My Car Reviews - C 63 AMG vs M3 Coupe comparison review

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I enjoy the sound of the classic muscle cars more. I have a Challenger R/T that outcornered a R34 GTR on Eiger, so I can use them well.
I found the problem with my V12 Vantage. I messed with the suspension too much and ruined it. I used another V12 Vantage for the race and it was amazing. It was such a smooth driving car, and so easy on driving, I would definetly run a 2 or more hour race with it over almost any other car.
RM on the front and RS on the back made tire wear fairly even all round.

The Vantage really is a great drive. I haven't tried it on other tyres than the stock ones though. Took it to Nurburgring again and the feeling was completely the same, still on of the best drives on the Nordschleife. Think I've improved my time with a couple of seconds.

Also had the chance to drive the Aventador some more. After trying it on some other tracks I think I would rate the handling at 8.5 now. It does have some understeering problems. But I would also turn up the fun rating to 10 because it's such a great ride. Controlling a slide by just throwing more power at it is great :D Got the time on Nurburgring down to 7:17 (Just found out that this lap was done in the one I used for the Nurb GP test with still soft sport tyres) in it
 
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These are some great reviews! I think you should review some classic muscle cars, like a Dodge Charger R/T 70.
 
TVR Tuscan Speed 6

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Akwaaba told me he was interested in my view on the Tuscan. When he told me that I replied that I had never driven the normal version, only the RM’d car. So I took a look at my garage and saw that the normal car actually had a lot of mileage on it. Then I remembered that a while ago there was a seasonal event for the Tuscan on one of the variations on Cape Ring. I don’t like that track at all so the fact that the Tuscan has so many miles on it must mean that I liked the car or just that the event payed real good because I still needed new cars back then.

The car had some engine tuning done to it so I loaded up the dealership and got a brand new one in the Chameleon Blue color. Time to see if and why I liked it. Refreshed the oil and while I’m at GT auto anyway put some black rims on it for no real reason.

SPECS​

Max Power: 373 hp at 7000 rpm
Max Torque: 426 Nm at 5000 rpm
Weight: 1100 kg
Performance Points: 503
Sport Hard tyres

LOOKS​

Took it to photomode and one reason to love this car are the looks. It is just so special and curvy. It is probably a hate it or love it kind of look, but I love it. It has two headlights on each side above each other which looks great. And it’s a reason for me to test it on a night lap to see how they look when they’re on. I don’t know why but the front reminds me of a modern impression of those old mafia cars. I hope that makes sense. It has a lot of curves but I don’t think there are too much. Some things I don’t like are the exhausts and the strange grill.

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SOUND​

I find the sound in the game a bit disappointing. It’s not that bad but I expected a nicer sound from a TVR. I did find some videos of tuned Tuscans and they sounded great. Since I don’t like the exhausts anyway I will try tuning the sound a bit after the review.

TESTS

Test 1: Route X Speed Tests

Well I didn’t remember that this thing is so fast. The 373 hp are good for a final topspeed of 295,2 km/h which is not bad at all. At first I was a bit confused because I thought the the digital rev meter was a speedometer :P
The acceleration is good aswell. It has some wheelspin in first gear but it is not still spinning in 4th gear like its big brother, the Speed 12. The Speed 6 is another car that reaches 200 km/h before the 1000m mark.

  • Top Speed: 295,2
  • 0-400m: 12,822 s.
  • 0-1000m: 22,700 s.
  • 0-100km/h: 4,759 s.
  • 0-200km/h: 14,514 s.
  • Max G-force: 0,70 g

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Test 2: Nurburgring Variable Weather/Time lap time​
Taking it to the Nurburgring to see if all that power on the rear wheels works. I load the track and it is dry. The weather is random but the time is always set at 5:30am. I really would like that to be random aswell but now I set it to 21:00 because I want to see how the lights of the car look like.

I expected oversteer to be a big problem on this car because of its low weight and the high power. But in the first sectors it didn’t prove to be as big of a problem as I thought. I had some while exiting the first corner but it didn’t really slide. I make a big mistake at Schwedenkreuz going off track because of judging it wrong in the night but the lap stays clean. I then try to get to the outside for a good line but of of the wheels gets in the grass spinning me out and crashing. Now the lap is in the red.

I continue the lap and make a couple more mistakes because of bad judgement, mistaking some corners for other ones. In the corner before Karussel the oversteer really shows but it is controllable. The corner onto the straight is where the understeer shows. I need to let go off the throttle to not go off track. Some more understeer in the final corner and I end the lap in 8:14,023.

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I took a break because I clearly wasn’t completely there with my head missing all those corners. The break seemed to have worked because I get to Schwedenkreuz fine this time. The following corner has some understeer in it. I also get past the part where I crashed the lap before but I’m a bit more cautious this lap not really taking the car to its limits. Some slow corners are annoying to take. You get the feeling of understeer and when you think you’re clear to go you put on some power and the oversteer shows. But luckily it isn’t that way in most corners.

In the section after Karussel it has some problems changing direction in the corners that follow each other fast. Some more understeer in the corner with the gravel just keeping it out of the dirt. This time the corner onto the straight goes great. I brake a bit and could accelerate all the way through. You really need to work you throttle and brake in this car and I think that’s quite fun to do. I end the lap when the sun is just coming up in: 8:02,680. Checked the replay to see the lights and they look good. But I think bright xenon lights would fit this cars looks better.

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Test Three: Taking The TVR Tuscan To The Tokyo Time Trial​

Tokyo looked like a fun track to test this car on. It has a long straight suitable for the top speed this car has. And I’d like to find out if there’s understeer in the fast and long corners here. Also like to see if I can get some controlled drifts in the car.

The first lap I notice that the understeer is present in the fast corners. It takes a while before you can put full throttle again exiting them. In the downhill corner before the second split I ended up in the wall. Not sure if it was because I took it too fast or understeer. The car has no problems in the next sector, you only need to watch out when to accelerate in the last corner before the straight. But almost all cars need that in that corner.

In lap two I end up in the wall at the long turn by the stadium because of understeering. I get through the corner I crashed in last lap fine but need to watch out in the next corner because I’m carrying more speed this time and I only just avoid the wall. The rest of the lap is good.I found the understeer now let’s see if I can get some controlled drift out of this FR car.

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The car has too much grip to get some fun sliding going. You get oversteer and when you countersteer it immediately exits the drift. Good thing for handling a bit less for the fun.

I wrote that previous part a bit too soon. The rest of the lap was filled with great controlled drifts. You just need to use the handbrake to get a good slide going and the car will not correct itself as fast. I even managed to drift through the difficult downhill corner just before that final hairpin without hitting the guardrails. Forget that ''a bit less for the fun’’ and add a big plus.

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Test 4: Spa will show​

I’m still not really sure what to think of this car’s handling. So I decide to do one more test on Spa. A little bit of oversteer while exiting the first corner. Understeer in the middle of Eau Rouge which makes for a bad exit and a dirty lap. Some drifting through Rivage followed by bad understeer in the long left hander. The rest of the lap is without real problems.

In lap 2 I slow down more than I really want in Eau Rouge to not get the understeer and that seems to work. This time I get the long left hander right. And again no real problems in the last part apart from some corners where you need to watch your throttle for understeer.

I went on and did 5 laps in total. Ended up with a best lap of 2:44,867. To be honest I still don’t really know how to rate the handling. Sometimes it feels good and sometimes it feels bad. One thing I do know is that you shouldn’t brake late in this car because then it shows it worst behavior. Forgot to save the replay so no pictures for this one.

Test 5: Top Gear Test Track Power Lap​

Another UK car on the track. Will it surprise the Aston Martins? Off the line with the rear wheels spinning. Good first corner. Understeer while entering Chicago and oversteer exiting it. When exiting Hammerhead it begins to slide but it corrects good. A bit too good perhaps because I didn’t expect it, causing me to put full throttle on and slide again. A tap on the brakes in Benley followed with full power. It understeers but stays on track and I can take it past the tyres at full speed. Brake a bit too late for the second to last corner but it gives a nice line for the following corners and the TVR goes across the line in: 1:23,667. Only a second slower than the Vanquish.
rev7.jpg

CONCLUSION​
The TVR is a suprising car. It’s just not what I expected. I expected I was going to have to fight oversteer in every corner but the car has a lot of grip so understeer seems to be a bigger problem. It requires some work to drive right and therefore is a rewarding drive when you get a good lap. It looks good and strange colors like the Chameleon Blue suit it.

The handling is not that bad but it feels inconsistent. Sometimes it feels like a 8 and sometimes it feels like a 5. So I will take the average of that. It costs less than 100.000 credits and that money buys you a car that almost reaches 300 km/h and is almost as fast as the Vanquish around a track. I did have fun driving it and will give it the following rating:

Looks: 8.5/10
Handling: 6.5/10
Fun: 7.5/10
Total: 7.5/10
 
These are very nice reviews! Any chance you'll review the Mazdaspeed Atenza '05?

Thanks a lot! I'll put it on my to do list. Haven't driven it yet. I'm now planning a duo test with two classic muscle cars. I think that will take a while.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_XJR-9

A variant of the XJR-9, the XJR-9LM, would be developed specifically for the 24 Hours of Le Mans where the requirement for high straight line speeds on the Mulsanne straight necessitated a low-drag aerodynamic package.

The XJR-9 was able to take six victories, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, over the eleven race season and clinch another world championship.
 
Akwaaba told me he was interested in my view on the Tuscan. When he told me that I replied that I had never driven the normal version, only the RM’d car. So I took a look at my garage and saw that the normal car actually had a lot of mileage on it.

Thanks, I was interested, I own the car in real life, and driven the Tuscan quite alot in the game. I am always disappointed with the in-game sound though, and it doesn't quite feel as fast in game either. According to road tests of the time, it'd do 0-60 in less than 4 seconds, maybe the press cars had a bit more attention ....

listen to this:



not my car, nor my clip, but did help me decide which midlife crisis car to get

CONCLUSION​
The TVR is a suprising car. It’s just not what I expected. I expected I was going to have to fight oversteer in every corner but the car has a lot of grip so understeer seems to be a bigger problem. It requires some work to drive right and therefore is a rewarding drive when you get a good lap. It looks good and strange colors like the Chameleon Blue suit it.

The handling is not that bad but it feels inconsistent. Sometimes it feels like a 8 and sometimes it feels like a 5. So I will take the average of that. It costs less than 100.000 credits and that money buys you a car that almost reaches 300 km/h and is almost as fast as the Vanquish around a track. I did have fun driving it and will give it the following rating:

Looks: 8.5/10
Handling: 6.5/10
Fun: 7.5/10
Total: 7.5/10

A couple of months after buying my 'real' car, took it onto a circuit, with my limited driving experience on racing tracks, I gradually pushed the car (and what I thought the limits of me and the car). To begin with it didn't feel that great round the corners - wasn't disappointed - the sound and the speed certainly made up for it!

As I got more comfortable, slow in, gently increasing speed through the early part of the corner and then pushing harder on the exit meant that I wwas getting ever faster speeds at the end of the straights.

No traction control, no anti-lock brakes and incidently no air bags, 380bhp and around 1000kg, with huge articulated lorries circulating around the edge, meant I didn't want to start recording laptimes, and then spoil my day by falling off!! Did completely wreck my front tyres, and there isn't much life left in the rear one's - so I clearly was trying ... a bit!!

It was no match for the latest Nissan GTR's but they didn't look as much fun round the corners - computised 4 wheel drive may have made a bit of difference!

Interesting review, thanks!

oh, this is my car:
P1012385v2.jpg
 
These are all great, you should do the Ford RS200 and go rallying in it

Haha the RS200 is one ridiculous looking car :D Do you mean the Rally car or the Road version?

I have enjoyed your reviews this far keep up the good work :)

My suggestion for a future review the M3 CSL

I like M3's but I don't think I still have a stock CSL anymore. Think I only have one left that's tuned for online but I have to check that.

I'm interested in seeing a Evo X review

I like that car a lot. I'm sure I will do one but I don't think it will be soon. Expect it to be a bit biased :P

Interesting review, thanks!

oh, this is my car:

You're a lucky guy to have such a car. The idiotic high parking costs and 17 year waiting list for a permit make sure I can't have a car right now. I had fun doing the review. Was a good drive.

I've chosen the two classic muscle cars that will go head to head and called in reinforcements to test it. I expect it's finished tomorrow.

Thanks for the nice words everyone btw!
 
I really like your reviews and I'm interested to know your opinion about Alfa Romeo 8C Competizioe... :)
 
How about doing some comparisons? Like C63 vs M3...

Yeah I'm busy with the first comparison. Two classic muscles battling for the best. Didn't do much on it yet. Had a friend over to help with the drag race but we got a bit distracted and spent a long time dragging a lot of other cars :D Very fun to do with someone who isn't that good in normal circuit racing.

I'm planning on doing one comparison a week. Your idea seems good.


I really like your reviews and I'm interested to know your opinion about Alfa Romeo 8C Competizioe... :)

Yeah I really need to test that on track soon. You can expect it this week. Haven't used it since I golded the Eiger Time Trial in it.
 
Yeah I'm busy with the first comparison. Two classic muscles battling for the best. Didn't do much on it yet. Had a friend over to help with the drag race but we got a bit distracted and spent a long time dragging a lot of other cars :D Very fun to do with someone who isn't that good in normal circuit racing.

I'm planning on doing one comparison a week. Your idea seems good.

Can't wait for that! :)👍
 
Just lost my save after the game froze in an online race. I accidentally erased my latest backups for stuff needed for college and the last backup on my computer is dated the 13th of June 2011. I still have almost all the cars on that save and am level 40 on both Specs.

Went back about 200 cars but a lot of those were duplicates and I lost about 24.000 driven kms. I am missing standard cars so I can't review every car now and I only have 2.822 credits :P Good news is that I didn't lose my photos and that I still have the two cars I was reviewing. Glad I'm not set back that much. Could have been a lot worse to be honest. At least I've learned to do more regular backups.

So no delays in the reviews. The muscle car comparison is up tomorrow. Only need to do the last 2 tests.
 
I can send you a RS200 to review if you need it

Just checked and I still have it, but thanks for the offer.

The M3 CSL I tuned for online is stock again so I can also review that. Not taking anymore requests now. I've added a list of requested cars in post 2 under the leaderboards and I will work my way through those first. Please tell me if I missed one.
 
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I know I have already requested something, but maybe you could do a FGT vs. F2007 vs. F10 special
 
I know I have already requested something, but maybe you could do a FGT vs. F2007 vs. F10 special

Yeah I have a lot of idea to compare cars and that is one of them. I'm first going to do a couple others though.

The muscle review is ready, only need to resize the pictures but got to go now. so it's up tonight.
 
Plymouth Cuda 440 Six Pack ‘71

VS

Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 ‘70


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Someone in the replies gave me the great idea to review classic muscle cars. I decided to review two at the same time and see which one wins. First I needed to find two cars with about the same performance so I added all the classic muscle cars to my favourites and looked for two with the same stats. The Cuda and the Chevelle had exactly the same PP so that seemed like a good choice. The Chevelle has 60 more horsepower but also weighs almost 200kg more.

This will be a battle to see which one of the two I like best so after every test I will declare a winner and that one gets a point. There are 7 points to be earned. These two cars actually were my favourite muscle cars in one of the Need for Speed games (I think it was ProStreet) and the Cuda was my favourite of the two. This test should show if it deserves to be in a serious racing game as well.

SPECS​

Plymouth Cuda 440 Six Pack

Max Power: 365 hp at 4500 rpm
Max Torque: 609 Nm at 2500 rpm
Weight: 1576 kg
Performance Points: 469
Sport Hard tyres
64.312,0 km.

Chevrolet Chevelle 454 SS

Max Power: 426 hp at 5500 rpm
Max Torque: 633 Nm at 3500 rpm
Weight: 1762 kg
Performance Points: 469
Sport Hard tyres
73.409,0 km.

LOOKS​

The two have very different styles. Where the Chevelle is more subtle and refined the Plymouth just goes for the raw powerful look. It’s really hard for me to pick which one looks best because I like them both. But I decided to go for the Cuda because I like a powerful look on a muscle car.

Cuda 1-0 Chevelle

SOUND​

This one has a clear winner and that is the Chevelle. The sound is great on this car and not only in chase cam. Finally a car that also sounds good in the cockpit cam that I only use. I really enjoyed driving in this car because of that. It took a while for me to take off in the Top Gear challenge because I just wanted to hear it rev up for a while.

Cuda 1-1 Chevelle

TESTS

Test 1: Route X Drag Race

The first thing I thought of when I had the idea to compare two muscle cars was: Drag race them! Route X was the perfect place for this. I’m in the Cuda and an incompetent friend in the Chevelle. We line up, which is pretty hard to do in the limited view of standard cars in splitscreen, for a 1000 meter drag race and take off.

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The Cuda takes the lead and looks good.

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After about 150 meters the Chevelle gets going and is now head to head with the Cuda

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At 500 meters all seems lost to the Cuda and the Chevelle keeps on going to humiliate his opponent.

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After 1000 meters the Chevelle takes a big win going 205 km/h and I’m beaten in the 183 km/h Cuda.

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One point to the Chevelle.

Cuda 1-2 Chevelle

Test 2: Route X Speed Tests

Now I do the speed tests to see where the differences in acceleration are what caused the Chevelle to win that badly. First up is the Cuda. It reaches a topspeed of 192,4 km/h and bounces off the rev limter. I did the acceleration tests and now on to the Chevelle.

This one feels a lot faster. It reaches a top speed of 211,6 km/h. In the acceleration test I found out why the Cuda took the lead in the drag race. The Chevelle has more wheelspin when taking off but then picks up speed fast and beats the Cuda in every test apart from the g-force test. I won’t give the Chevelle another point for this test because it is basically the same as the drag race.

Cuda

  • Top Speed: 192,4 km/h
  • 0-400m: 14,695 s.
  • 0-1000m: 27,090 s.
  • 0-100km/h: 6,244 s.
  • 0-200km/h: N/A
  • Max G-force: 0,62 g

Chevelle

  • Top Speed: 211,6 km/h
  • 0-400m: 13,680 s.
  • 0-1000m: 24,804 s.
  • 0-100km/h: 5,392 s.
  • 0-200km/h: 20,803
  • max g-force: 0,61 g

Test 3: Nurburgring Variable Weather/Time lap time​

Knowing the Chevelle has a speed advantage I won’t be giving the point judging on the laptime alone. Handling and fun will be more important in this test. Old muscle cars are known for their terrible handling but most ones I’ve driven in the game so far weren’t bad at all. The Camaro Z28 ’69 is actually a pretty good handling car, even without the racemod.

First up is the loser of the last test, the Cuda. The track is dry so the Chevelle will also be tested in dry conditions. It feels a bit heavy but it handles surprisingly well. It does have some problems exiting the s-turns in the first sector. The corner after the first split can be taken at full speed. Schwedenkreuz also needs no braking and can be taken at 193 km/h but it does reach it top speed and bounces off the limiter. The big car brakes in time for the next corner.

It has some understeering problems when I braked late in the long downhill righthander before the hairpin and it makes me go into the guardrails but still a clean lap. It loses some speed on the fast uphill section before Karussel but I must say this car is very easy to drive. I didn’t encounter any problems with the back sliding away yet.

Some understeer in the corners after Karussel and in the two corners before the straight, but most corners are really easy to take without the need to play with your throttle. It crosses the finish line after: 8:54,651.

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Now the Chevelle gets a lap on the ‘Ring. You can immediately feel and hear that it is faster. It shows understeer while braking in the first sector. You do need to brake for the corner after the first split in this car and you need to let go of the throttle for a moment in Schwedenkreuz. Although it is 200 kg heavier it isn’t hard to brake for the corner following Schwedenkreuz. Some understeer in the slow corners and the rear wheels spin while exiting them but the back doesn’t slide away.

It doesn’t understeer in the corner where I hit the wall with the Cuda but my braking point was better this time. No problems in the fast sector before Karussel and I get the back to slide a bit in the corner before Karussel. The last part of the track had no problems at all and it finishes the lap in 8:32,811.

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The Chevelle also takes the point in this test. It felt faster and it was a lot more fun to drive than the Cuda. The handling on the Cuda is a bit better. It feels more stable.

Cuda 1-3 Chevelle

Test 4: Muscling up Laguna Seca​

The next logical track is Laguna Seca. First of all because it’s an American track. It also it a lot smaller than the Nurburgring and doesn’t have that long straights. Let’s see if the slower Cuda can impress here. It needs to win both tests to still have a chance.

It has some understeering problems while exiting the first corner. It’s been a while since I’ve driven on Laguna Seca so I am careful and brake too early most of the time. The car has no problems accelerating into the corners. I end lap 1 in: 1:50,932.

It’s the same in lap 2. Understeer is easily solved by letting go of the throttle for a moment. Lap 2: 1:50,573. The car feels a bit boring so for lap 3 I’m going to brake late and accelerate hard and see what happens. It is more fun to drive that way but you do encounter a lot more understeer. A quick tap on the handbrake will get the nose in the right direction most of the time. Lap 3 had a time of: 1:49,585.

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Back to the Chevelle. I’m glad to hear that sound again. Also did 3 laps in this car. Didn’t have to try braking later to have fun because driving this car on this track just was fun. The main problems are the understeer in the entry of corner one and the oversteer in the exit of it. Also make sure you get a good braking point for the final corner so you don’t understeer to the outside. Laptimes from 1 to 3 were: 1:45,913 – 1:45,615 – 1:45,940.

revc1.jpg

Another win for the Chevelle. You don’t have to try to have fun like in the Cuda. Now it is decided who is going to win this battle and the Cuda will enter the TGTT as the loser of this battle.

Cuda 1-4 Chevelle

Test 5: Top Gear Test Track Power Lap​

I don’t expect any problems getting a clean lap in these cars because they are very easy to handle.

First up the Cuda. Off the line with some wheelspin. A bit of understeer in the first corner. Also some in Chicago but the exit is good. Great line through Hammerhead and no understeer exiting it with full throttle. Then a bit too fast through Bentley which causes massive understeer but I keep it on the track. Full speed through Follow-through going to the far outside of the straight. Some problems in the last two corners but across the line in: 1:31,121.

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The Chevelle lines up for the lap. A lot of tyre smoke taking off. Late braking point for the first corner and a lot of tyre smoke because I just put the throttle on full force. Some more tyre smoke while exiting Chicago but it keeps its line. I brake late for Hammerhead and it stays nice on the inside line exiting with more smoke. A bit of playing with the throttle in Bentley and full speed through Follow-through. Braked in time for the second to last corner and accelerate through Gambon keeping it in the lines of the track(probably the first time in all the reviews) with the tyres smoking again and across the line in: 1:27,664.

revc3.jpg

Cuda 1-5 Chevelle

CONCLUSION​

I chose two cars with exactly the same PP and still they perform very different. They do have similarities in handling, but the Cuda is a bit better in that aspect. I still think classic muscle cars are good handling cars in the game. They do have some problems but those are very easy to control.

Going in to this review the Plymouth Cuda was my favourite because I liked it in another game but this test made me forget all about it. It handles pretty good but it is boring to drive. It also misses the speed for the Nurburgring.

The Chevelle was a completely different drive. When you see a classic muscle car on TV or in a movie you always see it driving through the corners with their tyres smoking. So when I drive a muscle car in this game I want that to happen and it doesn’t have to handle perfect. I expect it to be fun and strange handling. This is what the Chevelle delivers. I’ll warn you not to use it in an endurance race though. It beat the Cuda in every test but the looks but it is still a nice looking car. Paired with the great sound it has it is now my favourite classic muscle car in the game.

Car Ratings:

Cuda:
Looks: 8/10
Handling: 7,5/10
Fun: 3.5/10
Total: 6.3/10

Chevelle
Looks: 7,5/10
Handling: 7/10
Fun: 9/10
Total: 7,8/10

Final score
Plymouth Cuda 440 Six Pack 1 – 6 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454

In the comments I got the great advice by bigbear to shortshift the Cuda around 4500-5000 rpm. Here are some revised results.

0-400m: 13,764
0-1000m: 25,893
0-100km/h: 5,457

As you can see it accelerates a lot faster using this method in the beginning. It would still lose the drag race though because I still reached only 185 km/h at the 1000m mark. I decided to take it back to the Ring and TGTT to set a more accurate time for this car on the leaderboards.

Nurburgring: 8:44,647 - over ten seconds faster
TGTT: 1:28,010 - On this small track the improvement really showed. It lacked acceleration out the corners but now it doesn't. Improved by over three seconds.

The Chevelle is still the better car and the winner of this challenge for me, but this small change in shifting completely changed the car for me. The handling suffers a bit from the increased acceleration in the corners, but the fun doubled. Big thanks to bigbear for making one of my favourite muscle cars a fun one to drive again.

Revised rating:

Looks: 8
Handling: 7
Fun: 7
Total: 7.3
 
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Excellent muscle car review, thanks. Must get my Chevelle out for a spin as it's been underused.
 
Nice review. Muscle cars really are their own kind of fun aren't they. Just out of curiosity, what RPM did you shft the 'Cuda at? The automatic trans shifts way to late. Short-shifting really wakes 'er up.
 
Lotus Europa Special ‘71

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I thought it was time to review a MR roadcar. First I thought about reviewing the 458 but I’ve already driven that a lot so I went back to the standard garage in search of a car I didn’t use yet. I saw a little thumbnail picture and thought:’’ Hey that looks a bit like a Miura’’ (Oh was I surprised, but more on that later).

It was the Lotus Europa Special. It’s a Lotus built out of parts of a Renault and meant for export to the French market. According to the description it was the first Lotus with the engine in the middle. Like all the others it’s a small car with not a lot of power but Lotus cars are renowned for their handling. I hope this one is great too.

SPECS​


Max Power: 134 hp at 6500 rpm
Max Torque: 159 Nm at 5500 rpm
Weight: 730 kg
Performance Points: 411
Comfort Soft tyres

LOOKS​

The thumbnail was deceiving. I click on the car and see the front and think: ‘’ It’s not like the Miura at all ’’. Slowly the car spins to the side and my eyes start to hurt when the side and rear show. It’s like they ran out of money to pay designers and they were only finished from the front to the part just behind the door. Then they picked some random guy from the street to create the rear using Microsoft Paint. Sources tell me the same mysterious guy later was recruited by Fiat to design the Multipla. After being disgusted by the rear I got to see the front better. The grill makes it look like some smiley face that belongs in that Pixar movie Cars. This car just looks bad.

SOUND​
Not much to say about the sound. It is not good but it also isn’t that bad.

TESTS

Test 1: Route X Speed Tests

Well the looks aren’t good but how is its speed? I take it to Route X and the game insists to show me the car from all angles while counting down. It takes off and for once I’m glad with the blacked out standard interiors. I still had automatic gears on and they don’t seem to be good for this car. It redlines at about 6500 rpm so as you can see in the specs the power comes out real late. When it shifts it goes back to 4000 rpm and the acceleration is quite bad there. It reaches a final top speed of 236,3 km/h.

For the acceleration tests I switch back to manual gears and try to shift later and hope it gets a bit better acceleration. I shift at around 7300 rpm because it bouces of the limiter at 7500. It still goes back to 5000 rpm when shifting and the acceleration is quite bad. It reaches 190 km/h at the 1000m mark.

  • Top Speed: 236,3 km/h
  • 0-400m: 15,391 s.
  • 0-1000m: 28,391 s.
  • 0-100km/h: 8,041 s.
  • 0-200km/h: N/A
  • Max G-force: 0,50 g

Test 2: Nurburgring Variable Weather/Time lap time​

Now it’s time for a place where most Lotuses are great fun to drive. I feel like driving in the night so you don’t see the car in the photo’s but I already forgot to make them on Route X so a daytime lap it is. There is no rain and I take off and massive oversteer in the first corner. And it doesn’t stop there. In the first sector I feel like I am driving the ugly brother of the Yellowbird barely keeping a clean lap going.

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It takes a while before I start to get how to drive the car and it is very unstable while braking. And did I already mention the oversteer? It’s most noticeable while accelerating out of slow corners but you do feel the instability in the high speed corners too.

The earlier comparison to the Yellowbird was a bad one, well the ugly brother part was good. While the Yellowbirds oversteer is very hard to control the one on the Lotus is easy to control. You can just let go of the throttle for a moment or try to control the slide which is pretty easy to do. It’s a special little car because it makes sure no corners are dull and that makes it pretty fun to drive. It is quite slow though because it finished the lap in: 9:10,306.

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Test 3: Special Tsukuba lap​

It’s been a long time since I’ve raced on this track but I feel that somehow this car will feel good here. A lot of corners following eachother fast and the Europa Special should be an ingredient for some fun sliding.

Well I was right. This is a great track for this car. Even though it has constant oversteer it was a joy to drive because you can control it so easily. That last corner is great to drift all the way through without losing control once. I went on and did 10 laps and none of them had a red time and not once did I go off track. Fastest lap was 1:12,479. I didn’t notice understeer but that could easily be because I was distracted by the constant sliding. Even though it is ugly as hell it deserves the Special in its name.

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Test 4: Top Gear Test Track Power Lap​

The last test. Another flat track so probably another lap filled with sliding. I do expect some troubles in Bentley but so far it’s been easy to control so we’ll see.

Clean lap in the first try. Braking into the first corner it starts to slide and I think it is going wrong. But to my surprise it gets through and I can go on. The surprise did make me shift too early losing acceleration. Sliding through Chicago and a lot less oversteer than expected in the exit of Hammerhead. The expected troubles at Bentley are there as I slide through but like I said many times now, it is easy to control. More oversteer while braking for the second to last corner. Followed by a misshift and across the line in: 1:35,886.

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CONCLUSION​

This car is well.. Special. It looks awful and it handles bad. Well handles bad is strange to say because even though it has constant oversteer in any kind of corner it is easy to control. It doesn’t have understeer. Or at least you don’t notice that. Still I can’t give a good rating for the handling. You do need to drive this car with Manual gears. Its acceleration is bad at low rpm so you need to switch gears long after the redline.

I feel like I should be ashamed for thinking in the beginning that it looked like the Miura. The Miura is a beauty and this is beast’s even uglier brother. The mediocre front doesn’t make up for the hideous back. But I will say this is not the last time I’ve driven the Europa Special because it makes up for its looks and bad handling by being a fun as hell car to drive.

Looks: 2/10
Handling: 5/10
Fun: 8.5/10
Total: 5.2/10
 
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Nice review. Muscle cars really are their own kind of fun aren't they. Just out of curiosity, what RPM did you shft the 'Cuda at? The automatic trans shifts way to late. Short-shifting really wakes 'er up.

I shifted around the redline. I'll try shortshifting later because I really hated it that I hated the car.
 
leepangfu
I shifted around the redline. I'll try shortshifting later because I really hated it that I hated the car.

Sooner, somewhere around 6000 RPM I believe
 
Anything past 6000 and the 'Cuda falls on its face. I shift my fully built drag car at 5500. Stock I'm not sure about, but you may need to shift even lower. The Chevelle is still a little bit better overall. The LS6 is just plain hard to beat.

Hopefully you'll enjoy the 440 a little more when you find the sweet spot.

I just ran a stock zero mile car and found best results around 4500 -5000rpm.
My best run 0-400m was 13.565 (shifting at 4500rpm).
13.693 @5000rpm
13.787 @5500rpm
14.538 @6000rpm
 
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