The Triforce assembled!
Honda Ennessecks --- Lexus Elleffay --- Toyota Effteedashwan
*** Round 1 *** Having trouble getting off the ground, wing commander? ***
183mph (Rev Limited) FT-1
216mph (Rev Limited) LFA
230mph (Drag limited) NSX
A very comprehesive win for the Hondacura. All three cars go fast but the tight short gearbox of teh FT-1 really keeps its ultimate speed down. The Lexus barrels along to a Jaguar XJ220 sort of speed. The NSX however didn't just beat that by a smidge, it annihilated those times. At BIG speeds, the amount of powah and slippery aero you need to get a few MPH can't be understated.
[NSX - 10] +++ [LFA - 8] +++ [FT-1 - 5]
*** Round 2 *** Motion Lotion Commotion ***
Part my usual Jack Rabbit Springs 20 mile test and at the midpoint of the race, all cars needed a little snifter to keep chugging on. But one of them needed a little bit more. I doubt any of them could pull a none stop race, so I am less critical of the difference in fuel consumption here. The NSX and FT-1 needed another 20 buckets, the LFA was a bit more thirsty needing 25 buckets of go-go-juice.
[NSX - 10(20)] +++ [LFA - 8(16)] +++ [FT-1 - 10(15)]
*** Round 3 *** Judge Tread ***
I was quite surprised at the FT-1, which has savage brakes and would lock up if you were looking at the brake pedal with anything more that a glance. But it had the deepest tread depth at the end of a stint. This was not true for the other two. The LFA being pretty evil on its rear tyres, the NSX spreading the love to the fronts - but I have to share the pain of second place to both cars.
[NSX - 8(28)] +++ [LFA - 8(24)] +++ [FT-1 - 10(25)]
*** Round 4 *** The Willow Springs Experience ***
All three did well, the LFA encountering tyre trouble and only able to snag 2nd place in its heat. The NSX was great fun but the long gearbox felt like it left alot of potential lap time just for the sake of being able to push speeds close to the sound barrier once it was unleashed. The FT-1 was every bit of quirky fun. The short gearbox was perfect for here and its light weight left its tyres in good enough condition not to hurt any late stint laptimes.
FT-1 1m18.0 (11m28)
NSX 1m20.1 (11m36)
LFA 1m18.8 (11m44)
[NSX - 9(37)] +++ [LFA - 8(32)] +++ [FT-1 - 10(35)]
*** Round 5 *** Are we having a party or something? ***
All three are catwalk queens of slinky looks. But which is the best? To be honest I like them all. Each has a daring style about them. The Japanese Ultra Tech of the Lexus, the strong lines of the Toyota and the Gothic Flying Buttresses on the NSX. This is a tough one but I think I will give it to the NSX as I had not really looked at it much before, and I was surprised how "goldilocks" it felt. Everything was - just right. It also has the old 90's NSX to compare to, and I find the first incarnation to be pretty scabby
(Nasty looking) at the back. The LFA has that triple pipe rear end... but it has 10 cylinders, otherwise it has a nice simple wedge shape, a Supra Corvette.. The FT-1 Long strong lines. I feel awful putting it in second place here, but at the moment the NSX gives me the
feels at the moment.
[NSX - 12(49)] +++ [LFA - 10(42)] +++ [FT-1 - 11(46)]
*** Round 6 *** Paint Chips. Paint Chips everywhere! ***
Well this is interesting. One car has One colour (boo!) but you can respray it (yes!)
Another has 9 or 10 chips (nice) but you can't respray it.(Shame)
And another has 30 chips that even a TVR driver would pause in contemplation. And if you don't like those you can respray that!
[NSX - 7(56)] +++ [LFA - 12(54)] +++ [FT-1 - 7(53)]
*** Round 7 *** If you have to ask, 'How much does it cost?' ***
Well who would have thought the no expense spared Lexus would clean up here? Maybe we can excuse these three for being concepts made from all kinds of magical alloys and carbon composite compounds then finally assembled by nerds with silly wire frame glasses wearing lab coats. Okay all three are terribly expensive... Thankfully GT6 is a game which rains money down at you like golden foil confetti. The LFA is a snip at just 375,000. The FT-1 is a cool half a mil'. But the NSX is One Million Kazulas.
[NSX - 7(63)] +++ [LFA - 10(64)] +++ [FT-1 - 8(61)]
*** Round 8 *** Red Line Fever ***
Everyone loves high revs... so obviously, highest is the best!
FT-1 - 8000rpm
NSX - 8500rpm
LFA - 9500rpm
[NSX - 9(72)] +++ [
LFA - 10(74)] +++ [FT-1 - 8(69)]
Nice High Revs, yesterday.
*** Round 9 *** Double Pipe Classic ***
Always a great sound, but what do our cars sound like when they are farting and burping around a track when you give them the beans!
LFA - Let's start with the worst. Maybe it is me, but a V10 never sounds great, there is probably some musical harmonics reason why a V10 sounds wrong. It does get up to some high revs but the sound of the Lexus is not my cup of tea.
FT-1 - Love the sound of this car. A Jaguar-tastic 6 cylinders in a line but with a nice slurping Turbo. Mechanical crisp winner.
NSX - V6 Naturally Aspirated not as nice as a straight 6 but better than any V10 sound!
[NSX - 9(81)] +++ [LFA - 6(80)] +++ [FT-1 - 10(79)]
*** Round 10 *** Fun to drive ***
I ran these with no driver aids, which brings out bags of character from these cars. Each have aspects that you either like or you don't.
The LFA - High speed Oversteer : nice ---- Pretty weak (lazy) brakes : Lazy.
Compared to the other two this is by far the easiest car to thrash about in.
The NSX - Lots of rotation - For a four wheel drive car it astounded me how light the car was in terms of rotation - This lack of grip at the back made me work hard to balance the car - especially in high speed sweepers - Dangerous if you can't manage it, but on that lap of perfection you know for a few fleeting moments you were in high speed harmony.
The FT-1 - Savage front brakes - This is ABS=0 but on ultraviolence level of difficulty. Every lap you put into this car will lower your 'Driver blood pH'. The need to modulate the brakes into the corner then caress the throttle out of it. Top stuff. Yes it is hard. It will put hairs on your eyeballs!
[NSX - 13(94)] + [LFA - 11(91)] + [FT-1 - 12(91)]
SO on reflection, Ryk would pick the all Japanese Honda NSX Concept by Michelle. Built in オハイオ州、アメリカ合衆国
Sorry for my usual bad spelling.