https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRHJ_bd10tk
PlayStation 4 racing fans were understandably excited when Assetto Corsa brought Porsche back to their world last month. We were too, and so we’ve taken a few of the cars out for test drives to give prospective buyers a better idea of what’s in store (especially with heavy discounts available in North America). Today, I’ve taken a pair of cars around both a new and old circuit, while tomorrow, our man Michael will cover two decidedly faster machines.
Up first is the Cayman GT4 Clubsport. Packing the same 385bhp engine as the road car, but with some choice upgrades to make it more track-ready, it seemed an ideal jumping-off point. The car does what it’s told, responding to quick direction changes with a minimum of fuss. The power from the engine is enough to overwhelm the rear in first or second gear, but you’d need to be pretty ham-fisted to get into any serious trouble — I know, because I am, as I found out when I cranked the factory TCS setting down. Whoops.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl5zI3F3-Hs
Up next is the 911 RSR. In modern terms, 330bhp in a car weighing under a tonne doesn’t sound entirely monstrous, but this is a 40-year-old car. The Cayman did not prepare me for the delicate balancing act that is driving a classic 911.
That’s not to say it isn’t fun; it very much is. But the video above, which covers a replay and the view from the driver’s seat, is cut short for a reason: I bungled it. Trail-braking with a little too much lock applied got the car oversteering, and before I could gather things back up, the wall was hit and the lap was done.
The RSR really is a pendulum, and you feel the weight shifting around with each stab of the pedals. It forces you to adopt a slower, more deliberate approach to the controls: brake in a straight line (hearing the brakes just begin to protest), shift down smoothly to avoid any spikes through the transmission, and gently feed the power in post-apex. If the back end starts to step out, you’ll have to be quick and precise with the corrections to avoid facing the wrong way.
I can’t shake the feeling that I drove the cars in the wrong order. Mastering the older car first would have made me appreciate the new car that much more! We’ll be back tomorrow with Michael’s take on two more cars from Porsche Pack Volume I.
Assetto Corsa is currently available on PlayStation 4, XBox One, and PC. Porsche Pack Volume I is available on all three platforms, while Volume II is limited to PC for now. Volume III is scheduled for December 20 on that platform, with no official dates for PS4 or XB1.
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