ZZII Destroyer Review
Initial Thoughts
To be completely honest, I never touched this car before in my Gran Turismo career, not because I hated it, but I simply never got around to it. There were always more important/favorite cars that came first in priority. Having joined GTP and spent some time running around with RKM's tunes, I thought I'd give this one a shot.
I had no idea what I was expecting, but the horsepower number of 743 that Roj threw out there on the spec sheet gave me some indication. I knew this car would be fast, just how fast, well, that one I had to find out for myself.
When I brought the machine home from the Used Car Dealer for a screaming deal of 90,000 credits, I was expecting a car with a lot less looks and go. I was pleasantly surprised when my prize looked like a mix between a Mclaren F1 and a Ferrari of some sort (take your pick, all Ferraris look the same to me.)
So I thought to myself, "surely it couldn't get any better than this?" oh, but it did.
Baseline Test (All of these tests are done around Trial Mountain Circuit)
For an initial test to compare future results with, I took the car and did a few laps around Trial Mountain. All I have done to the car is put racing soft tires, new wheels, paint, and spoiler on it, along with restoring the rigidity and rebuilding the engine. Basically the entire GT Auto catalog. The car had a good bit of understeer in all types and speeds of corners, and it felt very "heavy" as I was going round and round, which I was not entirely happy about. The time I was able to set after 10 laps around was 1:27.162. Not bad, I thought to myself.
Post-RKM Tuning
After a good performance at stock specs, I went through the Tommy Kaira catalog and ordered everything I laid eyes on - chassis lightening services, engine modifications, cold air intakes, the lot. After the parts arrived and I had installed them, I went back to the mountain and did another run.
Since this was an RKM tune, I knew the results would be extremely pleasing, after seeing what could be done with an 80's Supra and a new millennium RX-7. With a premium canvas like this, I knew improvements were inevitable.
Giving myself another 10 laps to attack the circuit, Roj was able to fix the understeer problem I had quite well, but even with the weight reduction of 90kg, the vehicle still felt "heavy" in my hands. Perhaps slightly less sticky tires would help to solve that?
The newly tuned car went out and set a time of 1:22.855, a whole 4.3 seconds faster than original. And as Jeremy Clarkson put it, "3 seconds is like a week out on that track!" Well, RKM was able to make this thing over a week quicker of there, and I'm sure with some minor tweaks to suit my driving style, I could get this thing under 1:21 around there with ease.
Final Remarks
After testing this car, I feel really bad about not using one before. It was a diamond in the rough that I had never known about, and now I may have to go back a generation in video games and tune one up for myself on GT4.
Overall rating: 9-9.5/10
Speed: 9/10
Handling:7.5-8/10
Ease of Use: 9.5/10
I think this a car that anyone, whether they are new to the game or total veterans, can find enjoyable to drive, and will keep the new players away from the mainstream Hypercars like the R35, the Veyron, and the like, along with giving them a good run for their money, both in terms of performance and fun.