It's right there in the car's description: the RCZ's timeless and striking body is supposed to lend itself to a rear–mid engined sports car. We all know by now that the RCZ that eventually made it to customers' hands is an FF typical of the French, but imagine if you will, what the RCZ could've been competing against both on and off the racetrack had it been RMR as the 308 RCZ Concept was: Lotus Elises, Alpine A110s, Alfa 4Cs, Porsche Caymans, and dare I say, maybe even the Audi R8?
Well, this week, we're exploring the track side of that fantasy, as we're taking a look at the Peugeot RCZ Gr. 3 race car: an RCZ that has its engine behind the cockpit, fed by a bevy of handsome RAM air intakes on both the sides and top of the car that makes the road car a little lacking to look at, to produce well over three times the power of the road car while weighing slightly less, at 516HP (385kW) and 1,200kg (2,646lbs), slightly more of each if the current BoP is applied, and also if you're a fat Asian kid who spent about an hour wrapping his RCZ in carbon only to be denied entry into the lobby. Come on, 5 kilos of wraps should be morally obligated to provide 5 more WHP, aren't they?
As a result of this pubescent transformation, the previously meek French coupé now shares a stage with industry juggernauts, such as Porsche 911s, Ferrari 458s, Lamborghini Huracáns, and of course, the aforementioned Audi R8s. Oh, and, uh... the 4C too I guess. It's... back there somewhere, I think, I guess, maybe? That must've bogged off the line and then launched itself into orbit when it ran over a dry leaf T1. So, the question this week is, should Peugeot have stuck to their mid–mounted guns with the RCZ? Or can the RCZ not control its newfound edginess in a field of adults (and grandpas)?
The road–going RCZ's driving dynamics never did offer much to write home about, and the maddened mid–engined Gr. 3 monster somehow manages to retain that nondescript handling characteristic that keeps the road car safe. In context of the Gr. 3 car however, I mean that in a good way, as the RCZ offers a no drama, no surprises drive. The turbocharged unit in the RCZ Gr. 3 has enough torque to lug the car out of a corner in a lower gear if the ratios don't match the corner or if fuel is an issue, making for great flexibility in how it can be driven. As for handling, it's a car that's difficult to upset despite being RMR, all without showing any hint of unwillingness into corners. It's just delightfully neutral, and therefore easy to drive. Being a Gr. 3 car built from the ground up for this game, it doesn't have horrifying alignment issues that plague other RMR cars of its category, such as the infamous 458 GT3 and Huracán GT3, and in comparison to the other fictitious MR Gr. 3 cars, the 4C Gr. 3 gets bopped as hard by kerbs as it does BoP, and the NSX Gr. 3 can be quite feisty according to Max Verstappen himself; and who am I to disagree?
I really wanted to run another one of Rob's picks, the 911 RSR, against the RCZ Gr. 3 during race day, not just to see how the RCZ stacks up against a fellow car that has its engine sensibly shifted into the correct position for racing, but also because I think the RSR is the only RMR car with the ease of use to match the RCZ in Gr. 3 currently. The game's network might have had other plans, but the RCZ is a very solid all–rounder all the same regardless.
Also, RX8, I know this feeling and I know it too well.
And it makes me yearn for a road legal, RMR RCZ.
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