GTPlanet Weekly Rewind: 60 Years and Still Going Strong

This past Sunday, the 13th of January, the entire world witnessed the official unveiling of General Motors’ next generation iconic American sports car, the Corvette. The new C7 reasserts the “Stingray” moniker and looks the part just as well, with a hint of not only the Stingray concept that was introduced not long ago, but also concepts of previous generations, such as the Mako Shark and the Aerovette – the end result, while not revolutionary was indeed a necessary evolution in the brand’s lineage. So, here’s to the 2014 Stingray!

Quite the proactive week it’s been on both the GT5 and GTP fronts; the C7 making it’s way into the game in it’s ‘Final Prototype’ guise and yet another Acura NSX trailer, not to mention the appearances of two original GT tracks held in high regard: Seattle Circuit and Apricot Hill Raceway. If you haven’t seen the video then I’ll kindly redirect you to it here. Both of which have been greeted with celebratory cries, questions and of course photos. Here’s to hoping we get more this year leading up to E3, rather, here’s to hoping we get more regardless of E3.

And now on with the festivities for the week!

GTPlanet Picture of the Week

What happens when you place two cars in one place? You get this week’s featured vehicle, coming to you via recommendation by dice1998 and is courtesy of Ariesps and places the spotlight on this Nissan 370Z  pair at what appears to be Circuit De La Sarthe in all of their photogenic splendor.

Have a suggestion for next week’s featured image? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Picture of the Week” and fill it out with your two choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.

[Guide] So You Want to Drive Without ABS…

If you recall ‘Arcade Love’ featured in the 11/30 edition of the Rewind (“The Odds All Stand Beneath Me”) then you’ll also appreciate this as it can be considered a follow-up to that piece of advice to encourage players to find new ways to enjoy GT5.

Once again recommended by our very own ncrthree, the guide promptly describes the intentions as allowing GT5 to take on an entirely new dimension. You’re instructed through a serious of steps and recommendations how best to go about gaining a particular affinity for driving the mass variety of vehicles in GT5 without the assistance of ABS, thus allowing you to enjoy the game in ways that you never have or were reluctant to try before.

Take these words to heart by thread creator FordMKIVJS in order to persuade you further:

“What you have to realise when beginning driving with no ABS is that no car has the same braking characteristic. Some will be supremely stable (generally speaking FFs), some will react violently to trail braking (generally 4WDs and MRs) and some will have very little threshold before the tyres lock (Camaro SS ’10 etc.).

First things first, brake balance is your friend. The GT5 standard 5:5 brake balance will send you into a spin the first time you touch the brakes. Because of this, you have to adjust the brake balance to suit each vehicle’s individual characteristics, both through the overall braking power (how high your values are) and the ratio of front to rear bias. Generally speaking a bias at which the front locks before the rear is desirable, as in the case of lock up, you’ll plow into the corner, rather than going in taillights first.

Technically having a brake bias where you can lock the brakes at any speed is best because you can reach the threshold at any speed, however I’ve found it to be faster and certainly more consistent to set so you can hold 100% for a few seconds (i.e. you’ll lock up below 100mph). This is also a lot more realistic and a lot more fun.”

For the entire thread and all of it’s potentially game-extending information, be sure to stop by the thread here and absorb as much of what’s being said as possible and be sure to post up your own contributions.

GTPlanet Vehicle of the Week

This week’s featured vehicle, courtesy of QuikSlvr223, features the legendary Ferrari F40, the last car to be developed under Enzo Ferrari’s direct supervision before his passing. Following in the footsteps of the 288 GTO, the F40 was powered by a longitudinal, mid-mounted turbocharged V8 that produced 478 horsepower.

The F40 was very light having been constructed from advanced composite materials, a sparse interior and no power assistance for the steering or brakes, this supercar was about functional simplicity. Having generated as much publicity it quickly became the icon for Italian performance and such was extended to it’s successors, the F50 and the Enzo.

Have a suggestion for next week’s featured image? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Vehicle of the Week” and fill it out with your two choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.

GTPlanet Tune of the Week

This tune, courtesy of our very own praiano63 of Praiano’s Tunes, instantly grabs your attention by asserting the car to be as quick as the Premium RX-7 in this configuration. The rear end was purposely left a little loose for those wanting the additional mobility, but the tune itself is still perfectly tamed and allows for relatively fast driving.

Should you have any questions about this week’s tune have a look here.

Exactly like the Picture and Vehicle of the Week features, if you have any suggestions for the upcoming Rewinds be sure to drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Tune of the Week” and let me know. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.

evo Diaries – Lotus Elan Sprint

After the introductory segment being so well received why wouldn’t I continue this further? The Lotus Elan Sprint, an extremely light sports car capable of standing it’s own ground in this day against cars with more horses and wider tires really shows the ingenuity of the late great Colin Chapman. Tune into the video of evo’s own Harry Metcalfe and his Elan Sprint and you’ll quickly discover why this 40-year old David can still pick off Goliath.

GTPlanet Photomode Competitions

In Week 112 of the Standard and Advanced competitions you are to put your best foot forth and show the community just how seriously you take your in-game photography. All you need to know is as follows:

Week 112, Standard: World Circuits vs. Course Maker – This week it’s the world vs. that which is created; take your best photo involving either a world circuit or one created/generated from GT5’s Course Maker. Take advantage of the weather should you choose the path of the creator to give your shot that extra bit of “oomph”, and of course the shot has to contain at least one vehicle.

Week 112, 2.0 Advanced: Heavenly Light – Heavenly light, what dost thou mean? It means whatever you interpret it as, basically. Whether it be sunlight, headlight, taillight, light from a light, artificial lig—you get the idea. The light, whatever it may be, has to be very visible that it has a strong effect on the photo taken.

For all of the relevant information pertaining to this week’s challenges be sure to stop by here and here.

Closing Thoughts

Next week I’m hiring an assistant to feed me cookies whilst I write and perhaps to have these things planned out for me in advance so they’re not all practically spontaneously put together. There’s nothing wrong with spontaneity, but you guys and your activities… STOP. At least for one day. Until next week keep racing!

GT5 Photomode images by NBDESIGNZ and [Nor]MclarenF1.

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