GT7 Wcatch up: Gallardo, EF Civic, KS13

Time for some (relatively) quick catch up reviews!

Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 '08

It's not just Jay that has fond memories of the Lamborghini Gallardo; I do too. In the GT6 days some ten years ago, I had taken a fancy to the Gallardo for its ideal rear midship AWD layout, and its understated styling relative to its bigger brother, the Murciélago, appealed to me more. When bathed in the FD RX-7's dark and mystifying Montego Blue Mica paint, it really did seem the perfect modern supercar for me. I even tuned one and raced it at the Nordschleife against a friend's 458, which went... well.

Unfortunately, those good memories only served as whiplash when I sampled the same car again in Gran Turismo 7, this time completely stock, which meant taking by its horns all of its 1,410kg (3,108lbs) and 552HP (412kW) with only Sports Hard gloves. To say that all Lamborghinis in the game with a model year after the 1980 understeer like crazy is like saying Enzo Ferrari was a bit of a dick, and the Gallardo continues that now decades–old tradition by driving as though every track marshal on the outside of each turn on the track is waving a red flag at it. One would hope that having such a debilitating amount of understeer baked into the car would at the very least mean that the car is idiot proof, but the Gallardo would sooner grow horns out its anus than to actually do as its driver wishes; stab at either pedal too hard when the Gallardo is too off neutral, and the raging bull stops using its head and instead rams into innocents fatass–first. And yet, despite my disastrous experience trying to drive it that way, that seems to be precisely how the Gallardo wants to be treated, judging from what I observe in replays from my peers with better chemistry with the Gallardo than I; it demands to be yanked hard into a corner with sudden wheel and pedal inputs rather than gently caressed with trail braking, and I just can't bring myself to do that to a car. Try to trail brake it, and the steering wheel just goes numb while the tyres screech away fruitlessly, almost as if the raging bull aquaplaned on its own piss on an otherwise dry road. It genuinely feels to me as though whoever was in charge of setting up the suspension on the Gallardo took a look at the RM–AWD layout and thought, "eh whatever, the car will sort itself out", and simply didn't bother. There are simply no words that come to mind to describe the Gallardo other than clumsy... and fast.

Begrudgingly, I will have to concede the fact that, even with its BS handling, there is simply no room at all to debate just how bloody quick the Gallardo is in relation to its peers. It proved untouchable in the Single–Player Challenge of the week, which was a time trial around Sardegna B pitting stock Gallardos against similarly stock 458s and MP4s. Of the four participants, every single one of them set their fastest laps in the Gallardo, and in the lobby races with a PP cap set to 10PP higher over the stock Gallardo's, the only car that could show up the Gallardo was... the Murciélago. Assuming neither Lambo got into too big of a crash, that is.

Not that I'm going to try it myself, but according to experienced tuner and YouTuber Fossil Fueled, the Gallardo retains much of its same murderous tendency and blistering speed when maxed out with tuning parts. To borrow a few pertinent quotes from his video, "(The Gallardo) doesn't need an engine swap to be a hateful swine", and "it's still a very tricky car to get right, and it's still very capable of murdering you". Despite this, his Gallardo sits a lofty third in his "Taming A Monster" series leaderboard at the time of writing, behind only the utterly sinful Cayman GT4 swap and a freaking GT-R LM Nismo LMP1 prototype racecar. There's just no denying that the Gallardo is fast, stock or tuned, and the only thing that might be quicker than it is how quickly I came to hate it. It boggles my mind that something this clumsy and moody can be this stupidly fast.

Honda Civic Si Extra (EF) '87

I wrote in my Peugeot 205 GTI review that I value lightness and simplicity in a sports car, especially so when said sports car is Front–Wheel–Drive. The 1987 Honda Civic Si Extra (EF) then, despite saying "yes" to extras in its name, looks to one–up the utterly brilliant 205 in the simplicity department by having absolutely zero sporting intentions whatsoever, serving as extremely rare context in this game for family cars in the 80s so that we may better appreciate the special, sporty cars. This EF Civic isn't a hotted up GTI with VTEC or anything. It's just... a cheap city appliance with looks so flat and boxy that it sometimes looks as though an AI upscaled PS2 model ported over to GT7.

1988 JTC N.16 by Tenki-33
#jtc #motul #mugen

And yet, so many an aspirational racer has driven the EF Civic in anger, punks and professionals alike. Is that to say then, that the EF Civic has the makings of a potent pocket rocket slumbering somewhere within that unassuming silhouette? Despite not ostensibly trying to appeal to hot blooded racers, the EF Civic's compact body and lightness are by themselves what make the EF such a potent package, giving it such a direct, straightforward drive that simply goes where the driver points it with ample communication despite its light steering feel, all while offering minimal drama or protest. The 1.6L NA engine of course, just begs to be revved out, and even back in the eighties, the D series engine has already been singing its now–classic hit tunes. It's just the sort of car that makes someone who loves the act of driving smile just from taking one corner... as long as they aren't in too much of a hurry, that is.

As a family car first, the EF's suspension is a fair bit cushier than that of the sporty 205's we sampled not too long ago. While understandable for an old, cheap city car, that softness in the suspension does unfortunately highlight the EF's lack of a limited slip differential more when driven hard out of a turn. That makes the tight turns of smaller, shorter circuits that in theory ought to be a better fit for these low powered city cars a bit of a chore, as 2nd gear will bounce off the limiter incessantly with the inside wheel spinning uselessly, but shifting up to 3rd gear will bog the NA engine that much prefers being kept near its 7,500rpm limit. This issue is only compounded all the more in low grip scenarios, such as in the wet or on loose surfaces, with cars near its PP range pulling away from it out of corners without remorse. Unfortunately, I think we're beginning to see a trend in COTW where FF cars with open diffs get rated unfairly highly by the PP system, often resulting in these open diff FF cars getting matched up against faster machinery that they realistically have no chance of keeping up with, with the rear drive AE86 twins being prime examples.

That all being written, in a one–make race scenario or even solo driving, I still enjoyed the EF Civic thoroughly. I might even have been smitten by the car if not for the unfortunate fact that we've sampled the 205 GTI not too long ago, and as is probably evident by now, I just can't get the GTI out of my head all week, with the Peugeot becoming a benchmark of sorts for 80s hatchbacks. The lighter, tighter GTI just drives that much better in stock form in a racing game. The fact that this unassuming city appliance is even in the same conversation as the hotted up 205 GTI is an amazing feat in itself, and unlike the 205, the EF has an option for an engine swap, giving tuners a reason to choose the Kanjo Cruiser over the Plucky Pug. To me personally, I think both cars are already brilliant as they are, and don't want to mess with them. They're both Sleepers.

Gosh, why do I have this awful tendency to rip on cars that are deeply loved by the regulars who nominated them? Time to combo break that!

Nissan Silvia K's Dia Selection (S13) '90

The Nissan Silvia S13 may have a bit of a reputation for being a "date car"; something that's almost all show and very little go. However, with the addition of a turbo on the top of the line K's grade, the 1990 Nissan Silvia K's Dia Selection (S13) goes from gutless to grandiose, poser to performer. So much so in fact, I'm absolutely smitten silly by it!

ToLOVEru darkness S13 SILVIA 闇 by FY_ShiiNa_417
#anime #jdm #drift
Varietta by Autavia
#blue #autech #convertible

I was tempted to say that the S13 K's drives like a Miata that has the extremely well–balanced torque curve of the twin–turbo RX-7, along with some of the latter's oomph. However, that'd be a bit disingenuous, because the K's behaves incredibly docile even when pushed hard in a racing scenario despite packing more power than the NA Miata—174PS (128kW) @ 6,500rpm and 225.5N·m (166.3lbf · ft) from a mere 4,000rpm. While the NA Miata trips over its own shadow and dies when pushed hard in this game, the KS13 remains calm, composed, communicative, and extremely neutral when pushed. That is to say, in a racing game experienced through the poor man's pancake mode without the wind in my hair, the KS13 is just a strictly better Miata, and I'm writing this as a Mazda fanboy.

If having an extremely well–rounded torque curve and an actually functional suspension setup weren't enough to sell you on the car, the K's also has extremely short and close gearing. It's surprising—and refreshing—to drive a car that makes full use of its gears on the track, with fifth gear topping out at around 225km/h (140mph), which the driver will see often near the end of some of the longer straights in the game. Its peers on the other hand, twindle about in tall overdrive gears putting on a show of trying to force their way through the air with their boxy, bulky commuter car bodies common in this PP range. But of course, the more practical advantage to having low and close gear ratios is the ability to bust out a slide and hold it, which the K's is more than capable of despite its docile demeanour when driven smoothly. That is to say, the driver simply has to be rough with their inputs to the car to get it sideways, and the K's will happily oblige both on corner entries and exits. It is just the PERFECT car to introduce a new driver to both the strengths and weaknesses of an FR platform, and I would love to see more games lean in on that with their career progression!

The only nitpick I have with the K's is that its stock 195/60R15 tyres have a bit too much flex in them, with the car becoming a bit vague when I leaned really hard on it in corners. That said, it's just a nitpick, and I was already in love with the car despite that small flaw. But of course, said small nitpick also has a very simple fix—one that persists through BoP—upsizing the wheel diameter. When I upsized from the stock 15–inch rollers to 16–inch wheels, it was like finding out King Charming had the exact same kinks and fetishes I have, and at that precise moment, I knew I wanted it and needed it in my life for the rest of my life!

Girl on RX8's anime car: Dare, ano bakayarou?

The S13 may appear to be a date car to many, but for me, I can't wait to talk about marriage with it.

Greening Auto Company Maverick

Obe–Wan's review of the GAC Maverick:

My review of the GAC Maverick:

Image Source: Instagram (Bad language warning)

GT7 W108: Suzuki Cappuccino (EA11R) '91

Automaker Suzuki might not look like it has much of a presence in racing games, often being represented by cheap, cheerful, but ultimately unassuming Kei cars like the Alto and Carry. However, the Shizuoka–based brand has had quite the notorious reputation specifically in the Gran Turismo series since its debut in the second game, thanks to the presence of "auto win" cars like the Escudo and GSX-R/4 dominating the single–player campaign and online lobbies respectively. With the Escudo being a nigh–useless joke in GT7 and the GSX-R/4 nowhere to be seen, the 1991 EA11R Cappuccino has assumed and compressed both their roles in a Kei–sized package, essentially embodying everything Suzuki in Gran Turismo 7.

Cappuccino '91 by kerokero2417
(no tags)
Mini Viper by nao-2884050
(no tags)

The first things that meets the eye of course, are the unassuming parts of the seemingly whimsical FR convertible: it's tiny Kei car specs. At 63PS (46kW), it's just shy of the self–imposed limit on Kei car max output, and while its 700kg (1,543lbs) kerb mass is incredibly light, we expect that of Kei cars. At 304.76PP stock (v1.59), it's also rated very similarly to its Kei peers like the Honda Beat and even the 6–speed midship S660. So far, so very ho–hum. But should you dare overlook the Cappuccino just because of what its numbers suggest, you might be in for a very rude awakening when it comes time to wake up and smell the coffee.

You see, the monsterous part about the Cappuccino is in how it completely belies and undercuts its own specs and rating numbers to bring absurd performance into classes where it absolutely has no business belonging in. The turbocharged 3–Cylinder of the Cappuccino is set up to give the most buzz in the mid–range, with peak torque of 85.2N·m (62.8lbf · ft) served from as early as 4,000rpm, with peak power following soon after at 6,5. Those might seem reasonable peaks for a normal engine, but the F6A engine in the pre–facelift Capp has its rev limit firmly in sport bike range of 9k! I suspect the reason why Suzuki chose to brew the Cappuccino this way is to give it the most performance possible while remaining under the 64PS limit for Kei cars, giving it unhealthy levels of boost in the low and mid range before sharply toning down the shots when the revs start to factor more into the power equation, resulting in an almost comical level of caffeine crash past 7k. The end result is that the Cappuccino's 63PS feels almost like that of an EV's, with its strong, sustained torque pulling much harder than the 64PS of its naturally aspirated peers that have to rev higher to find their fleeting power. On corner exits at mid revs, the turbo FR would dump even the RMR Beat, and on high–speed tracks, the low drag of the Kei car would even let it humiliate full–sized cars with full–sized power, such as the Demio and Jimny Sierra. The Cappuccino was so busted in fact, that we've had to raise the PP cap of our weekly lobbies from +10PP over the featured car to +40PP, just to find close competition for the Capp!

チキンラーメン　chicken ramen by bunkashiyouze
#japan #suzuki #anime

One might not presume a 63PS FR Kei car to be much trouble to drive even when hustled, but the Capp does demand of its driver to be awake and not take it for granted. Man, if only there was some readily available drink that can help with that, huh? The reason for the slight trickiness of hustling the Cappuccino is that its suspension setup is really rather soft, and worryingly, they seem to have very little travel for said softness, meaning that the car seems to reach the ends of its suspension travel quickly when the driver leans on it in the corners, resulting in a very sudden and unexpected loss of grip when the tyres should be gripping the most in theory. Because of the short spring travel, hitting kerbs when the car is too off–neutral can spill hot coffee all over the track as well. It's in dire need of much firmer dampers than it comes with stock, and luckily, we can easily fix that in GT7.

I'm sure it doesn't fall onto me to break this news to anyone, but the Cappuccino becomes even more of a giant slaying monster when upgraded. Because of the esoteric kinks of GT7's PP system, many of the most important upgrades for a tuner car—such as the custom gearboxes, body rigidity increase, and even Mass Reduction Stage 2 for some reason—actually drops its PP rating of the Cappuccino instead of raising it. Throw the entire parts catalogue of Understeer, GT Auto, and the Zandatsu–ed heart of an FD RX-7 at it, and you end up with a car that would genuinely struggle to break 600PP, yet has lower mass and higher top speed than even an LMP1. For some context as to the kinds of speed one should normally expect of 600PP as of v1.59, the Jaguar XJ220 is rated at 599.59PP completely stock. The Cappuccino, weighing half that and packing even more power on aftermarket suspension, diff, gearbox, and RACING SOFT tyres, undercuts that!

Of course, with its short wheelbase, extremely limited aero and tyres way too narrow, a maxed out Cappuccino is a bloody nightmare to drive. The speeds it can achieve completely overwhelm the tiny tyres, modest aero, and the best brakes that would fit under the 13–inch wheels its owner can downsize to. It completely warped my sense of speed and distance when I drove it. But just like the Escudo of GT2, it's so bloody overpowered that one can drive like dog diarrhea and still reasonably expect to win by quite some margin. At the infamous Tokyo credit grind race, I spun out lap 1 and still lapped the entire field sans Miyazono's Amemiya FD with a one–stop run, hitting 370km/h (230mph) on the home straight. As such, you can also reasonably expect lobby hosts to kick you should you rock up to a PP lobby in a Brappuccino. The EA11R then, is truly the heir to Suzuki and carries on its tradition of terrorising and breaking the game wide apart. It might well be the most traditional part of Gran Turismo 7 bar none.

Racer and I crossed the line on Tuesday's lobby at the exact same time down to the thousandth of a second! Too bad we were fighting for second last instead of the win!

GT7 W107: Ferrari 308 GTB '75

It's no secret that I am really not a fan of Ferrari, as for over the last five years of me writing for Car of the Week, I haven't sampled a single car from the marque—road or race—that I've found to be even remotely tolerable to drive. The Ferrari 308 GTB '75 however, is perhaps the Ferrari with the best chance of winning me over, simply because it exists within a narrow performance bracket that I enjoy the most: lightweight sports cars that are fast enough to get into trouble, yet aren't so powerful that they dominate the experience and dull the handling. Cars around this performance level sit at around 475–500PP, populated by all–time greats like the 901 Carrera 2.7, E30 M3 SE, S2000, and GR86. A tiny RMR sports car with a songstress of a NA V8 engine, four wheel disc brakes, and a 5–speed stick shift in this category? Sounds absolutely salivating a prospect to me, even if it bears the usual stench of manure that comes with the prancing horse logo.

Magnum P.I by Beellzabozo
#magnum #308gts #magnumpi

Of course, being one of the oldest cars in the short list of examples I just gave, the 308 GTB on its bias ply Comfort Medium tyres is by far the most difficult car to drive among that esteemed company, especially when one takes into consideration that, unlike the vast majority of RMR cars, the GTB has a square tyre setup: identically sized 205/70VR14 rubber serve as horseshoes at all four corners. The suspension is much too soft for hard driving, and its brakes do feel a bit wanting even at this modest performance level. To justify its factory–fresh 474.85PP (v1.58) that lets it dance with the aforementioned cars then, the GTB has utterly bonkers straight line acceleration that would let it keep pace with much younger sports cars like the 993 RS CS and E46 M3 as long as the roads don't twist or meander. So far, so expected then: here's a Ferrari that quotes its completely useless dry mass stat and has way too much power for its suspension, brakes, and tyres to handle.

And yet, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun racing against my peers on Saturday, even if they for the most part nope–d out of the GTB and into easier and faster machinery. The 308 may be an extremely demanding car to drive, but that's not at all to say that it's unreasonable or unfair. Give it what it asks for—the driver's deepest respect and their undivided attention—and it richly rewards in a deeply engaging, playful drive, one so engrossing that, when I really got into the groove of it during free practice, I had completely forgotten that I had needed to start the race as the lobby host! As barbaric as it is to say, there's a deeply satisfying joy when an extremely difficult car finally clicks in my head, and I sail past my peers fumbling their cars facing the wrong direction on the track. It makes me feel like a kid who has figured out the trick to a puzzle before anybody else, and the cruel inner kid in me will always get smug about that.

Said trick to the puzzle is Countersteering Assist, which I've set to Strong for every tarmac race on Saturday. CSA does dull the initial turn–in of the car quite severely, but the benefit of CSA is that it allows the 308 GTB to drive as I had described in the previous paragraph: like a moody, vindictive, demanding, and sometimes rewarding old Italian classic car that we petrolheads as a whole are so weirdly tolerant of and smitten by. Without CSA, the 308 GTB is COMPLETELY UNDRIVABLE. On corner exits, it behaves as if its dry–sump V8 spits burning oil onto its toilet roll rear tyres the moment there's any lateral g on power; it just snaps instantly without warning or recourse, with roll and yaw movements so severe that the car is simply beyond saving most of the time. The ironic thing about the GTB is that, as noted by Jay, it actually drives really pleasantly on dirt, so much so that I find it perfectly happy on loose surfaces without CSA.

I want to preface what I'm about to write by making clear that this is pure speculation on my part, but this disparity in road and dirt driving brings to my mind a phenomenom brought up by Steve Marvin when he was being interviewed by evo about the Phase 1 Clio V6: lateral force–induced toe out. Upon loading up the rear tyres, the force of the outer rear wheel would bend the suspension and throw off the wheel alignment, resulting in catastrophic instability. Maybe the reason why the GTB was so nice on dirt was because the tyres weren't gripping the road hard enough to really bend the suspension that much. Unfortunately, that snappy oversteer on power seems hard–baked into the car in GT7; I've tried rudimentary fixes such as tinkering with aftermarket suspensions, differentials, and stickier tyres, all to no avail. It NEEDS CSA to simply be a tricky car to drive. Without it, the 308 is just Going To sBinalla, and as such, is a Guaranteed Total Beater, and even someone who detests the brand as much as me finds that just a bit of a pity.

UPDATE 1.59: The latest update seems to have calmed down the 308 quite a fair bit, to the point where CSA is just purely a bane. It still exhibits that weird sudden snapping on power, but it seems to happen much later and somewhat slower now, translating to a half–second faster lap time around Laguna Seca. As it stands in v1.59, the 308 GTB is the first Ferrari I find tolerable... barely.

GT7 W106: Jaguar XJ220 '92

The headline trait of the Jaguar XJ220 is undoubtedly the fact that it once held the record for the highest top speed achieved in a production car, but after having sampled it in GT7, I'd argue that the 217mph (349km/h) stat completely misses the point—or dare I even say, utterly misleading—when it comes to the character and driving experience of the XJ220.

Silk Cut XJ220 by KN1GHT_SHADE17
#jaguar #silkcut #lemans

No, I don't mean to call into question the legitimacy of a run achieved by a straight piped XJ220; what I'm saying is that the top speed of the Jaguar XJ220 is completely irrelevant to the Jaguar XJ220, because when I got behind the wheel of the car in GT7, it really didn't feel like an edgy, balls to the wall hyper performance that wants to make hell on earth of everyone's lives trying to prove itself. Quite the opposite in fact: it was a very sedate, calming, chill car that somehow robbed me of all desire to push it hard. Part of it of course, is just in how the majestic cat handles the corners. Despite being a large, heavy RMR car with enough power to set a top speed record, the Jag is surprisingly sedate in the corners, feeling extremely neutral and drama free to maneuver through the variety of bends present in the game, be they the wide and smooth roads of Fuji, the treacherous, bumpy, hilly and narrow twists of Bathrust, or the entirely fictional flights of fancy like Lago Maggiore. Power oversteer is only really a concern in first gear, which, despite being tall enough to be good for 109km/h (68mph), should see no use on a hot lap given the ample low range torque afforded by the turbocharged V6. The car defaults to gradual understeer when pushed too hard. Sure, the Jag doesn't drive as if there's catnip at every apex, but at the same time, it's not like it's seeking out the kitty litter at every turn, either. It's just a no drama, no surprises driving experience. Coupled with the extremely tall gearing and the abundance of torque on offer from any rev range, the car really deincentivises shifting as well. It's just a car that seemingly doesn't want its own driver to pay it much heed, giving the whole package such a hypnotic ability to lull me into a state of relaxation when behind the wheel. So much so in fact, that it felt downright wrong to race it hard in our weekly lobbies.

But it's not just the gearing and torque that deincentivises shifting: the XJ220 has perhaps the worst turbo lag in the game this side of the Escudo Pikes Peak car. The extremely neutral and stable handling along with the tall gears do mask what really should've been a glaring flaw somewhat, but there's nothing the big cat can do to hide the acres of its kingdom it surrenders to other cars on the straights every time the driver has to lift for an upshift, and this deficit in acceleration performance is only exacerbated by its extremely tall gearing in bid to reach its 220mph target. Even at Monza "No" Chicane with the close quarters slipstream of an F40, I couldn't find a need for 5th gear at all. Despite the cat–like balance of the Jag letting me gain under braking, cornering, and even corner exits, the long gears of the Jag hurts it so much that it surrenders all that advantage and more come any straight that involves an upshift.

It's nigh unheard of in a record setting car, but the Jaguar XJ220 has really surprised me in the week I've spent with it. It's capable of incredible things, and the fact that such high performance is packaged in such an understated and relaxing experience is even more of a testament to the feat of engineering that Project XJ220 represents. But to do any of its amazing things, it needs time. It doesn't have razor sharp turn in. Its turbo takes a moment to spool with every shift. It makes its driver wait in anticipation and appreciate the majestic roar of the journey as it takes its time climbing through its tall gears. To such a car, its top speed is even more irrelevant than in most other cars, because not only do I not want to bring it there, it'd take a dedicated top speed test facility to really find that 217mph. To simplify an XJ220 down to just big numbers for a short–lived marketing stunt feels to me as though a fictional character was forced to do something out of character for promotional purposes, in so doing weakening the integrity of the narrative they're trying to push. That is to say, now that the car has outgrown its need for marketing drivel, I think that the XJ220 is an incredible classic car hampered by its big boost and tall gearing in bid to hit a useless top speed target, and would be better off if it were just allowed to be itself, and I like it enough that I might just do that. But if someone wants to write a big plot twist for the XJ220, there's always the option to dump the XJR-9's V12 engine into it to suddenly make sense of its tall gears and Group C–esque interior.

Engine–Swapping an XJ220:

Engine swaps in Gran Turismo 7 tend to be pretty Frankenstein things: after all, a car is asked to handle power it was never engineered to handle in the first place, and even with a dedicated tuner, sometimes the game simply doesn't give players the tools to really rein in the irreversible swap. It's why I rarely bother with the horrifically expensive procedure, unless I have a very specific need for the combination, i.e. to swap a racecar engine with much better fuel efficiency into a road car. The XJ220 just so happens to fit that bill, and you know what they say about curiosity. It might have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

When I swapped in the NA V12 from the XJR-9 Group C racecar into the XJ220 however, the big cat surprised me yet again, simply because it is such a "plug and play" engine swap, starkly contrasting the freakshows that I had come to expect from heart transplants. The car remains incredibly stable and just a tad understeer prone, but it puts down power well even on the default Sports Hard tyres. Even the stock 5–speed gearbox feels an incredibly natural match for the increased power; after all, the XJR-9 from which this engine is originally from also only had five forward gears. The only slight complaints I had with the combo was its slight propensity towards understeer, its lack of braking power for the speeds it's now capable of, and I'd really like some downforce at these speeds, the latter two of which are easy fixes in GT7.

Honestly, if you haven't already, I urge you to give the swap a try, expensive as it may be. It might just be the big final puzzle piece that makes the picture more than the sum of its pieces.

GT7 W105: Peugeot 205 GTI '88

For those who have kept up with my ramblings for quite a while (thank you, by the way!), you'd know that I like my sports cars lightweight and simple, with power only sprinkled in sparingly as a necessary evil. And when it comes to hot hatches, that holds doubly true. The Peugeot 205 GTI '88 then, is perhaps the single best FF hot hatch in the game thus far, for the simple reason that it is just so... simple.

205 GTI MonteCarlo Edition by Tenki-33
#edition #montecarlo
Puegeot 205 Rallye by fargoneonone
#205 #rallye #replica

Yes, its skinny Comfort Medium tyres offer very little grip. Yes, it's got an open differential. But with only a naturally aspirated 128HP (96kW) and anemic 875kg (1,929lbs), you don't need all that much to keep the car under control. In fact, the 205 seemingly pares back on everything non–essential to give a stark, refreshing reminder of just what pure driving joy is all about. The whole package is just so straightforward and no–nonsense responsive, and it's just such a joy to wring out each gear and chuck it into corners with increasing recklessness, almost as if dared to by the car itself. And yet, it also demands—and richly rewards—proper driving techniques and car control from its driver at the same time. Its compact body not only looks great, but also lends itself to incredibly tight racing as well. Quite simply put, I struggle to find fault with the 205!

This may be a very short writeup by my standards, but that's not just because I have no complaints about the car; I also feel a short piece is apropos. A good hot hatch to me is very much just like good rice: its nigh indescribable good qualities stand out all the more the less there is to distract from it, so much so that something so seemingly plain can be enjoyed all on its own. But if I must do the writer thing of ending with a memorable bombshell, here goes: the 205 is one of the very few cars that I can see myself going back to drive just for the fun of it after I'm done with it on COTW.

GT7 W104: Renault Kangoo 1.4 '01

I'm here to echo what Obe and Jay have already written: that the 2001 Renault Kangoo is basically a hot hatch cosplaying as a utility vehicle.

Kangoo F1 by FabioVern
#kangoo #f1 #fv71
Ben and jerry's by hooseduck
#renault #kangoo #benandjerrys

The 74HP (55kW) that the 1.4L engine routes to the front wheels exclusively via a 4–speed automatic and an open differential might not make the Kangoo sound all that impressive, but what endears hot hatches, especially in the past, hasn't always been about their straight line shove. Rather, they tended to shine in their lightness and how they seemingly brought out the inner yobbo in their drivers, and that is precisely what the Kangoo in GT7 does. It's incredibly lightweight at a mere 1,080kg (2,381lbs), and if one ignores its accomodating height, it's also an extremely compact package. While the suspension is just a tad bit too soft for driving on the edge, what that supple setup translates to on a racetrack is a vehicle—a plaything, even—that really drills into drivers the importance of weight transfer and car control in a low risk environment, and it is even more of a momentum car than a Miata. It's sharp in corners, has hardly any understeer, and delivers on some incredibly tight racing as well!

That said, the Kangoo is saddled with three rather glaring flaws, two of which exclusive to the game. As mentioned earlier, the Kangoo we GT7 players got is the 4–speed automatic, and while the slushbox shifts quickly and smoothly, having only 4 forward gears mean that the gear ratios have to be wide apart, and that each gear has to be revved to its absolute limit to get the most spring in the its hops. The Kangoo then, very much demands to be driven in MT, because the game upshifts way too early if left to its own devices. Second, the Kangoo's PP rating seems to be a tad bit too high for the actual performance it has; it's rated at 294.72PP fresh from the Brand Central as of v1.58, and yet cars with lower PP and the same Comfort Medium compound tyres—like the Toyota Hiace and Daihatsu Copen—out–perform it handily. I opine that the Kangoo would have an easier time finding peers around the mid 280PP range. And lastly, just like the 411 Unimog, the Kangoo is a utility vehicle with an incredibly low performance ceiling that hasn't been given the option for an engine swap, meaning that it caps out at a mere 277HP and 885kg (1,951lbs), with only five forward gears to work with even when upgraded. The aforementioned Hiace in comparison has six forward gears bone stock, and gets the ludicrously stupid turbocharged LS7 V8 from the BRZ Drift Car to abuse it with. That package will even slot in under 600PP, meaning that the Hiace can be just as practical digitally as it is tangibly, acting as a money maker for the Tokyo WTC600 grind event, and as a cherry on top of the cake, Sophy 2.1 can drive a 1000HP RWD Hiace, but not a 74HP FF Kangoo as of yet. For as fun to drive as the Kangoo is bone stock, it's hard to find a use case for it outside of the odd One–Make race.

All told, the Kangoo is the very definition of a Sleeper: a car with performance and/or dynamics that completely belie its unassuming looks, and this Renault is a car that is so fun that I would never let someone else drive it on my behalf!

GT7 W98: Mercedes-Benz Unimog Type 411 '62

The Mercedes-Benz Unimog Type 411 '62, truly one of the most "...why, PD?" additions to the game... or so it would appear on the surface.

Mariott Hotel on Wheels by stowe07
#funny #hotel #mariott
ウニモグヤマトの宅急便 by abe1974tom
#kuroneko #unimog #mercedes

For the blissfully unaware, the 411 Unimog in this game weighs in at 1,940kg (4,277lbs), and has a mere 29HP (30PS, 22kW) to carry that heft around a racetrack it now finds an uncomfortable home. A full lap of the comparatively tiny Tsukuba Circuit takes over 2 minutes in this thing, and needless to say, it would struggle to get out of its own way, let alone have a race with. Its top speed, which you'll find only with the help of a sheer drop off a cliff with gale force winds in the truck bed, is gear limited to 94km/h (58mph), so it's going to have one hell of a time merging onto the expressways of role–playing lobbies too.

Just like the real life customers of the 411 I suspect, we GT7 players will have to get our digital hands dirty to find any use out of our Unimog, and it's an undertaking well worth the effort and Credits in my view. Despite its completely unassuming looks, the Unimog can be one hell of a hoot if one decides to upgrade it to become the most stealthy sleeper of a weapon. What I haven't mentioned thus far is that the Unimog comes stock with 6 forward gears, which is still the standard for many categories of racecars even today. With GT's esoteric limitations, having 6 forward gears straight from the factory means that it also gets 6 forward gears when a custom gearbox is equipped on the car, immediately giving the Unimog a leg–up on comparable tuning bases like the Suzuki Jimny. And why do I compare an agricultural truck to a Kei off–roader? That's because, despite its looks, the Unimog is actually a really, really tiny vehicle by modern standards; it measures in at 3,800 x 1,670 x 2,140mm (149.6 x 65.7 x 84.3 in), and for some context, that's a whopping 155mm shorter and just 5mm wider than a 2014 Honda Fit Hybrid (and a staggering 615mm taller even before one fits the racing exhaust or the camper attachment, but ignore that!). The Unimog's tall ground clearance, AWD, and front biased weight distribution makes it an incredibly stable and planted car to hustle around, and its tiny wheelbase ensures that it's always willing to rotate. With the SRC spec damn near maxing out the potential of the Unimog, bringing it up to 130HP, 1,590kg (3,505lbs), and 284.33PP, the Unimog drives so very incredibly neutrally with nary a hint of understeer and absolutely zero oversteer even when pushed incredibly hard with a relatively unstable setup. And, I really love racing low powered, high–drag vehicles, because they're more forgiving and therefore accessible to a wider variety of skill levels, and the high drag brings racers closer together. The Unimog in SRC guise then, is one hell of a spec racecar!

That said, being an incredibly old agricultural vehicle, the Unimog does present a rather big hurdle for tuners to overcome. First off, the most fun bed attachment option for livery makers, the camper box, has a humongous drag penalty once out on the track, and the downforce it miraculously gives is just irrelevant with a vehicle as slow, heavy, and inherently stable as the Unimog. I highly suspect that by itself will turn off many a prospective builder and tinkerer. Second, the diesel engine has a very, very narrow powerband, even with a Low RPM Turbo Kit; it only gets into its groove at around 2,700rpm and starts to run out of breath at around 3,500. And that narrow powerband makes setting up the gear ratios a nightmare, as one has to consider not letting the engine bog off a standing start while maintaining a reasonable top speed. Even with the SRC spec boosting and lightening the Unimog, I've had to set an incredibly low first gear that tops out at just 32km/h (20mph) just so it would actually get off the line, and 6th has to go up to somewhere around 170km/h (106mph) so it doesn't bounce off the limiter going down Foxhole of the Nordschleife. 2nd to 5th then, have to be incredibly wide apart to connect those two polar opposites, and it's a precarious balancing act in the settings sheet, even with the luxury of six gears to work with. For those inexperienced with tuning, I can absolutely see this hurdle in tuning know–how being a serious turn–off as well; it's not a car that just magically fixes its problems when aftermarket parts are bought for it. But if you can work magic with the game's sliders, the Unimog would shock many, many racers at low PP events I suspect, and you'd look pretty damned awesome doing it.

So, the Unimog. Before driving it, I thought it'd be a neat canvas for livery makers and role players. After driving it stock, I've come to realise it's too slow for even the latter. But after driving the SRC spec? I think it's one of the most underrated, deceptive sleepers ever introduced in the series, and I am INCREDIBLY glad for its inclusion in the game, because it's a hoot whether you're looking to make a livery for it, shoot it, tune it, or race it. Trust me, I've done all four!

My setup for the SRC spec, for anyone interested.