GT6 Duel of the Week #70: The Grand Finale (well, not really)

[Ryk]

The Chrysler 300C has veins pumping with Ontario's finest Maple Syrup... so really this is a classic Canada vs Australia battle.

 

[ThrasherDBS]

Australia vs the United States this time around. Let's see how things panned out between these two cars. (With this week's online trial taking place at my favorite North American track.)

Laguna Seca Trial:
GTO - 1:44.008
300C - 1:44.767

Rotenboden Trial:
GTO - 1:51.178
300C - 1:54.521

SSR5 Trial:
GTO - 1:38.974
300C - 1:40.296

These cars behaved the opposite of what I was expecting. The GTO was fairly understeery, but did keep stable in the corners, especially the ones that are compounded with sharp elevation changes. The 300C is a lot more fun to drive, but it isn't quite as fast. I was expecting the 300C to be the heavy one with loads of understeer and for the GTO to be wild and tail-happy, but I guess that isn't the case.

I will probably wind up keeping the 300C as a stock vehicle to have fun with, but the GTO is the faster car and it gets my vote this week.

The Chrysler 300C has veins pumping with Ontario's finest Maple Syrup... so really this is a classic Canada vs Australia battle.

...huh?

 

[McClarenDesign]

​

Goat, every day of the week.

 

[Obelisk]

@ThrasherDBS Ryk means that the 300C was built in Canada.

 

[Draggon]

Well....after doing both TT's I'm surprised. I got a much better time in the 300C. Granted, it was a lot of work with the limited grip it has, but on a track like Laguna Seca it seems to work. The understeering nature of the GTO makes corner entry slow and for me, unpredictable. Tuned up the GTO is a far better car, but that's not what we're doing here.

Overwhelming verdict: 300C

I might do a comparison at Midfield after seeing @McClarenDesign's video.

 

[ThrasherDBS]

The GTO felt the most understeery at Laguna Seca, but I didn't really have a problem on the other two trials I did, hence why the times on Laguna Seca were fairly close, but not on the other two.

I'd definitely recommend testing on some other tracks as well.

 

[Arp 273]

I tested both cars on CS tires on a couple of my own custom tracks, against arcade AI. The GTO is more stable but the 300C's oversteer is easy to catch and it is more fun to drive. The 300C is also faster despite its lower pp. Good races with the AI, just spend 2 laps (of a 3 lap race) to battle with a Corvette C7 for 2nd place. Overtook it at the end of lap 2, it re-passed me on the straight and I could overtake it again at the end of lap 3. Had to slighty block on the way to the finish line..good fun!

So my choice for this week is the Chrysler 300C

 

[MisterWaffles]

Tested both cars on Eifel flat, point to point with mid-to-high speed turns mixed in with some hairpins and straits.

Lap times:
Chrysler 300c: 3:24.788
Pontiac GTO: 3:24.990

In the end I found the 300c to be more enjoyable to drive, and the oversteer is very nice.

As for the Pontiac, I'd simply rather have a Monero.

This week my vote goes to the 300c

 

[Cowboy]

3:24.788
2:24.990

 

[Ryk]

Hmm This could be fun. I know that at the the heart of the Pontiac is an Aussie Battler, the Honden Monaro that had to be "Americanised" for the North American Market (Left hand drive, removal of the Emergency Cricket Bat and "Slab of Stubbies" from the Trunk, and trying to get the exhaust pipes to give the same sort of engine note as the '64 GTO...)
This took time as GM North America resisted the project and the predicted price jumped and GM missed the Muscle Car revival bandwagon with a car that should have been saying "Hey I come from a land down under..." Even with it improved it was underwhelming to the sophisticated American Wheelsmen of the time. The look of the car was your typical conservative Australian fair, substance over style (Which in my eyes makes it stylish for refusing to be hip and cool.)
Its competitors were fully emerged into the back ot the 50's and 60's historical retrotastic styling.

The 300C has a bold look harking back to the mid fifties C-300 - with a high body line and low roof line. Oddly it reminded me of a 60's Rover from Englandland (P6B) - which was probably a copy of the Chrysler . The new 300C was the car of choice for the aspiring criminals that sing the Hipity Hop music - so it sold like Justin Beiber tickets at a Catholic Girls School. Of course Chrysler is no stranger to pop stars acting the goat. There was an owner of a Chrysler Wimbledon who ... drove it into a Duck Pond - That owner was Keith Moon of "The Who" - inspiration for Animal of the Muppet show and countless other short lived, burn the candle at every end, percussionists.

But the fight!

So this is an all American Prize fight but it transpires both cars are ringers, and we have a more international face off.
Canada vs. Australia
Maple Syrup vs. Vegemite
(What do you spread on your crumpets/pancakes?)
Labatt's vs. Castlemaine XXXX.
(What do you use to clean the toilet with?)​

In the Satin Jade Pearl Corner - Weighing in at 4140lbs - This is a Four Door Sedan, fighting out of Brampton, West of Toronto, Ontario in Canadadadada -

The Chrysler 300C​

And Introducing in the Cosmos Purple Metallic Corner - Weighing in at 3726lbs - This is a Two Door Coupe fighting out of Elizabeth, just up the road of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

The Pontiac GTO 5.7​

*** Round 1 *** Looks ***

This is an interesting one, the GTO is sleek subtle, maybe a taddull, But is the car slippery and fast?
The 300C is a big chrome lined brick. The Original 300 by Chrysler was marketed as the "Fastest road car in the word" 50 years later that was never going to be said about this chunk. But it only really needs to be faster than the Pontiac... Anyhow back to looks. I have to pick the GTO it is a honest wholesome "Farmer's daughter" of a car with healthy lines without any tinsel. The 300C to me is the sort of car a (Censored) would get. Sure, when it first came out it was a proper throwback to a car that was made up of a mix and match of parts of older cars. Maybe the best bits? But it was soon the car of the wannabee criminal types.

GTO 10 - 300C - 8​

*** Round 2 *** Cost ***

300C - 34,780 kazulas
GTO - 34,490 kazulas
Amazingly close, but the Pontiac edges it, and I think it is even cheaper version for the Home Aussie market. And when you factor in the Chrysler has Cheaper Comfort tyres while the Aussie Import has expensive semi slicks as standard then you can underline that the GTO is a bit more of a bargain.

GTO - 10(20) - 300C - 9 (17)​

*** Round 3 *** Weight ***
This could be the stat. usually for me the lighter the car the more I enjoy it. And the further than weight is balanced toward the rear axel the more fun it is for me to hurl about a track.
Will a Corn Fed Aussie do well against a square jawed Cannuk carved out of a block of solid steel?


300C - 1878kg - 51:49
GTO -- 1690kg - 59:41

The GTO is packing quite alot of meat in those budgie smuglers - But the 300C is 414lbs heavier - And that is before you bolt on the bulletproof laminated glass, the kevlar ceramic plates in the doors and the floor, the puncture resistant radials, the point defence grenades, Armoured Sunroof and the ...
BUT the Chrysler has a much more balanced weight distibution so it should be much more eager on the track to change directions... Time will tell, but a glimmer of hope for the heavy 300C.

GTO 10 (30) - 300C 7 (24)​

*** Round 4 *** Lashings of V8 Powah ***

Both cars have big beefy V8's - but which has the grunt and which is just a runt?

300C - 339bhp
GTO -- 352bhp

GTO 10 (40) - 300C 9 (33)​

*** Round 5 *** Torque of the town ***

Both of these cars are big and to get them accelerating you need to talk the talk with plenty of Torque.

300C - 54kgfm
GTO -- 51kgfm

Finally a win for the Chrysler! The Canadians begin to hope for an upset!

GTO 9 (49) - 300C -10 (43)​

*** Round 6 *** Paint Chips ***

Does it come with a solid colour palette? Has it got a really strong signature chip, is it a selection of moribund corporate blandness? Let's find out!

300C - 7 chips pretty sombre/sober range
GTO -- 7 chips with a few "bright" shades

Again very close thing but I'll give this to the Pontiac, as it has a nice Cosmos Purple Metallic.

GTO 10 (59) - 300C 9 (52)​

*** Round 7 *** The distant rumble of three hundred and forty five cubic inches ***

GTO -- Nice Deep Musical V8
300C - Nicerer V8

There is probably not alot between them in reality but the Canadian car just sounded right - Like Celine Dion on the prow of a big steamer.

GTO 9 (68) - 300C 10 (62)​

*** Round 8 *** Speed ***

First real run in anger - and the gearbox on the Pontiac looks like a Lucky bag of cogs, 5th looks to be a bit short 6th is amazingly optimistic...
The Chrysler comes with Comfort Softs - which I upgraded to Sporty Hards for the speed test to be fair.

300C - 187mph (6m19.656)
GTO -- 175mph (6m44.349)
(Measure on the second straight to avoid any downhill skew)
The GTO's box did fumble about the speed of the car, 4th felt a smidge long,5th was pretty breif and 6th was for a very very long haul from157mph up to 175 - it drops you down to 4200rpm.
The 300C only had 5 gears but it is much more simplistic and effective in their use, Neither car was rev limited by their gearbox,

GTO 8 (76) - 300C 10(72)​

*** Rounds 9-10-11-12 *** This isn't Spa... ***

To honour Zack Snyder's film about the Chrysler. Everyone remembers Gerard Bulters Line, "This is Spa-Francorchamps!"
Well, we are not off to Walonia, but off just to the west of the inland empire of California - Jack Rabbits Springs, for my usual 20 mile test of tyre wear, fuel consumption, Blistering single lap performance and Overall (lack of) Race pace.

300C was quite good fun, the gears were a bit widely spaced and the 2nd to 3rd change always felt like the car was having to struggle to get up to full speed. The car would rotate very well and considering what an aircraft carrier of a car it is the car was daning about like it had ballet points on its nimble feet.

The GTO does have understeer, but nowhere near as much as I was expecting and it didn't eat the (front) tyres as much. It was ever so slightly more frugal on the fuel use...

*** Round 9 *** Tyre Wear ***

I have to edge this just to the Pontiac, The Chrysler was a bit loose at the back and it did chew ups its rears more than the Pontiac ate its fronts - but very close
GTO -- Total Tyre Candles left - 29
300C - Total Tyre Candles left - 26

GTO 10 (86) - 300C 9(81)​

*** Round 10 *** Fuel me once, shame on you; Fuel me twice, shame on me. ***

GTO -- 7 litres extra
300C - 8 litres extra

Again a very close run thing, and on another day maybe the Chrysler would have won, but today in California the GTO was victorious.

GTO 10 (96) 300C 9(90)​

*** Round 11 *** Blistering Single Lap Speed ***

Neither cars are super fast, the weight really hurts both cars over the lap.

GTO -- 89.845s
300C - 90.547s

GTO 10 (106) - 300C - 9 (99)​

*** Round 12 *** Race Pace Ace ***

GTO -- 12m53.388
300C - 13m02.510

The Pontiac was faster in a race where both tyre wear and fuel economy were not a factor.

GTO 10 (116) - 300C 9 (108)​

----

After a heavyweight head to head that went the full 12 rounds it looks like there can only be one winner. The Judge has Collected the score cards... The Judge? Not the 1969 second generation Pontiac GTO "Judge"?
Nope - just the result - and winner by a Unnanimous decision,

The Pontiac GTO 5.7 from Elizabeth, Australia!

I did peak a few posts, so expected the Chrysler to ace the track tests, but it was slower that the Aussie import. Strewth!

 

[MisterWaffles]

Whoops, fixed.

 

[Draggon]

I took them both to Midfield today. To make a fair comparison, I used the limiter to turn down the GTO's power to the 464pp the 300C has after oil change and ran them on SH tires. I made 5 laps each. The best lap figures:

GTO: 1:23.528

300C: 1:21.440

So I stand by my verdict for the Chrysler. Plus it's a whole lot more fun.

 

[MOPARbarrett5]

Both are good cars, but my vote goes to the 300C because it is quite agile and fun to drive for being over 1800 kilograms.

 

[Cowboy]

The Pontiac, or the Holden. The last generation of the goat was one of the best looking moder muscle cars in my opinion. Unfortunately, the standardness of the car makes it unused, and the fact that the driveability is tough as well. The car had good acceleration, but that's about it. Corners caused two things to happen. 1. Understeer almost off the track, and 2. Understeer off the track. As stated, it's the drive that hurts this animal, but hey, who said this can't be a drag car? Let's talk about the looks for a second. Pontiac did a nice job of minorly remodeling the Honden Monaro, by adding a semi-mesh grille and slapping on that signature emblem. Chevrolet had nothing to compete against this car at the time of production, so this one took the cake....

Or did it. This is the Duel of the Week isn't it? Somewhere deep in the dealerships of GT6 you will find the somewhat forgotten company called Chrysler. Here you can find anything from the god awful PT Cruiser, to the stylish Prowler. At the end of the lineup you have the so called 300C. I'm not that fond of the first gen 300C, since it looks a bit flashy to my eyes. This too, is a standard model, but that doesn't matter here. We're here to test cars, not to judge a book by it's cover. On the track, the 300C was nearly opposite of the goat. It has a strange but enjoyable character. Oversteer is imminent upon corner entry, something not really common for FR cars. It's an enjoyable oversteer though, making you able to drift the corner with ease, power through the straights, and still make it to that business meeting on time. Looks. The 300C doesn't have the better looks in my opinion, with the somewhat flashy appearance all around, but nobody said that you couldn't make these look good. Time for me to make my decision. As much as I favor for the GTO, the 300C proved that you don't have to be a lightweight to have fun. So this week I go for.....

The 300C.

Both cars were tested at Laguna Seca, comfort soft tires, no aids except ABS: 1.

300C: 1:47.498
GTO: 1:48.199

And your guy's votes:

GTO: 4
300C: 6

And the winner is.....

The '05 300C!!!

Congrats to G_ASHER for setting the winning time of 1:43.360 in the GTO and setting a wining time of 1:41.358 in the 300C! So ends another week, so if you have any suggestions, please send them my way!​

 

[Draggon]

That was some stiff competition in the GTO. Thanks for putting up these events @Cowboy !

 

[Cowboy]

This week I chose two cars that some people may not look at, but others may cherish them. They both come from two very well known manufacturers, so this week's duel is.....

The 1999 Subaru Impreza Sport Wagon WRX STi Version VI

vs

The 2001 Audi RS 4!!!

I have a thing for wagons. To me they help make a car look like a true sleeper, and most of them just look good in general. This week's time trial will take place at Matterhorn Dristelen, where the constant elevation change will test your power, handling, and everything in between. So with that, let the battle begin.​

 

[Ryk]

Typical badly parked Audi, yesterday.

Good job we can use the handbrake... I see a world of understeer ahead!

 

[GT_Alex74]

Ok so I can already say my vote goes for the Subaru this week Car I love VS car I hate


Usual Trial Mountain lap times (comfort softs, ABS 1 for both) :

Subaru Impreza Sport Wagon WRX STI 6 01:41,158
Audi RS4 '01 01:42,227

The only real difference between a regular sedan STI and this wagon is you can load more things into it. Ok, the addition of two lateral windows and two pillars bring a tad of weight with them, but not that much really. And it also slide a weeny tiny bit more than the Sedan or Coupe STI 6, but really, it's still a nicely balanced, nimble, great fun and well performing car. In fact, of all the GC8 chassis Imprezas in the game, only the sedan STI 6 and the 22B are marking a better lap time. Cherry on the cake is it drives nicely without ABS as well, as any GC8 really.

The Audi, on the other hand, is an understeer cake topped with a V6 which likes to burn its turbos and make you pay what the car's worth on the used market to change them. At least, with the Subaru, you can easily bring a stock of flowmeters and replace your soon-to-be-faulty one on the run. Although that RS4 may be good for the autobahn, as flooring it will basically prevent you from turning, you'll be able to drive while rubbing your soft leather seats or dashboard material with your right hand and honking like a douche bag with the left one. Ho, and the gearbox is nicely staged, so you can smoke those peasants with 200- hp cars, mock them and leave before they start to tell you about what driving skills are.

Did I say the Subaru wins ?

 

[Draggon]

Great choices, we tested the Subaru during the car of the week last year and I found it really suits my driving style. And Dristelen is one of my favorite tracks. Woo hoo!

 

[ThrasherDBS]

Station wagons huh? Interesting.

It's also interesting that these cars get to go to Matterhorn twice instead of once like the other cars. Let's see what happened.

Dristelen Trial:
Impreza - 1:15.388
RS 4 - 1:15.815

Rotenboden Trial:
Impreza - 1:49.484
RS 4 - 1:51.542

SSR5 Trial:
Impreza - 1:38.439
RS 4 - 1:37.295

The Subaru felt stable without being understeery, whereas the Audi was both stable and understeery. Honestly, I don't feel the extra power on the RS 4 compensates for the fact that it outweighs the Impreza by 300kg, at least if it isn't flat and straight. The Audi isn't that fun to drive either, whereas someone can squeeze some joy out of the Impreza.

The Subie wins.

 

[Draggon]

Quite an interesting duel this week. I think the Subaru rotates better, but the Audi feels more planted. It's going to take some more time behind the wheel before I can make a choice.

 

[Ryk]

I've been watching ... Full Contact Downhill Marble Racing... so this could be just as bad as usual!

Before I look at the cars - prediction time!

The Subaru will be a light on its feet. A car that is better in the corners but will come unstuck when it comes to flat out blasts. The Audi I can see having a double portion of top speed but also have a nightmare at retaining this speed in any meaningful corners, and the more twists the more this will struggle.

These are Station Wagons - Estate cars. And as they have large rear ends you can't help but either like it or hate it. This is going to compare how well the shape of the car has adsorbed the extra rear capacity... Is it a Rear of the Year or just Kardashianesque Kitsch.

This a bit of a catch weight fight, at first glance the more expensive more powerful more rated (By the infallible PP scale) RS4 should walk away with this one. But much of the price of the Audi is for "comfort and luxury" which are things you can't really measure in GT6.


*** Round 1 *** Callipygian Good Looks ***

Actually both are not that bad, Neither are a Wagon Queen Family Truckster station wagon , which is nice.
Both have a bit of racing history that takes them both up a notch - Obviously the Impreza has the subtle lines of the World Rally Car that was near the front of every rally under the wheelmanship of Richard Burns and Colin McCrae - An Icon of the late 90's in Britain for obvious reasons. The Audi has a bit of a winning spurt in the old British Touring Car Championship when the silver Audi A4 quattro cars dominated the championship for a year with its sneaky four wheel drive system..

The Audi is a car that was just about to usurp the title of Cars own by plonkers that was previously the mainstay of BMW. (Middle Management dipsticks full of ego and selfish bravado.)

That said, the Impreza (And the LanEvo) took on the mantle that was handed down by the Escort Cossie of a car for wallies, festooned with go faster stripes, "Wayne and Shiela" sunstripes, bolt on exhaust pipes and fluffy dice.

One thing you may not of known at the time was how the looks of these cars was about to change, the Imprezza getting some sort of shocking medical examination that gave the front of a car an astonished wide eyed look. The Audi was just about to take on the huge single grill motif after years of being the modest capable car.

Subaru Plus Points - Gold Alloys, Pink "i" Logo, Interesting Bonnet scoops and Vents (Practical)
Weak Point- Slightly too high roofline

Audi Plus Points - Nothing offensive, Slightly Plain.
Weak Points - Stick out off colour wing Mirrors,

I'd call this one even. Both are better looking than I remembered.

RS 4 - 10
Impreza Sport Wagon WRX STi Version VI - 10​

*** Round 2 *** Power ***

Audi (379bhp) Subaru (276bhp) Thats over 100BHP more!
(Pants on FIRE! the Subaru actually puts out 283bhp... and the Audi has only 378bhp! - Thats just LESS than 100bhp!)
The 2.5 Litre V6 in the Audi is a much more potent unit.

RS 4 - 10 (20)
Impreza Sport Wagon WRX STi Version VI - 7(17)​

*** Round 3 *** Torque ***
Audi (45 torques)
Subaru (36 torques)
The Subaru has a torque split of 35:65. The Audi has an unrevealed torque split.

RS 4 - 10(30)
Impreza Sport Wagon WRX STi Version VI - 8 (25)​

*** Round 4 *** Weight ***
Audi - 1628kg (58:42) for the Audi and as expected loads of the weight is way out infront of the car. BUT the GTO in last weeks test had worse numbers was good fun to drive, BUT that was a FR car, all wheel drive cars tend to prefer to drill a straight line rather than change directions.
Subaru - 1310kg (52:48).... 318 kg of added lightness on the Fuji Heavy Industies Estate.
This is a telling round the Subaru is nice and light and the Audi is about 25% heavier...

RS 4 - 7 (37)
Impreza Sport Wagon WRX STi Version VI - 10(35)​

*** Round 5 *** Paint Chiparage ***

Only four for the Fuji Heavy Industries car, The Necklarsulm car has 6 and I have to be honest a better quality and range. The Soobs has Cool Gray Metallic which doesn't jump off the car but actually grew on me once I looked at it when I was about to give it a cheeky respray with something dark and green; Cashmere Yellow is nice enough but the Audi's Yellow is a real zinger and the Audi has a bright red that is omited from the Imprezza's list. - A win for the Audi in a pretty weak area for both cars, But I can't really look beyond the Audi having Goodwood Green Metallic and the Subaru having nothing in the green spectrum.

RS 4 - 10 (47)
Impreza Sport Wagon WRX STi Version VI - 8(43)​

*** Round 6 *** Kazula ***

The Audi at only 41380 Kazula's looks like a snipbut the Soobs at 29,170 is a whopping 12,210 Kazulas cheaper

RS 4 - 7 (54)
Impreza Sport Wagon WRX STi Version VI - 10 (53)​

*** Seasonal - Yawecar Tserof Peed - 5 laps No Driver Aids, Stock SH tyres, no corner cutting or contact with other cars. ***
Time for some big money? You betcha! This is the final test. Can the More Powerful Audi hold onto its lead of a single point? Let us go to Deep Forest Raceway - in reverse!
Subaru Impreza Sport Wagon WRX STi Version VI -
Loads of fun! I am hoping the Audi can get close to this so I can give the Subaru another go, the Engine note is great, the Horn is terrible! Car was not super agile but you could do a bit of four wheel drifting if you chucked it in with a bit of gusto.
The Replay - I had a lot of good looking cars (And an Audi RS4!!) And the Subaru did look less than pretty with the large back end and tall roofline. But it got the win and 390,000 Credits.
(Boosted to 429,000 because Ryk gives 110% every time he puts a wheel on a racetrack!)
Audi RS 4
Better horn that the Subaru but the drive was a painful exercise in trying not to beat up the front tyres with any agressive driving. If you barrel into a corner and lean on the car, the fronts will be the first thing to wilt - and then it is just a short trip to the pushy land of understeer. You can of course adapt to this by being a sensible/mature driver and feeling the grip of the fronts, but every lap I was wanting to jump back in that Subaru...

*** Round 7 *** Seasonal - Yawecar Tserof Peed : Blistering Single Lap ***
Audi - 1m29.381
Subaru - 1m28.186

The Impreza was comfortably faster over a whole lap. More tellingly it didn't wet the bed if it had to deal with traffic, letting a driver adapt on the fly.

RS 4 - 8(62)
Impreza Sport Wagon WRX STi Version VI - 10(63)​

*** Final Round *** Seasonal - Yawecar Tserof Peed : Glacial Race Pace ***
Audi - 8m06.233
Subaru - 8m02.043

Slightly closer, I know I was spooning about on my finallap in the Subaru, whereas I was fully focused on the final lap in the Audi trying not to smear the front tyres into the asphalt through the corners. I think If I was just as dilagent with the Subaru the Gap would have been wider.

RS 4 - 9(71)
Impreza Sport Wagon WRX STi Version VI - 10(73)​

-----------------

The Audi gets big points for Power and Torque but the Japanese car's remarkable lack of mass over the front axle, makes it much more agile and far less prone to cripple its front tyres in any operation that invovles either the brake pedal or the steering wheel - If you plan to use both at the same time... tread very lightly. I was going to do more Track tests but the fun to drive factor between the cars is palpable.

Subaru Impreza Sport Wagon WRX STi Version VI - Ryk's Callipygous Winner.

(Amazingly the Subaru kicked the Audi's RS ... 4)

 

[Draggon]

Well, it took me about 10 laps but I got the Audi into the 1:13's. I'm .931 short of my time with the Scooby, but I still like the Audi better. Maybe a different track would change my mind......?

My vote: Audi 👍

 

[MidFieldMaven]

Audi RS4 '01
2.7L
378 hp / 6,500 rpm
325 ft-lb / 2,500 rpm
1,620 kg (3,571 lbs)
472 pp

Subaru Impreza Sport Wagon WRX STi Version VI '99
2.0L
283 hp / 6,800 rpm
263 ft-lb / 4,500 rpm
1,310 kg (2,888 lbs)
452 pp

The Audi weighs about 700 lbs more than the Subaru, so it's going to suck going through the turns. But, it'll be faster on the straights, with about 100 hp and 60 ft-lbs of torque more than the WRX.

Mid-Field Raceway. Comfort Soft tires.




Top speed on straight:

143 mph - Audi
135 mph - Subaru

Minimum speed through Turn 1:

69 mph - Subaru
65 mph - Audi

I prefer the Subaru in every aspect.

 

[Arp 273]

Wauw, this was way more difficult than expected..

Had to buy both cars as usually I only use premiums because of cockpit view.

I like the cleaner looks of the Audi. The Subaru is dripping with "standardness", the Audi less so, especially after a repaint and some fresh shiny rims.

Ran a lot of Arcade races to figure out which car I liked more. The Audi was faster on a couple of tracks with predominantly straights but on any track with actual corners the Subaru would be faster. That's amazing considering the pp difference, makes more sense when you look at the weight and weight distribution. But still..

I liked driving both cars, it was a though choice. Maybe because I had to convince myself to change my expected opinion.. My vote goes to the Subaru Impreza Sports Wagon WRX STi Version IV '99 because it is faster, easier to try different lines and most important.. more fun!

 

[Cowboy]

The Impreza. I like Subaru, they've made some great cars like the Legacy, Impreza, BRZ, etc. Most Subarus are 4WD, and are considered to be good vehicles in the wintertime. In GT6, somewhere in the little sea of Imprezas you find the '99 Wagon. It's a great driving car for really all levels. Going into a corner you get some positive oversteer, and can usually power out the rest of the corner. It comes in only four colors, but who said you can't paint it. It also looks to be a sleeper in my opinion, since wagons aren't seen racing very much in the online world.

Then you have the RS 4. Audi isn't unknown for making wagons, especially powerful ones. This one makes almost 100 hp more than the Subaru, but weighs a lot more as well. The weight didn't help this car despite the power. Corners were met with a ton of understeer followed by a one way ticket with the wall if you weren't careful. However, the car proved better on the straights with the extra power which is the strong point for this one. I didn't need to decide on this one for long, so this week I choose.....

The Impreza

Both cars tested at Matterhorn Dristelen, no aids except ABS 1, SH tires.

Impreza: 1:14.998
RS 4: 1:15.362

And the votes:

Impreza: 5
RS 4: 1

And the winner is.....

The '99 Impreza Wagon!!!

Congrats to G_ASHER for setting the winning times of 1:13.994 in the RS 4 and 1:13.013 in the Impreza! So as usual, message me if you have suggestions for next week.​

 

[Cowboy]

This week I chose to go outside the box on ideas, and I think I've found a nice matchup this week. It's been some time since one of these, so this week's duel is.....

The 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe

vs

The 2007 Lexus IS F

vs

The 2001 BMW Z8!!!

Three FRs, lots of power, and plenty of design to throw in the mix. The time trial this week (which will be posted on Monday) will be at Trial Mountain, a staple among the series and also a tricky one if not driven correctly. So with that, shovel some money out of your pocket, ask Donald Trump for a small loan, or just let the battle begin!​

 

[GT_Alex74]

Ha ! A trio on Trial Mountain ! Good choice

So, my times on Trial Mountain (offline, 5 laps sessions, comfort softs, ABS 1) :


Lexus IS F 01:39,046
BMW Z8 01:39,506
Cadillac CTS-V Coupe 01:40,002



The Cadillac, well... it's not as bad as you could expect from a 2 tons monster. But it's still a 2 tons monster, so despite being not that horrible, it's still slow from a cornering speeds perspective, and requires certainly a bit more finesse over the throttle than the other two with its loads of power. A pure blend of freedom, as those living under stars and stripes nation may say. The most difficult of the lot.

The BMW feels a bit weird to me, it always gave me strange sensations. It feels like being the fruit of a good design process which has been suddenly stopped at 80% of completion. Like a Gordon Ramsay dish with too much salt and not enough pepper. It's not bad per se, but you can't help thinking it could have been better, especially when you have driven a few other BMW before. The brakes, however, feels very BMW : they make you want to swap out those calipers for some AP Racing ones.

The Lexus is clearly the easiest to drive of the bunch, pouring the scent of technology all over the way. But most of that won't interest us today - even the 8 speed gearbox which could dropped the last two gears easily without hindering you on a regular race track. And it won't prevent the massive understeer : you can go around that but that will be with questionable driving techniques such as scandinavian flick, e-brake or playing with the rear wheels (understand mashing brutally the throttle and praying for the rear to lose a bit of traction before the front goes out of track). But in the end, it's still one of the fastest sedans you can find.


So, my podium here is :

3) Cadillac : it can be fun to master, but still too heavy for my taste.
2) BMW Z8 : as I said, it's not bad, but not fantastic either, and always leaves me with a weird feeling each time I drive it. Which I think may be caused by the lack of LSD...
1) Lexus IS F : it wins pretty much by default. It feels a bit generic to me, but also more effective and accessible. Also, I may be a bit biased after winning a GT Fusion race against one of the Lacombe brothers with it

 

[Cowboy]

At Goodwood:

Lexus IS F '07: 0:53.070
Cadillac CTS-V Coupe '11: 0:53.442
BMW Z8 '01: 0:53.701

Tough to tell which is better since Goodwood is a very short course, though the IS F felt the most stable yet the most understeery.

 

[LOOS]

Shame the C63, & M3/M4 were not involved. Excluding the Z8 and with the CTS-V its a perfect shootout. The Z8 is like that Song, "One of these things is not like the others"