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- snakebacon97
Now that's a pretty car! It's Kodo but also grrrrr.🫦
And yet, interested enough to tell the entire forum how uninterested you are. 🤔
An Alpine 110R GR3 would be sick and fill a hole in the line up, as would a VW Gr1 and YES a new Honda for Gr3 and Gr2
Sure, but posting disinterest is pointless. Even A negative post would have been more productive. Heck, my initial post was somewhat negative. I like the car, but dislike that they will likely ignore Sophy support yet again.
I disagree. Nothing wrong with going "it does nothing for me", even if you don't straight dislike it. It can be data for the studio should they see it. Maybe you still want to commit to your plans anyway, but it's good to take into account. Also, I feel the same thing applies that it's a forum so it's still valid even outside of that, IMO.
I dunno. I've been using the 2022 Porsche and watching my teammate use it. I haven't hit a track so far where it doesn't work. Although, I recall that the Unimog doesn't work properly on Catalunya.
), but the best comparison I can make is the current Mustang vs the Lexus and Mercs.
I didn't know modern GT3/hypercars were so combined, parts wise. I guess I never thought about it but maybe subconsciously I assumed GT3s were based on the road car and then upgraded to meet GT3 specs. Like the older GT3 cars as you mentioned in your post. Cool to know, though, thanks for sharing!GT3 cars have already been disconnected from production variants for several years, I’d argue almost a decade now. They share virtually no parts with the production version, and they few they do are usually only head/tail light modules or joints for mounting doors or hoods. The chassis is redesigned and rebuilt from scratch, the engine is “based” on the architecture of the production model but is a fundamentally different unit, and in most cases all the paneling or even the chassis itself is a completely different material or construction concept.
Right now the Mercedes and Lexus GT3s are the oldest, and retain some semblance of “older” construction designs and methods, but both of those are being replaced within the next 6-18 months. The McLarens also share a lot in common with the production chassis, but that’s more so because McLaren’s design philosophy is to build everything around a carbon tub, basically everything they make has racing tech built in, and all of their road cars are designed somewhat similarly to how race cars are designed.
This all happens because part of the GT3 rulebook enforces that the same engine placement and layout of the production unit is used on the race car, so by starting the platform with a Motorsport purpose in mind, it makes the race car far more competitive and advantageous as a platform to potential customers. This has turned into in everything being built with engines and transmissions shoved closer and closer to the driver, or rear mounted transaxles on FR layouts. In general engines and transmissions are now stressed members of the chassis, directly mounted to the firewall with no additional bracing, exactly the same way prototype and formula race cars are built.
I’ve shared some of this before in other threads, but modern GT3s basically have 6-10 external panels that just clip together, and can be carried off in chunks, reducing the differences between their construction and the Hypercar class prototypes they share a track with:
BMW GT3:
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BMW Hypercar/GTP:
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Porsche GT3:
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Porsche Hypercar/GTP:
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I haven’t seen every single platform completely disassembled yet (though I’m not far off
Mustang replacing its test week engine with the race week engine:
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Lexus and Mercedes partly disassembled - note how many pieces the bumpers, splitters, and wheel wells require. Also, the amount of additional bracing the Lexus has for its engine mount:
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Compared to a Corvette’s much simpler puzzle pieces:
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Early GT3 cars back in the late 2000s and early 2010s were basically modified and race prepped road cars rather than stuff built from scratch.
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Nowadays only GT4, TCR, and various Cup classes use cars pulled directly off the production line.
Here’s some smashed ones I saw at Sebring:
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Most GT3 cars are outright built by current prototype/formula/general racing car development firms. The Mustang is built by multimatic, who produce the Porsche 963 and Valkyrie chassis, and actually previously built the chassis for Mazda’s old DPi prototype. Oreca made the older vipers and current Ferrari 296s, and are the main LMP2 provider as well as the tub and floor supply for the Acura, Alpine, Genesis, and soon Ford GTPs/Hypercars. At IMSA events you’ll see Oreca hauler trucks that carry parts both for LMP2s and Ferrari 296s on board:
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Tying this back to the Mazda vision, if this were to be a real car both for the road and for racing, it most likely would be in GT3 (nothing else higher exists for production-related racing anymore), and will likely be a lot like the upcoming Toyota GR-GT in how it was designed and developed. Engine rammed waaaayyy far back into the fire wall, transaxle behind the driver, both of which mount directly to the main tub of the car with no additional bracing, and the nose pushed forward a bit to fit larger splitters and cooling solutions.
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Bugatti is that one brand that has a a missing link for the Manufacturers Cup, where there is a Veyron Gr. 4, but no Gr. 3 car to date.
Yeah, most race cars come apart in this way now because it’s advantageous to have a car that’s easier to service than your competitors. These platforms are primarily designed for endurance racing, meaning you’re anticipating high chances of damage or mechanical issues. If you can get to any component by just taking off 2-3 panels it’s a pretty big deal, and it’s the current design direction and innovation that’s now making its way into production cars. Ease of service is a major benefit for boutiques who only have so many specialists available.
Thanks for the info! Never thought about ease of service but it makes sense. I assume you can gain track time data/setup advantages from the time won over multiple services through quicker mechanical changes.
