Plymouth Cuda 440 Six Pack ‘71
VS
Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 ‘70
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.
The Cuda takes the lead and looks good.
After about 150 meters the Chevelle gets going and is now head to head with the Cuda
At 500 meters all seems lost to the Cuda and the Chevelle keeps on going to humiliate his opponent.
After 1000 meters the Chevelle takes a big win going 205 km/h and I’m beaten in the 183 km/h Cuda.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
