Beater or Sleeper? GT6 Car of the Week Thread

[Obelisk]

1. Make me.
2. All that schooling, and the only thing you've still learned nothing.
3. Real Michael Schumacher Ferrari, Momma Tifosi and the Lewis Hamilton twins, David Hobbs and coked-out Ryan Reynolds all show what fun is about. Sauber featured mini crew have enough F1 cred to place you under investigation for exceeding fuddy-duddy limits.

Wait....

Are you drawing a pension?

1. Don't make me tell your mother.
2. I've learned how to snark from that college education.
3. For the following reason:

I deny all charges filed against me.

 

[McClarenDesign]

1. Don't make me tell your mother.
2. I've learned how to snark from that college education.
3. For the following reason:


I deny all charges filed against me.

You've waited all day for us to ask you about your wiener, haven't you. Smh.

To everyone that actually has class, I'll see you on the track very shortly.

 

[Obelisk]

You've waited all day for us to ask you about your wiener, haven't you. Smh.

To everyone that actually has class, I'll see you on the track very shortly.

I'm not the one edging towards violating the AUP with my language.

Also, how did you even make a connection between my junk and the Oscar Meyer weiner attacking the corkscrew?

 

[Nismonath5]

Hey guys, I had an idea about something we could do every week...

Everyone loves a good looking custom ride. And here at COTW, in order to keep a level playing field, our vehicle customisations are limited to paint and wheels. But even a coat of paint and slick new wheels can look damn sharp on a car.

Need some examples? Very well.....

That's why I reckon we should have a shoutout for "Best presented car" at the conclusion of each car's week. It would just be one of those bragging rights things, but I reckon it would be a good idea. It could be decided by votes, or it could be something Brad determines... but either way, anyone like the idea?

 

[Niku Driver HC]

My oh my, didn't that whole MX-5 story give you ideas...

Well a "Most Colorful" award wouldn't hurt, although we would need a way to showcase all the cars that participate in both the Wednesday and Saturday lobbies, as well as structure a voting system for said cars...

I do believe there should be something to sweeten the deal. Ergo, a special COTW-related prize. What would you say, Piston Creek Brad?

 

[Cowboy]

There's something about the Toyota Supra that some people might not even know. No, it's not because it has a rich history in racing, but instead it's the ancestor, the A20 Celica. The grandfather to the Supra, this car doesn't appear to have a place in GT. It first appeared in GT4, and has since stayed as pretty much a placeholder for the car count that PD likes to brag about. I do like this car, particularly such because of the Celica in Driver: Parallel Lines, though it was called the Bonsai in there. This car pumps out a whopping 114 HP and weighs a light 890 kg. Looks wise it has a 70s vibe that appeared on most Japanese cars of the time.

To the track. I chose Trial Mountain because it has a good balance between different driving styles. Right away I was impressed by the handling. The car turns quite nicely, only with a little understeer to slow it down. On the straights it was nice as well, with that small engine using all that power.

As I kept driving, I wanted to drive it more. That's what I like most, when a car might not seem like much, but can impress you in the long run. Luckily, Trial Mountain's last corner didn't claim this one as a victim.

The verdict. As you may tell by now, I'm giving this a sleeper rating because it's just a plain fun car to drive. I did use this in the 350PP quick match last summer and it fared nicely. This car evolved a lot over the next 30 years, eventually becoming a race winning machine that changed history. Now that that's done, how about some stance...

​

 

[McClarenDesign]

That's why I reckon we should have a shoutout for "Best presented car" at the conclusion of each car's week. It would just be one of those bragging rights things, but I reckon it would be a good idea. It could be decided by votes, or it could be something Brad determines... but either way, anyone like the idea?

I'm all for it, however...

1. It needs a questionable titile (like @Baron Blitz Red's Playing With TTs!).
2. It'd need a weekly judge, one committed to sending me a PM with the winner week after week.
3. What would we do if cars aren't capable of being modified, like the Mazda RX-8 LM Concept from last week?

 

[Cowboy]

3. What would we do if cars aren't capable of being modified, like the Mazda RX-8 LM Concept from last week?

That's what filters are for

 

[Nismonath5]

I'm all for it, however...

1. It needs a questionable titile (like @Baron Blitz Red's Playing With TTs!).
2. It'd need a weekly judge, one committed to sending me a PM with the winner week after week.
3. What would we do if cars aren't capable of being modified, like the Mazda RX-8 LM Concept from last week?

I could be the judge, and if the car can't be painted then we won't have it that week. As for a catchy title.... it's lunchbreak soon, I shall see what I can come up with.

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

It wouldn't work, matte pink would win every week.

I should finish work in time to join in for the last hour on Saturday, hopefully.

 

[Nismonath5]

Okay, the only good idea I could come up with was "Best looking beater/Sexiest sleeper". I'm still trying to think of anything better though..

 

[Niku Driver HC]

1. It needs a questionable titile (like @Baron Blitz Red's Playing With TTs!).

Well I don't know what a "titile" is, but perhaps you have given me an idea... what about "Titile Paintjob"? Or maybe even "Painting Your Titiles?

...well, I tried, so I deserve at least a badly drawn star or medal for my (poor) efforts.

2. It'd need a weekly judge, one committed to sending me a PM with the winner week after week.

Seems like Nismonath is more than eager to act as the judge, given that he presented the idea to begin with. So, unless his Kiwi agenda is too busy, I'd bet on him being the judge on a weekly basis.

3. What would we do if cars aren't capable of being modified, like the Mazda RX-8 LM Concept from last week?

Then we focus on the driving and change the title to "Enter the Ditch"; the driver who was the flashiest throughout the week, spending more time sideways and upside down during the race than actually being elegant and racing-efficient. Our own personal Ken Block, so to speak.

 

[Draggon]

Seems like Nismonath is more than eager to act as the judge, given that he presented the idea to begin with. So, unless his Kiwi agenda is too busy, I'd bet on him being the judge on a weekly basis

Could be named something cutesy based on his "kiwi agenda" like "Nismo's Kiwi Kollection" or some such nonsense. Nonsense a requirement

 

[Obelisk]

I strongly support this. (I just need to quit being lazy and do some racing).

 

[todally_lit]

...working on a "titile"
"SHOTW" Shoot of the week
"Lacking PP Photo Shoot" ... opposite of dicpic
"WhoCAPP" (pronounced hookup) Who Cares About PP
"SLAPP" Shoot Lacking Any PP
"SLAP" SLow And Pretty

...still working....

 

[Obelisk]

...working on a "titile"
"SHOTW" Shoot of the week
"Lacking PP Photo Shoot" ... opposite of dicpic
"WhoCAPP" (pronounced hookup) Who Cares About PP
"SLAPP" Shoot Lacking Any PP
"SLAP" SLow And Pretty

...still working....

Coolest Of The Week?

COTW's COTW!

 

[Nismonath5]

The idea I had in maths class is Wheels of the Week.

It'll be judged on best presented car, which I'll PM McD every week with the winner, and I'll do so at the same time I usually do my sunday review.

 

[McClarenDesign]

Suggestions:

10. Yo Dawg! (a play on Pimp My Ride)
9. Title In Transit Status (obvious)
8. Sleep In Or Sleep With?
7. Bangin' Mirrors Or Matte
6. Like Maldanado, I'd Hit It
5. Whip It Good
4. Lickt
3. Geggy Tah'd (this)
2. B-Cupholders
1. David Letterman

 

[Niku Driver HC]

Not sure why would you name a painting contest "David Letterman", but then again, I'm not 'Murican... Sometimes their comedic style eludes me.

I'd like to throw in a few suggestions of my own, then;

1. Plum Crazy, or Genius? (color pun)
2. Striped Weiner (Think Starsky & Hutch, but factor in the Weinermobile. It was mentioned here, after all)
3. Two Cars, One Coat of Paint
4. Chop Or Creative Knacking (obviously)
5. Eye-pleasing Gallery

Hmm, this creative mood of mine is being useful for something. Not bad, one could say...

 

[Nismonath5]

Thinking about something as raunchy as "Playing with TT's"... how bout the "Panties dropper"?

So for example, each week Brad would announce, "The fastest TT time was.... (inevitably Sam or Lewis)

And this week's panties-dropper was <driver>'s car!
Tadahhh! I think I've cracked it!

 

[Nismonath5]

Still waiting for McD, so I'll host a lobby like I did last week until he shows up. (If he shows up)

Btw if you can't find the lobby it'll be cos Im Kiwi, so you'll have to look for it under "all" lobbies

 

[JackRyanWMU]

Do you remember when Mr. T had his own Saturday Morning cartoon in the 1980s? And that for some reason rather than driving around in a van and kicking ass until every criminal on the face of the Earth was killed in the first episode, Mr. T instead drove a bus for a gymnastics team that solved mysteries "Scooby-Doo"-style. A seemingly odd choice, but who are we to judge? He's Mr. T after all. Mr. T is probably everyone's real father. Dare scoff at it and you'll realize Mr. T is right behind you and about to give you a stiff right hook, Sucka! Mr. T does what Mr. T wants.

I'm going somewhere with this, I promise. You see, back in the 80's it was law that every Saturday Morning cartoon had to have a kid character for the children watching to relate to. In Mr. T's case, there was a pre-teen white boy whose dream it was to grow up and be, you guessed it, Mr. T. He tried so hard to mimic Mr. T. The kid tried to emulate Mr. T's voice, he had the denim vest and the gold chains and rings, and he didn't just have a mohawk, his dog had a mohawk too! You can already see the hidden tragedy in this harmless cartoon. One day the boy will realize that no matter how hard he tries, he'll never be Mr. T.

The 1970 Toyota Celica GT is that little boy. It tries to have the look and swagger of an American muscle car, but with an engine with only half the requisite amount of cylinders that barely makes triple digit horsepower, it's only a half-grown imitation.



The car doesn't shine until it's allowed to stand in its own spotlight and be itself. The Celica is a light and zippy coupe that is very stable in the corners. It's far more Miata than Mustang, and likely would have been very competitive with contemporary British roadsters of the time period. It is a standard model and it's performance level in stock trim means there's limited racing opportunities in GT6's career mode, but the car is very good overall and worthy of being a Sleeper.

And I pity the fool who don't agree.

 

[Vic Reign93]

Okay (cracks fingers) It's time to go to work.

3 cars, 2 makers, 1 country and an obvious one liner for the headline.

'I Think I'm Turning Japanese'

And now that song is in your head (you're welcome ), lets work backwards and start with the Toyota Celica GT.

Two doors, 1600cc's of 4 cylinder NA noise making just under 120hp, a 5 speed gearbox sending power to the rear wheels through an open differential.

Now the Celica is a featherweight at just under 950kg, but the trade off is a 58-42 weight bias which does translate to understeer on turn in.

Can be quite a fun car to drive and because 5th gear is quite short, it's usable enough to allow speeds over 120mph and of the 3 cars being tested, it's the most predictable to drive.

Nothing outrageous, but still a decent Sleeper. 👍

Now turning to the other Toyota, the first gen MR2.

Also two doors, also a 1600cc 4 cylinder engine, but this one has a Supercharger strapped to it making over 140hp and whilst it also has a 5 speed gearbox and rear drive, the supercharged block is mid mounted compared to the Celica's front mounted engine.

Now this is a blessing and a curse as at the limit it's reasonably quick, but over that limit....

The best analogy I can think off is an inexperienced circus act balancing spinning plates, Spinning one plate is fine, but spinning multiple plates has a higher likelihood of digging porcelain out of your face.

Driving the MR2 is like the latter option as it is very prone to snap oversteer and lift off oversteer.

Definitely overly twitchy despite having around 150hp, but tuned these cars are very quick, heck I remember them being quite high on certain TT event leaderboards on GT5.

Bottom line, it's quick, but very twitchy in stock form.

Verdict, Beater ( in stock form) 👎

And now for the Coup De Grace.

The Renown liveried Mazda RX8 Concept LM Race Car.

Packing a smaller total displacement engine at 1300cc's ( Rotary engines always messing with the set dressing. ) and spouting a Single turbo set up giving the RX8 over 500hp with an oil change.

6 speed racing gearbox, 50-50 weight distribution and aero parts all over it means the RX8 is here to take names.

Now a small disclaimer, a lot of the race cars were given quite abit of camber in stock form after a past update which has possibly compromised the stock handling compared to before that update.

The RX8 doesn't want to turn in initially, but if you get the nose pointing the right way the car will stay planted with the exception being low speed turns in 2nd gear when oversteer can be seen.

On its own merits, the RX8 LM is a decent fantasy racer, but with a price of a million credits, it's quite expensive and it also gets put into some quite dangerous territory.

Here's a few example of cars costing the same, but have more PP.

RX8 Concept LM - 571 (benchmark)

Zonda C12S 7.3 - 573
RX7 LM Race Car - 574
350Z Concept LM - 579
Zonda LM Race Car - 618
GTR Concept LM Race Car - 620

Here's something else, Nearly all VGTs cost a million too and a good number of them have MUCH higher PP to boot.

The two real zingers? the RX7 TC is 2 pp lower, has less power and is 125kgs lighter and costs under a quarter of the RX8's price.

The other one? The Tommy Kaira ZZII, its more powerful at 542hp from factory, has one more pp, is 100kgs lighter AND has 4wd to boot.

Price? a rock bottom price of 60,000cr.

So the RX8, great racer, but is out performed by similar priced machinery and is majorly undercut by 2 similar performing Japanese bargains.

So with regret, it's also a Beater. 👎

 

[Nismonath5]

The Toyota "Silly-Car" Celica (TA22)

For the third time in four weeks, we were put behind the wheel of a gutless, slow, Japanese runabout car on comfort tyres. I guess it's worth noting that each week, they've been different drivetrains. The Aqua was FF, the MR2 was MR (obviously) and now enter the Celica, here to represent the classic FR layout. Maybe we'll get a 4WD next week...

Excuse me, pardon me, coming through...

It's pretty common knowledge that the Celica was the father of the legendary Supra. The iconic Mk4 shape was based on the ST204, a similarity that is noticable if you compare pictures of the two. In a way, I can see why PD decided to let this car in. They like adding cars with particular historical signifigance, and this car fits that criteria. It has that distinct 70's look, the four round headlights being the most noticable feature, following the likes of the Chevrolet Chevelle, Dodge Challenger and the early Nissan Skylines. It has that super soft suspension that all 70's cars seem to have, meaning the handling feels as if the wheels are made of mashed potato.

The Tuesday racing was quite mediocre for me, it wasn't really all that exciting. Monaco isn't my favourite track, though the Nurburgring GP race was pretty good. The Celica showed controllability even with no TCS, ASM or SRF. On Saturday however, Brad was a no-show again. So I did what I did last week, and hosted a COTW lobby for those that needed to give the Celica some more track time.

Super-Speedway.... Still can't reach 190km/h...

There were only four of us. For the most part, anyway. Myself, Vic, Niku and Asher. Baron popped infor a little bit, but left shortly after giving me a little lovetap at Twin Ring SuperSpeedway...

"Little" lovetap...

Okay, that picture isn't entirely accurate. Yes, he hit me. Yes, it caused me to spin. However, I could have caught it and kept going, but instead I chose to just let it slide and enjoy the ride. Pretty neat that I managed to slide the whole corner! @Baron Blitz Red Not sure if your sudden departure was internet issues or if you felt guilty or something, but if it was the latter reason, no need to stress about it!

As I said, there were only four of us. And though the numbers dwindled, the racing was still pretty neat. Quantity isn't the same as quality, after all.

Eventually, Niku had to leave. Three remained. I proposed the idea of a last hurrah, and with that we took our cars to Sierra. Vic made a run for it, leaving Asher and I to duel it out for "First Loser". However, as we were sparring, off in the distance, we saw Vic's car deviate sharply to the side. And then the other. Wait, is he...

...drifting?! Well, if you're gonna be way out in front, may as well have some fun!

The sideways antics meant that he would lose speed, so Asher and I would catch up (As you can see in the pic), but then he'd re-gain his gap with ease. "Now THAT's just showing off!" I remember muttering to myself as I watched him gracefully slide around the bend, regaining his composure and sprinting off with a tinge less tread.

"He's doing it again, Asher!"
"This is embarrassing..."

Oh, but don't get me wrong, @Vic Reign93. I'm not criticising. Those were some mean drifts. Especially in a gutless old fossil such as the TA22.
On one occasion, I thought, "Screw it, I'm gonna yank my e-brake too!"

Silent Hill: Gran Turismo Edition

Now for the verdict...

Short answer: BEATER. 👎
Long answer: The TA22 Celica is a classic Japanese Icon. It's lightweight, FR, naturally aspirated and has a modest power output. However the low torque, sluggish acceleration and spongy handling means I don't really like it all that much. Personally, it's not as fun to throw around as the MR2, which I've kept in standard trim except for some sport soft tyres. It could benefit from some nitrous oxide, but as is, it's a beater for me.

 

[McClarenDesign]

Congratulations to Alexander Rossi for winning the 100th Indianapolis 500!!!!

With that, I announce this week's Car of the Week...

It's the 2011 Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale!

I was just thinking how much of a shame it was that we haven't recently had an Alfa Romeo as a Car of the Week. Time to make things right!

You might think that this is neither a Beater nor a Sleeper, but if you've kept your ear to the ground around hear you'll notice that it has been pretty controversial. Bad as the 8C? Pulling it's weight for the cost? You be the judge!

To celebrate Alexander Rossi's winning of the 500, I think it's only appropriate to host this weeks "Playing With TTs" Time Trial Event, only the road course instead of the oval. Also, we'll go with a best photo contest starting this week, but a name has yet to be decided. Any feedback on the previous suggestions?

 

[Vic Reign93]

Only one slight hitch with doing a photo shoot with the TZ3, you can't paint it or change the rims, so action or scenic shots are more critical here.

But not pulling its weight? I doubt it as it's based on a Viper chassis and drivetrain, so a big V10 and over 600hp is the flavour of the day with this.

As for the contest name, it needs something that's completely in line with what we do, but also in line with the trademark sense of references and humour we are known for.

My rough idea? SOSSACA or Stills Of Speed, Style And Cocking About.

I know there's something in there that'll make it perfectly fitting, but I also know it needs that extra COTW touch to it.

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

Well I guess I'll throw in my hat into the "Name the Photo Award" show with...

PHAT or FUGLY

For those who don't know... PHAT stands for Pretty Hot And Tempting and Fugly is simply F---ing Ugly!!! ;-)

Cheers

 

[Nismonath5]

Considsering we've been using cars with dinky little 2.0 litre and smaller engines lately, climbing into a V10 over four times bigger than that should be fun!
And I'm assuming it's only on Sport mediums or hards?

 

[Obelisk]

Considsering we've been using cars with dinky little 2.0 litre and smaller engines lately, climbing into a V10 over four times bigger than that should be fun!
And I'm assuming it's only on Sport mediums or hards?

It defaults to Hards.

 

[MidFieldMaven]

I just spent a handful of laps at Mid-Field to get a feel for the car. Managed a 1:16.9 best lap on Comfort Soft tires. I might be able to chip a few more tenths off but I know my abilities and 1:15 is out of the question.

It shares its engine with the SRT Viper GTS '13 (I think) and that car scored a best lap of 1:16.8

Handling has a tendency for understeer, but keep the revs high and you can power the back wheels around if you find yourself going wide. The sound of this car between 6500-7000 rpm is amazing.