Time to test all the Daily Workout prize cars

[nigelbyers]

Hi everyone,

Thought it was about time to try out all the cars I've won doing daily workouts & post my impressions.

To give you a bit of background, I've been playing since GT4 but mainly in career & solo mode rather than online. I'm Level 46 currently and at this stage am playing with a Dual Shock controller. I own a (non-virtual) supercharged E46 M3 and have driven the Nordschleife for real, so was most interested when my car re-appeared in GT Sport recently. I have modified one to be as close to my real road car as possible (300 kw rear wheel) and have been fanging it 'round all the tracks in the game one after the other as a world tour!!

So now I'm going to take all the road cars I've won (in no particular order) and do two laps each of the 24-hour Nordschleife to get a feel for them. All driving aids off except default ABS, sports hard tyres.

The first victim is one of my most recent prize cars - the 2017 Ford GT. I've been quite looking forward to driving this and seeing how it goes compared to my baseline of 9:41 in one of my favorite road cars in the game, the 458.

The car is pretty neutral handling-wise, but of course it's easy to spin up sports hard tyres if you are too greedy with this much power.

The speedo is in MPH so if you are used to metric you wonder why you are going so darn slow, and then you find your self arriving at the corners pretty darn quick, and it's not understeer when you try to carry too much speed in, just user (loser) error.

It's very easy to carry too much speed through the higher speed sections (Kesselchen; and the run to the end of the lap) so grass trips are on the menu unless you're steady with the throttle.

First lap I attacked the jump before Flugplatz at full throttle and got a huge nose-up jump - any faster and I would have been comparing notes with Mark Webber on his Mulsanne end-over-end in the Mercedes! Second lap I braked before the hump & all good.

Watching the replay the spoiler activates above a certain speed, so sometimes it is down in a corner then activates when you come onto a straight which just looks weird, and other times it goes up or down when you're in the middle of a corner but thankfully doesn't seem to affect the handling, perhaps it's just cosmetic.

Seventh gear could be shorter but I reckon they've made it a cruise ratio for fuel economy figures.

The car was really nice & felt a lot quicker than the 458 so I was looking forward to seeing what the lap time was (I run cockpit view with no info) so a safe 9:27 seemed very good. I really recommend the car if you like hot-lapping, being a turbo the sound isn't up there with Astons & Lambos but other than that pretty sweet.

The prize car I won for my laps? 2002 Mazda RX7, to be tested later - I think the TVR is next on my list.

Hope you all enjoyed this!

Nigel.

tifosonz

Sapphire Driver
Days Logged On 476
32.0
miles
Daily Workout
26,140
miles
Distance Driven
100
%
Campaign
101
Cars
Cars Purchased
83,736,499
Cr.
Credit
360,643
Pts.
Mileage Points
46
Level
C
Driver Rating
C
Sportsmanship Rating
108
Photos Taken
44
Custom Livery
49

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[nigelbyers]

Onto the second car - today it's the 2000 TVR Tuscan.

Immediately if you use cockpit view there's a huge elephant in the room - monstrous dashboard reflections, the worst I have seen. This will be enough to disqualify it unless you drive bumper or drone cam. The instruments are really weird too - a digital x100 rev counter which looks like a digital speedo, and an analogue sweep speedo above with nice small numbers you need to peer at - really you just end up looking at the revs waiting for 75 to show up so you can upshift.

Coming off the Ford GT '17 of course an N400 car feels a bit slow, one of those where you change down a gear and it just makes more noise rather than going quicker and then you immediately have to change up again. The six cylinders don't have the sweet sound of an E46 M3 either, sounding a bit truck like.

The turn in is nice & sharp, and if you carry a bit too much speed the tail swings wide, but never bites back. This can be nice in successive corners like the run down from Hohe Act but there isn't really enough torque to hold a decent slide afterwards out of say a flat 180 degree corner. The lack of power actually means really good rear grip out of the turn for what it's worth.

Overall I didn't enjoy it so much, if the view out was clearer and it had another 50-100 hp it would be hugely improved.

The bonus I got for the drive was the 1987 Audi Quattro Pike's Peak rally car.

 

[Vegard]

but there isn't really enough torque to hold a decent slide afterwards out of say a flat 180 degree corner. The lack of power actually means really good rear grip out of the turn for what it's worth.

Try it on comfort softs or comfort mediums even.
Most of the road cars are set up for much less grip than the sports hard tyres they come equipped with.

 

[nigelbyers]

Hi Vegard, thanks for your suggestion there! The TVR lap was 10:08 by the way.

Today I had the 2007 BMW M3. Now if ever a car was designed for the 'Ring I reckon it's this one.

The handling is super neutral, no chance of entering the corner sideways like the TVR. This one you just brake and turn and it heads exactly to the apex you want, and the rear grip means you can floor it as soon as you hit that apex. This is the sort of car you could drive here all day without fear it would bite you, and have a great time.

Some people might find it a bit 'easy' to drive but I think predictablity is the key to a car you want to keep driving and driving. The lap time was 10:04, and to show how easy the car is to get your head around, both my laps were only 0.2 seconds apart - over 20 plus km!!

Something I love at this track is when you get a car that you can hold one gear from Hohe Act thru the turns right down to Eiskurve. This one is third gear, 5000 rpm plus all the way through there. I hate cars where you're running out of revs here mid corner, and constantly changing gear at the wrong time. Again, another sign of the laps BMW spent setting up this car here I think.

Highly recommended, handles well, fast enough, cool interior and looks & sounds great!

My bonus car for the km done is the VW Beetle Gr.3 - that's going straight to the 'back' shed!!

 

[ringkurier]

Hi Vegard, thanks for your suggestion there! The TVR lap was 10:08 by the way.

Today I had the 2007 BMW M3. Now if ever a car was designed for the 'Ring I reckon it's this one.

The handling is super neutral, no chance of entering the corner sideways like the TVR. This one you just brake and turn and it heads exactly to the apex you want, and the rear grip means you can floor it as soon as you hit that apex. This is the sort of car you could drive here all day without fear it would bite you, and have a great time.

Some people might find it a bit 'easy' to drive but I think predictablity is the key to a car you want to keep driving and driving. The lap time was 10:04, and to show how easy the car is to get your head around, both my laps were only 0.2 seconds apart - over 20 plus km!!

Something I love at this track is when you get a car that you can hold one gear from Hohe Act thru the turns right down to Eiskurve. This one is third gear, 5000 rpm plus all the way through there. I hate cars where you're running out of revs here mid corner, and constantly changing gear at the wrong time. Again, another sign of the laps BMW spent setting up this car here I think.

Highly recommended, handles well, fast enough, cool interior and looks & sounds great!

My bonus car for the km done is the VW Beetle Gr.3 - that's going straight to the 'back' shed!!

The E92 is for me a big suprise, too. It is so "gripy" that I have to say, the physic of the M3 is not correct transfered to the game. You can do what ever you want, no chance to loose the backend. Not even with Comfort Hard and a big push in the poweradjustment you get really in trouble.

It feels like a 320 in terms of this to me, nearly not driftable.

But this "feature" makes it a very decent car for track days or whatever you want to do with it in GTS.

 

[Nuschel01]

nearly not driftable

I can do mad skids with that thing on Sports tires easily

@OP: It‘s Hohe Acht, btw not Act

 

[ringkurier]

I can do mad skids with that thing on Sports tires easily

Loosing control cause of trembling at the wheel is not drifting, old man

 

[Nuschel01]

Loosing control cause of trembling at the wheel is not drifting, old man

I know. Powering sideways out of corners isn‘t either

 

[ringkurier]

I know. Powering sideways out of corners isn‘t either

Touchè Mister!

But compare it to the E46 and F32 M Models in this game, they are much more tailhappy than the E92 rail special. Especially against the E46, which has a good amount less torque in its 6 cylinders ready to be delivered to the rear axle.

 

[nigelbyers]

Nuschel cheers for the German language correction, guess I was going too quick to read the sign properly - anyway you know where I mean!!

Today I got to try a car that I never would have picked and ended up being pleasantly surprised - the 1966 Renault 8 Gordini. I thought when I saw 101 hp that I would be old and the US would have a new president by the time I had done two laps but I didn't notice the super light weight!

Anyhow, this was a case of stay away from the brakes as any momentum is critical, a lot like riding my bicycle actually. The handling is really sweet with a little bit of tail out if you really chuck it at a corner, or a little understeer if you arrive at an uphill turn too quick.

Amazing how much of the lap here you spend on full throttle in top gear in this car but pretty satisfying if you keep the speed up in the turns. Final lap time was 11:50 (minutes, not hours).

The interior is a bit of a non event (based on a cheap family car remember) but has a pretty blue half-roll cage that looks like it would bend if you leaned on it!

It has a lovely engine sound with a very cool gearbox whine (dog tooth gears perhaps) and looks hugely funny when you watch the replays. It really LOOKS 54 years old.

And for my sins the bonus car I win today is...a VW Beetle 1966. That one I 'll get to driving some time later

 

[nigelbyers]

The 2017 Lexus LC500 is today's drive and this is a car I really wanted to like. I think it looks stunning, especially in metallic red, and memories of the V10 LFA from a previous GT game gave me high hopes.

Turns out the only similarity to that car is a set of sci-fi instruments which in the LFA looked kinda cute but here they just remind you that it would be nice if it revved a bit higher! A whole dial flashing red at you is going to date so badly I reckon, like 'jewel' LED running lights.

470 hp and nearly 2000 kg mean it's the exact opposite of the Renault from yesterday in feel. You really notice the weight when it pushes mid-corner and it will give you oversteer going in but you'd better have a good line as with all that heft you're not changing it! It won't spin then but just head off the track...

You can do a little powerslide out of turns but then it runs out of revs and straightens up. Not inspiring you to throw it around on corner entry or exit, precision rewarded.

It has eight gears but you'll only use the first seven - the top ratio is so ridiculously high I doubt you'd even get to it on Special Stage Route X.

The sound is quite nice and silky and I think with that and the handling this would be an awesome car in reality to take on a long trip, sort of like a mini-DB11 - but it's not for trackdays...

10:01 shows it's a little quicker than it feels - my prize for the km was a 2008 Maserati Granturismo S, I wonder what that will be like?

 

[sirjim73]

@nigelbyers Thanks for all these great test reports.

Looking forward to the Beetle

You should find the Maserati a pleasurable drive, from memory.

 

[nigelbyers]

Hi Sirjim, cheers for the post.Looking forward to the Maser!

Just took a break from watching the Bathurst 12 hour GT3 race to to give today's car a thrash, it's one I'm sure you'll all know well and I've raced it a bit but never hotlapped it before - it's the '94 Skyline GTR R32.

Now if you are struggling to learn the 'Ring and you want a really friendly car to do so this is it. You can get a little turn in oversteer if you really provoke it but the 4wd drags it straight as soon as you touch the throttle, so just make sure it's not facing the barrier when you do. No exit oversteer of course. Really benign, which makes it sound boring but in the same way as the '07 E92 M3 it's actually really satisfying...

I'd totally forgotten 180 km/h speedos! This car does 180 km/h in third...and fourth...and fifth! I guess on the road you'd never notice this but on a track it's hugely funny.

10:15 was the lap but it didn't feel slow, lovely to drive. Great to look at too.

You need to keep it above 6000 rpm for it to pull but that's not a drama. It's got a weird loud trumpet like note/resonance at 7-7500 rpm, maybe it's just my sound system - anyone know if the real car does this too? Earplugs on a track day if so.

Prize car was a 2012 Tesla Model S, don't get me started on electric cars.

 

[nigelbyers]

Well I took the (real) M3 out this morning for a sunny blast in the hills and that was a nice reminder of why I love driving, & cars so much.

I decided to take one for the team and subject the 2012 Tesla S to the 'Ring torture test so here goes...

First of all, the interior with the HUGE touchscreen - let's hope by GT7/PS5 time PD can have a working sat nav as it just looks wrong with nothing on it.

The sound is like a kettle nearing boil until the car tops out at 130 mph then it's a constant note like a blender running - funnily enough it made me want to fire up the PS3 and play Wipeout!!

The car will do the throttle off oversteer trick on corner entry if you are aggressive enough but with this much weight you need to be quick to correct or you just end up sitting at 40 mph staring at the inside of the corner pre-apex. On a flat or downhill corner exit you can kick the back out but as there's no engine rev sound it's deeply unsatisfying. I think the lack of engine sound (let alone gears) would be the worst thing for a car enthusiast driving one. Surely Tesla could have downloadable sounds to play through the speakers - how about a Matra V12 F1 motor?

Environmental considerations aside, I can't see why anyone would buy one for real - there are so many great looking/sounding/driving cars for the same money...

Lap time was a 10:36, bonus car was the 1992 Ferrari F40, possibly the most different car to the Tesla you could imagine. I already have one, but I'll take this one out for test tomorrow to remind myself what a wonderful car is like!!

 

[nigelbyers]

So today the F40...

If you haven't driven or owned one of these in the game I will tell you straight up it's amazing - I still remember being super excited when GT5 came out and doing my first F40 laps at the 'Ring, this was the car/track combo I'd always wanted!

This defines 'light on it's feet' at 1100 kg with the way it handles, and it tips in to corners so beautifully - any oversteer easily catchable and always seems to point you right toward the apex. Spooling up the turbo exiting the bend there is plenty of grip and that lovely sound as the revs rise. This car carries plenty of speed so when things go wrong they go wrong very quickly (I had a huge spin when I ran out of talent through Schwedenkreuz) so best to know where you need to brake, turn & how much!

The gearing is about perfect here, using 1st at the Forest and Wehrseifen etcetera, and getting well into the high revs in fifth at 320 km/h on the long straight. Probably wouldn't be ideal at Tsukuba tho'!! The speed up through Kesselchen is epic and would be scary as in reality.

If you use an R32 or E46 to learn the 'Ring, this is a hugely satisfying car to hot lap it in once you know your way around. You get into that zone where the corners just flow together & lap after lap goes by with a huge grin.

My lap time was 9;35 which is only eight seconds off the Ford GT '17, a thirty year newer car so that is pretty awesome (not me, the car lol).

Bonus car today was another 2019 Porsche Taycan Turbo S which I'll probably use as a spare battery for the house or something...

 

[nigelbyers]

Time for some front wheel drive action now with the 1998 Civic Type R. Now before I get into this let me say that I think this car is awesome for an 180 hp hatchback and would be a fun road car to own, especially as your first 'fast' car once you're no longer a learner.

However this is the 'Ring, and the Honda is playing with the big boys so it's all about comparison...

If you look in the owner's manual for this car nowhere will you find the word 'oversteer' - this car has a rear end as planted as a Nascar fan on the couch after 10 beers. If you carry too much speed in the corner at any point it will just run wide, super safe. The FWD 'feeling' is the reason I ditched my Scirocco R and bought the M3 (in reality), much more entertaining.

I don't really get the VTEC thing personally, it makes a nice growl around 6000 revs as it switches to the different cam but often you find yourself on a slight uphill at 5000 rpm waiting...and waiting...and waiting. Good if you keep it at 6.5k plus, but that's not always possible. Of course you won't pull speed up the hills with this amount of power so leave it in fourth on the run up to Mutkurve and rev it out!

Another 180 k speedo too, but as the dials are badly shaded you'll end up not looking at them and shifting when you hear the revs flatten out. 11:07 was the time for both my laps, closer to 11:04 if you took combined optimum splits and I think this would be a great car to drive the 'Ring in reality for your first time.

Bonus car is a Group 4 Veyron, that would NOT be a car I would like to take for my first Nordschleife laps!!

 

[sirjim73]

@nigelbyers Still loving all these test reports. Very entertaining, had to chuckle at the Nascar comment in the Civic report. .

Still miss my 2008 Type R sometimes, at least until I go over a bump. My backside is much happier now

 

[nigelbyers]

Sirjim cool to hear you had a Type R, that must have been awesome. Shame we have to let good cars go sometimes...

Now for another taste of Japan, the 1989 Nissan 300ZX. Another old school Japanese interior, of course with another 180 k/mh speedo. Still preferable to have a nice clear pair of analogue dials to some of the digital monstrosities showing up now. Super funny thing, this one has a working vacuum gauge! Remember those? They were supposed to help you drive more economically. I'll 'fess up, I nearly ran off the road a couple of times looking at it to work out what it was & what it was doing. Fun you don't have when you drive external cam!

The car is reasonably quick, more torque (of course) than the Civic R without a real dead spot through the revs. The engine noise is not very interesting, it fades into the background rather than inspiring you to rev it.

The car carries decent mid corner speed, and if you work hard you can get the back out on entry. Not really enough poke to keep it there though, unless you're on a downhill corner like Kallenhard where you can hold an epic powerslide. Being 1500 kg there's a fair bit of weight for such softish suspension, so if you get a slide going sometimes the weight transfer will make it lurch back the other way and maybe you're on the Nurburgring crash highlight reel!

10:33 is a reasonable time around here, quicker than the Civic but not as much fun. Quicker than the Tesla and a lot more fun!

Bonus car gained is a nice silvery-blue metallic 458, very pretty!

 

[nigelbyers]

Well today at sirjim's request we get one of the oldest German cars in the game, and as a bonus one of the newest also.

The 1966 VW 1200 is another car that I have owned in reality but I don't remember it being this slow, surely it wasn't? The years since have spoiled me I reckon - this car was made the same year as me so it's no surprise that the modern ones have much more hp than 54 years ago...

Anyways, onto the lap. It steers in nicely even at speed (!) and if really pushed of course the back will come out. This is totally controllable and you'll never lose it. It's actually fun downhill into Kallenhard and the Wipperman sequence, sliding, gripping and hopefully don't lose too many revs!

Uphill it's slooooowwww, I was counting pimples on marshall's faces as I went past, and I got to verify Nuschel's spelling of Hohe Acht is indeed correct. Down into Fuchsrohre you will hit max revs in top, where instead of the pistons exiting the engine like you might expect you hit an ignition cutout! Weird, I don't remember the real car having this. You coast down the hill, and up the other side a bit until the speed drops low enough & the revs come back in...

15:40 for the slowest lap so far, lucky there's no Benz Patent Motorwagen in the game.

The other gift car I took out was the 2019 Porsche Taycan Turbo S. Of course, being electric, 4wd and hugely heavy, a more different car than the Beetle would be hard to imagine.

First off, the interior is much nicer than the Tesla as is the sound. It makes a Tron (?) style 'woosh' that isn't a substitute for a NA V8 but is at least bearable.

It has a two speed transmission, and is serious fast - you'll get the max of 260 past the pits, if you're brave enough on the brakes. And here is the main problem as a track car - it's so fast, and so heavy that you have to brake super early. Then it understeers in if you carry too much speed, and understeers out if you're throttle greedy. On a slow corner like Steilstrecke it's possible to go off twice if you're being silly. Contrast to a Ferrari 458 where it feels like you're dancing through the corners, this feels like a TGV train!

With that much power of course a decent lap time, 9:40.

So where would this car be good? I reckon as a high speed Autobahn weapon driving long distance it would be super, especially if an autonomous option becomes a reality, but not a car for this track.

Today's bonus is the 2011 Audi R18 TDI Le Mans car.

 

[sirjim73]

Well today at sirjim's request we get one of the oldest German cars in the game, and as a bonus one of the newest also.

The 1966 VW 1200 is another car that I have owned in reality but I don't remember it being this slow, surely it wasn't? The years since have spoiled me I reckon - this car was made the same year as me so it's no surprise that the modern ones have much more hp than 54 years ago...

Anyways, onto the lap. The steers in nicely even at speed (!) and if really pushed of course the back will come out. This is totally controllable and you'll never lose it. It's actually fun downhill into Kallenhard and the Wipperman sequence, sliding, gripping and hopefully don't lose too many revs!

Uphill it's slooooowwww, I was counting pimples on marshall's faces as I went past, and I got to verify Nuschel's spelling of Hohe Acht is indeed correct. Down into Fuchsrohre you will hit max revs in top, where instead of the pistons exiting the engine like you might expect you hit an ignition cutout! Weird, I don't remember the real car having this. You coast down the hill, and up the other side a bit until the speed drops low enough & the revs come back in...

15:40 for the slowest lap so far, lucky there's no Benz Patent Motorwagen in the game.

The other gift car I took out was the 2019 Porsche Taycan Turbo S. Of course, being electric, 4wd and hugely heavy, a more different car than the Beetle would be hard to imagine.

First off, the interior is much nicer than the Tesla as is the sound. It makes a Tron (?) style 'woosh' that isn't a substitute for a NA V8 but is at least bearable.

It has a two speed transmission, and is serious fast - you'll get the max of 260 past the pits, if you're brave enough on the brakes. And here is the main problem as a track car - it's so fast, and so heavy that you have to brake super early. Then it understeers in if you carry too much speed, and understeers out if you're throttle greedy. On a slow corner like Steilstrecke it's possible to go off twice if you're being silly. Contrast to a Ferrari 458 where it feels like you're dancing through the corners, this feels like a TGV train!

With that much power of course a decent lap time, 9:40.

So where would this car be good? I reckon as a high speed Autobahn weapon driving long distance it would be super, especially if an autonomous option becomes a reality, but not a car for this track.

Today's bonus is the 2011 Audi R18 TDI Le Mans car.

Obviously, the Beetle has to go slow so the adoring crowds can get a good look at it as it goes past. Especially the pimply ones.

Have to say, it's a tough choice between Chris Harris's test drive report on the Taycan "IT'S NOT A ****ING TURBO" and yours above.
But he had a whole runway to stop on.
Plus he didn't make any reference to a TGV train. So, obviously you win

PS obviously you can't drive a car called "Le Mans " at the Nordschleife can you... That would be like driving US muscle cars in say, er, Peru.

 

[ringkurier]

Thank you for taking a day off for your rounds with the Beetle, that was a good read!

15:40 for the slowest lap so far, lucky there's no Benz Patent Motorwagen in the game.

I remember that I tried to do that Nürburging lap in Gran Turismo 4. As far as I remember it didn´t come uphill and you find yourself trapped somewhere

 

[nigelbyers]

Thank you for taking a day off for your rounds with the Beetle, that was a good read!




I remember that I tried to do that Nürburging lap in Gran Turismo 4. As far as I remember it didn´t come uphill and you find yourself trapped somewhere

Ha ha yeah I remember that - you would start and it wouldn't make it up the rise by the pit exit. Even if you turned around, went back down the hill and came back up with a run up it wouldn't make it! I wonder how often the owners of the real cars had to get horses tow them up a hill!

 

[nigelbyers]

Today I got to the 2008 Maserati Gran Turismo S for a couple of laps.

Nice exterior, nice interior, awesome sound, really lovely. I will miss NA V8s when they're gone.

Sirjim you were right this is a beauty! It's another super friendly but fast car like the R32 Skyline and E46/92 M3s. I just didn't want to stop driving.

The engine only makes useable power 5500-7500 rpm, so you will wear out the paddle shifters but as it sounds so good that's no hardship. Gearing is very high, you'll use second plenty. You know it's really high when you're in fourth approaching Schwedenkreuz, and there is a sixth but I don't know there's a road where you would use it.

Lovely handling, great turn in with a really planted rear, and heaps of grip on the way out. Any entry slides are easy catchable, and you have to really provoke it to slide on exits.

Super fun, highly recommended - I wish I'd driven it ages ago! 10:06 was the lap time.

Bonus car is the 2017 Alpine A110, another stunner at this track.

 

[ringkurier]

Ha ha yeah I remember that - you would start and it wouldn't make it up the rise by the pit exit. Even if you turned around, went back down the hill and came back up with a run up it wouldn't make it! I wonder how often the owners of the real cars had to get horses tow them up a hill!

Good to know that I'm not the only one who has wasted his time with this kind of stuff

Have fun with the Alpine, it is one of my favourite cars and stock pure gold at the Ring.

 

[nigelbyers]

And now for something completely different - the 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T!

This is a car I have always loved the look of in reality so it's one of my favourite muscle cars along with the original Mustang fastback and the split rear window Corvette.

The interior is invisible when you are driving on a sunny day, can't see the dials at all. The gearing is even shorter than the '66 Ford GT and the Ferrari 250 GT so you will spend plenty of time sitting on redline in top - you hit it before the start line on the pit straight! This car is crying for a fifth gear...

Now there's two ways you can approach the 'Ring in this car. Plan A is to brake smoothly and turn in gently to avoid exciting the rear. This will result in a 10:58 and combined with the low top speed makes for a boring lap.

Plan B is to put on your Vanishing Point/Bullitt/Dukes of Hazzard (take your pick) shades and unleash the inner hooligan! If you're having a bad day, doing this will give you a grin wider than the Tiber.

Throw it into the corner, steering before you totally release the brake, let the back swing and plant the boot. There'll be as much smoke as Marlboro's test lab, and the slides are a thing of joy. The replays are of course awesome, and the sound is stunning! A great time is guaranteed for all!

Gift car today is a Subaru WRX Gr3.

So if you'll all excuse me I'm off to melt some more Goodyears!!

 

[nigelbyers]

After the excess of the Dodge today it's time to embrace minimalism. Short of a Trek Madone racing bike or a Caterham Seven the 2015 Mazda MX5 ND roadster is maybe the best example in the game of 'less is more'. If you like driving and can only own one vehicle in reality this might be the best, most practical option.

Anyway, on to the 'Ring. The car has a sweet interior, 200 km/h speedo (which is all the car does, really) and the top is down, yay. I remember PD in the past modelling a droptop and leaving it top up (may have been the S2000), really annoying! If you never want to see an MX 5 again after too many six-hour Tsukuba races you should give it another chance.

You would think that it would be underpowered here and sure, any car where you can go flat out from Hatzenbach to Aremberg is not the gruntiest in the world but weirdly that's part of the appeal. Rather than arriving at every corner and having to brake hard & clench the butt cheeks this car gives you a real 'flow'. From the Karussell down to Schwalbenschwanz this is one of the sweetest cars in the game.

Tip it in and the back moves just enough to point you near the apex and you nail the perfect line 19 times out of 20. Carry a bit too much speed in, and the back slides more scrubbing some speed but never snapping back.

I think people that tune these for more power kind of miss the point as this is one of those rare vehicles that just disappears under you and you feel like you are just flowing down the road, every corner amazing - if you have had this in a vehicle you know what I mean.

Nearly perfect then, and the 11:32 lap is an irrelevant number.

Bonus car is a Honda NSX Group 4, followed by the game freezing up, weird!