C-ZETA's car reviews - C-ZETA Awards 2012 - 21/12/12

[uMadson?]

I expected the LFA to get the sound award, oh well.

 

[C-ZETA]

I expected the LFA to get the sound award, oh well.

Fear not, my friend!

Spoiler

It is getting an award. Think about how I own 8 of them...

 

[Onboy123]

Fear not, my friend!

Spoiler

It is getting an award. Think about how I own 8 of them...

Hmm……Car of the Year award?

 

[FordMKIVJ5]

Ford Mk IV is amazing... great stuff! 👍

I agree

 

[C-ZETA]

Hmm……Car of the Year award?

No. There are cars around that are much better than the LFA for that kind of award.

 

[noisiaturismo]

Not exactly a hard one to choose, is it now? I think by now it is quite self-explanatory that this, the Red Bull X2011, is indeed the fastest in the game and Fastest of the Year.

No, I have faster X2010's, less downforce is only good on tracks made by a certain German F1 track designer.

 

[Onboy123]

No, I have faster X2010's, less downforce is only good on tracks made by a certain German F1 track designer.

That's through your adjustments after purchase though, the X2011 is faster than the X2010 out of the box with nothing changed to both.

 

[C-ZETA]

No, I have faster X2010's, less downforce is only good on tracks made by a certain German F1 track designer.

Then see the straights as you completely fail to gain any speed. And yes, out of the box, the X2011 does have less downforce as stock. I do fail to see how more power on either of the two does make less PP though.

 

[Onboy123]

No. There are cars around that are much better than the LFA for that kind of award.

Hmm………Best Japanese Supercar of the Decade Award?

 

[C-ZETA]

Hmm………Best Japanese Supercar of the Decade Award?

No. Just wait till later, chances are I might show it in the next part, if I don't just wait till tomorrow for it.

 

[Onboy123]

No. Just wait till later, chances are I might show it in the next part, if I don't just wait till tomorrow for it.

You realise, your later is sometime deep in my sleep by the time I read it, right? And you lucky SOB, how come you have so much time to write all this? You skiving school?

 

[C-ZETA]

You realise, your later is sometime deep in my sleep by the time I read it, right? And you lucky SOB, how come you have so much time to write all this? You skiving school?

I know you to stay up forever though.

I also have something called a weekend I use to plan these. Good thing is, we had an extra day off on Friday last week and we break up for Christmas on Wednesday for 3 weeks so...awesome

 

[Onboy123]

I know you to stay up forever though.

I also have something called a weekend I use to plan these. Good thing is, we had an extra day off on Friday last week and we break up for Christmas on Wednesday for 3 weeks so...awesome

………

Y SO EARLY?! I need to wait two more days after you for the break!!!

Anyway, enough off-topic stuff. I assume there's going to be a 'Tuned car of the Year' award, right? And if there is, am I right in saying…Adrenatune HKS CT230R?

 

[C-ZETA]

………

Y SO EARLY?! I need to wait two more days after you for the break!!!

Anyway, enough off-topic stuff. I assume there's going to be a 'Tuned car of the Year' award, right? And if there is, am I right in saying…Adrenatune HKS CT230R?

I actually have a new school getting built and so we get an extra week off to let the builders finish and to demolish the old school we're in right now.

If there was, then yes, it would be. However, since I've mainly limited cars to just one award -

Spoiler

and my top 3 have their own separate awards...

 

[Furinkazen]

LFA for paint chips of the year I think...

 

[C-ZETA]

2011 C-ZETA
Awards​

Part 2

FF of the Year
Mazda Lantis Coupe 2000 Type R '93

Not so much just FF Car of the Year as Surprise of the Year. Because that's basically exactly what this is. The Mazda Lantis is the FF of the Year, and while you may be thinking of sending me to a clinic for my decision, let me try and get the message across to you as to why I gave this thing my FF of the Year.

The Lantis to start with has some very basic stats. It weighs a normal 1200kg and starts with a normal 171bhp. However, just as a quick bonus, which also applies to the real thing, the engine is a 2.0 V6. V engines are boss no matter what, so already we have started this thing on a good note.

Then you apply the mods you'll definitely want to give it. To begin with, you paint it in its own Sparkling Green Metallic, easily the best colour for an already good looking car. Then you choose to fit a wing. And lol in its face when you see the wing gets attached not to the rear hatch completely, but is in fact held up by two grey, badly made holders that appear on the edges of the rear window. It looks so bad, it's good. I decided not to fit a spoiler to my Lantis, kindly, but it doesn't change the outcome I got from it.

You will most likely then fit it with parts of varying degrees depending on your taste. Mine is given a mix and match of different parts, including a Sports Exhaust - this comes in handy later, and other not top tier parts to it. The result of this all was the Lance of Lantis, as I have chosen to call it. When I decided to set it up and take it for a drive, I wasn't expecting too much. The surprise I would get though...

The handling on this thing is very, very good for an FF. Not CR-Z TC level obviously, but still it is an FF that does not understeer. So clearly that's something to get on to. The Sports Exhaust on this thing also sounds hugely glorious. Whatever is taped onto the end of that V6 is superb. The low sound makes you seem to almost hear a turbo kind of noise, then it buzzes right up the rev counter and starts all over again. It's brilliant. And, with some modification, it is our FF of the Year. Now, if anyone could actually give a damn about it...

Tuner of the Year
praiano63

People all around the GT world will try tuning at some point. When they start it, they will learn how to do it properly, and once they've learned the ways of tuning they will create some great masterpieces. All tuners will have started off this way, and created their own kinds of masterpieces with varying success. The highest of all the successors here, however, is praiano63 - a man who can create tune-ups of a very high order and leave other tunes feeling weak.

Praiano's main qualities are that almost all of his tunes are online based. He knows that any tune that works online will work offline, so he goes with it as such. The majority of his tunes have also been tuned to the max, which is where most people go with their own cars to begin with before applying any tunes. And when his tunes get put up, well, the result is obvious. I've tried a lot of his tunes over time - Audi quattro, Volkswagen SambaBus, Nissan R390, Ferrari 512BB, Autobacs Garaiya, and more.

Praiano will also help out the community, sharing his knowhow with the men who want to follow in his footsteps. He also won the 525PP Euro Tuner Shootout, with an Audi R8 4.2, and in my Rally Shootout, he was able to build a Cooper S that kept up, on tarmac, with 4WDs of virtually identical specs - whilst being FF. And, just to prove that, despite being an ultimate tuner, who I add is also very fast in terms of actual driving, he is human, he's even raised his own little mascot now, ><((((°> °°°°°. He's quite the accompaniment, I think you'll find.

So any other tuner than Praiano being my Tuner of the Year would be doing a disservice to the work this man does. He might have had a few scares here and there, and he hasn't been completely loved by the whole tuner world, but given the majority of people who do support his work, me included, it's fair to say Praiano has established himself here well and truly. Take a bow, son.

Review of his Audi quattro '82. Coincidentally also released on the same day I got the car, my bday

Supercar of the Year
Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce '09

Just to clarify, anything that is generally considered a 'grand tourer' is not down for nomination for this.

The views on people's favourite supercar in the game is widespread hugely across the GT community. Some say it's the Ford GT. Others say Ferrari 458 Italia. A few say McLaren MP4-12C. And others will say the F1. But this is my view. I say, Lamborghini Murcielago SuperVeloce. And I think others should like it more too.

In stock form, the Murcielago SV is really a rather excellent thing. The Sports Hard tyres are not a hindrance at all. The car, in fact, handles quite well I find for my taste stock. The looks are also superbly wild as well. You can give this thing a majority of the paints in the game and it would fit like Cinderella's missing shoe. Which is why mine's yellow. Yes, orange and black look nice, but really, the stock yellow, Giallo Onion...no, sorry, Oreo, is...no, wait. It's Orion! Ah, yes, yes, yes. That's the one. Anyway, Giallo Orion is the colour of this because a) Lambos should be yellow and b) as a result, it looks best on this car. Also, if I may...Black and Yellow. EVERYWHERE.

But when you drive this thing, it isn't always the driving that just captures me. In fact, the driving nor the looks is quite the thing that always catches me. It's the sound. Wow.

2nd best in the game only to the previously mentioned Mark IV, it may have the sound byte of the Gallardo's previously realistic V10, which removes a bit of realism from the general engine sound instead - because the Murc is a V12. I don't care.

Listen, and enjoy.



Trust me when I say it's best in chase cam - every sound largely is - but still, oh my god.

And I think that is the last note I really need on this Supercar of the Year. The Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce. It could change a few opinions around here.

Hilarity of the Year
Toyota Prius Touring Car

That's right. In spite of all of the DLC cars being there to take these awards, the slowest three all get one. And this, the Prius, is probably the most oddball of the bunch. And it's no wonder it won my Hilarity of the Year award.

The engine, by logic, in a racer, should actually be an engine. Unfortunately, the Prius runs on its electric motor. And it still does. Which makes the sound coming out of this Prius remarkably amusing. Plus it makes a decent 193bhp now. So really, I shouldn't see how one would call this a joke. Wait...hold on...

The body it gets is also very, very over the top. Look at the wheel covers! And look at how aggressive the rest of the body kit is too. And the lights as well, which because of the way they work look like sound bars when you flash them really fast. OK, in terms of actual driving the Prius isn't that great to be honest. It has some very odd steering mechanics, seeing as despite it being FF on RH stock it still understeers, and because of the lack of sound when travelling through corners you can't just feel it. You can hear it as well.

I haven't finished yet. In the aforementioned Nurburgring 4h race that already won an award, daan has taken his to victory. There's more too. It actually caused a fix because of a glitch in its fuel system - it in fact used up next to no fuel whatsoever, a glitch that daan found in a previous attempt with his Prius which meant he used 1 litre of fuel over 4 hours. And despite it being the worst to drive of the slowest, as well as the heaviest, it was the fastest in my initial test of the three around Tsukuba. Part of me says that the hybrid system and its torque contributes to this, and I think I'm right. And last of all...look at what the bloody devil has spawned.

The Toyota Prius Touring Car. Hilarity of the Year, and comically so.

Bodykit/Paint/Wheel Combo of the Year
TIE!
Between
Mazda Autozam AZ-1 '92 (as pictured)
and
BMW Z4M Coupe '08 (as pictured)

Look at these two, pictured together in great harmony. Look at them. LOOK AT THEM. NOW.

This Mazda AZ-1 and this BMW Z4 looked alright to begin with. But then modification happened to both, and look what happened as a result of the GT Auto modification program! "Yes" these are the "masters" of modification!

Now, enough of the fitness commercials and let's get to describing these cars.

This AZ-1, which can be fully described as the AZ-R1 by me, with this, is what happens when a normal, cute, Moe kei car decides to take up Fanservice. It's got its default Cyberia Blue paint, which looked great on the car to start, and then has been given some black Enkei wheels with some sweet red circles around their edges. Looks sweet to me. Then you have the front bodykit, which changes up the side skirts and makes them look very awesome, with them blending into the rest of the car's main body. Again, awesome. An actually fitting wing completes the new body kit, and gives the AZ-1 part of its superb charm for me as a kei car. It should also be noted that the AZ-1 should also be my kei car of the year as well.

As for the Z4, I went all black on the car. With the body kit you can give it, black is easily the most fitting option for the car all around. And as you can see, the results speak for themselves. Effectively what you have at your hands is a Z4M Stealth Model. With carbon bonnet, black wheels, and the extra bodykit to go with, the Z4Ms already sweet shape gets upgraded superbly. I could go and get carried away with sayings of 'shape' now, but I'm not really sure how at this point, to be honest. As for the Z4 getting another mention in this awards...it will. Just you wait. And for guessers, it isn't what you think it might be.

Part 3 coming soon...​

 

[MOTORTRENDmitch]

Can't wait for part 3 👍

 

[VspecZR1GT2RS89]

I love all of the reviews C-ZETA! 👍

Espically with the famous FTO LM, great coverage of the historic race machine that always will grace the GT series for a long time.

Love the LP-670 SV, and I'm glad it won the supercar of the year award, that car deserve it. And listening to that fantastic engine and painted in yellow brings back memories of the Diablo SV in sheer perfection.

And that Pruis TC looks like what if a ricer got their hands on in. It needs some NAWZ and neons for the power 👍. But it was entertaining to read.

Keep it up, I'm still reading. 👍

 

[XDesperado67]

Grrr double post sorry.

 

[XDesperado67]

Hmm………Best Japanese Supercar of the Decade Award?

That's the Daihatsu Cuore/Mira TR-XX Avanzato hands down!

Oh wait that would be the best Supercar ever award!

 

[C-ZETA]

2011 C-ZETA
Awards

Part 3

Grand Tourer of the Year
Lexus LFA '10

I'm sure that if one car has a feature in your garage 8 times, it would be impossible for it to have some specialty in your garage. This is why the Lexus LFA happens to be winning an award, as GT of the Year. And what a car it truly is.

Look at the colours that have gathered here in these pictures. Almost insane, really. Any sort of colour you could want is here, anything but a colour shift. But regardless, there is still very much variation in the average stock LFA, it seems. In case you need to know, the colours of mine are white, red, pink, green, yellow, black, blue and a slightly different shade of blue. Alas, the actual body customisation for these things is non-existant but oh well.

The actual driving though is certainly of a very high level. While people have critiqued it for being not so great at full mod level, at stock there shouldn't be much denying that the LFA is in fact a rather brilliant car. With plenty of slidiness to exploit, lots of power under the bonnet - 562bhp from the V10 engine, and a godly sound that manages to be brilliant yet realistic at the same time. Certainly, the Lexus LFA might again have divided opinions, and others will have different opinions, but I have to say, the LFA is brilliant here. A super fast machine with no compromise to it, and which has proven its worth more than enough. So much so, it is now replacing the SC430 in GT500...so expect the LFA to be showing the GT-R and HSV010 some big moves there. The Lexus LFA. GT of the Year.

Full review here.

Heavyweight of the Year
Nissan GT-R Schulze Motorsports N24 '11

Anything at 1500kg or over is good for this. This just barely fits in in itself...

Would be the Update Car of the Year if there was actually any competition to fight for. Unfortunately, Kaz forgot the 2010 Nascars were there to be replaced prior to Spec 2, so this'd be the only winner of that.

But regardless, this Nissan GT-R N24 Schulze Motorsports race car (although technically it is a tuner car in this game as it comes on SS) is the Heavyweight of the Year. But originally...this award might not have been given out at all.

The thing is, with this thing, I bought it right after Spec 2 was up and running. I gave it a try stock and felt...immediate disappointment. It seemed to be rather understeery through the first turns and I wasn't pleased with the car very much.

Then I made this award. This was the only thing that really shone through enough for the award, and that meant driving it again. Well, I drove it for a little while longer, and I will say...I was wrong.

The GT-R N24 really is a good car. Just you have to drive considerably more than 0.5 miles to feel it.

The handling is actually pretty good once your tyres are heated up and ready for the task, and the acceleration, with the 571bhp engine and 4WD is very high as well. This is all achieved with a relatively low level of modification though, and this can be tuned up to superbly high levels, similar to that of the R35 GT-R TC. Which is basically the same as this almost with paint. Kaz, just pick one or the other next time...he's already managed to get 9 non GT500 R35s into the game, so Many people like the sound on this thing, and I do agree with them somewhat. It isn't completely top class, but it is sweet enough.

And so, even despite my complete obliviousness to its original greatness the GT-R N24 Schulze Motorsports is the Heavyweight of the Year. Now, let us wait and see what Kaz takes this year. Though another GT-R is looking increasingly likely.

LMP-spec (no Group Cs because I didn't bother including the Peugeot 905 for such an award) Car of the Year
Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM Race Car '98

Yes, really bad title, I know. It was the best thing I could come up with to make this thing have a worthy award...but whatever. You've already seen in the review that the Peugeot 905 is my favourite of the Group C's among the 787B and co., so that already had an award in itself to take back home. Unfortunately, it isn't able to collect the award because I was an idiot and forgot to put it in. So, effectively the LMP-spec Car of the Year is...this? But Sir C-ZETA, why is this not an LMP?

Well, it is. Just it doesn't look like one.

It's the Mercedes CLK-LM. And I originally had a huge despising of this car, mainly from GT4.

You see, this thing was so annoying in Arcade Mode for me. Very hard to beat, and annoyingly, matched LMP and Group C cars on the Test Course! Oh my god, so annoying. One could consider this the Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo of the previous game. Now, if I can avoid jinxing such a similar event here happening for GT6 I will be very proud.

The thing is though...I rather lost my hate for this car before GT5, and when it lost its evil ways in GT5 and was actually put against LMPs and Group Cs to begin with, I started to not mind it. I then decided to hunt one down for free with the AMG Academy Intermediate...which makes this rather a cheap shot to get, by winning all golds in the aforementioned event. Quite a plus point there, actually.

I was trying this in an attempt to get it to win the Nurburgring 24h in B-Spec. Alas, my attempt failed, but still, with the car in my hands, I felt it brilliant to drive. Given a setup from our previously mentioned Tuner of the Year praiano63, it felt super fast out of corners, and unlike most LMPs and Group Cs it isn't so prone to being ridiculously hard to take out of the corners. Yes, in the long run, they are faster, as the CLK-LM is heavier than the large majority of them. But still...it is a great thing to drive. The Peugeot 908 was the closest thing to this, FYI. Just that's a bit too dull necessarily to win the award. So, this, the Mercedes CLK-LM, goes from enemy to good friend in this game as LMP-spec Car of the Year.

Now just one thing, PD...CLR, please. With aerodynamic indeficiencies, please.

Oddity of the Year
Ginetta G4 '64

While the Prius TC may be Hilarity of the Year, it doesn't necessarily have anything much so odd as funny. That's where this comes in - the Ginetta G4 '64, my Oddity of the Year.

The main section you have to look at are the tuning levels of this car. It starts with a very low 92bhp, which will get up to 270 when full modification is placed. Granted, it weighs 454kg to begin with, which means weight reduction is little, but at the end of it all, you should have something measuring in at 604PP. That's enough to beat a 330P4, and that's without any downforce at the back at all.

The car itself is also like your average coupe that has shrunk in the wash. The closest I can get to it is the Jaguar XK120, so essentially what this is is that hit with a shrink ray. Also, the rear mirror in the centre of the car is not hanging from the top, but put at the bottom instead. And quite frankly, if we could see the alternative angles in the replays for standard cars, I would love to see where exactly my drivers legs were.

Fully modded, the car is at least a little bit decent to drive with stock settings. Understeer is there, but it isn't as bad as one peer I know said it was to drive. If you find one of these, then go on, amuse yourself. This is the Ginetta G4, from Yorkshire originally, from a country that makes lightweights, albeit not ones this small normally. And it's my Oddity of the Year. Bizarre.

Bargain of the Year
Tommy kaira ZZII '00

OK, so it probably was a typo. The price of this car is clearly missing one extra nought from its value, but something like this for the mere price of 60,000 Cr. shouldn't be passed up or mistaken in this game. The Tommy kaira ZZII, one of the great GT road cars.

What you get for 60,000 Cr. is a 570bhp, 1000kg machine that will get from A to B in a very quick time, coupled with its 4WD system that gets it through corners slickly and out of them like a space ship at light speed. Clearly for something like this to cost 60,000 anythings in real life, you'd have to sculpt it out of cheese.

But in this game, the ZZII is still a superb strong hold for the Tommy kaira brand in this game. Ever since we saw legends like their M13 from GT2, the still-present and lightweight ZZ-S, the psychotic original ZZII and more, Tommy kaira has been given much more of a name. And with the works they make, they deserve it. This ZZII is still far from a disappointment, and, with help from a moderate accident by PD, is Bargain of the Year here.

Full review here.

Cabrio of the Year
Ferrari California '08

(Any '-nia' jokes result in instant shooting. If you don't know what I mean, see my avatar.)

But anyway, here we have the only true competitor for Cabrio of the Year. This would be because it is the only one that can truly be driven topless sadly, but oh well. It's the Ferrari California, and while it is completely pointless in real life (Maserati GranCabrio), it has a purpose here.

As a Ferrari, it isn't at the top of the bunch. The F40, 458, maybe F430 and Enzo are all most certainly better, and probably the 599, 430 Scuderia and 512BB as well. But joy of joys. The SP1 is behind it.

But even so, the car is not a bad spectacle at all. As aforementioned, it is the only car in the game that can truly be driven topless. (Stay calm with jokes there, please. I do not want to get carried away.) It can also be driven top down, at the expense of having to add a wing. But then you have black paint to fix any possible damage you might suffer from that. Trust me, it does look good on a Ferrari. Along with yellow as well, trust me there, too.

And the driving isn't necessarily bad either. It has a similar 7-speed to the 458, and has a similar engine to the F430, mixing the best of both worlds. Alas, other Ferraris are more soulful and more appointing, but this California does have at least a rather special purpose among nearly all of the cars in the game. So, if you like your cars topless...then I'm sure you've bought one of these already, actually. It's the Ferrari California.

Final Part - the Top 3 - coming soon!​

 

[Furinkazen]

Epic stuff as usual 👍

 

[usuhaia08]

Keep it up, great reviews as usual. People like you put this game on another level.

 

[XDesperado67]

HOW COULD YOU CHOOSE A GT-R AS HEAVYWEIGHT OF THE YEAR? FAIL!!!

RS6 Avant! Pikes Peak! Veyron! SLS AMG! Dodge Ram! Anything but a bloody GT-R! As you pointed out there are already way to many of them corrupting GT5. Only thing they deserve is getting crushed by one of the true heavyweights!

 

[C-ZETA]

RS6 Avant! Pikes Peak! Veyron! SLS AMG! Dodge Ram!

None of them are good enough stock sadly to quite get my vote. Veyron would be a candidate if mine hadn't been modified since I got it, on about my 3rd or 4th day of owning the game SLS AMG would have been a candidate if being a heavyweight wasn't its main priority. It could have won GT otherwise but alas the LFA is always better there for me.

 

[HikaruGT]

Great stuff. Makes me wish my game would be here already. Keep it up!

 

[1241Penguin]

HOW COULD YOU CHOOSE A GT-R AS HEAVYWEIGHT OF THE YEAR? FAIL!!!

RS6 Avant! Pikes Peak! Veyron! SLS AMG! Dodge Ram! Anything but a bloody GT-R! As you pointed out there are already way to many of them corrupting GT5. Only thing they deserve is getting crushed by one of the true heavyweights!

It's his opinion...

But I would like to agree with him. The GT-R has great performance and handling despite weighing nearly 4000 lbs.

 

[XDesperado67]

It's his opinion...

But I would like to agree with him. The GT-R has great performance and handling despite weighing nearly 4000 lbs.

You should check this out if you like big cars...

Wallbanger's "Tons of Fun"!

 

[SAFFY]

Nice reviews Keep up the good work.

 

[DK]

Good stuff, I can't wait until the final part!