Well, it took me quite a lot of time to set this up, but hopefully you can see the worth behind my effort.
@McClarenDesign? Consider this giant wall of text my birthday gift, and may you have a prosperous life ahead of you, one full of enjoyment and unity, whether that unity may occur within your family, or the "virtual racing" one which you have built over the last few years. To the man who brings us lot all together under one happy roof, happy birthday. Keep that fiery personality ablaze, becase we wouldn't have it any other way.
👍
Open top glue-sniffing: The TVR V8S COTW Race Report
Welcome to another edition of Niku’s COTW Reviews; where jokes get overused, cars get abused and the delay between each where I write these can get bigger than the one which separates the recent remake of Lupin the III’s animated series from the last season of the original show. Remember kids, as arcade game state, winners don’t do procrastinating…
Wait, that’s not how it goes! Er… I am digressing again, never mind. Anyways, this time I am doing something different yet again; after the more positive response I got from doing this with the Lancia Stratos, and an interesting answer from the fast British Anti-hero of COTW, otherwise known under the alias of
@Vic Reign93, I shall once again be the “official” Car Of The Week reporter and give the reader a resume of what happened in October 11th, the Saturday of the TVR V8S.
There was already quite a lot of potential on tap which many were enticed by; the V8S, more than just the ultimate rendition of TVR’s S lineup of convertibles, was the very first glimpse of what would happen to Blackpool’s proud home-grown car manufacturer, under the control of one Peter Wheeler. Peter, the man who would go on to oversee the development of several TVR cars, ranging from the Griffith all the way to the demented Cerbera Speed 12 (a car which in fact was deemed far too mental for any street driver by Wheeler himself, who wound up cancelling the entire plan to convert the Speed 12 into a road car after Peter drove it on B-roads), ran the company to the best of his abilities while refusing to adhere to all the standard issue rules which bounded the “other” sports cars of his era. This plucky spirit of this “Wheeler Era” brought TVR into the bigger picture within the automotive world, and many journalists were happy to wrestle with cars which lacked amongst other things, ABS and airbags. Even still, Wheeler claimed that these normal driver’s aids were unnecessary for his car, citing his notion that any driver would only grow more and more overconfident with this additional “power” and act in an unsafe manner, making the non-TVR cars as dangerous (if not more) as his own.
However, the V8S was not quite up to the sheer boldness of vehicles such as the Cerbera or the Tuscan; instead, the notion which created the S line was related to affordability and offering the TVR experience to drivers who lacked the wallet power to buy bigger sports cars with a more famous reputation. With a price tag of £22,687 when it hit the market, the driver could get his hands on something which was rather special without knowing it at all… And what was the reason for that? The engine which lurked beneath the bulged hood of the V8S; as the name obviously implies, the engine bay which once held several Ford V6 units now had a special gift from Wheeler; after noticing sudden news that regarded the final production notice of Rover’s infamous Buick-developed V8 engine, TVR’s president saw a golden opportunity to boost his TVR range with an engine which had proved itself time and time again inside Rover engine bays. And so, after an overwhelmingly positive response from the general public, thanks to a Griffith-based Rover V8 concept, Wheeler had the greenlight he needed to develop the S3’s final evolution with the aid of a new guest engine. From 1990 to 1993, the V8S was available as the ultimate S roadster, and what a splash it made…
But I shall hold the history lesson for now, because I am sure the reader is constantly shouting “Where’s that Race Report, you rascal!!?” at this moment. Of course, let us start, shall we?
Our first chapter begins in the scenic track of Sierra, smack in the middle of Andalusia’s finest landscapes. Mind you, it may have been the first chapter solely for myself, as it seemed that the infamous “AGS” rules were already in effect prior to my joining. “AGS”, you ask? “Any Given Saturday (or is Sunday?)”; any driver who fought the odds as well as Vic Reigns and won a race would be forced to downgrade their tire compounds to the second best possible ones. So, in theory, a driver who began with Sports Hard tires (the best possible tires which could be had for the V8S) could find himself with nothing more than Comfort Hard compounds if he won three races during the night. As such, some drivers could be thinking of different strategies, depending on the driver’s aids which they were using and their skill with the car. Some less experienced drivers could drive with Sports Hard tires, trying to make the most out of their grip, while the veterans could downgrade themselves on purpose to avoid shifting tires frequently and aim for better finishes. Although now that I think about it, the COTW races aren’t exactly a championship… Eh, never mind.
As the race started, I found myself on pole, thanks to the grid rules set by McClarenDesign, with an eager pack of drivers behind me. From Germany’s Tomsoft to Canada’s Baron Blitz Red, there was plenty of international blood running through the veins of the car grid. Needless to say, I wasn’t exactly prepared to hold back such a field to drivers through the long and winding course which is Sierra, since excessively long courses are not my cup of tea. I tend to lose focus a little too quickly, and make more mistakes than I like to admit. So, after a wheel spin-esque start on my part, the 6 cars which made up the field followed suit and the race was on. My bad start was taken advantage of by Canadian Baron Blitz Red, who sped past my own car and took over first position. To make matters worse for me, understeer decided to rear its ugly head once again, sending me to the outside of the first corner and putting two wheels on the grass. Then, it was North America’s turn, with McClarenDesign vying for the inside line during the second sector. Trying my best to block his car, I wound up losing the second place to him, but things were getting heated; in an attempt to overtake Baron’s TVR, McClaren made contact with the rear quarter section of the Canadian’s car, and pulled back in an attempt to regain control. Now, it was Germany’s Tomsoft who vied for second place honors, grabbing the inside line on sector 3, Tom ran past my car and took second place. However, Tom then made contact with the inside wall of the tricky chicane which comprised the fourth sector, causing him to lose control and having to wrestle an out-of-control TVR. In the process of predicting and dodging his car, my own car made contact with McClaren’s, in one mad sequence of car pinball, and sent the North American’s car into the wall itself. As I took the outside line before sector 5, another surprise awaited me; this time around, it was the man of many cars but only one speed, United Kingdom’s hyper fast driver, Vic Reigns, had the inside line right before the corner and was overtaking the distraught Tom at the same time as yours truly. Vic Reignses out of nowhere is still a very tricky syndrome to explain, but it occurs quite frequently within COTW races, so do not be very surprised by it. After this chain of events, I wound up making contact with Reigns in an attempt to cover up lost time, and he was forced to make an off-road excursion. Getting in the groove was hard, and then it happened; the “outside interference”.
Are you wondering what that might be? Do not worry, I will explain; as I was driving, my mother had a technological question she needed help with. She wanted to showcase a little DVD which I had made, in order to promote awareness regarding Asperger’s Syndrome, something which I have been living with since I was born, and had no idea as to how change the source on the kitchen’s television in order to bring the DVD’s assigned channel up. In case this may be confusing, I am referring to real-life matters here, as my family had received the visit of fellow members in form of my grandmother’s cousin and her husband, a Portuguese-French couple who was visiting all the way from South Africa. My mother entered the living room, and asked me to tell her where and how she could switch channels to bring up the DVD video, and forced me to take my eyes off the game (literally). The car went off track, and I lost several positions in the process. As the field was long spread out, the remainder of my race was comprised of one big chase after Tomsoft, who had fallen back after a solid first half. It seemed like a lost battle, but then Tom, in the very last straight line, decided to do a little “victory spin” to add a bit of flash to his finish. The problem with these stunt moves can be described by A) The moves themselves making more sense AFTER you finish and B) Sometimes you may mistime your flashy spin and do so too early. And as luck would have it, Tom forgot about rule B, spinning too far before the finish line and handing the fourth place to me. The battle upfront was wild, but in the end Vic Reigns was the one to taste the victory champagne with a well-earned win, with McClarenDesign and Baron Blitz Red completing the podium.
On to Chapter 2; the High Speed Bogaloo. And this is, without a shadow of a doubt, where the lobby became alive quite like nothing else, suddenly, the field of 6 became a field of 11 cars, with five drivers joining the festivities; representing USA were CrazyCap, BilboStig, Eidolons_reign and TRD-TURBO-Q8, while the UK was boosted by the addition of Lewis_Hamilton. No, not the overpowered Mercedes F1 driver, this Lewis is one of COTW’s long-running veteran drivers, but our Lewis could still drive quite quickly despite the lack of F1 experience. With these new drivers also came a few interesting car choices; Eidolons brought a Audi TT 3.2 Quattro, CrazyCap brought a Ford F150 Lighting and TRD brought forth the most interesting choice in the form of a Shelby Series 1 Supercharged. I will explain why I think that TRD’s choice was the more interesting one later… As the race started, and with the previously mentioned “reverse grids based on the previous race’s results” system in place, all the new additions had a lockdown on the first five places. But of course, as these races go, nothing stays the same for long; despite the advantage of having Audi’s famed Quattro system to provide extra traction, Eidolons simply did not have the power to match and quickly lost his first place to fellow “rookie” TRD, who sped past everyone else and grabbed the first position. Non-Mercedes Lewis Hamilton followed suit and took over second place duties, followed them by a sea of TVRs and Cap’s F150, which was lacking in the lightweight department and lost to the better acceleration of the V8S. As for me, despite yet another rough start, I weaved through the field and found myself on fourth place, with the yellow car of BilboStig right in front. The race from my point of view was punctuated by a back-and-forth battle between me and Bilbo, in a cross-Atlantic fight with English muskets. With TRD and Lewis quickly pulling away, my best chance was to hold Bilbo back and capture third place. Fortunately, despite some resistance from the North-American, I was able to do just that; one clean third place, truly gained after one last move during the second corner on the fourth and last lap. Up front, one big surprise; TRD, making a great first impression, held back Lewis with the more powerful Shelby and won the race, with the Brit having to settle for second place. The other two rookies did not have such good luck; with lesser steeds, Cap and Eidolons had to settle for tenth and eleventh respectively. But the key factor was the growth of the grid, and the stage was set for the wildest race yet…
The next venue on the card for the group of drivers was a track which I like to think of as a personal stomping ground; Trial Mountain Circuit, a track that was ironically a vote of mine after the third race and subsequent track poll. I was happy with my choice being the chosen one, but I would be even happier with its result…
Just when you thought one field of cars could not get bigger, it did exactly that; one driver may have left (Eidolon) but four had taken his place and then some, with Canada’s Ryuden_Rxdro, USA’s johnnyd293 and his fellow compatriots, husbando (or in this case, husbando’s son Sebastian, who is an eager fan of car racing) and EngimaTheWolf rounding up the set of new additions. With a grid of 14 cars, and one tight winding mountain track, the stage was set for one wild ride which people will not forget anytime soon; the entire race was one giant highlight reel, with drivers trying to hold drivers back while having to hold their own cars in place. And needless to say, with 14 eager drivers on the track, this plan soon became a blank canvas for several major battles throughout the field. Was it a fully clean race? Not exactly; with husbando’s son not exactly an experienced driver, and with the TVR’s penchant for tail sliding, things were messy for the first two laps, with drivers being involved in bumps and off-road excursions of all kinds. D293 decided to leave the race before it was finished, but the rest of the field soldiered on, with only the finish line in mind. And for me and three other drivers, the finishing stretch was one of the most mental stretches in history. Cap, myself, Baron and Vic were all involved in a single file, four-car battle of epic proportions, which reached its peak during the last three corners; Cap lost control of his 2004 Acura NSX during one of the right hand corners, leaving a spot open for a Vic Reigns who made the most of a good chance, overtaking Cap and grabbing third place in the process. Baron, who was trying to avoid/overtake Cap’s car, left a gap of his own open for me to take advantage of in the following left hander, with fifth place becoming my prize. The picture above speaks for itself; Vic held back the other three cars back, with me trying desperately to pass CrazyCap and Baron trying to get the fifth place back and perhaps a few bonuses. But in the end, Vic won the war and came home with the third place, with Cap barely salvaging fourth place away from me and Baron, leaving the fifth and sixth place to us two. I was positively ecstatic with such a great battle, and I voiced that feeling after the race. These battles do not happen often, so when they do it is a reason for honest applause from a motorsport fan. The victory was once again TRD’s, with the Shelby doing another great job of holding Lewis_Hamilton’s car back and coming home with a win.
The next race was a rather chaotic affair, most of it happening before the race’s start; our not-so-esteemed enemy, Ted Thomas (otherwise known in real-life as disconnections from the lobby) found his time to “shine”, causing several disconnections for all the racers, delaying the start of my third race in Midfield Raceway, a classic and popular venue for Gran Turismo racing. Eventually, the enemy was partially vanquished and the race would finally be able to occur. For this one, my plan was a bit more out-of-the-box; the return of Rally Tail! Yes, my personal Subaru Impreza Wagon STI, “Rally Tail”, was the steed chosen for such a special occasion. And despite the multiple issues with my attempts of rejoining the lobby, I did not retract from seeing this plan through. Bravery or stupidity? Your call! Actually, it is not the reader’s call; despite the weight deficit, the Impreza had a well-hidden punch which caught many unprepared. At the start, the Impreza’s 4WD system gave the car such a head-start it even caught me by surprise. However, I was not prepared for a shocking moment; husbando’s car, once again being driven by his son Seb, decided to park itself to a standstill.
That issue would not be so serious… if it was not for the fact that the TVR was parked right on the optimal racing line. BilboStig, unaware of this, drove straight into the black TVR, sending it upwards in the air as if it were a god-forsaken airplane. My face went from pure shock to sheer unadulterated laughter at the wacky antics which had transformed husbando’s car into a Concorde, with an entire accident which would be a perfect fit for YouTube channel FailRace’s famed crash highlight videos. However, the race moved on and I had no time to ponder how physics went so badly in such a short amount of time; the Impreza’s starting power had put me in second place, and I had BilboStig’s car to worry about if I wanted the first place finish. And god knows I tried; after husbando’s “space journey”, my entire race was made up of overtaking attempts, all with the goal of capturing first place. As the rest of field was fighting amongst themselves, Bilbo and I waged war on each other, for the sake of victory. But I failed to take one thing into account; the Impreza’s handling, despite being assisted by the elusive Skid Recovery Force, was somehow leaning more on oversteer than the TVR’s, especially when I tried to drive through corners using the car’s weight. And after one last mistake, my chances of a victory were blown to pieces, and I had to settle for second place. A good finish, but one which left a sour taste in my mouth due to all the chances I had to capture first place. To make matters worse, Ted Thomas decided to disconnect me one more time, preventing me from saving the race’s replay. Fortunately, you can still see the racing action via McClaren’s point of view, although the accident with husbando was not quite captured on his film. Still, be sure to watch it in case you are curious about how the racing went on in the back of the field.
The field moved onwards to the GP/D layout of Nürburgring, a place where I had a special type of surprise awaiting to be opened. And boy what a surprise it was… It all began with me starting from second place, due to the disconnection which had happened after Midfield, between newcomers Karmageddon_115 and jrondeau2001. With two more newcomers in form of America’s billsippi and corvetteklm, the field stood at 12 cars, another good number considering the issues with online lobby. And I’ll make a brief pause to tell those who like to complain about minor issues such as incorrect top speeds; I apologize in advance, but your so-called “complaints” are at the exact bottom of the “important issues do address” barrel and your incessant moaning and complaining will not make your point any stronger or more important. People will not be too peeved with their Aston Martin DBS not being able to match the top speed found on the car’s real-life brochures, but on the other hand several online disconnections on a row will peeve many quite often. If you hate a racing for inaccurate top speeds and not for gameplay-related issues, then you may not be in the right place, I am afraid.
Ok, now that the rant is out of the way, back to the racing; trying to find a way past Karmageddon and bill, I spent most of the first lap searching for that elusive gap. Then, the gap was open when McClarenDesign, in a rather bold attempt at beating everyone in the braking for the NGK Chicane, drove into Karmageddon’s car, which in turn shoved bill into the solid walls which were a part of the chicane itself. There was the gap I was looking for, except that it came with a few extras; Karma had survived with first place still intact, only to see Vic Reigns move past his car a few miles after the accident with bill. An unfortunate turn of events for the rookie, events which were further solidified with another accident with Baron Blitz Red in the Yokohama Curve on lap 2. Some men cannot catch a break, and while the Baron/Karma duo was sorting their lines out, I moved past both cars, finding myself now in second place, right behind Vic. And soon, another great battle was in the works; Vic is a great driver, that has to be stated right away, and he made a commendable job trying to navigate the track as quickly as he could drive it, all this while being limited to Comfort Soft tires, a limitation which came from a previous victory. As I had the better Sports Hard compound, I did have access to grip which Vic could not have access to, but that did not mean my job was any easier. Against Vic, you either have the grit or you fall back; there is no middle ground against such an experienced driver in online racing. But for once, Lady Luck smiled upon me, and gave yours truly a chance to shine; on the turn which precedes the Warsteiner Curve, Vic had to drive in a wider line to compensate a driving mistake on corner entry, whereas I, suffering from a quick snap of oversteer after hitting the grass with two of my car’s wheels, took advantage of the forward momentum, cutting his line on the inside and moving past his V8S. It had not been a planned move, but the result was hard to argue with; I found myself in first place for the first time after three races, I had a proper shot at victory and could in fact take advantage of it. Of course, I knew that Vic would not take the overtaking move without rearming his cannons and fire back, so I was preparing myself for another close-range battle. However, his lesser tires somehow opened a larger gap than what I was expecting, and soon the battle became more one-sided. Mind you, Vic got past my car in one more occasion near the end of the second lap, but in the one hairpin which is exclusive to the shorter layout of the Nürburgring, Vic once again went wide on corner entry and left another miraculous gap which I immediately went after. Somehow, someway, the first place was once again in my grasp, and Vic could not comeback to take it away; after four laps of intense chasing, my first and only victory on V8S night was sealed, much to my happiness and pride. Even despite my strangeness at our gap being as wide as it was, Vic was nothing but graceful in defeat, simply pointing out that I had him “dead at rights” and calling my victory “HCC 3:16”, as a cute side reference to my PSN avatar being a picture of American wrestling legend Stone Cold Steve Austin. Rookie billsippi, despite the first lap mishap, came back in style by recapturing third place and closing off the podium of a great race.
For the drivers involved, another choice of mine was waiting; the 1980’s version of Brands Hatch Indy, the short track which gives fast-paced racing while providing drivers with a fast-flowing track at the same time. And as the picture above shows, car choices were getting wackier; the drifting Plymouth Superbird belongs to Lewis_Hamilton, who decided to use true American muscle to drive through a British racetrack. Although it may be a questionable choice for such an environment, considering the nature of Brands Hatch, it was not the only instance of American muscle on the track; Karmageddon and Baron were both driving Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertibles, in their own bids to prove the worth of American muscle against the evil British cars… which had a Buick-developed V8 engine.
Oops, so much for a patriotic cause. Still, the race was another wild dash, with many drivers being caught off by the TVR’s split nature, which sent many to the dangerous gravel/grass traps of Brands. One of those drivers was me; in an attempt to enter the Cooper Straight flat out, I only managed to get all four wheels of my TVR on the grass, costing me valuable time and places. Not much could be salvaged after that, with an eight place serving mostly as a painkiller to my driving mistake. In a very impressive showing, Tomsoft brought home a well-deserved victory, proving that even less-experienced drivers can win races if they know how. Baron and Lewis rounded up the podium, in a three-country effort which made Europe, America and the United Kingdom all proud of their racing drivers.
Skipping past another race, in Willow Springs, where another eight place finish was the best I could attain, I shall finish this wall of text with one last report; the time when McClarenDesign thought he could fool us all with another of his “Doctor No” evil schemes. It was a good one, mind you; setting a two-lap race at the infamous Nordschleife, Doctor Brad then decided that both fuel and tire wear should occur at higher speeds, a daring plan to keep all the heavy right foots in check and perhaps cause several coasting of cars in the race’s last stages. Indeed, it had potential, but then Gran Turismo 6 decided to play a prank on Mr. McClaren; yes, the fuel wore out quickly, but it simply was not enough to force people into turtle speeds to avoid having their fuel tanks evaporate in the face of danger. Therefore, most drivers could afford to drive a fast race throughout the two laps, effectively ruining Doctor Brad’s evil plan to make us all buy Toyota Mirai cars. Sorry Brad, maybe next time.
As for the race itself, another newcomer caused quite the impression; Finland’s oilpressure, using a V8S, defeated Lewis_Hamilton and drove a nearly flawless race throughout. It was definitely a performance worth much applause from all the other drivers, and one which oilp should also be proud of. Meanwhile, me, once again at the wheel of Rally Tail, could not drive so flawlessly and had to settle for a sixth place after many excursions to Nürburgring fine fauna. The four-wheel-drive system is not an automatic win button, and if your system can catch you off
So, where does all this leave the V8S? In the end, as others before me have said, the TVR is quite tire-dependent; with its stock Sports Hard tires, the V8S can actually prevent most oversteer from occurring and offer instead a more understeer-prone behavior, which is unknowing for a TVR to be. However, if you downgrade the tires’ quality, you will experience the more TVR side of the V8S; oversteer on acceleration and a livelier rear end, the true side of the V8S which was described accurately by all car magazines who drove the car after its release. And yet, the V8S is not a bad performance offer; despite only having roughly 240 horsepower, the V8 engine is meaty, readily available power-wise and eager to rev whenever you want it, and the light body gives the car an acceleration which punches above its weight (literally, yet again). That is a good way of describing the TVR V8S; a car which may not stand out as a sleeper, as much as other cars do at least, but at the same time a car which still raises eyebrows, drives with gusto and feels connected to the driver, and has a glorious sound which you can definitely live with. Going back to the question I posted quite a few paragraphs ago; why is it so interesting to compare the V8S with the Shelby Series 1? Simple; both are FR convertibles, both live with V8 engines which were once part of quieter road cars and both have a backstory of being built in sheds. The Shelby may be the better sleeper of the two, thanks to its more powerful Aurora V8 engine, but it also comes with an outrageous price tag of nearly 200,000 credits. And when you can have similar fun for less than 25,000 credits, in the form of the TVR V8S, should you really go as far as to spend that much money on a car which is as crude, if not more, than the TVR?
God only knows how will TVR’s newborn renaissance grow in the future, with the aid of design legend Gordon Murray and Cosworth’s engine expertise, but with Ford’s Coyote V8 engine, we may see the V8S reincarnate in a different guise. Regardless of how long such a venture shall take, I can say one thing for certain;
I welcome you with open arms, Blackpool.
Pros:
- Willful (and great sounding) V8 engine;
- Agility which belies its status as a parts-bin car;
- Can punch above its weight within its perfomance class.
Cons:
- The changes in behavior can catch drivers off-guard, if the tire quality is downgraded;
- Requires effort to be driven at high speeds;
- All the glue jokes which can made about it.
Final Veredict: Sleeper; if the text above cannot explain things well enough for you, then it's likely that the V8S simply isn't the car for you. It may be a bit crude with its delivery, but the fun one can have with it outweighs the oversteer issues which arise with worse tires. For me, the V8S is a strong contender for COTW of the year, based ont the lively and fun races which were held with it...
I've already went through a box of Kleenex crying so much! 
