Mercedes Benz AMG VGT
versus
Alpine VGT
*** Round 1 *** Top Speed ***
Mercedes AMG - 213mph
Alpine VGT - 201mph
Speed advantage to the Stuttgart Autobahn Courier
Mercedes 10 --- Alpine 9
*** Round 2 *** Fuel Economy ***
Not the most exact test, but a run at the Willow Springs 20 miler lets you gauge just how thirsty the car is over a road course. And the French car only needed the swiftest of sips of
Le Pehtrul. The Car from Southern Germany was a bit more of a guzzler when I ran the super licence event, Not a huge amount and it had little effect in my race as the tyre change took more time than the splash of fuel, but still a win for the
Dieppe Dodgem.
Mercedes 9(19) --- Alpine 10 (19)
*** Round 3 *** Tyre Degradation ***
Not much use going fast if you smear the track with precious rubber leaving you running the end of your stint on the canvas carcass of the tyre. Both cars were good, but the Mercedes was less good at caressing the life of its tyres to the end of a stint. However so long as you apply a modicum of "driver nous" you will easily get a full stint out of the car. But the Alpine had no issue, which is great as the car is far more agile and reliant on the rear end grip to be consistent. The Mercedes may lose this one but I would think of it more that it didn't win as much.
Mercedes 9 (28) --- Alpine 10 (29)
*** Round 4 *** Lashings of V8 powah ***
The Mercedes has an impressive 576 bhp while the Alpine's V8 only has 443bhp.
Mercedes 10 (38) --- Alpine 7 (36)
*** Round 5 *** Add lightness ***
1385kg - 47:53 - Mercedes
0900kg - 47:53 - Alpine
The Mercedes is really an evolution of the AMG SLS and the smaller bi-turbo engine and the 'money no object' construction has resulted in 235kg of added meat being spirited away - And on the track you really feel the can is several steps ahead of where the SLS was... but The Alpine has huge empty venturi voids carved out of the body of the car. The lack of a roof usually means a lot of added weight to keep the cars chassis stiff to prevent it flip flopping about like a wet lettuce, but the Alpine has a Racing cockpit, this lack of cabin space means the car has a lot of rigidity in this weak spot.
Mercedes 8 (46) --- Alpine 10 (46)
*** Round 6 *** Wheels and Wings ***
One of the main differences are the settings on the wheels and the natural negative lift both car generate.
The Mercedes has an easy to understand 0/200 Aero Effect and 0.5°/1.5° camber, 0.0°/0.60° toe.
The Alpine has far more Aero and some tricksy numbers on the wheels. 200/450 aero, 1.5°/0.0° camber, -0.50°/1.0° toe.
The front wheel Toe is probably the biggest eyebrow raiser... with the fronts wheels pointing outward it makes the car far more responsive in the turns ... The outside wheel does the "heavy lifting" but as the inside wheel is even more eager to change direction it helps it steer the front of the car through corners. Having over three times the overall downforce than the Mercedes also assists the car in the twisty bits.
Mercedes 8 (54) --- Alpine 10 (56)
*** Round 7 *** Trooping the Colours ***
The Alpine only has two colours, a Base Blue with a choice of Crystal White or Ceramic Black as the majority shade. The Mercedes also has a Matt Black Option but it also has two Silvers, a Dark Grey Silver with a Lime Green detail or my personal favourite -
Alubeam Silver - the paint that took 12 years to make and is dried by the light of a full moon. Although the Alpine has a more colourful palette,
Alubeam Silver is just too classy for it not to win.
Mercedes 10 (64) --- Alpine 7 (63)
*** Round 8 *** Looks ***
This is a bit harsh, but the Mercedes looks like some 1930's idealised concept car of what they would think the future would look like. The Huge long low wide bonnet, the bubble motif of the wheel arches, the rear end so sleek and elegant. The front bit is a bit rounded and the gimmicky light up front grill but when you watch the car move at speed it looks almost too good.
The Alpine is much more function over form . It has optimal solutions rather than aesthetically pleasing choices. The front "Horseshoe crab" front end is a low point and the long tailed fins after the rear wheels take a while to get used to. In a way it reminds me of the late 50's F1 when you had some awesome looking Front Engined cars facing up against some rather agricultural looking mid engined cars from Charles and John Cooper. However a racing maxim is a car starts to look very pretty once you win a bottle of champagne with it. And after a few replay watches the Alpine does look good, but just not the instant impact of the Mercedes which only gets better especially at speed from the side.
Mercedes 10 (74) --- Alpine 7(70)
*** Round 9 *** Drivability ***
Usually the "so easy to drive" tag is given to a Front Engined car, but in this case I have to give my choice to the Alpine. The Air brakes really shorten brake zones, and kept the car extremely stable in this zone. The Mercedes is hamstrung by heavy brake zones, the greater weight puts a larger strain on the front tyres which will then be fundamental for the corner to follow. The Alpine virtually cheats in these braking areas able to brake harder and later with a far smaller risk of cooking your front tyres.
Now the Mercedes isn't bad but the Alpine feels like it is a extension of the drivers body - you think where you want to go and the car will do its best to comply - but the best bit is the car hasn't got two wheelbarrows worth of downforce making it feel like you are driving on Jupiter. Any lump or bump will send the car skipping along as the 170 nanometre thick layer of rubber breaks traction with the asphalt for a few moments.
The Mercedes is far more prone to a lock up and spearing off track - at first. Maybe I just felt at home in the right hand drive car
(Perfect for those clockwise tracks)
Mercedes 7 (81) -- Alpine 10 (80)
*** Round 10 *** Track Test - Le Mans ***
I Already know that the Alpine has an advantage in the brake zones so I will run at tracks with as much top speed as I can find - But maybe a back to back test at La Sarthe will frame up just how powerful the Alpine on the approach into a slow corner...
Mercedes -- 3m44.1
Alpine ------ 3m39.2
Even with no chicanes the Alpine has the speed advantage here - it loses a good old chunk on the Mulsanne, but the Alpine leaps through the corners and it's only real weakness is the top speed on the very longest of flat our sections.
Mercedes 8 (89) -- Alpine 10 (90)
*** Round 11 *** Dristelen Test ***
This took me back as this Track and the Mercedes was a very early part of GT6 for me and the car itself was a mainstay of the early part of the game when I needed a Super Car to race with but I had yet to stump up the raw kazulas to pay for it! But can it prevail in the Alps against an Alpine?
Mercedes -- 3m21.9 (65.3s)
Alpine ------ 3m18.3 (63.8s)
Mercedes 8 (97) -- Alpine 10 (100)
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Which is best? Looks goes to the Mercedes but the Alpine is just too much fun to drive (Sports Hards - ABS=0 - TCS=0 obviously)
Ryk picks the Alpine
