About the cars:
MITSUBISHI
Mitsubishi Motors, a company with a spectacular history in races like the Dakar Rally and World Rally Championships (WRC), has developed a special concept model for Vision Gran Turismo: This is the “Mitsubishi Concept XR-PHEV EVOLUTION Vision Gran Turismo”.
In the development of this special concept model, Mitsubishi Motors introduced their design team, Advanced Vehicle Research and Development Group, and Aerodynamic Engineering Development Group into this project in the same process they would normally follow to plan and develop real motorsports vehicles.
The styling of the car follows the basic concepts of the “MITSUBISHI Concept XR-PHEV” shown at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, while pouring in know-how gained from years of motorsports experience into its every detail. As a result the concept was evolved into a stoic racing machine.
The “Athlete Form” design concept was advanced further, emphasising the driving features aggressively. The iconic front grill is a study of next generation Mitsubishi SUV identity, and the shape that forms a wedge starting from the triple diamond mark is designed in the image of an athlete at crouching position on a starting line, evoking an intense image of tension and potential.
Applying advanced development technology from the Plug-in Hybrid EV System, the spontaneous power of the motor and powerful torque of the engine is transmitted through an 8 speed dual clutch transmission (DCT) to drive the 4 wheels. Its overwhelming drive performance is controlled precisely with the S-AWC vehicle dynamics control system that distributes the drive force optimally to the 4 wheels, producing a handling characteristic that moves the car exactly as the driver desires.
In addition, the carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) body reduces weight and greatly contributes to its agility, and the downforce produced by the aerodynamic form of the front and rear diffusers produces excellent cornering performance. The large diameter 20 inch aluminium wheels gives an impression of a tough suspension system, and the powerful appearance of the front and rear fenders is in the image of toned muscles of a powerful athlete.
SUBARU
Vision Gran Turismo is a revolutionary project established for car enthusiasts all over the world. The car provided by Subaru for this dream project, where the world, is an ultimate sportscar carrying Subaru's concept car motto "VIZIV; Vision for Innovation. The car is called the "SUBARU VIZIV GT Vision Gran Turismo".
Inheriting the design language of "Subaru's VIZIV 2 Concept" revealed at the March 2014 Geneva show, the Subaru design team have added dynamic and solid shaped to the model. Its shoulder line extends from the front exagonal grill all the way to the rear. Its tough-looking body seems as though it was carved from hard, solid metal. And with blister fenders extending its shape and enjoyable driving experience. Its larger diffuser, the roof integrated rear spoiler, and its shooting brake silhouette, which accounts for aerodynamic performance, will surely stand out among the others in the game.
Thorough weight reduction was a focus in the design of the body structure, and carbon materials have been utilized everywhere. As a result, the vehicle weight was held down to 1,380 kg despite being equipped with heavy batteries and motors. And propelling the lightweight body is Subaru's legendary 2 liter horizontally opposed engine that has been fully tuned with years of motorsports experience. The direct injection turbocharged engine that has been powered up with revised restrictor diameters is combined with one high-power motor in the front and two in the rear, which achieved a total system output of 591 BHP and 800 Nm (594.0 lb-ft) of maximum torque. By independently controlling each of the motor outputs, turning ability while cornering is dramatically improved, while the torque vectoring lamps built into the fenders visualize its movement. Thus, as with any other Subaru, the car is made controllable for anyone driving it, regardless of its extremely high performance levels.
END
Yes, all that was a direct copy and paste from the in-game description. Hey, my family paid 6 figure sums of money for my college "education", might as well milk it for some real world applications, right?
Ultimately, the reason why this is a low effort "review", is because these cars are low effort "cars" that aren't deserving of any deep, meaningful, or intelligent discussion.
I dream of being able to marry my favourite AV actresses. I dream of being able to match TRL_LIGHTNING's pace. I dream of having dreams that aren't so unrealistic, expensive, and environmentally irresponsible. I dream of having someone who isn't morally obligated to love me to show me some concern and love, and that I matter. I dream of being good for something, anything, that can put food on the table.
Everyone has dreams. Did reading about mine change anything for you? Did it mean anything for you? No? Cool. That apathy you feel right now is the exact same I feel towards concept cars.
I can design a car too. It makes twenty million PS, has 6 wheel drive, makes 50 megatons of downforce at a speed of 1 picometre per year, and is powered by the nutritious tears of Evo fans and the gases of vaping Subaru owners, supplemented by a Power Herb Geomancy.
I can tell you all that. I can say all that I want. But it doesn't change the fact that it means nothing to anyone, and that it doesn't exist.
What ARE these cars? What are they supposed to do? Who are they made for? What are they supposed to compete against? Without being able to answer any of these questions, how does one go around critiquing them? To what measure and standard should these cars be held? How do we decide if they've done their jobs well or not, if we don't even know what their jobs are?
But, you know, maybe I'll find someone else that kiiinda looks like my favourite stars? My insurance agent makes me feel cared for and I have her number, that counts, right? I'm within three seconds of LIGHTNING's times. That's basically the same thing, right? I can't speak without stuttering in person, but I can articulate my long winded thoughts in walls of texts no one reads. Same thing, right? I may not even have a car IRL, but I can drive in Gran Turismo. That's good enough, right?
Yet, will anyone consider me LIGHTNING's equal? Can I represent my country in what I love doing? Did I really mean anything to anyone in my time here on earth?
Hell no.
Even if manufacturers try to justify concept cars, saying things like they're studies for design language and direction for future production models... you don't get the exact car. Things get toned down or thrown out the window completely. XJ220, had a hulking 6.2L V12 before the drugs wore off and we wound up with a 3.5L V6, for example. Even if you just like the looks of the cars, how much of it can make production? How much would have to change to pass pedestrian safety laws? How would anyone wearing a skirt get over those door sills? How much wheel arch would need shaving off to make it clear a speed hump? Is visibility out of that narrow windscreen over the bulging hood good and safe enough to drive? At the end of the day, after being through the wringer of rules, regulations, and, you know, common flipping sense, you'll most likely just get the samey looking WRX, and the same generic SUV, regardless of how "exciting" and "different" these cars look. What, did you think automakers make the same looking cars because they want to?
But, hey, if they bear similarities, it's basically the same thing, right? It's good enough, right?
So what are these cars? Just designers' incomplete pipe dreams? Grown children in business suits in an *ahem* ego waving contest? Even Metallica's concept songs they later released were full, complete songs with deep meaning and real production value, complete with album art. They were complete, consumable products I was happy to pay for. These cars on the other hand, don't even exist in full even in the virtual world; neither have their interiors rendered for crying out loud. The Subaru doesn't even come with reverse lights. And I'm supposed to believe concept cars will carry over into production?
Low effort, zero meaning.
Make it happen. Then we'll have something to talk about. If I happen to marry all my favourite stars, if I truly did have the world record pace of LIGHTNING, then people would be interested. How did you do it? What sacrifices did you have to make? What sort of upbringing did you have? How do you stack up to your competition? What do you do similarly or differently from them? What makes you so goddamned special?
In 2020, is anyone still able to lie to themselves that Mitsubishi is even remotely interested in making exciting, sporty cars again? Mitsubishi themselves, maybe. "The Spirit of Competition" has long since Spirited Away, now reincarnated into bottom of the barrel scraping, barely functional cheap cars barely better than what little the Chinese export, that also hopefully don't cheat emission tests, like the Attrage.
If it has the shape of an SUV, why is it called an "Evolution"? What is it an evolution of? The Evolution? I get that the Darwinian Theory stipulates that it's not the strongest of species that survive, but the one that adapts. Yet, evolving into an SUV after a rivalry of a lifetime with the WRX isn't something I'd personally be proud of advertising if I were part of the team that designed it. Good thing I'm not. I imagine this car is as big a slap across the face to Evo fans. Oh, and guess what, Mitsubishi's SUVs since this concept shares NOTHING with this concept from 2013. It's not even called an Evolution. It doesn't have AYC. Instead, they're called the ASX and Eclipse, further slaps across the faces of their no doubt rapidly diminishing fanbase.
The Ph-ev... evo... eclipse... gto... tm... gsr... ayc... whatever the frick, is at least decent to drive. It has adjustible AYC like the Evos, though in locked setting lobbies and races, AYC is considered a modification - go figure - which means it's stuck at its lowest setting of 30 for our meet, which may go some way in explaining the understeer I personally find. Turn-in is rather horrible for a car that's pegged for being controllable "exactly as the driver desires", because every second I drive this thing, I desire to be dead. But I'm mercilessly alive. The car stops well, thanks to its rather light weight for its power output and SUV-esque dimensions, coupled with it's ridiculously short 8 speed ratios that means you always have revs to choke the car to a stop. This however, also means that your left hand will be very busy even on relatively short stopping distances, and deciding on which gear to use out of a corner is mentally taxing without due practice and making that decision ahead of time.
The car feels like it could use more front rubber, or just a differently programmed ABS, because I personally find it very difficult to trail brake in this thing, with how little is in the friction circle, and how the brakes monopolise it. It's one of those weird cars that will suddenly bite into a turn if you gave it a tad bit of gas to ease up the overloaded front tyres.
The gear ratios seem set for a rally track. They're so short and close together that, even with AWD and Sport Soft tyres, you'll be doing doughnuts with the best of American muscle. You'll even need 6th for speeds above 180km/h at a suffocatingly short track that is Tsukuba. Yet, this car, or rather, these cars, are both set so low that they scrape on the gentlest of inclines.
Also, yes, both these cars can take dirt tyres. You can drive these shadow scraping cars on rally tracks. Let that sink in for a moment.
I'm sorry, I'm supposed to take these cars seriously? How? Why?
The Subaru VGT is irredeemable garbage. It has so much power and torque it's wheelspinning in third like a LaFerrari... except, this thing has AWD. Who needs this? Why does it do this? Who designed it to do this? Has it even been test driven by ANYONE? At all?
The first three gears in the Vijizz are shorter than my reproductive organs in the sweltering summer heat. 4th onwards however, feel more in line with a production car, with 4th topping out at about 200km/h, perfectly normal for a "276"HP car, but not for a car with more than double that. Even with one less forward gear, the Scoobie hits 321km/h (~199.5mph) on Toukyo East, up from the phevo's 280 (~174.0mph).
The torque vectoring in this AWD car makes it a nervous, snappy mess, not unlike an old, badly sorted MR car. Confidence in Motion that I'll bury myself and the "car" into a barrier mid corner in conjunction with its wild power it can't control, I guess. It does appreciably help in long, sweeping corners, where the Subaru something or rather can take kinks flat out where most cars will need to lift. But confidence inspiring it is not. It takes some getting used to, and one can definitely get used to it, but I wish I had the option to tone it down like the AYC in the Evos, nonetheless. It also takes a markedly longer distance than the SUV to stop, more than 30 extra kilos (~66.1lbs) would have you believe. Around most tracks, the extra power of the Subaru would overwhelm the Mitsubishi, in spite of its nervous and wheelspinny messes in the twisties.
Both these cars are million dollar Beaters. Hopefully they'll beat each other out of existence and we can have something that actually means something next week.
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