Ahhh, the Fiat Icsunonove. There is so much I could write about this car! It's a semi-forgotten piece of Italian history - the perfect car for a public which was more concerned with terrorism and rising gas prices than it was with saving money that was going to devalue in months - thanks to double-digit inflation rates. Like Italodisco and Silvio Berlusconi it offers criminal levels of flamboyance and not much else, and even through we may not want to admit it in front of ze Germans, we love it exactly because of its outrageous attitude.
Originally intended to become a sporty model in the Autobianchi range (a role that would go on to be served by the equally excellent A112 Abarth instead), it was eventually noticed by Sua Maestà Gianni Agnelli instead... And immediately became the protagonist of a Cold War-esque spy story in which de Tomaso found out about the project and convinced Ford (which, back then, was locked in a losing battle against Turin for the hegemony of the European car market) to assist in developing a copycat prototype just to unveil it before Fiat, and steal its thunder.
The X1/9 both has humble - the engine, transmission and most of its running gear come from the 128's parts basket - and lofty - it shares its underpinnings with the Lancia friggin' Stratos - origins. Even today it looks like a supercar or a powerboat on wheels, but is a frugal, approachable car. It invented the "mid-engined, two-seater cheap sports vehicle" genre twelve years before Toyota created the MR2, but outlived the first generation of the MR by almost a year. And there is no middle ground when looking for a used X1/9 - it's either going to be a well-preserved car, or a survivor of years of hillclimbing and rallycross which has been chopped up and modified almost beyond recognition.
Ssooo, how does it drive?
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Well, it's no Ferrari, no doubt about that. The 1.3 litre SOHC 128 engine isn't very powerful, and struggles with a narrow powerband which is worringly close to the redline. And the mix of stiff chassis (remember? Lancia Stratos stuff!) and suspensions which are a perfect metaphor for the Italian work ethic (remember? Fiat 128 stuff...) make for an interesting ride which will reward white-knucles, Brambilla-like driving with copious amounts of body roll and side slip - while at the same time scoffing at a gentler, more reasoned approach
Is it a bad thing? No, not really - for its PI ratio it's a very competitive and thorougly fun package, once you learn how to get the most out of it (a process which is, in itself, a blast). And hey, if you really need to go fast, it's very easy to turn it into a corner-tackling machine - the light weight means that achieving blistering acceleration is kid's play, and once you get the suspensions sorted, you have a pure-bred racecar which is easily adaptable to any situation the game may throw at you, from twisty gravel tracks to highway races.
Fiat's most successful sportscar's a sleeper which will entice you with its midget-supercar looks, low price and a high growth potential. Whether you are in the market for a fun ride, or the base on which to build the definitive leaderboard monster - the Icsunonove has plenty to offer.
Corner cutting will not be tolerated after this point in time, as it ruins the point of the time attack challenges weekly.
If you aren't sure what extent you can drive off the inside or outside of turn, let me set a rule.
Any driver in the time trials cannot have more than two tires off of the road/route at any point in time. Corner cuts after this point in time will result in your time being removed.
Edit: I want to add an additional note to the corner thing. There will be tracks with poorly defined route edges. Use your best judgement and try not to leave the boundaries of the checkpoints.
It's all in the name of fairness. The hairpin cut was yielding a one to two second advantage on that track that can't be recovered in the rest of the lap. There are cuts that are even more severe. I only applied the rule now to cut the head off the problem before it grew.I will say this: I get the spirit of the event and I will do my best to comply. I do feel this will be a difficult thing to enforce, and I feel like taking "creative lines" from checkpoint to checkpoint is just part of the nature of an open world racing environment.
But I get that it's really just about friendly rivalry and I enjoy these competitions so let's keep it rolling! Thanks for hosting this Obelisk!
That's what I did.Running this last night, I noticed the Gold Mine Cross Country Circuit has it's own problematic turn. The start-finish line is in the braking zone for turn 1, so to get a faster lap, don't brake for turn 1. You're going to miss turn 1, but you'll post a faster time.
Fine with me.Question for everyone: For next week, would you mind if I use a custom course for our TT next week?
The problem with using a custom course is that the timing is a lot less precise. Also leaves a lot more opportunities for cheating. Unless we start linking game DVR vids it's going to be hard to regulate. Oh and traffic/drivatars? I can already feel the rage lol.Question for everyone: For next week, would you mind if I use a custom course for our TT next week?
Question for everyone: For next week, would you mind if I use a custom course for our TT next week?
xXPeacockXxHow about the...
Don't worry, I've got you covered.Our best run of the day netted a time of 1:15.590 or something close we forgot to grab the timeslip
Nope. Just follow me on Xbox Live and you should be able to access it.Do you have to be in the GTP club to do it? I recently changed to JackUltraGamer's club and the GTP club is full.
I'm also following you now, to join in the fun if okNope. Just follow me on Xbox Live and you should be able to access it.
Welcome aboard! Just watch out for @Vic Reign93, he'll do...something? He's stupid fast.I'm also following you now, to join in the fun if ok
Game on Need something to get me back playing Horizon!Welcome aboard! Just watch out for @Vic Reign93, he'll do...something? He's stupid fast.
What's your Gamertag? People will need to have you added before the Bucket List shows up in their game.Hey @Populuxe Cowboy you do know that the Drag Strip is accessible in Rivals?
This week, we're taking a different path. I've gone and set up a custom time trial. @SLP950 and @xXPeacockXx can share it. You could also add me at RMedia Obelisk on XBL and get it there.
Let's get last week's TT out of the way!
Congrats, @Vic Reign93! Win hog.
Vic Reign93: 1:14.378
Peacock: 1:14.508
SLP950: 1:15.509
Populuxe Cowboy: 1:15.809
Vic Reign93: 24.558
SLP950: 24.658
Peacock: 24.758
Populuxe Cowboy: 32.724
I decided to give myself the choice of car this week so I could test something.
So, it's the...
View attachment 629133
1967 Lola T70 MKIIIB!
*record scratch*
Yes. I picked a Forzathon car. Why?
I realized I could make basic point to point tracks with the stock car and let other people try it.
So this week's time trial is a custom course that's here:
View attachment 629134
Have fun!
What's your Gamertag? People will need to have you added before the Bucket List shows up in their game.
Hey @Populuxe Cowboy you do know that the Drag Strip is accessible in Rivals?
This week, we're taking a different path. I've gone and set up a custom time trial. @SLP950 and @xXPeacockXx can share it. You could also add me at RMedia Obelisk on XBL and get it there.
I personally tested the route I picked. There may be one or two sectors that could be cut, but why would you want to do that on sweeping turns?Cool, this should be fun. Depending on the course, it will probably be pretty challenging to "cheat" or shortcut, plus there's no way to tune since it's a bucket list. I just picked up a few of these this weekend and haven't tried it out yet.
I gotta figure out how to sneak some nitrous in there or something, I'm badly want to beat @Vic Reign93 and pick something big heavy and ridiculous for us all to bash through the desert in.