It's
review time again! Before I start: am I the only one finding the fact that the car with the smallest displacement in the
Top Gear DLC is the five-litre Audi R8 so...
Convenient? Anyways, without further ado...
There is something...
Sinister about Rolls-Royces. Perhaps its their uncompromising attitude; or perhaps it's the thought that only to realize the beautiful dash trim, several acres of Amazonian Rainforest had to be cut down.
The Dawn is no exception: it's an imposing car, which somehow manages to be elegant even as it looks like a
brick. Handling-wise it's a bit more peppy than its hardtop brethren, suffering a lot less from the dreaded understeer we all had the chance to experience driving the Wraith around Brands Hatch - it's a lot more fun than you'd expect a 2-tonne luxury convertible to be, that's for sure.
The XJ-S is
yes, all of my yes. It's another car, like the Alfa 75, that I had lost all hopes of seeing in a videogame: and yet T10 delivers.
Not only did the XJ-S carry Jaguar through its roughest days and well into the 90s - but it's also, at least in my opinion, one of the most beautiful 2+2 GTs ever built. However, divided reception of its styling and just being born at the wrong time robbed this car of the success it deserved, almost relegating it to a footnote in Jaguar's history as the XKE hogs all the glory.
I just had to rejoyce in the sound of the 300 hp 5.3 litre HE V12 engine as I carved the perfect trajectory around Monza, using the grip provided by the wide tires and the powerful brakes to my full advantage. If this car will make it to FH3, I'll be a happy man indeed.
The SVR is proof that sometimes small changes are sufficient to completely transform the character of a car. If you don't keep the sportier bumpers and rims into consideration, the main difference between the standard model and this souped-up Cayenne competitor is its Adaptive Dynamics suspension package - something I wasn't sure Forza would ever simulate properly.
And yet, it feels so different from its meeker version. The sound of the V8 is now properly
ferocious. The grip, for a car of this weight and proportions,
immense. The Range Rover Sport stepped into a new role, and did so well.
The Charger Hellcat was one of the most requested cars over the official forums. And while I don't share that enthusiasm, I can see why - it is, after all, the most powerful sedan in the world, and likely to remain so for several years. And it seems just that bit less
psychotic than the Challenger... Which makes it all the more appealing to me.
The Project 7 is another lesson from the JLR's Special Vehicle Operations guys on how to completely change the character of a car. It's doesn't just
look like a track car: it
is a track car with stickier tires, more downforce, and a much more track-oriented suspension setup. Oh, and no roof. Which together with the rumble of the F-Type's V8, equals aural pleasure.
Just as I never liked the Gallardo, I never liked the last-gen R8. It was a car with no true identity - a weird blend of different stylistic messages that didn't fit too well together. It wanted to be a racecar, and at the same time it wanted to be the TT's bigger sister, and still, it was too similar to its Lamborghini parts donor to stand out for its merits, not only in looks, but also in driving dynamics.
And just like I loved the Huracan for adressing all the gripes I had with the Gallardo, I am loving the new R8 for doing the same with Audi's supercar. It's the perfect blend of Audi's new stylistic language, the stance of the pre-war Auto Union GP racers, and the angular, sharp looks of a concept car. Performance-wise, it's a pleasure to drive. The fixed rear wing constantly generates more than enough downforce to keep the rear grounded, and the car drives with such a laser-like focus that after the first three or four corners, no doubt will be left this is the German permutation of the more temperamental Huracan.
And finally, we come to this. The car
Ron Dennis has nightmares about; the Ferrari FXX K. One can't help but wonder if its unfortunate name wasn't deliberate: everything in Ferrari's ultimate hypercar exudes excitement - it's a 2 million dollars track toy that screams "fxxk yeah" at every shift, at every corner entry that leaves the tires smoking and the brakes glowing red-hot, at every hard push of the throttle.
One of the many advantages its Forza rendition provides over Driveclub's still very good one is the ability to choose your color: and doesn't it look a lot like a modern reinterpretation of the
Go Mifune in this red-on-white livery?
), but I know that wont happen ;D
.
.
... I'm gonna say it's my favourite car in the game 
