Ah yes, finally. A new update after a hot minute. We have a pair of JDM sedan twins in the Toyota Chaser and Mark II, the return of Caterham and its Seven, and some Korean EV thingy called “Ioniq 6”? We also have some new physics changes on top of all of that. Let’s start with the cars at Watkins Glen.
Car 1 - Hyundai Ioniq 6 N - 90,000 Cr
Joining the Ioniq 5 N already in the game is this thing, the Ioniq 6 N. Unlike its stablemate, the Ioniq 6 N is a four-door sedan with quirky styling, a low drag coefficient, and a good 600 horsepower without the N Grin Boost, which bumps the power up by 40 horses. Sadly, this heavy EV is of no interest to me, but I did test it anyway since, you know, I have to.
How did it go? Well, it was a bit oversteery off-throttle with a tiny bit of power oversteer if you really stab the gas out of a slow corner. It handles okay enough otherwise. The car has an “overtake” button: the N Grin Boost mode, which I already mentioned above. This car clearly also has N Active Sound+ active in the car, along with N e-Shift, which simulates an eight-speed transmission. It is extremely weird to drive an electric car that has that feature, but here we are.
Car 2 - Caterham Seven Superlight R500 - 75,000 Cr
This insane little track toy is essentially a Lotus Seven with a “slight” amount of steroids and cocaine injected into it. Its heart is a two-liter Ford Duratec engine which produces over 260 horsepower. It’s not much…for a modern hot hatchback or entry-level sports car. For a barebones track day weapon that weighs just over half a ton, it is wild. It boasts a power-to-weight ratio of over 520 horsepower per ton, enough to make supercars nervous in a race.
As far as how it performs in the game, well, it was sort of what I expected. Plenty of sideways and smiling action, as I would hope for a RWD track car of its ilk. It is very easy to get into a slide, but just as easy to correct. It is also very good through the bends when off-throttle. I absolutely loved the little thing.
Cars 3 and 4 - Toyota X100 Chaser and Mark II Tourer V - Around 70,000 Cr
Two JDM icons among the drifting and tuning communities. These mid-sized sedan twins are powered by the 1JZ-GTE engine, but have two different purposes. The Chaser was meant to be the sportier of the two, while the Mark II is more of a conventional sedan. The two produced the same gentleman’s agreement limit of 276 horsepower, but were both just as applicable for tuning, especially for drifting.
In the game, both cars handled very well with little drama. Neither the Chaser nor the Mark II had much power oversteer at all, but with more power or less grippy tires that should change. They are very nice to drive otherwise, which makes me happy as a person who has been wanting the Chaser to return to the series for the longest time.
So, that was my experience with the new cars. Now, for the three new World Circuits events:
Japanese FR Challenge 450 @ Kyoto
I hopped in my stock Sileighty and beat the X100 twins by a good six seconds. I overtook both of them in the first long left-hander on the final lap. Nothing too difficult.
Euro Clubman Cup 600 @ Catalunya
I hopped in my Hayabusa-swapped 4C Gr.3 Road Car for this one, so that means I have to short shift. I managed to overtake the leading Caterham at the first corner of the final lap. Gapped it by over ten seconds in the end.
World Touring Car 600 @ Suzuka
The handy Aston Martin DP-100 VGT, another short-shifting car, was summoned for this one, with a few changes made to power, torque and ballast amid the performance point system changes. Overtook the lead Supra on lap 3 just before Spoon. Never looked back.
We also have ten new engine swaps added, including one for three of the new cars: the Caterham and both of the X100 twins.
- Both the Chaser and Mark II get the 3UZ V8 from the Lexus SC430 GT500 car, which will make them very useful for the grinding races. Sounds like a lovely prospect indeed.
- The Caterham has a massive downgrade for an engine swap: the turbo three-cylinder R06A from the Suzuki Jimny. This is likely a reference to the Seven 170, an entry-level model in the lineup which uses this very engine.
- The Mercedes 300 SEL 6.8 (the Red Pig to you and me) gets its first engine swap: the M159 V8 from the 2020 AMG GT3 Evo. Without any downforce, this could only go well…
- The Mercedes SLS AMG gets the M158 V12 from the Pagani Huayra, which sounds like an absolutely beautiful concept. Thumbs up from me.
- The Ford Focus RS now has a second engine swap option: the insane Windsor engine from the GAC Maverick show car. If the power from the Ford GT LM’s V8 isn’t enough, this will more than satisfy your cravings. At least it has four-wheel drive.
- The Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX also gets the GAC engine on top of its existing Gr.B rally engine choice. Again, four-wheel drive helps out with this crazy engine swap here.
- The Porsche 996 GT3 gets the DKH from the 992 Turbo S. So, that means it will be making 1,000 horsepower at full tilt. Cool.
- The 2007 Suzuki Swift Sport now gets the same Hayabusa V8 from the VGT race car as its newer sibling. Given that the 2017 model vaporizes its front wheels at high speeds with this engine, I expect the same with the older model.
- And finally, a car that didn’t need an engine swap: the Red Bull X2014 Junior. This thing gets the HR-414E from the NSX Concept-GT race car. A rather strange choice.
That’s pretty much it as far as the content. I will be doing the new Barcelona Rallycross Circuit Experience later on. A classic Lancer Evo is the car featured, which should be fun.
