Mad FinnTuners Co. - Road Racing Relics 150415

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Best part is, I don't see that dynamic changing anytime soon.. If it has stayed like that since 2007 and worked well, why change it?
 
Guys.. You wanted us back, so we came back. I know that you've tried these setups, so please, leave some feedback. Good review means you can request a custom tune for the car you like from the maker of the tune you reviewed.
 
Guys.. You wanted us back, so we came back. I know that you've tried these setups, so please, leave some feedback. Good review means you can request a custom tune for the car you like from the maker of the tune you reviewed.

I haven't forgot about posting my review of both of MFT's Retro Racers; Real-Life has just gotten in the way... I hope to have it up ASAP.

EDIT: And here it is.

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Being a BIG fan of the Mad Finn's since the glory days of GT4, I snapped up the chance to test and review it's latest duo: The "Retro Road Racers".

Syracuse - Night (2).jpg


As you can see, I took a few little liberties with a few details of these cars so that they'll stand out in my garage (And also because I'm a bit of a paint-chip collector :)), but I took both of these beauties out to Grand Valley Speedway for some good old'fashioned track testing. First up (And against my better judgement, given that I only have a trusty Dualshock 3 Controller to work with):

Greycap's Ford GT ST '06:

Syracuse - Night_2.jpg

There's definitely a sense of menace oozing from this car without the white stripes and matching wheels, and it matched that feeling out on the track. The GT ST '06 was fairly solid on corner entry and under braking, though the braking power itself was nothing to write home about; As Greycap himself said in the description, this is definitely a car where early braking in a straight line pays off. The handling on this car through corners was quite impressive overall, though there was quite a lot of understeer on-power, which made learning how to drive the car difficult for me at first. This is balanced by an impeccable poise off-power, which made setting the GT ST '06 up for successive corners a tad bit easier than I expected, though when I drove it the car HAD to be slightly off-power to get it to set it up through corners, with the Final Corner leading onto the main straight and the high-speed esses leading to the hairpin being "Heart-in-Mouth" moments every lap for this underskilled driver...

Grand Valley Speedway_1.jpg


I have to admit that I generally use about 1 unit of the dreaded TCS in two-wheel drive cars with over 600+ BHP and especially when running on Sport Soft tires, but the acceleration and lack of wheelspin this car had in the lower gears was quite striking to me. Equally striking was the GT ST 06's tendency for the rear-end to step out at inopportune times, especially at lower speeds. Part of this has to do with how GT6 handles it's "Physics" Engine for mid-engined cars ("Physics" being a ferm used loosely for a varied of reasons I don't want to start talking about here), but the biggest might be the immense amount of downforce that the rear wing on this car makes: With 205 Units and no front adjustment at all, it could be overpowering the front end, givinging clues for how tail-driven this car can be at times... On the other hand, that prodigious downforce keeps the car relatively pinned to the ground, which is something that you can't say about most Road Cars at 600 PP (Keep this thing away from kerbs though; It'll spin you around in a heartbeat if you aren't careful).

Grand Valley Speedway.jpg


In the end, the GT ST '06 was a stellar performer, with my best lap coming in at 1:50.817 and much more left on the table... But, I never really felt comfortable enough to really push this car at 10/10ths. The slight Time and again I would improve in one sector, only to through it all away in another, or end up slower by not sticking this car in the grey stuff around Grand Valley's corners (As it had equal amounts of under and oversteer depending on the arc of the corner when running off-line), all of which hurts this car's overall "Race-ability" to me.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=


Leonidae's Camaro GT3'10

Syracuse - Night_3.jpg


All it took was one lap in the Chevrolet Camaro GT3'10 to have me wondering if I had fitted Hard Racing Slicks on the car instead Sports Soft tires by mistake, as the braking and handling really showed just how much a difference that "Flat Floor" fitted can make. A few more laps made me realize how many things these two cars have in common, as well as a few inverse effects. For a start, the Camaro GT3'10 was rock-solid through both high and medium-speed corners, with a perfect amount of turn-in both on and off throttle as well as on and off line. However, both cars needed to be off-throttle to set them up to hit the apexes of most of the corners at Grand Valley Speedway, though it was a relatively minor lift-off or a tap of the brake with the Camaro compared to the Ford (Though the final corner was still not exactly "Brain-Dead" in this car, though if it were on actual slicks it might be...).

Grand Valley Speedway_3.jpg


At the slowest corners on the track (The final chicane before leading up to the last turn in particular), the Camaro exhibited a surprising amount of understeer, which would lead to controllable power-oversteer as the car would lurch back on the throttle most of the laps I succumbed to this (While the Ford was a touch neutral all around unless you REALLY mashed the gas pedal). Speaking of which, just like the GT ST '06 this car was an absolute blast to drive without Traction Control, easily pulling away from second gear with nary any wheelspin and first gear pretty much redundant on this particular circuit for me (Both things you can't really say about the Ford).

Grand Valley Speedway_2.jpg


Lap time wise, it was pretty academic: with "Only" 595 BHP pushing 1301 Kgs, the Camaro GT3'10 is undoubtedly slower, though not by as much as I had expected: 1:51.873 to be exact, just over a full second behind the Ford's best time. Otherwise, there's not much else to say about this car: It's pretty fast if a tad underpowered and sluggish in a straight line (270 Km/h Max Speed down the main straight for Camaro compared to 291 Km/h for the Ford), stable, has great braking and handling... And just feels a tad bit "Lifeless" at the end of the day. Well, until you clip a kerb maybe, as this car also shares the GT ST '06's tendency to lash out at ham-fisted drivers (Like me) that kerb-hop lap after lap (Though not nearly as badly as the Ford does; It just feels like more of a shock when such a "Friendly" car like this can get a bit vicious when using up just a little bit of road on the exit or entry of certain corners).

====================================================

The Verdict:

As it stands, Greycap was pretty much dead-on in commenting about these cars:

Going to be another "handles very well" vs. "barely stays on the black stuff but goes like hell" comparison, I presume. In other words no changes to the ordinary situation.

And while that IS true, my personal take on it is this:

If you enjoy the thrill of driving fast road cars in this game and want to learn how to be precise as a driver, hop into the Ford GT ST '06 and start practicing wherever you please, because it's a car that requires a delicate touch to get the most out of, yet has that certain intangible "Something" that keeps a driver coming back for more.

If you just want to have fun and thrash around any given track without having to worry too much about what the car's going to do or react to what might be just beyond the next blind corner (Spin-Out/Pile-Up/Bump in the Road/Etc.), go for the Chevrolet Camaro GT3'10 as it's fairly beginner-friendly and feels like a racing car most of the time.

No matter which one you choose though, you can't go wrong with either one of these Retro Road Racers. :gtpflag:
 
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A heartfelt thank you for the good work! :D

Thanks. It seems that even "Short" reviews like mine are pretty rare outside of competitions nowadays... But like I said, I've been around since the beginning of MFT and I felt like reviewing these bad-boys to fill out my growing car collection. (Plus I needed an excuse to buy a new Camaro & Ford GT...) :cheers:
 
My thanks too, and I don't even consider such a review to be short by any means. That's already well above average.

I'd also like to note that while it may seem that I don't read the thread or otherwise care about what happens here, mostly regarding the reviews, be assured that I see them all and appreciate them greatly. It's just that I've finally managed to get the spot I've wanted at MFT for the last, err, probably three years... namely that of the general technical guy - I absolutely love doing all the work behind the scenes of which everyone sees only the end result, the graphics, the setup sheets, all that - but I've never been much of a talking man. So I let Leonidae take care of that and just do what I do best. :D
 
Lancer 1600RS '74

179 bhp, 21.1 kgfm, 724 kg, PP 450
Painted in Fuji White from Mitsubishi


Clickable for full size

Parts to fit:
Change Oil
Improve Body Rigidity
New Wheels, Inch Up: 1, Enkei Baja, finished in Crystal White from Nissan
Comfort Soft Tyres
Height-adjustable, Fully-Customizable Suspension
Racing Brake Kit, painted in Vintage Red from Mazda
Triple-Plate Clutch Kit
Carbon Propeller Shaft
Fully-Customisable Mechanical Limited-Slip Differential
Engine Tuning Stage 2
Sports Computer
Isometric Exhaust Manifold
Catalytic Converter: Sports
Intake Tuning
Weight Reduction Stage 3
Window Weight Reduction

Overall cost:~200k Cr.

Suspension
Ride Height (mm): 100 / 115
Spring Rate (kgf/mm): 2.25 / 1.75
Dampers (Compression): 4 / 2
Dampers (Extension): 8 / 10
Anti-Roll Bars: 7 / 6
Camber Angle (-): 1.5 / 1.5
Toe Angle: -0.30 / 0.20

Brake Balance Controller
Brake Balance: 2 / 8

Drivetrain
Initial Torque: 55
Acceleration Sensitivity: 55
Braking Sensitivity: 30

Driving Options
ASM: Off
TCS: 0
ABS: 1


It started off as cheap and simple response from Mitsubishi to Ford Escort RS models: Cheap, light, RWD and tailhappy. Fortunately I can confirm that they succeeded, and while the GSR model was no slouch, this slightly tweaked 1600RS is even better. It will do well in both grip and drift driving, but going sideways feels more natural in this little beastie. You can initiate the drift with lifting off, braking or even just by steering as long as the weight shift is managed correctly. Feel free to give this one a spin down the twisty roads and let me know what you think!
 
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Mitsubishi Galant GTO Evolution '70

251 bhp, 30.8 kgfm, 950 kg, PP 450
Painted in Scotia White from Mitsubishi


Clickable for full size

Parts to fit:
Change Oil
New Wheels, Inch Up: 2, American Racing Vintage Torq Thrust, finished in Scotia White from Mitsubishi
Comfort Soft Tyres
Height-adjustable, Fully-Customizable Suspension
Fully-Customisable Transmission
Triple-Plate Clutch Kit
Carbon Propeller Shaft
Fully-Customisable Mechanical Limited-Slip Differential
Engine Tuning Stage 3
Sports Computer
Semi-Racing Exhaust
Isometric Exhaust Manifold
Catalytic Converter: Sports
Intake Tuning
Mid RPM Range Turbo Kit
Weight Reduction Stage 3
Window Weight Reduction

Overall cost: Around 200.000 Cr.

Suspension
Ride Height (mm): 135 / 160
Spring Rate (kgf/mm): 5.00 / 3.50
Dampers (Compression): 3 / 3
Dampers (Extension): 6 / 3
Anti-Roll Bars: 3 / 3
Camber Angle (-): 0.5 / 0.5
Toe Angle: -0.25 / 0.00

Brake Balance Controller
Brake Balance: 3 / 5

Drivetrain (Transmission)

Note: First, reset the gearbox to the default settings, then set the Max speed, and only then set the gear ratios.

Max speed: 210 km/h

Gear Ratios
1st: 2.850
2nd: 2.080
3rd: 1.635
4th: 1.350
5th: 1.150
6th: 1.000
Final Gear: 3.150

Drivetrain
Initial Torque: 5
Acceleration Sensitivity: 10
Braking Sensitivity: 5

Body
Ballast Weight (kg): 88
Ballast Position: 50

Driving Options
ASM: Off
TCS: 0
ABS: 0


Designed by the Japanese stylist Hiroaki Kamisago who had studied in California, the Galant GTO was in a way a "bonsai muscle car", a small vehicle with certain styling cues from the American cars of the era and it gave birth to the now legendary GTO name used again successfully two decades later. While the original power figure of 125 bhp may seem a bit low and the handling leaves something to be desired, there is always the limited Evo version of the car to be had. The grunt under the hood is doubled and its transfer to the road has been made a lot more efficient thanks to race spec drivetrain parts. As the icing on the cake the weight distribution has been greatly improved by throwing some things out and relocating the rest, and the sporty image is finished by a set of period correct lightweight alloy wheels. The resulting package still isn't fast enough to challenge more powerful cars on fast roads but the handling will undoubtedly give the driver a wide grin.
 
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Man, I sure have been out of touch with the GTP tuning world. I come back, and what do I see? Mad Finn Tunes!? :crazy: Aren't we sure this is actually meant to be on the GT5 Tuning thread? :P

Jokes aside, it is great to hear about MFT's GT6 comeback tour. :) 👍 I don't mind the oddball cars, after all, they are the backbone of the car world, behind all the Paganis and Bugattis. And the car that introduced me to this this site, its tuning community and more importantly, you guys was a Honda CRX so...

And one more thing, as I'm writing this, I have already driven one of your cars. Not to spoil much for now, it is one half of the Sky(line) Duo. I hope I can give you proper feedback on the weekend, when time is more kind.
Welcome back, you crazy Finns. :cheers: Keep those engines roaring. :gtpflag:
 
Let the fact that I've only now found this thread, be a testament to my lack of usable free time lately. What time I can find in GT6 usually goes to my Supra project :D (new coil-overs this weekend)

Glad to see MFT back in action 👍, if I'm able to test/review a car, I'll be sure to mention it!
 
Let the fact that I've only now found this thread, be a testament to my lack of usable free time lately. What time I can find in GT6 usually goes to my Supra project :D (new coil-overs this weekend)

Glad to see MFT back in action 👍, if I'm able to test/review a car, I'll be sure to mention it!

Excellent! Also, let me know when you have time/interest for online match.
 
Ok, time for me to post some thoughts on one of New MFT's tunes. It's not the one half of the Skyline Duo, that will come later. It is, in fact:

Powerslide it like an Escort: Mitsubishi Lancer 1600RS

Great comebacks? There are quite a few out there, although it was MFT's comeback that prompted me to do some reviews, going back to my glory reviewing days. I always have a spot reserved for some Finn crazy, and so far, two spots have a blue and white cross flag on them. One of which is the Lancer...

Now, old '70s JDM cars are cool, no doubt, but driving them is less cooler. Mainly because most of them are reserved, product of their upbringing as honest means of transportation. But one Mr. @Leonidae@MFT thought one lucky Mitsubishi should stop being one of those, and instead he made it a bonafide Japanese Ford Escort RS. How? Simple, more power, less weight. That and a healthy dose of Powerslide...

It is easy to overlook some of the effort that Leo put into making this the Japanese Escort: spring rates, super-sensible LSD settings and brake balance. All of them are pointing towards a enthusiastic rear end; the spring rates are sttifer at the front, the LSD accel setting is over 50 points and the brake follows the reverse spring theory by leaning towards the rear. Not to mention that Leo adivises all future owners to use Confort Soft tires, natural enemies of grip driving. It's the Toyota GT86 all over again...

But enough facts and data, how does it drive? If you are an Escort driver, you should already know. If you're not, don't worry. I'll explain: This is a fun car, all about driving sideways and putting smiles on people's faces. You might ask, "But HC, doesn't it do grip driving?" It does, but quite frankly, you'd go for the slides as much as I did. Since Leo set up the car so that it accepts different styles of drifting, any method can be a good method depending on the driver. Lifting up and then slamming the right pedal? Drift. Weight transfer? Drift. Handbrake? You get the idea. It is a competent racing car when time comes, but I feel that serious driving should be left for other cars. This is all about a chuckable car that goes sideways wherever the driver wants to. The drifiting part of this car is spot-on; sliding is very responsive, but not so much to the point where the car would start drifting out of control like a bar of soap on top of a hill. As long as the driver has basic drift know-how, it does not pose any problem. Not to mention that the powered-up engine has a great response, even without a turbo to back it up, aided by the competent stock transmission (and non-stock clutch) .

In the end, if you want a straight up race car, I'd avise you to go for @Greycap's Galant, which should offer plenty of racing thrills. But that doesn't take away anything from Leo's Lancer; it delivers its thrills in a whole different manner. By powersliding.

All the time... All the day... For eternity.
 
So-Much-Win.jpg


YES!!! You got it right on the first try! Wonderful! I was almost afraid that the relatively low power output and comfort softs would scare people off, but thanks to you I was proven wrong. Keep up the good work!
 
So-Much-Win.jpg


YES!!! You got it right on the first try! Wonderful! I was almost afraid that the relatively low power output and comfort softs would scare people off, but thanks to you I was proven wrong. Keep up the good work!

Overwhelming sucess Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah! :dopey: :cheers: Yes, to be honest, it worked well for me despite the fact that I'm no Keichi Tsuchiya. But I do bet that Confort Hards could make this car an even better drifter, I'd save the Softs for "racing" (so to speak). So, was it a review worthy of your praise, or should I try even harder? :)

Edit of oopsies: Forgot one thing. :dunce: Even if it is low-powered, that does not mean it is a bad drifter, as long as the chassis setting is right. It just means it's a bit harder to do long drifts, because you have to adjust the power so that the car doesn't go flacid (so to speak) halfway through. ;) Of course, a pro GT6 drifter can probably explain this a bit better than me, I think.
 
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[EMAIL
Leonidae@MFT, post: 10189434, member: 132270[/EMAIL]]
Lancer 1600RS '74

OK, I'm the first to admit that I'm no drifter. In fact, I totally suck at it. So I was unable to exploit this capability of the car to it's full extent. But then I decided to take it to the intermediate seasonal at SS5. Wow! What a great little car! 👍 I first just did a casual race to see how it would handle on this track & earn a few credits while I was at it. Then my ears pricked up as I realised its potential. I put some sports tyres on it to match the opposition & fitted the high RPM turbo. (Sorry :lol: )

Had one of the nicest drives I've had in ages & passed the lead Ferrari on lap 4. Great car & well done, guys! :cheers:
 
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OK, I'm the first to admit that I'm no drifter. In fact, I totally suck at it. So I was unable to exploit this capability of the car to it's full extent. But then I decided to take it to the intermediate seasonal at SS5. Wow! What a great little car! 👍 I first just did a casual race to see how it would handle on this track & earn a few credits while I was at it. Then my ears pricked up as I realised its potential. I put some sports tyres on it to match the opposition & fitted the high RPM turbo. (Sorry :lol: )

Had one of the nicest drives I've had in ages & passed the lead Ferrari on lap 4. Great car & well done, guys! :cheers:

Good to have feedback although you didn't quite use the correct specs. ;) It is perfectly capable of winning 500PP+ races on comfort softs, and it will be very entertaining while doing so. True, sports softs have their own charm in form of insane cornering speeds, but to me its more fun when you're sliding around the corner at the knife edge of utter disaster.

Also, it's sufficient to quote just the title of the car instead of the entire post. :) 👍
 
It is perfectly capable of winning 500PP+ races on comfort softs, and it will be very entertaining while doing so. True, sports softs have their own charm in form of insane cornering speeds, but to me its more fun when you're sliding around the corner at the knife edge of utter disaster.

I'll give it a proper try sometime... :)
 
Also, a reminder for everyonbe: When you review a tune from me or Greycap, you can ask for a tune for a car you want. Just specify the PP etc..

Yeah, I wondered if you had forgotten to ask me about that (because of the Lancer review). So, the request is via PM, right? I'll send one now to you, if you don't mind.
 
Alpine A260GV

259 bhp, 25 kgfm, 635 kg, PP 549
Painted in Alpine Bleu from Alpine


Clickable for full size

Parts to fit:
Change Oil
Flat Floor, Type A
Rear Wing, Custom Wing Type A
New Wheels, Standard Size, Enkei Baja, finished in Crystal White from Nissan
Sports Soft Tyres
Height-adjustable, Fully-Customizable Suspension
Racing Brake Kit, painted in Vintage Red from Mazda
Fully-Customisable Transmission
Triple-Plate Clutch Kit
Fully-Customisable Mechanical Limited-Slip Differential
Engine Tuning Stage 3
Sports Computer
Racing Exhaust
Isometric Exhaust Manifold
Catalytic Converter: Sports
Intake Tuning
Weight Reduction Stage 3
Window Weight Reduction
Carbon Bonnet (Body Colour)

Overall cost:175k Cr

Suspension
Ride Height (mm): 75 / 75
Spring Rate (kgf/mm): 2.50 / 2.25
Dampers (Compression): 6 / 4
Dampers (Extension): 8 / 8
Anti-Roll Bars: 7 / 6
Camber Angle (-): 1.5 / 2.0
Toe Angle: -0.30 / -0.15

Brake Balance Controller
Brake Balance: 5 / 5

Drivetrain (Transmission)

Note: First, reset the gearbox to the default settings, then set the Max speed, and only then set the gear ratios.

Max speed: 229 km/h

Gear Ratios
1st: 3.304
2nd: 2.229
3rd: 1.615
4th: 1.236
5th: 1.000
Final Gear: 3.375

Drivetrain
Initial Torque: 45
Acceleration Sensitivity: 55
Braking Sensitivity: 25

Body
Downforce: 20
Ballast Weight (kg): 0
Ballast Position: 0

Driving Options
ASM: Off
TCS: 0
ABS: 1


Say hello to my favourite French lady. While she has gained far more appropriate adornment to her lovely hind quarters, she is still that very same lean, mean racing machine that she has always been, despite of the beautiful curves. The name of the game here is light weight and lots of revs and agility, as well as micromanaging the weight shifts. This car is very neutral, unless you're utterly and totally hamfisted and manage to upset her. In that case, you're very dead. Balance out your inputs and you'll be clearing corners far faster than cars with far more power and technology could.. But mind you, corners is this cars element, straightaways tend to be bit of a strain.
 
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Shelby Cobra 427 SC '66

540 bhp, 72.3 kgfm, 1068 kg, PP 550
Painted in Guardsman Blue / Racing Stripes from Shelby


Clickable for full size

Parts to fit:
Change Oil
New Wheels, Inch Up: 2, American Racing Vintage Torq Thrust, finished in Matte Light Silver from Gran Turismo
Sports Soft Tyres
Height-adjustable, Fully-Customizable Suspension
Fully-Customisable Transmission
Triple-Plate Clutch Kit
Carbon Propeller Shaft
Fully-Customisable Mechanical Limited-Slip Differential
Semi-Racing Exhaust

Overall cost: half a million Cr. won't cut it

Suspension
Ride Height (mm): 110 / 140
Spring Rate (kgf/mm): 4.00 / 4.50
Dampers (Compression): 3 / 4
Dampers (Extension): 7 / 6
Anti-Roll Bars: 2 / 3
Camber Angle (-): 0.5 / 0.5
Toe Angle: 0.00 / 0.00

Brake Balance Controller
Brake Balance: 4 / 6

Drivetrain (Transmission)

Note: First, reset the gearbox to the default settings, then set the Max speed, and only then set the gear ratios.

Max speed: 290 km/h

Gear Ratios
1st: 2.875
2nd: 1.915
3rd: 1.485
4th: 1.200
5th: 1.000
Final Gear: 2.950

Drivetrain
Initial Torque: 5
Acceleration Sensitivity: 15
Braking Sensitivity: 5

Driving Options
ASM: Off
TCS: 0
ABS: 1


We have cars that are fast and demanding to drive. We also have cars that are fast and hard to drive. And then we have this. The car that wasn't sold on hire purchase because the Shelby company knew they would never get all their money. The car that was described to handle like a flying brick. The most gruelling and raw of all the American muscle cars, the immortal Shelby Cobra 427.

Unusually for a track oriented car this one isn't stripped of all excess weight, because there is just about none, yet the car is as light on its feet as a ballerina. But this ballerina can really deliver a knock out blow thanks to the great Ford V8 in the engine compartment. It remains quite close to the stock spec as there certainly isn't any real need for more power but of course some was added - because I can. The drivetrain is composed of whatever Shelby parts I could lay my hands on, the most interesting part being the gearbox that had a faint "...gring 65" stamp on it, probably a spare unit for the 1000 km race. The differential sports a separate cooler, sounds like a race part too. The suspension comes from a partly wrecked Daytona Coupe. The original plan was to keep the factory wheels but some clues about the performance had to be given. As if the number plates weren't enough, that is.
 
Alpine A260GV

259 bhp, 25 kgfm, 635 kg, PP 549
Painted in Alpine Bleu from Alpine


Clickable for full size

*Snip*

Shelby Cobra 427 SC '66

540 bhp, 72.3 kgfm, 1068 kg, PP 550
Painted in Guardsman Blue / Racing Stripes from Shelby


Clickable for full size

*Snip*

Nice to see more cars to test from the two of you. I should have a write-up for both of them relatively soon (End of the week most likely).
 
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