As a long-time GT fan, i've been following your tuning firm for quite some time. However, for a long time i was more interested in earning quick cash and doing Formula GT races than puttting some of the wild, wooly and simply wonderful cars you guys create through they're paces.
Recently, on a whim, i decided to scale back the seriousness of my GT4 racing habits. You know, stop every once and a while to "Smell the Roses", yeah? So with that said, i've decided to review some of the cars your firm has to offer. The first one up on the review block is the Dodge Viper ACR GT '00.
Well, first off,
THIS CAR IS A MOSTER!!! Though the base model was a fun (If limited) road car wearing a racing suit,
THIS CAR won't hesitate to bite your head off if you aren't careful! The lack of braking power, the wheelspin out of practically every corner in the first four gears, the knife-edge handling at speed combined with a lack of downforce makes for a real live-wire kind of car that requires cat-like reflexes and superlative throttle control...That's what stood out to me when i first drove it.
After a while, though, i started to realise that for every "Lethal" aspect of this car could be countered with...DRIVING TECHNIQUE?(Shocking compared to racing LMP's, i know!) If you get wheelspin, you let off the throttle:idea:...If you break to late for a corner, break earlier the next time:idea:...All of these obvious drving techniques i'd forgoten about from having spent so much time racing pure race cars started to come back to me...And i liked it!
The more i drove this car, the more refreshing it was trying to drive it fast than the stuffy old LMP or JGTC cars i usually run! It's a downright-frightening car at times that requires a lot of skill to eke out it's best lap times(I'm around two seconds off of your test driver's fastest lap). But it's also a car that helps you focus on improving your driving line, throttle control, threshold braking Etc. It's certainly not for the faint-of-heart...And i don't have the courage needed to race this car (Yet...), but as a track-day or practice car it's just too much fun! It's a car that demands respect from it's driver and rewards them accordingly...And i can't get enough of it!
In conclusion, on a scale of 1-to-10, i give it a 8/10.
It's a car that leaves a real feeling of satisfaction when you get a good lap time down and helps you Re-learn lost skills...
Coming Soon: The TVR Speed 12 '00