Favourite video game car
Discussion
What are your favourite or most memorable cars from computer racing games and why?
I'll kick off with these:
Lotus Elan from Gran Turismo 4. It had crazy levels of grip and was extremely stable, so as a racing car it could win some very unlikely races. It was tunable to about 210bhp. One of Gran Turismo 4's popular AI opponents was the Motorsport Elise in the El Capitan endurance race It was very difficult to beat in many cars. I had to tune the Elan back down to 129bhp to make a tough race out of it. Perfect racing car for endurance events.
Alpine A110 from Gran Turismo 4 and 5. Lots of fun to race these cars because they just slid around everywhere but were still controllable. The Alpine race series was one of the most fun in the game.
Lotus 98T from Gran Turismo 5. Really modelled the turbocharged engine well. It had hardly any shove and then the turbo would punch in and the car would go crazy. They really made this a unique car to drive in the series. Very fast around a track even though I never really felt I got near its full potential. Used to drive around very carefully to avoid that turbo punch spitting me into the scenery.
The Daytona in GTA Vice City - It just looked the coolest.
I'll kick off with these:
Lotus Elan from Gran Turismo 4. It had crazy levels of grip and was extremely stable, so as a racing car it could win some very unlikely races. It was tunable to about 210bhp. One of Gran Turismo 4's popular AI opponents was the Motorsport Elise in the El Capitan endurance race It was very difficult to beat in many cars. I had to tune the Elan back down to 129bhp to make a tough race out of it. Perfect racing car for endurance events.
Alpine A110 from Gran Turismo 4 and 5. Lots of fun to race these cars because they just slid around everywhere but were still controllable. The Alpine race series was one of the most fun in the game.
Lotus 98T from Gran Turismo 5. Really modelled the turbocharged engine well. It had hardly any shove and then the turbo would punch in and the car would go crazy. They really made this a unique car to drive in the series. Very fast around a track even though I never really felt I got near its full potential. Used to drive around very carefully to avoid that turbo punch spitting me into the scenery.
The Daytona in GTA Vice City - It just looked the coolest.
Alex@POD said:
Skylinecrazy said:
Mazda Demio on the original Gran Turismo.
That was my first thought too, more "memorable" than "favourite" though!Timberwolf said:
Two stand out for me:
Grand Prix Legends' Lotus 49. (Or any GPL car really, but the Lotus was the iconic one). The first driving game cars that rolled, pitched, slid and genuinely felt like real cars. Totally new experience in '98 to need a steering wheel controller, to need to spend a few laps driving slowly to get used to the car and track. The satisfaction of finally going "alien" at Monza, faster than the example replays, was so rewarding compared to earlier games where you could cut corners and tear across the grass with abandon.
Oh yeah how could I forget GPL? There's no single car that stood out for me in that game, they were all awesome. I'd say I probably used the Ferrari more than any other in the end. Sounded amazing (they all did) and the handling was just a bit more forgiving.Grand Prix Legends' Lotus 49. (Or any GPL car really, but the Lotus was the iconic one). The first driving game cars that rolled, pitched, slid and genuinely felt like real cars. Totally new experience in '98 to need a steering wheel controller, to need to spend a few laps driving slowly to get used to the car and track. The satisfaction of finally going "alien" at Monza, faster than the example replays, was so rewarding compared to earlier games where you could cut corners and tear across the grass with abandon.
Timberwolf said:
A more recent one: Assetto Corsa's Ferrari F40. Lots of games have the F40. Only one of them has the knife-edge feeling of too much power on 30-year-old tyre technology, the sudden explosive burst as the turbos come in, the feeling that chassis and brake engineering are yet to catch up with what the engine can do. Assetto is a great-feeling game but whereas you play with cars like the E30 M3 and Toyota AE86, this is one you tame. Carefully and with respect. The satisfaction of a fast lap at Imola or nailing an overtake right on the limit of traction is worth it.
Brilliant example! I've not played Assetto Corsa much and never driven the F40 but that description is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. A car that may not necessarily be the fastest, but just has something about it that makes it more memorable to drive than the rest, something that makes you keep coming back to it. 
Edited by kiseca on Monday 16th November 18:28
Jinx said:
warch said:
The Escudo was a missile, as was the Dragster in the same game but both were bloody horrible to get to turn so we’re fairly horrible on track. Wasn’t there another mental Suzuki as well?
Dunno about GT1 and 2 so much but I remember in GT4 the Toyota 88C-V thingy could be made to wheelie, in which state I think it would do over 400mph or something?I remember driving that old aero Auto Union thingy around the banked test track. It was absolutely lethal!
Edited by kiseca on Tuesday 17th November 11:16
cerb4.5lee said:
FA57 VWT said:
Another one stashed away -
I’m hoping to move in the next year or so so I can get my stuff out of storage and set up in a nice warm basement, log cabin or extension.
What a fantastic collection you have for sure. I’m hoping to move in the next year or so so I can get my stuff out of storage and set up in a nice warm basement, log cabin or extension.
I'd be in heaven if all those were mine.
I'd have no living room if I had all those
Focused said:
I liked that in black in GT4! The Group C car I drove the most though was the Jaguar XJR9. I just like that purple and white livery.
I'm a bit surprised nobody has mentioned the Tommy Kiara ZZii in GT4 yet. It was, I think, the fastest road car in the game - it took a really good racing car to beat it - and handled quite nicely too. They had nerfed it somewhat for GT5 though.
I wouldn't say it was my favourite exactly, but I did use it as my racecar an awful lot and it looked good too.
Edited by kiseca on Thursday 19th November 08:14
A Winner Is You said:
I spent many a night after school trying and eventually succeeding to get the White Angel in Ridge Racer Revolution
You had to beat it in a one on one race, which I recall required near perfect laps and you'd still have to block it from passing several times. Yes I could have been doing homework, but who needs learning when you have this car?
You had to beat it in a one on one race, which I recall required near perfect laps and you'd still have to block it from passing several times. Yes I could have been doing homework, but who needs learning when you have this car?
320d is all you need said:
Leon R said:
This is the need for speed edition of the Ferrari F50, it offers improved acceleration and a slightly higher top speed.
This reminds me of thishttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQKGUQFxM7k
This has to be one of the best Games back in the day.
I'm sure anyone who played video games back in the day will remember the music and the commentary!
shed driver said:
I spent a lot more time behind the wheel of an E type than was good for my exams.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM4baGUHh1c&ab...
SD.
That looks so difficult and everything moves so fast. How did we cope with that?? I think I'd find it unplayable now. Maybe it was slower on the original hardware...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM4baGUHh1c&ab...
SD.
Another favourite of mine from Gran Turismo.
I raced an Esprit V8 in the Pistonheads Production Car Championship in 3 out of 4 seasons I competed in on Gran Turismo 5 and 6.
It handled well, was quick on the straights and grippy in the corners and had just enough edge to keep it interesting, but mostly it got me my first two wins in the championship along with a handful of podiums. Fast and fun and good looking, and noone else ever chose one so it was always unique in the races.
Those 4 seasons in that championship were my first and so far only experience of online car racing and it was so competitive, with everyone so closely matched that, well, it was very exciting. A fantastic group of people too. Wins were rare enough for me that those two in the Lotus were truly memorable. I celebrated the second one by doing a 360 over the finishing line...
blueST said:
Showing my age here... The March Cosworth in Indianapolis 500 in the Amiga. Spent hours adjusting camber, stagger, aero, gear ratios and spring rates to shave thousands off a qualifying lap. Had to play with a mouse and keyboard to get some sort of analogue steering
The frustration of hitting the wall on lap 200 after hours of zen like focus on basic vector graphics is something modern gamers could never imagine.
I'd forgotten about that game! I played it an awful lot on the PC (I'm assuming it's a port of the same game). I remember the graphics, gameplay, replay options, crash sequences all being absolutely state of the art at the time.The frustration of hitting the wall on lap 200 after hours of zen like focus on basic vector graphics is something modern gamers could never imagine.
For a game with only one track, it was very involving and long lived.
Yes I would as well. Was great how you could change the settings and feel the impact it has on the car. I think I played with keyboard too, so it wasn't force feedback but it still gave a great idea of where the car was understeering or loose.
I think there was an Indycar 2 as well, with a full season's worth of tracks. I got that too but couldn't get into it because my computer really just wasn't fast enough for it.
I think there was an Indycar 2 as well, with a full season's worth of tracks. I got that too but couldn't get into it because my computer really just wasn't fast enough for it.
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