I admittedly had way too much fun with this car, both on and off the track. This car doesn't come with any physical badging at all, only decals, so it's an extremely wide open canvas for you to create whichever variant of the FD RX-7 you want. I tried my hand at making two Type RZs, because this wouldn't be a Gran Turismo title without twenty million variants of the same car, right?








1992 ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type RZ RE雨宮仕様 Livery by XSquareStickIt Download Link
2000 Mazda RX-7 Type RZ RE雨宮仕様 Livery by XSquareStickIt Download Link

Lastly, enjoy a video of my horrendous driving. Stock settings, default ABS, Comfort Soft Tyres.



Thank you for putting up with the photo spam and walls of text!


Well now THIS is a review...
giphyc0ju2.gif
 
YEEEES! I've been quietly waiting for the Amemiya FD to feature in COTW, since I already wrote a review for it on my photo gallery. I don't usually write reviews, but I hope the good folks here at COTW would tolerate my torrent of BS for just one post, because I love the FD RX-7 too much.

A car that has been on my wishlist of cars to appear in Gran Turismo Sport was the RE Amemiya μ過給圧上昇7, or the... uh... *checks Google translate* the Micro Boost Pressure Up 7. This thing.


The FD generation Mazda RX-7 is already on its own one of the finest handling, best looking sports car to ever see mass production, in my obviously biased opinion. However, as with most automotive fairy tales, the legend is only half in the machine, with the other half being in the culture it inspired, the competition it bred, and the memories it created for those lucky enough to be able to own one. That is to say, it's impossible to think of RX-7s without mentioning the still thriving aftermarket support for it; no surprise given how great a base for a performance car it is fresh from the factory: lightweight, low slung, low drag, wide spread 2 door body with a perfect 50/50 mass distribution, and a rev happy, compact engine up front driving the rear wheels.


And if one were to think of Rotary specialists in the aftermarket, most will, for good reason, first think of RE Amemiya. Founded by Isami Amemiya, the living legend has modified and raced his own Rotary Engine powered monstrosities in Yatabe, D1GP, and even GT300, and remains active to this day, still coming up with bespoke designs and wild concepts. The 2006 Micro Boost Pressure Up 7 that was last seen in Gran Turismo 6 however, is still by far my favourite FD ever. It retains the flowing, beautiful, natural curves and evocative shape of the FD, yet sports prominent aero parts that are not only fully functional, but seem to build off and further accentuate the pre-existing lines of the FD, instead of destroying them in the name of performance.


I fully admit I am biased, but I wholly believe that this is the sort of principle all aftermarket cars should aspire to, almost as though this car was some sort of tuning bible. So beautiful and so inextricably intertwined into Japanese car culture is this FD, that it looks equally at home in a bustling metropolitan city as it does an isolated mountain pass.



If I had the means to own an FD, I would spec it out EXACTLY like this one, aside from a few nitpicks. First off, I'd retain the pop up headlights, because, come on man, pop up headlights!


Aside from that, a pet peeve of mine is when cars don't come with a third brake light in the middle, or is somehow removed by the owner when de-winging their cars. Even the rear light cluster cover wasn't spared by RE Amemiya in the modification process, and is also a bespoke part, that's been pulled out to act as a small ducktail spoiler. I'm a massive fan of the part, but I really wish it kept the transparency and the middle brake light the stock FD had.


The in-game description of the Micro Boost Pr- look, can I just call it the Boost Up 7 from here on out? The Boost Up 7's in game description is surprisingly modest about the extensive list of changes this FD underwent to become to "Demon Lord of Mountain Passes", yet, I think it's a car that does all the speaking it needs to when you get behind the wheel. Aside from the visible aerodynamic parts, the car's chassis has been stiffened to confidence inspiring levels. The car's suspension was stiffed to more than three times its stock value, at around 18kg/mm, and visibly lowered. 5th and final gear ratios have been stretched out, though the car still retains a 5 speed manual, resulting in long gearing that is optimal for twisty mountain roads. The already spartan interior of the FD gains a power FC controller, bespoke, larger, more informative boost gauge than the pitiful one in the original that looked like an afterthought, and even a speedometer that doesn't max out mid fourth gear. The smallest details are just as important as the big performance changes: redline has been increased by about 500 to 8,500rpm, and the beeper that reminds drivers to shift up has been recalibrated accordingly to come on at 8,000rpm. It's little things like that that really tell me that this car is designed by and for someone who daily drives these things, which instills confidence beyond words, to me. Though, the last 500rpm has nothing really to offer, and is there moreso for engine braking, or for those pesky situations where you need to upshift, but you're fast approaching a corner. This is the one Rotary Engine car you might actually want to short shift at the stock redline of 8,000rpm, as heretic as it may sound.


Also, real quick: the turbo boost gauge in this car actually works! I am still unbelievably mad that the stock FD RX-7's turbo boost gauge in this game only toggles between full boost and no boost, nothing in between. But, hey, at least the gauge moved. The turbo gauge on the FC DOESN'T EVEN F:censored:ING WORK. I've lauded PD for their insane attention to detail in their cars, especially in this current generation, but hot 🤬 how could you miss something as big as a turbo boost gauge?!

A quick little fun fact: the stock radio unit in the JDM only RX-7 Spirit R is filled with atrocious English, as can be seen below:


Push LOAD buttin
Insert duscs after"IN" is displayed

I was genuinely curious as to whether the Boost Up 7 retained these... er... very charming quirks of the stock FD. The radio in the Boost Up 7 however, appears aftermarket as well. I wonder if Amemiya-san just didn't like the audio quality of the stock radio, or the English? Probably the English. Probably.


Surprisingly to me, this car comes fresh from Brand Central with Sports Hard tyres, down from the Sports Softs in GT6. I'm not sure if grip levels directly correlate from GT6 to GTS, but either way, the car feels most natural with Sport Softs, as though the car was set up with around that grip level in mind. With comfort tyres, um... well...



...you will basically never see your steering wheel straight again, as you adjust counter steering angles several times a second while the car hops over bumps, only to be immediately grounded and find grip again due to the spectacular aero of the car, all while the beefed up turbo tries to break the rear loose and the reinforced chassis struggles to keep all this mayhem in check. As beautiful as this car looks in pictures, I feel it really comes alive when viewed in motion.



I think easily the biggest difference I felt in the transition from 6 to Sport is that torque curves seem to be a lot better simulated now. I've heard journalists mention how, in the stock FD, the secondary turbo coming on mid corner can cause some hairy scenarios, yet I've never really had that problem in the confines of GT. Maybe it's because I'm sitting in my living room couch, isolated from the physical sensations a good sports car delivers. Maybe it's because the secondary turbo comes on at 4,500rpm in the stock car, and you're basically never dipping that low on the track. Maybe it's because the stock FD never did have that much power to begin with. In the Boost Up 7 though, holy HECK is it pronounced and scary. If you're used to driving Rotary Engine cars, you'd be hard wired to mash the throttle when revs are "low", because Rotaries are very peaky by nature, especially the turbocharged ones. When you mash the throttle in the Boost Up 7 however, it will f:censored:ing deliver. It won't even sound like much, but it will f:censored:ing deliver. Maybe it won't have the burnout in 4th style of torque muscle cars give you, and maybe it won't give you McLaren F1 throttle response, but it will still give you enough to break the rear tyres sideways if you're not careful, which, truth be told, is a hella scary combo. Oh, and have I mentioned? It's a rather thirsty beast, as Rotaries tend to be. Your rear end will be rapidly lightening over the course of an event, which further takes away from rear grip. If it's any saving grace though, the car retains its nimble, able, and willing handling up to and past its limits, which ironically I find makes it a phenomenal drift car, especially given it's willing and able to break its rear out over a wide rpm range. ...don't take my word for it, though. I can't and won't drift.




Sadly, while the car retains its agility and eagerness in corners, I feel that it has lost any and all of its predictability from 6 to Sport, and hence why I cannot consider it "Handling Nirvana" anymore. Don't get me wrong: on the Sports Soft tyres that I believe it should've come with, it's still an absolute joy to hoon around. I just find that its behaviour changes too much with mortality turned on; that is, the car's behaviour changes too much for my liking when tyre wear and fuel depletion comes into play. And, hey, maybe that was never a priority when RE Amemiya was setting this up for Touge runs in Hot Version. Maybe it's this car finally showing its age. Or maybe it's because I've been spoiled silly by all the bona fide racecars that are the main focus of GT Sport. I've even taken what I currently consider "Handling Nirvana", the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, and slapped Comfort Softs on it. Of course the pace fell, but its behaviour stayed very consistent with how it would usually handle. I'm probably doing something really asinine by downgrading tyres on a car, but as a street legal car you can drive daily if you're crazy enough, it's all the more important to me that its behaviour stays somewhat consistent, even as the pace falls. Of course, I put no other car to this test, but that's only because I expect and want so much more out of this car, because I love it so much.


I've never been a fan of replica racing liveries, because the liveries all scream "racecar" while the body sheepishly whimpers "stock". The Boost Up 7 looks almost like a Gr. 4 machine if I dare say so myself, which makes it a way better candidate for these replica liveries.







1998 RE Amemiya FD3S GT300 Livery by Not1Name Download Link.
[R] MAZDA RX-7 GT-C LM Livery by Skyline_539 Download Link.

I admittedly had way too much fun with this car, both on and off the track. This car doesn't come with any physical badging at all, only decals, so it's an extremely wide open canvas for you to create whichever variant of the FD RX-7 you want. I tried my hand at making two Type RZs, because this wouldn't be a Gran Turismo title without twenty million variants of the same car, right?








1992 ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type RZ RE雨宮仕様 Livery by XSquareStickIt Download Link
2000 Mazda RX-7 Type RZ RE雨宮仕様 Livery by XSquareStickIt Download Link

Lastly, enjoy a video of my horrendous driving. Stock settings, default ABS, Comfort Soft Tyres.



Thank you for putting up with the photo spam and walls of text!

Awesome review, really enjoyed the read!
 
Ah, the Amemiya RX-7. I gotta be honest, I'm not sure I gelled with this car.

One of the rare examples of a proper "tuned" car in GT Sport, it certainly looks the part with a solid body kit which makes for some great liveries! Inside there's the good old fashioned analogue gauges, racing seats and... some sort of iPod thing on the passenger side? Seriously, what is that? I'm curious.

One thing that took me by surprise was how much torque the RX7 had. Traditionally, rotaries have pathetic torque, relying on revs and power. This means that my habit is to pretty much limiter bash each and every shift. But in this RX7, I found there was much more grunt in the lower rev ranges, but because of my preconceptions about rotaries, my shifting habit was a hard one to break!

Once I'd sort of mastered the shifting, the next problem I faced was the grip. Or rather the lack of. Yes, despite all the hype about this particular car and how good it is round corners, including it's title as "the demon lord of the mountain path" it just didn't seem to have any grip!

Maybe that's because it's built for twisty, winding mountain roads, of which there are none in GT Sport, and the tracks we raced on were simply too fast for it? I'm not sure but that's my excuse so I'm sticking with it! :lol:
In any case, it seemed really skittery and loose in my hands, and I could never seem to get a hang of it. It felt more like an entry level drifting machine than a toque titan.

I ended up having much more fun in the Impreza when I whipped it out, which kind of says something about the RX7. It's a beater for me.
 
I do admit the rear end is kind of loose. Can be tuned out largely but I would think people would expect that from this platform AND its Japanese tuner.
 
Aspara is GT300 so nominally 300hp and 1,100kg. Gr4 I guess.

But it sort of clashes with GT500 which is "Gr.2" so GT300 is not quite Gr.4 it would seem.

I would love it if they released three typical GT300 cars maybe the Daishin S15, Prius GT300, Toyota MRS and....

1000



Garaiya.

They would do well to mix in some multiclass racing with the Gt500s or they will just languiish as under utilised assets.
 
Yeah I love the '84 GTO. Think about the type of car available in 1984 and compare it to the GTO? There's nothing like it is there? 400hp longitudinal V8.

I actually like it more than the '88 F40. Just a cleaner more beautiful design.

Here's where it gets bad. I dont think the F40 is that great handling a car in GT Sport. I mean it is a 30 plus year old car so it is a bit of a pig/beast. And the GTO continues on that trend.

It isnt a great handling car compared to cars that are just a little bit newer. Of course the F40 and GTO are great handling cars in their respective years but both of them require really professional drivers.

I can slam both to victory on the Nurburgring against the GT4s but man, its hard, very hard.
 
Great car choice! Wild car. Quite hard to move at the limit, but still MUCH easier to control than the Countach, 512BB or even the X-BOW. I love its desing, its sound, it is fun to drive and it is faaaast. Verdict: I love this car. 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.

GTS Nordschleife hot lap STOCK Ferrari GTO '84: 07.32.834

 
A bit late to the party on the FD3S :D Admittedly, I have never tried this car in any GT game. Guilty of judging a book by it's cover, cast off as a super high HP drift machine.

Couldn't have been more wrong. Modest hp/tq increases is all you need on the FD chasis, which maintains the rev-happy characteristics of the rotary. And the suspension revisions allowed me to lean on the car much more. The oversteer is more snappy when it lets go as a result, but just like stock form, it's very manageable. Stays composed under hard braking as well. Rarely had to aggressively countersteer while braking into the hairpins at Sardegna A. To top it all off, the cabin experience is full of drama - all the custom gauges, the bright red seats, insanely loud turbo, and the intrusive shift indicator 'beep' makes it very dramatic.

Vehicle showcase video/VR hotlap at Sardegna A (skip to 2:08 if you just wanna see the VR hotlap):

 
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I shouldn't have driven it in PC2, at Mugello, after driving it in GTS at Monza.

These two(well, t was one into two, now one is now one :lol:) development teams, really need to combine efforts.
 
YEEEES! I've been quietly waiting for the Amemiya FD to feature in COTW, since I already wrote a review for it on my photo gallery. I don't usually write reviews, but I hope the good folks here at COTW would tolerate my torrent of BS for just one post, because I love the FD RX-7 too much.

A car that has been on my wishlist of cars to appear in Gran Turismo Sport was the RE Amemiya μ過給圧上昇7, or the... uh... *checks Google translate* the Micro Boost Pressure Up 7. This thing.


The FD generation Mazda RX-7 is already on its own one of the finest handling, best looking sports car to ever see mass production, in my obviously biased opinion. However, as with most automotive fairy tales, the legend is only half in the machine, with the other half being in the culture it inspired, the competition it bred, and the memories it created for those lucky enough to be able to own one. That is to say, it's impossible to think of RX-7s without mentioning the still thriving aftermarket support for it; no surprise given how great a base for a performance car it is fresh from the factory: lightweight, low slung, low drag, wide spread 2 door body with a perfect 50/50 mass distribution, and a rev happy, compact engine up front driving the rear wheels.


And if one were to think of Rotary specialists in the aftermarket, most will, for good reason, first think of RE Amemiya. Founded by Isami Amemiya, the living legend has modified and raced his own Rotary Engine powered monstrosities in Yatabe, D1GP, and even GT300, and remains active to this day, still coming up with bespoke designs and wild concepts. The 2006 Micro Boost Pressure Up 7 that was last seen in Gran Turismo 6 however, is still by far my favourite FD ever. It retains the flowing, beautiful, natural curves and evocative shape of the FD, yet sports prominent aero parts that are not only fully functional, but seem to build off and further accentuate the pre-existing lines of the FD, instead of destroying them in the name of performance.


I fully admit I am biased, but I wholly believe that this is the sort of principle all aftermarket cars should aspire to, almost as though this car was some sort of tuning bible. So beautiful and so inextricably intertwined into Japanese car culture is this FD, that it looks equally at home in a bustling metropolitan city as it does an isolated mountain pass.



If I had the means to own an FD, I would spec it out EXACTLY like this one, aside from a few nitpicks. First off, I'd retain the pop up headlights, because, come on man, pop up headlights!


Aside from that, a pet peeve of mine is when cars don't come with a third brake light in the middle, or is somehow removed by the owner when de-winging their cars. Even the rear light cluster cover wasn't spared by RE Amemiya in the modification process, and is also a bespoke part, that's been pulled out to act as a small ducktail spoiler. I'm a massive fan of the part, but I really wish it kept the transparency and the middle brake light the stock FD had.


The in-game description of the Micro Boost Pr- look, can I just call it the Boost Up 7 from here on out? The Boost Up 7's in game description is surprisingly modest about the extensive list of changes this FD underwent to become to "Demon Lord of Mountain Passes", yet, I think it's a car that does all the speaking it needs to when you get behind the wheel. Aside from the visible aerodynamic parts, the car's chassis has been stiffened to confidence inspiring levels. The car's suspension was stiffed to more than three times its stock value, at around 18kg/mm, and visibly lowered. 5th and final gear ratios have been stretched out, though the car still retains a 5 speed manual, resulting in long gearing that is optimal for twisty mountain roads. The already spartan interior of the FD gains a power FC controller, bespoke, larger, more informative boost gauge than the pitiful one in the original that looked like an afterthought, and even a speedometer that doesn't max out mid fourth gear. The smallest details are just as important as the big performance changes: redline has been increased by about 500 to 8,500rpm, and the beeper that reminds drivers to shift up has been recalibrated accordingly to come on at 8,000rpm. It's little things like that that really tell me that this car is designed by and for someone who daily drives these things, which instills confidence beyond words, to me. Though, the last 500rpm has nothing really to offer, and is there moreso for engine braking, or for those pesky situations where you need to upshift, but you're fast approaching a corner. This is the one Rotary Engine car you might actually want to short shift at the stock redline of 8,000rpm, as heretic as it may sound.


Also, real quick: the turbo boost gauge in this car actually works! I am still unbelievably mad that the stock FD RX-7's turbo boost gauge in this game only toggles between full boost and no boost, nothing in between. But, hey, at least the gauge moved. The turbo gauge on the FC DOESN'T EVEN FREAKING WORK. I've lauded PD for their insane attention to detail in their cars, especially in this current generation, but wow, how could you miss something as big as a turbo boost gauge?!

A quick little fun fact: the stock radio unit in the JDM only RX-7 Spirit R is filled with atrocious English, as can be seen below:


Push LOAD buttin
Insert duscs after"IN" is displayed

I was genuinely curious as to whether the Boost Up 7 retained these... er... very charming quirks of the stock FD. The radio in the Boost Up 7 however, appears aftermarket as well. I wonder if Amemiya-san just didn't like the audio quality of the stock radio, or the English? Probably the English. Probably.


Surprisingly to me, this car comes fresh from Brand Central with Sports Hard tyres, down from the Sports Softs in GT6. I'm not sure if grip levels directly correlate from GT6 to GTS, but either way, the car feels most natural with Sport Softs, as though the car was set up with around that grip level in mind. With comfort tyres, um... well...



...you will basically never see your steering wheel straight again, as you adjust counter steering angles several times a second while the car hops over bumps, only to be immediately grounded and find grip again due to the spectacular aero of the car, all while the beefed up turbo tries to break the rear loose and the reinforced chassis struggles to keep all this mayhem in check. As beautiful as this car looks in pictures, I feel it really comes alive when viewed in motion.



I think easily the biggest difference I felt in the transition from 6 to Sport is that torque curves seem to be a lot better simulated now. I've heard journalists mention how, in the stock FD, the secondary turbo coming on mid corner can cause some hairy scenarios, yet I've never really had that problem in the confines of GT. Maybe it's because I'm sitting in my living room couch, isolated from the physical sensations a good sports car delivers. Maybe it's because the secondary turbo comes on at 4,500rpm in the stock car, and you're basically never dipping that low on the track. Maybe it's because the stock FD never did have that much power to begin with. In the Boost Up 7 though, holy HECK is it pronounced and scary. If you're used to driving Rotary Engine cars, you'd be hard wired to mash the throttle when revs are "low", because Rotaries are very peaky by nature, especially the turbocharged ones. When you mash the throttle in the Boost Up 7 however, it will freaking deliver. It won't even sound like much, but it will freaking deliver. Maybe it won't have the burnout in 4th style of torque muscle cars give you, and maybe it won't give you McLaren F1 throttle response, but it will still give you enough to break the rear tyres sideways if you're not careful, which, truth be told, is a hella scary combo. Oh, and have I mentioned? It's a rather thirsty beast, as Rotaries tend to be. Your rear end will be rapidly lightening over the course of an event, which further takes away from rear grip. If it's any saving grace though, the car retains its nimble, able, and willing handling up to and past its limits, which ironically I find makes it a phenomenal drift car, especially given it's willing and able to break its rear out over a wide rpm range. ...don't take my word for it, though. I can't and won't drift.




Sadly, while the car retains its agility and eagerness in corners, I feel that it has lost any and all of its predictability from 6 to Sport, and hence why I cannot consider it "Handling Nirvana" anymore. Don't get me wrong: on the Sports Soft tyres that I believe it should've come with, it's still an absolute joy to hoon around. I just find that its behaviour changes too much with mortality turned on; that is, the car's behaviour changes too much for my liking when tyre wear and fuel depletion comes into play. And, hey, maybe that was never a priority when RE Amemiya was setting this up for Touge runs in Hot Version. Maybe it's this car finally showing its age. Or maybe it's because I've been spoiled silly by all the bona fide racecars that are the main focus of GT Sport. I've even taken what I currently consider "Handling Nirvana", the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, and slapped Comfort Softs on it. Of course the pace fell, but its behaviour stayed very consistent with how it would usually handle. I'm probably doing something really asinine by downgrading tyres on a car, but as a street legal car you can drive daily if you're crazy enough, it's all the more important to me that its behaviour stays somewhat consistent, even as the pace falls. Of course, I put no other car to this test, but that's only because I expect and want so much more out of this car, because I love it so much.


I've never been a fan of replica racing liveries, because the liveries all scream "racecar" while the body sheepishly whimpers "stock". The Boost Up 7 looks almost like a Gr. 4 machine if I dare say so myself, which makes it a way better candidate for these replica liveries.







1998 RE Amemiya FD3S GT300 Livery by Not1Name Download Link.
[R] MAZDA RX-7 GT-C LM Livery by Skyline_539 Download Link.

I admittedly had way too much fun with this car, both on and off the track. This car doesn't come with any physical badging at all, only decals, so it's an extremely wide open canvas for you to create whichever variant of the FD RX-7 you want. I tried my hand at making two Type RZs, because this wouldn't be a Gran Turismo title without twenty million variants of the same car, right?








1992 ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type RZ RE雨宮仕様 Livery by XSquareStickIt Download Link
2000 Mazda RX-7 Type RZ RE雨宮仕様 Livery by XSquareStickIt Download Link

Lastly, enjoy a video of my horrendous driving. Stock settings, default ABS, Comfort Soft Tyres.



Thank you for putting up with the photo spam and walls of text!




Stunning!!!! Love it!
 
The '84 GTO is the most beautiful angular design the ever was, and it will never be surpassed because of pedestrian safety.

It reminds me of this:



Doesnt matter if its Euro American or Japanese. You go back a few decades when I lusted after pop up headlights, manual box, RWD and some kind of V8 or inline six... AND preferably a turbo... and hopefully some nonsense like frameless doors, pillarless and an NCAP rating of Zero and an MPG in the 'teens.

This is the kind of insanity I want.
 
It reminds me of this:



Doesnt matter if its Euro American or Japanese. You go back a few decades when I lusted after pop up headlights, manual box, RWD and some kind of V8 or inline six... AND preferably a turbo... and hopefully some nonsense like frameless doors, pillarless and an NCAP rating of Zero and an MPG in the 'teens.

This is the kind of insanity I want.


LMAO I love this show/this guy! :lol::lol:
 
The 1984 Ferrari GTO is no stranger to Car of the Week, as it held the record for the most expensive car we tested in Gran Tursimo 6 for quite a period of time. In fact, you can read my original review of it here . Now several years later, I have a chance to revisit this car in Assetto Corsa. In addition to driving the Ferrari with wheels and pedals this time around; I also opted to forego anti-lock brakes and traction control, and bolted on street-legal tires in order to get as close as I could to the real-life car.

I opted to test the GTO on one of my favorite tracks, the fast and challenging Road America circuit in Wisconsin. I also chose to use the U.S. spec transmission with its 200+ MPH top speed gearing over the shorter geared European transmission. Because America. However, even on a track like Road America, I found I wasn't able to take advantage of the tall gearing. The only time I could even take 4th gear was towards the end of the long front straight before braking at turn one. And getting there requires keeping your foot on the throttle even as the front of the car starts to gain lift going up the hill and the steering wheel starts to feel noticeably less effective at keeping the car pointed straight.

Even scarier is when you have to start getting on the brake pedal. Trying to slow down for a corner with no ABS there to help feels like a near-death experience every time. Too little pedal or too much pedal, either way you're not going to slow down in time. And if the plumes of smoke are any indication, threshold braking is a skill I still have yet to master.



In many ways, this car is more challenging to drive than the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT3 car I pilot regularly on iRacing. There's no slick tires or aerodynamics to keep you pinned to the road, and no safety systems to intervene if you make a mistake. This is an instrument for only the most skilled of drivers. Yet, even with how difficult it is to drive at it's limits, this is a car I've come to appreciate far more since my original review. This is a Ferrari just as Enzo would want it. Immaculately beautiful in its design with an amazing engine note; anyone can gain some measure of enjoyment just bearing witness to this starlet of a car, even if its driving performance is reserved for but a talented few. Neither Beater nor Sleeper. Just an Icon.
 
We all know about the age old rivalry between Mitsubishi Lancer Evo and Subaru WRX on the dirt but what will happen when they take it to the streets in COTW. This week we are testing out the Grade 4 Evo and WRX. This weeks cars were chosen by @05XR8

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Ooooh, a double whammy! I'll bet we might see some MMC drivers join us, they love the Mitsubishi :D
 
Ooooh, a double whammy! I'll bet we might see some MMC drivers join us, they love the Mitsubishi :D

That's cool and I might try and stream to Twitch Tuesday night as I just connected my PS4 account to my Twitch account today.

Also I've updated the main page of this forum topic. Now you can click on the spoiler tabs to view the 2018 COTW picks and 2019 COTW picks. The current list that you should see is the 2020 COTW list. Hopefully that makes it easier to view and see what cars we've done and what's current.
 
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