Car of the Week Reviews—Chevrolet Camaro SS '16

The 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS, huh?

It might be an insane notion to behold, but with the addition of the ZL1 1LE Camaro into the game and with it having won our PRESTEGIOUS Car of the Year 2019 award, the Corvette engined, MagneRide equipped Camaro SS is surprisingly tame in the context of this game. So, does the Camaro SS offer something its younger and badder brother doesn't? Or is this week's Car of the Week simply a car for the weak?

I'd say it depends entirely on what you're looking for in a car. The SS is a very softly sprung car, which isn't a very enticing thought when said springs prop up a car weighing 1,672kg (3,686lbs), 54% of which uncomfortably up front where a "small" block 6.2L V8 sits. That said, the SS does hide its mass rather well, stopping short and showing little unwillingness into corners. While the ZL1 shows almost GT4 racecar levels of stiffness and immediacy, the SS is more of an involving, engaging road car that emphasises cognizant weight transfers and equally careful inputs simply because it's a much more "mortal" car.

Because it is much more "mortal" of a car that resembles a road car more than a racecar, I personally think that a driver will learn much more about car control and perceiving nuances from a car, along with training the muscle memory to react and correct accordingly if they were stuck into the leather–appointed bucket seat of the SS. If given enough time to learn about it, the SS can duly reward and be an engaging and exhilarating drive all the same. It feels delectably balanced when behind the wheel; I'm not talking about the weight distribution of the car, but rather, how every component of the car comes together when taking a corner, without any one component being an obvious limiting factor to bottleneck the whole experience. Take a corner, and the car as a whole comes alive—the front tyres struggle for grip, the rear tyres threaten to break grip as they reach for the sky, the suspension wallows and lets weight slosh over any tyre you so choose, the steering is brilliantly communicative despite the humongous stress put over the front tyres, all while the car begs for engine braking. I know it sounds awful on paper, but in practice, it means that nothing can be taken for granted in the car, with every communicative component cohesively approaching their limits together, making for an intensively engaging and technical drive. Drivers will have to learn to be gentle and smooth with the steering wheel, the pedals, the weight transfer, and learn to listen for the tyres and knowing when each has grip and which don't.

Because of how collectively every aspect of car control and component blends together and approaches their limits as a whole when tackling a corner in the SS, the car can and will kick up a fuss in any number of ways you ask it to if you were to deliberately disrupt the fine knife edge balance that is the SS' handling limits by playing with any of the ingredients, any of the tools you as a driver have at your disposal, be it via being slightly too rough with the steering wheels, any of the three pedals, playing with the car's orientation and weight balance, or even the handbrake if you're feeling feisty, and the car will respond with the same linearity, precision, and willingness as if you were to ask it to trace a graceful, surgical racing line even in that self–inflicted chaos. As a result, the SS I find is a car that's not only capable of putting down impressive lap times and skidpad numbers, but also as a plaything. Understeer? Oversteer? Kansei dorifuto? Doughnuts? Transitioning from any one of the aforementioned into another? It can and it will, if you have the skills and knowledge to make it dance. So willing and encouraging is the SS in fact, that even someone like me attempted to drift in it!

Because of how much freedom and control it affords its drivers however, it's absolutely not a car that will save you if you make a mistake on the track. I find that, as a result, the SS is not a car that is very receptive to being pushed by its driver—it demands respect and will not hesitate to bite if mistreated. It requires not just steady hands and feet, but also a cognizant finger on the pulse of the car at all times. I must admit that I tend to fold quite easily under the pressure of racing, and I think I tend to push harder than I should when chasing or being chased by that guy, which I've come to find out firsthand is behaviour that the SS harshly punishes. The car is like a punching bag not only in what it'd let you do to it, but also in how it will rebound and smack you in the face with equal force if you aren't careful and give it the opening to retaliate. I've come to deeply respect those who can race this thing as–is in a high pressure situation, because that says to me that the driver is calm, collected, and cognizant even under threat. It's precisely that honesty and freedom in how the SS handles itself and its relationship with the driver that makes it something of a rarity in today's cars that are rapidly getting faster, safer, but more and more disconnected as they try to straddle the line between speed and safety. Despite being big, heavy, and packing enough torque to jump start a planet, the SS oddly reminded me of my beloved FD RX-7 in not just how cohesive the driving experience feels, but also in how it demands a certain level of respect and understanding from its driver. Both cars share a striking similarity in how they let me behave and be pretty when I want to, and kick up a spectacular fuss when I feel like letting my hair down. I can very easily see the Camaro SS being the FD RX-7 or 993 911 for somebody else who grew up in a different time or place, and that coming from me is high praise, whatever that amounts to.

A car for the weak? On the contrary, I think the Camaro SS can be the preferred tool for someone of sound technique and unbreakable mind. A person who knows when "enough is enough", and can appreciate what they have without breaking their bank(s). As for what the SS offers that the ZL1 doesn't, I think it is a better teacher of car control and driving techniques, and a much more engaging drive. I think that the ZL1 has lost a fair bit of the SS' playfulness and flexibility in having to rein in its monstrous 650HP—not that anyone can blame it for that. Besides, offering the brute force of a Chevy "small" block and the wizardry of a MagneRide suspension at a mere 36K credits is simply mind boggling, and is definitely something anyone can be proud of buying and having. I am definitely curious to see how close I can get to the ZL1's performance with the SS within the former's budget when GT7 comes. But for now, the Camaro SS is a Sublime Sleeper all the same.

Car of the Week Reviews—BMW VGT '14

Remember when I said that BMW has three cars eligible for Gr. 3? Well, that's surprisingly debatable, actually, seeing as the M6 GT3 comes in two liveries with slightly different lights between them, and are therefore technically different cars as per traditional PD car count bloating logic. Heck, according to Car of the Week's tame Otaku, the 2014 BMW VGT should have been a Gr. 3 car to begin with.

And really, why wouldn't it be a Gr. 3 car? While BMW's successful Group 5 racecars in the 70s may have been cited to have inspired the silhouette of the 2014 BMW VGT, the car itself bears more than a striking resemblance to the 2 series BMW eventually unleashed into the world in 2015, and can even be interpreted as a "M2 Gr. 3 Race Car", sporting flared arches, air dams, carbon aero bits, and a roll cage over the road car. As far as specs and numbers go, the BMW VGT has just 33HP (25kW) more and 10 kilos (22lbs) less than the 2011 Z4 GT3 "we" tested two weeks ago, packing 541HP (403kW) at 6,700rpm and weighing in at 1,180kg (2,601lbs), and they even produce the exact same amount of downforce of 350 front and 730 rear if the arbitrary units of downforce this game uses can indeed be interpreted this way, while also coming default with Racing Hard tyres and a sequential 6 speed gearbox like any other Gr. 3 car. The only reasons I can see as to why the BMW VGT isn't already in Gr. 3 is that the car's power and ride height of all things oddly cannot be adjusted at all in this game, which makes BoPping this car impossible, not to mention it will scrape on anything but the smoothest and prettiest of paved tracks. Still, in a game that has taken a topless Golf and neutered a 873HP, 875kg, AWD Peugeot VGT to shoehorn into Gr. 3, what's unlocking the two sliders in comparison to those aforementioned crimes against motorsport?

As the numbers might suggest, the VGT car has a slight edge in overall pace in comparison to the Z4 GT3 when the latter is ran as–is without applying BoP, ranging from 0.7 to 1.5 seconds depending on track from what I could tell running the Z4 against the rest of the crew. Trust me when I say that all of that is down to the straight line speed advantage of the VGT, because it can be quite the feisty box to wrangle around a track. The torque... table, is such that you have peak torque from near idle at 1,900rpm to about halfway in the rev range where the power curve overtakes the torque table, which makes the rear end of the car rather pokey out of corner exits, and I have no idea why BMW obsesses over an artificial tabletop torque "curve" over a more natural feeling climb. Maybe it makes sense in the real world, but in GTS, I've just never been able to get used to it, either in the M4, Supra, and now here in the VGT. The alignment of the tyres do feel like there's potential left on the drawing board, as the front end isn't as keen as I'm led to believe a short wheelbase sub 1.2 ton car with a 50:50 weight distribution shod with racing tyres should slice into a corner at low to mid speeds. At high speeds, the advertised downforce of the car seem to do nothing perhaps due to the fault of the tyre alignment, requiring drivers to brake markedly harder to navigate high speed corners such as Eau Rouge and Blanchimont of Spa in comparison to bona fide GT3 and Gr. 3 machinery that can much more easily cruise past those fast sweeping corners while barely losing any speed.

The most glaring Achilles' Heel of the VGT however, has to be its lopsided gearing: 1st and 2nd are almost unusably short, barely allowing drivers to hit 100km/h (62mph), and 3rd feels completely lost in its own universe between 2nd and 4th. As noted by many of us during race day, "2nd gear is a death trap", because the large gearing difference between 3rd and 2nd when you downshift results in a rev climb so high on downshift that the spike in engine braking is more than capable of breaking grip on the rear tyres in an instant. I think drivers are much better served avoiding 2nd entirely and just using the abundant torque of the engine to lug the turbocharged car out of low speed corners, which does mean that you lose out on engine braking helping to rotate the car into a corner. Downshifting into 2nd requires as much meticulous planning and pussyfooted approach as conceiving a baby, not just because of the aforementioned rear tyre and fender destroying tendencies, but also because attempting to downshift into 2nd using "normal" racing car instincts just results in you blowing up the engine. What do you mean I can't downshift into 2nd when I'm doing 120km/h?! Bruxelles of Spa is comfortably a 1st gear corner in GT3 cars, and I'm approaching redline in 2nd in the VGT? The rest of the car is mostly fine, but the gearing really did give me that sense of, "did no one test drive this before releasing it?" vibe that is rife in the land of VGTs. Even though its performance and specs are close to those of Gr. 3 and GT3 cars, the gearing alone is enough to make me immediately dismiss the car even if it were eligible.

MPower Hatsune Miku BMW VGT by BeMiFlat131 livery link

GSR初音ミクBMW 2012 0号車 by s2000-elise livery link

Overall, the car looks great, sounds amazing, and it has a lot of potential as a racing machine when set up right and if given the chance to be relevant. Still, the lack of an interior is something I find personally aggravating, and I do wish it at least came with a reverse light and much more prominent turn signals up front. I don't like how it drives however, but it's not nearly bad enough for me to hate the car, which I think is a huge achievement in itself given that it's a BMW and a VGT, both of which are so easy to associate antagonism with. As the now mysteriously banned TonyJZX might say, I'm "ambivalent" towards the car.

Car of the Week Reviews—BMW Z4 GT3 '11

When the topic of BMW racecars comes up in Gran Turismo Sport, the cars that first come to mind are usually the M4 Gr. 4 and the M6 GT3, both of which should be more than familiar sights on the sharp end of the race results screen when accompanied by an equally familiar name: FT_NicoR, overall winner of 2019's FIA-Certified Gran Turismo Championship. In a game that often has only one car per manufacturer for each class of Gr. 3 and Gr. 4, and with how synonymous the M4 and M6 has been with BMW thanks to Nicolas' expert driving, it's easy to forget that BMW has three cars eligible for Gr. 3, and so I found myself curious as to how one of these oft–neglected cars drive, hence my pick this week: the 2011 BMW Z4 GT3 takes the spotlight this week here in Car of the Week! (well not quite THIS "this week" due to health concerns, persistent procrastination, and nagging perfectionism but blah just go along with it I don't know how to edit that last sentence while keeping the same flow and flair but that's not to say that my writing has any flow and flair worth mentioning gah whatever just have a photo of the car.)

It may be a foregone conclusion that the M6 is the most competitive car in BMW's roster of Gr. 3 cars, and nothing I can write or however many laps I can turn will ever mean anything more than Nicolas' feat and judgment. But, on a personal, non–competitive level, I actually have quite the soft spot for the Z4. The second generation Z4, the E89, is one of the best looking cars BMW has ever produced in my millennial eyes—much more graceful and striking than the slightly awkward first gen and the squarish and bland third gen, and certainly better looking than any of the samey sedans and coupés BMW are otherwise shackled to. I remember taking the Z4 M Coupé out for a spin in GT6 and being really pleasantly surprised by it. And speaking of past games and past models, there are unused assets remaining in GT6 indicating that some sort of 2012 Z4 GT3 adorned with Good Smile Racing's Hatsune Miku livery was supposed to be in the game, but was ultimately cut for unknown reasons. Now armed with a livery editor I haven't the patience, skill, or time to really use, and a Discover feature to save me from having to do much with it, I think it'd be really fun to kill two obscure birds with one spotlight and apply the livery that I believe was planned to be included in GT6 and race everyone with it this week!

GSR初音ミクBMW 2012 0号車 by s2000-elise livery link

...if real life hadn't gotten in the way and made me miss this week's racing, that is. Ah well.

If looking great and having some "lore" behind the Z4 isn't enough to tantalise you into trying it out for yourself, then perhaps the fact that the Z4 GT3 falls into ThePotatoKing's latter category of BMW racecars, the "let's put a V8 into it and see if it works" category, will push you over the edge. While the production E89s never saw an engine that exceeded 3 litres in displacement, had cylinders daring enough to stand out of line, and were rarely allowed to breathe freely, the GT3 spec Z4 boasts a hulking, naturally aspirated V8 outputting a maximum of 508HP (379kW) and 515N⋅m (380lbf⋅ft) at rev ranges where the road car's engines would've long since tapped out. In fact, the E92 M3 derived V8 that sees duty in the Z4 GT3 redlines at an S2000 rivaling 9,000rpm! Despite the fact that a larger engine was crammed into the long bonnet of the Z4's silhouette however, the racecar's diet programme has been so thorough that it somehow resulted in the long hood, short deck car having a 48:52 F:R weight distribution—with a 4.4L V8 up front! And so what we end up with then, is an open top car powered by a free breathing, rev happy V8, sporting stylish looks and impeccable balance. Why couldn't BMW have offered the production Z4 like this? Ah well, looks like we have to settle for second best then, which is to drive a carbon shod, flare sporting, racing slick draped, race prepped, pedigree backed, even more stylish GT3 spec of the Z4, and use our imagination a little. Like I do with Hatsune Miku.

To drive, the Z4 GT3 is nothing short of excellent! I think we as drivers subconsciously compensate for the imperfections in how the steering wheels and pedals respond when we drive, and only notice and complain when how they respond becomes too imprecise. The Z4 GT3's feedback and responses however, are so crisp and direct, it made me feel as if that layer of uncertainty was omitted completely, and I was left with a shocking sense of clarity, almost as though attaining Nirvana, like I was afforded a whole other dimension of understanding and context. It felt like I was wearing earplugs or sunglasses my whole life, and the Z4 somehow removed those filters to my senses and I was made to realise how much I was missing out by allowing me newfound directness. It almost feels as if PD forgot to program in those "filters", those imperfections in the steering and throttle response for the Z4, and what I'm left with is... well, perfection, really.

The crisp and immediate throttle response works in perfect harmony with the peaky, frantic, yet progressive engine to create an experience that I'd go as far as to claim is an art form in itself. It's impossible to place a tyre wrong in the Z4 because of this linearity, clarity, and immediacy, both from the throttle response, torque curve, and steering wheel, which makes tracing racing lines through corners almost feel like writing calligraphy with my hands and feet. I begin to actively use even the smallest of parts of a racetrack to open up corners more, like the drainage covers of Spa, simply because I felt that confident and assured in the Z4. In other cars, hearing the rumbling of going over those parts of the track just means, "oh, I'm going off the track. Best back off I guess..." In the Z4, it's instead, "I am HERE because I WANT TO BE here and NOTHING and NO ONE can take this moment away from me!!!" Where I see limitation in other cars, I find opportunity and excitement in the Z4. It's a car that can make even the extraordinary feel special, and it's been so, so long since I've felt this way with a car before. So confidence inspiring is the Z4 GT3 that I, someone who grip drives as though trying to write down my horrible attachment issues on pavement, even began to slide and drift the Z4 GT3 in the rain!

Yet, for all its party capabilities, the Z4 is one of those cars where I just hop into and clear my mind as I drive if I wasn't in the mood for shenanigans, simply because it's so linear, predictable, easy, and therefore familiar and relaxing, the fact that it's a noisy, harsh GT3 racecar capable of insane gs notwithstanding through a TV speakers sputtering out onto a living room couch, of course.

I know my analogies sound corny as hell, and it's a stretch to even think that there was even an attempt by PD to replicate these intricacies in the steering and throttle in this simcade, but this is really how I felt and worded it in my head as I drove the Z4 GT3, and I'm just going to give you my thoughts as–is. If nothing else, that corniness is just representative of how much the Z4 GT3 blows my mind every time I drive it.

Despite the common consensus that the Z4 simply isn't competitive with the current BoP however, I find myself setting startlingly similar times with it around Interlagos in comparison to the similarly long hooded, short decked Viper GT3-R, and also the much more commonly seen RX-Vision GT3, none of which are hot lap contenders, granted, but both of them competitive still as shown in the latest Exhibition Round of FIA Gran Turismo Championships. In fact, I was actually a whole second faster round Spa in the rain with Z4 than I am with the RX-Vision!

The real surprise though, came when I decided to run the aforementioned 2016 M6 GT3 around Interlagos as well. Yes, its straight line speed over the Z4 is immediately felt, but the much larger car with a longer wheelbase simply doesn't crave to carve out corners like its older sibling, and dare I say it, the 4.4L V8 is blown straight into ground zero of a tornado by the turbos, kicking out the rear end on corner exits more often than not. The M6 GT3 feels almost like a car with a split personality because of the turbos, and neither of them are particularly pleasant to be around. Corner exits out of hairpins and other such tightly wound corners then, require a savant level of awareness with your right foot and ears, even with fresh tyres and a full tank of fuel. Even though I spent more time with the M6 trying to get things right, I simply couldn't beat the time I set in the Z4, which is the real surprise of my testing. Perhaps with an obsessive amount of time behind the wheel, the M6 has more potential to set better lap times than the Z4, especially around a track that favours outright speed more than Interlagos, but even without going down that path of insanity, I can safely tell you that I won't have a gram of fun with that experience, and I'd sooner attempt to swim across a wet track than to drive an M6 GT3 on it. It simply doesn't look as good, sound as great, or drive as amazing as the Z4. I doubt it's even really that much faster than a Z4 around most tracks in this game.

If there's anything that can be gleaned from this review that amounts to more than an unskilled, inexperienced kid playing around with big, expensive toys in a highly unrealistic scenario and then writing awful "reviews" based on that experience with cringe–worthy analogies, it's this: I think people put too much stock in what's "meta". I think people just see what cars the aliens set the fastest lap times with, and then try to get as close to those times themselves with the same car, thinking that that's them at their most competitive scenario. I think Gr. 3 is so finely balanced now after years of tweaking that most cars in the same hands can set lap times within a tenth of a second from each other. Me personally, if I had to choose between an extra tenth a lap the M6 might offer me versus the consistency and ease of use the Z4 assures me, I'd take the latter all day any day. Sure, Nicolas proves the M6 is the faster car, but here's the thing: I'm not Nicolas Rubilar. I'm me. I'd be lucky to have a tenth of his talent. I don't have the same chemistry as he does with the M6. I'm more competitive with the Z4 than I am with the M6. I think, if more people took the time to try out more options rather than simply following the "meta", I think the Z4 wouldn't be so criminally underappreciated as it currently is, and hence why I'm so eager to get everyone to try out this undervalued gem of a car. And I really hope everyone found it as pleasantly surprising as I did.