Merc vs Jag
I drove the cars in no particular order, and to eliminate any tyre advantages use Sports Hard for them all.
First up was the
Mercedes SLR McLaren '09. I remember sneaking a look at this car when my friend was test driving it and thought it looked like a Batmobile (no not the Adam West one) with its old-school coupe form of long bonnet and cabin set far back (more than likely a result of the mid-front engine layout). More than that it was the noise it made - the angry growl of the Merc V8, but louder. This is sadly lacking in the GT5 experience.
A new SLR after oil change gave me
628BHP, 1768Kg, and 579pp. Despite being a modern car with electronic trickery, I now prefer to drive most cars without TC or ABS so at Trial Mountain I had to check if I left something on, such was the level of grip. So despite the cars weight its cornering was excellent and it absorbed the bumps superbly. It is very quick of course and the big torquey V8 is not hampered by the 5 speed 'box, which as Mustang Maniac pointed out makes it bit more relaxed on the track.
At the mighty Circuit de la Sarthe, I was expecting this to perform well. It is fast, no doubt, achieving over 200mph on the Mulsanne Straight. However I felt the cars weight became a hinderance here: understeer was more of an issue, hard braking from the immense speeds became somewhat of a chore and it didn't seem hugely happy in the Porsche Curves.
Next up, The SLR's ancestor - the stunning
1954 Mercedes 300 SL. This really is a great car to look at, a perfect example of a 50's sports car, and one of the most collectable cars in the world. Based on a less powerful race car the famous gullwing doors were necessitated by the chassis creating a high sill, apparently making ingress and egress somewhat awkward. No worries for Bob though:
With oil change, a new 300 SL from the dealership came with
217BHP, 1295Kg and 406pp. With a smooth and direct-injected straight-six up front there's a pretty good turn of speed and the useable torque range is complimented by the gears. It handles well with some body roll and a bit of understeer, and can be a bit tail-happy unless you are careful with the throttle. Although on the sports hards there is plenty of grip and these characteristics are somewhat tamed, so over all makes for a decent lap of Trial Mountain.
While at Sarthe the 'Sports Leicht' reaches 155mph on the straight despite its four speed 'box (it was apparently the fastest production car for a time) and makes for a pleasant few laps. A very enjoyable drive.
I have another 300 SL that I had already removed the bumpers from, so I gave it a sports tune, with adjustable sports suspension to give
271 BHP, 1295Kg, and 434pp. I kept the stock transmission and kept in on Sports Hard. Around Sarthe it was much more sprighlty and quite a bit tighter, improving the track experience.
I took this for an evening cruise around the Nordschleife - a very good drive. The the SL would make a good classic racer with a proper setup.
On to the
E Type Jag of 1961. Being a design icon and with Jaguar's racing heritage this is still a very desirable car. For me though, there is something not quite right about the coupe proportions - the glass is too high and looking from front or rear, the wide cigar shaped body makes the the wheels look a bit wrong, as though they need to a bit wider apart. Nevertheless, released into the nascent decade of Swinging London it couldn't go wrong: I'm sure if I was there and moneyed I'm in no doubt I would have got my hands on one.
A couple of these Jags are in my garage, so one was taken for rebuild and gave
276BHP, 1219Kg and 445pp. I expected this to be good at Trial Mountain, but even on Sports Hard it was very tail happy and this reduced the fun-factor a little. Although it pitches and rolls quite a lot, the car sticks well enough in the corners (as long as you are careful with the power).
Onto Sarthe and this is where I was a bit surprised. The gearing means acceleration is brisk but the car is hampered by a top speed of under 140mph - leading to lost time on the long straight. However the Jag seemed to be right at home here and was just majestic on the sweeping Porsche Curves: I really enjoyed these laps.
Now for the daddy of this CotW,
1966 Jaguar XJ13. A beautiful prototype racer from the era that is, for me, the best for race car designs. In the late 50s and 60s power achievements were already pretty heady, the cars were smooth with flowing curves; pure lines largely unhindered by the desire to acheive downforce. This car truly is unique and has a prototype V12 essentially made from 2 XK engines. Famously and sadly it was never raced as it was deemed obsolete by completion and remained undeveloped. Even more sadly it was almost destroyed during the filming of a promo film in 1971 (not 4 miles from where I live) but was restored by a Coventry panel company. Wow.
I had bought this some time ago and have given it few runs out; the numbers
531BHP, 998Kg, 599pp. We are in proper race car territory here. On the Sports Hards at Trial Mountain, the mid-engined cat is a little twitchy and good throttle control is a must. However, it is pretty good on this twisty track, if a little hard work to stay smooth and keep good lines.
Le Mans, of course, is what this car was designed for. It just makes 200mph on the straight, and gets there quickly, as long as you don't mash the gas pedal in first or second. As you'd expect for a race car it is tight on the corners but not too forgiving if you get it wrong.
The biggest problem I had was braking - I can only assume Mustang Maniac was using ABS or is a much better driver than I (this is a given really). It is a common theme for me with many midship motors in the game - I find the rear gets out of shape with little steering input, making trail braking into corners almost impossible. The high speeds of Sarthe plus SH tyres meant I was braking early and straight for many corners. Here I was sideways into Indianapolis, but held on:
I enjoy driving these old racers with no driving aids on sports hards (I expect they are somewhat closer to the grip levels of period tyres than the GT5 race tyres). It can be quite a challenge, but is rewarding when you get it right.
Times
5 laps of Trial Mountain, 3 laps Circuit de la Sarthe, Sports Hard tyres.
Car..........TM.................Sarthe
SLR..........1:38.797...........4:10.118
300SL........1:51.354...........4:58.781 / 4:44.690 (sports tune)
E-Type.......1:48.781...........4:52.917
XJ13.........1:35.838...........3:58.847*
* I have previously run a 3:55 lap with ABS.
All great cars, all quite different, and bit of a strange bunch to put together. I suppose the 300 SL and the E-Type are the closest in terms of rivals but trying to put anything else together is a bit like comparing a cyclist with someone riding a horse.
However, if we stick to the pairings in the OP then it is clearly: SLR 2 v E-Type 0, XJ13 2 v 300 SL 0.
The other thing of course, is that the SLR is not all Merc, there is a large part of very British McLaren in there. For me though the Jags win 'cos they're, well, Jags.
Maybe there could be a future Merc vs Jag revival with closer matched cars?
