GTlife #3 December 2011 by schwadegan

GTlife #3 December 2011

Introduction | Welcome

Spec II Christmas is around the corner and a lot of things have happened since the last publication of GTlife. Besides the countless new seasonal events and patches we have gotten both custom helmets and suits for our drivers along with the much sought after SpecII update with some fresh new cars and tracks in the form of downloadable content. As much as I appreciate all of this, I don’t think any of this can compare to taking one of the newborn semi-premiums, preferably the Caterham Seven Fireblade, for a drive around the Nürburgring and watch the sun rise in the horizon while the damp tarmac slowly dries. I can only imagine what Lucas Ordoñez and the The Signatech Nissan team felt like when they won the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup LMP2 title! What I do know is how it feels to have an amazing community of fellow GTPlanet friends who contribute to this magazine. I truly belive that GTlife has evolved quite a bit since the beginning, even though we’re only three issues old. Let’s hope for many more!

Cover courtesy of SMfan

Special thanks to the two proofreaders who helped me with this copy of GTlife!

Kai Noeske & Trivran

If you would like to write an article of your own, please contact granturismo.mag@gmail.com for instructions on how to get started, or visit the forums at GTPlanet.net for more information. All authors get credited by name, PSN ID or their GTPlanet username in their respective article. All contributions are non-profit.

Thanks! GTlife is an unofficial fan-made magazine and is not endorsed or sanctioned by Polyphony Digital Inc. or Sony Computer Entertainment. All opinions in any of the articles in GTlife are the authors’ personal thoughts and opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of GTlife itself.

Introduction | Index

Index 01 Lexus LFA â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;10 review...................11 LFA Tune........................................ 13 Godzilla: The sequel.....................19 Honda DC2R.................................. 21 The Beauty of Gran Turismo...... 23 Mach 1............................................. 31 Make-belief cars........................... 33 Beauty is only skin deep............ 37 Bertone Prototype........................39 Raging Bull Gallardo Tune........ 40 Going beyond Virtual..................

Reprint of this magazine is encouraged to help spread the joy of the Gran Turismo franchise, as long as no content is edited in any way. You are free to quote articles from the magazine, but please refer to the source. GTlife is a free internet magazine which is produced by the community of GTPlanet.net with the intention of being distributed as a print-ready digital

magazine throughout the world. Our authors and contributors originate from all over the globe. GTlife aims to give its readers news, exclusive interviews, reports and informative articles to enhance the Gran Turismo experience. For more information, please send an email to granturismo.mag@gmail.com or visit the forum at www.gtplanet.net.

Article | Going beyond virtual

Going beyond virtual

Article | Going beyond virtual

If you enjoy playing GT, which we know that you do, you’ll be excited to learn just how realistic it is to race in real life with only a handful of money. Probably like you, I thought real life racing was too expensive and dangerous to ever try. One fateful evening I googled ‘racing school’ and ‘club racing’. What I found has changed my life forever.

Article | Going beyond virtual

n a nutshell: Yes, it is possible to get involved in motorsports on a budget, without risking your car or your life. All you need is a street car in reasonably sound technical condition and surprisingly little money. But be warned, it is a slippery slope into a new exhilarating world, and an incurable addiction. The little guide that follows is really just a summary of a free online guide into racing, www.GoAheadTakeTheWheel.com. This website started as a book written by an experienced club racer named Dave Gran. Being a motorsport lover, Dave decided to release it all for free to help the sport. There is frequently new content added, so check back often and follow our adventures on the blog! The information on that page is specifically for people living in the USA, but very similar programs exist elsewhere if you do a little research on the web. You don’t need that much to begin, really. A valid drivers license and almost any car, even an old one, that passes your country’s technical inspection is fine. Due to concerns of rollovers, SUVs are typically not allowed. Depending on the type of events you want to do, a day of racing can be had for as little as 30 USD. You also need a helmet, but for your first event of autocrossing or HPDE some clubs have helmets that you can borrow. Learn car control with Autocross or Rallycross, an easily accessible form of racing. Imagine a big piece

“the frequency of turns per minute is higher than in Formula 1”

Article | Going beyond virtual

Autocross emphasizes safe competition and active participation. An autocross is a timed competition where drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either sealed or unsealed surfaces.

of tarmac - a parking lot or airfield - with a temporary course set up by orange traffic cones. They form VERY tight turns, and your job is to complete the course as fast as possible, and clean - hitting cones gives you time penalties. You don’t go much faster than 50, maybe 60 mph (80-100 kph), and the worst thing you can hit is a rubber cone very safe for you and your car. Sounds boring? Let me assure you that you will slide around at 50 mph, rushed with adrenaline. The frequency of turns per minute is higher than in Formula 1, competition is fierce, you need and will quickly learn - amazing car control, line theory and

knowledge about racecars and tires. Seasoned autocrossers are amazing drivers that will make your jaw drop. There are classes for highly prepared cars, but also for unmodified street cars. Best of all, it costs very little money - from 30 USD for a day up. That includes free volunteer instructors. This is real racing at your fingertips, maybe as soon as next weekend, only a google search in your area away, and can be anything between a fun day with your car and friends to nail-biting competition.

Outside the US, this sport is called ‘autoslalom’, ‘gymkhana’ or ‘motorkhana’. In the US, ‘Rallycross’ is autocross on dirt, gravel or snow. Yes, you learn actual rally driving and drifting techniques. Be aware that ‘autocross’ and ‘rallycross’ have a different meaning in other countries that include dirt tracks and cars bumping into each other - make sure you choose the sport with the rubber cones and no other cars around you on the course.

Article | Going beyond virtual

If you want to drive on a racetrack, no problem. Just like for autocrossing, all you need is a street car that is technically solid, and a helmet that can sometimes be borrowed from the club hosting the event. It is pricier than autocrossing, but not out of most peoples’ reach - a day at the track is from about 200 USD up. Check your area - or your closest racetrack - for “Track Days”, “High Performance Driving Events (HPDEs)” or “Driving Events (DEs)”. These events are often organized by the track, by companies, or by car clubs. As with autocrossing, you usually get an instructor in the passenger seat - free of charge. For novices, this is typically required. In several sessions on track, and in the classroom, you will learn the line, rules of track driving, flags, cornering and braking techniques and much more.

Did I mention it is insanely fun? I got addicted on my first day out, as did many others. Many events even allow you to go out for a few hot laps as a passenger in your instructor’s car. “Thrill” doesn’t cut it to describe that experience.

meet each other. You get 3 or so timed laps, and the fastest one counts. Of course there are classes for street cars and race cars. Street cars do often not need extra safety equipment, but modified cars usually do.

With enough experience, you will progress from the novice to more experienced run groups, and eventually be allowed to go out by yourself. If you want competition, you can later enter time trials. For a price similar to HPDEs, you will have practice sessions, and then go out with a few cars on the track, spread far enough so they won’t

If you get serious with track days and time trials, I recommend asking about additional safety equipment for your car. Be safe out there - other than at an autocross, there are walls, tires and other cars that you can hit if you overdo it.

“Did I mention it is insanely fun?”

Article | Going beyond virtual

If you want to drive on a racetrack, no problem. Just like for autocrossing, all you need is a street car that is technically solid and a helmet.

Article | Going beyond virtual

“Give your modest street car a hug for being your first racecar”

You know how when you’re in a great GT race, you can feel your hands begin to sweat, and feel the adrenaline pumping? Take this awesome sensation and bump it up several notches. This is the real deal. You are on a track, racing other cars merely inches from each other. Getting into this does take more effort and

knowledge, but don’t feel discouraged - Dave’s web resource shows how it is doable with reasonable time and money. You need a racecar that fulfills safety requirements - roll cage, racing seat, harnesses and more, helmet and fireproof clothing, etc. You will also need to attend a licensing school first - in the US, e.g. with SCCA or NASA.

Don’t rush ahead and throw a cage in your street car or buy the next racecar that pops up on ebay - get some experience first with autocrosses or track days, and talk to lots of people until you know about affordable race car classes and which one is right for you.

Article | Going beyond virtual

Now you might wonder if you would would have any fun with your street car. The answer is: You bet!

There are plenty of reasons why you should give your modest street car a hug for being your first racecar;

making the decision of what racecar to buy - this can save you 1000s of otherwise poorly spent money.

My first autoX/track car was a stock 16 year old Corolla with an automatic transmission. Dave started in a 17 year old Honda Prelude. We got hooked immediately.

It costs you very little to get it track-ready, and you do not need to spend money on a racecar right away. Instead, you have time to ask around and learn about cars and classes before

You will be less worried to scratch a street car than a pricy sports car - you will have more fun, and feel more comfortable approaching the traction limit.

Article | Going beyond virtual

Give yourself some time and do not push yourself early on.

A normal street car with less power and more forgiving handling allows you to learn the basics properly. Learning things means doing them slower first. Once you learn how to drive a clean line, and maybe get grippy tires, even an economy car can be amazingly fast around a racetrack. If you have to wrestle a 400 hp Corvette, you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have as much attention left over for precision driving. In a modest car, you need to be precise to be fast. That will teach you to do it right! Think of a street car as of the wooden stick they give you if you begin to learn sword fighting. You

are less likely to hurt yourself or the precious sword, and it will be all about developing skill, not hardware. Even if you had the shiny heritage sword, a master with that wooden stick would beat you in a second. Think how GT leads players up from driving slow street cars to the legendary LeMans prototypes - same thing! So the question is, does GT make me a better driver in real life? Yes it does. Just not on your first day out. Here is why; Racing GT teaches you a lot about line theory, about car balance, about how hills and bumps change car dynamics. You learn

about racecar technology and setups, and strategy when racing others. However, when you first go out in a real car, your brain gets different input - real life 3-D information, G-forces, engine sounds that it is not used to. It takes some time to put these together and calibrate your hand-eye coordination to the new information. Also, you need to learn the new tracks, the meaning of the flags, track and racing rules that GT5 does not have built in. You will have your hands more than full in your first real life events. Finally, GT is realistic, but lets you get away with some things that real life does not. Give yourself some

Article | Going beyond virtual

time and do not push yourself early on. This is easier said than done, but remember you might endanger yourself and others or crash your car if you overdo it. Look at it this way: Some of my online racing friends are national level racers and champions. Coming from real cars, it took them a while to get good at GT.Allow yourself time for the opposite step too. A final advice on your priorities if you want to start real-life racing: What you need first is experience. Don’t spend money yet on making your car faster or buying a faster one. You have a LOT to learn, so your money is best spent on seat time - autocross and track day fees. Making you a better driver will knock much more time off your laps

“It took them a while to get good at GT” than another performance part - think about what good driving does in GT5. Maximizing your time in the seat also maximizes the fun you have. A great way to get into the local racing scene is volunteering as a worker - at a race or similar - to learn how things work, make friends, and figure out which way to get into racing is best for you. Whether you race or volunteer, go talk to people as much as you can. Hobby racers are very open and supportive.

You will learn a lot about car classes that are good to race where you live, where the next interesting event takes place, or about a car or part for sale that may be good for you. Your new friends will teach you a lot about cars and racing and help you start your racing career. There is a lot to be discovered. Starting to race is stepping into a world more exciting and captivating than anything you ever knew. ■

Text & photo: Kai Noeske

Review | Lexus LFA ‘10

Lexus LFA‘10 The Lexus LFA can definitely be the next Godzilla after the Nissan GT-R. When I first saw its prototype, I didn’t like the design so much; it looked like it was from a sci-fi movie. After that, I took the production model for a drive and I said, “This is it!” and immediately bought my first LFA.

can buy a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, why would I pay 375 grand for a Lexus? There are a lot of reasons to pay that amount of money. After owning 2 of them I can say, the LFA is really worth the money. First of all, the things you feel while driving this car are a lot different to a Ferrari or anything. Driving the LFA is completely different and enjoyable. The car has the latest technologies, just to make your job easier.

The exterior design is flawless in my opinion. The vents in the rear, the placement of the exhaust tips, almost everything is perfect. The only thing that I don’t like about its design are the headlights, other than that there isn’t anything bad. When you get inside, you understand that this car isn’t an ordinary car. You will not see interior design like this in any other car. They used state-of-theart technology for the dashboard

of the car. When you rev it over 8k, a green halo lights up on the instrument panel. Over 8.5k, the green halo becomes red and after the redline, the entire tachometer becomes completely red. The performance is quite good; it packs 543 horses under the hood, and 465 Nm of torque. The car can be considered as light when you look at its competitors; it weighs 1480kg. The control is impressive

Review | Lexus LFA ‘10

“Overall, this is an almost perfect car.”

because of the weight distribution. As you know, this is a rear wheel drive car with the engine placed at the front. The LFA likes to slide a lot. But this isn’t an uncontrollable and bad thing, because you can control this car easily if you have some experience with high power cars. The best thing about this car: its sound. Sound engineers from Yamaha’s audio division have worked hard and made the sound excellent.

The V10 under the hood and the exhaust system are perfect together. The sound that’s coming from the exhaust will make you want to push harder on the accelerator. Sometimes I take my own LFA to a tunnel just to listen its mighty sound. Overall, this is an almost-perfect car. The only thing that will make you doubt this car is the price. But as I mentioned before, as an owner of 2 LFA’s I can really say that this

car is worth the money. If you are familiar with high-power RWD cars, you can easily handle this beast. It will be your slave on the road. ■

Text: Ata Aygen Photo: SMfan

Tune | Lexus LFA

LFA Tune Photos: SMfan

Tune | Lexus LFA

I think the Lexus LFA is probably the best supercar in this game. There’s so much right with it. It has the right power, the right weight, the right colours, the right sound, the right performance…but there’s one slight niggling flaw in the LFA’s armour…its tuning capabilities, or lack thereof.

Tune | Lexus LFA

This mainly comes down to the lack of downforce available for the car, but I won’t go into more detail than that. However, this hasn’t stopped 9 different tuners (myself included!) having a crack at making the LFA even better. And here’s the first of those tunes, from the tuning knowledge base that is RKM Motorsports and the top-class tuner that is VTiRoj. So then, after heading down to the dealerships and getting your LFA (mine in Pearl Red), you then need to make the required modifications and adjust the settings and all that. Then you realise that the HP meter hasn’t budged even slightly from its

original 530+ stat. Now, you may be thinking “Well then, what’s the point?” Well, Roj himself has explained it twice, both formally and informally. Formal description – “If the LFA had effective downforce, I would increase the power, but seeing as it doesn’t, the stock power is enough for me.” Informal description – “When we first test drove the LFA, the engine scared the crap out of us. So badly in fact that we’ve left it stock.” So now you need to wonder no more. So then, why don’t we get down to driving the actual thing then?

I took the LFA GT to my custom made Toscana track, which is 4.5 miles long and gets increasingly twistier as you go along – starting off with a fast section with a difficult blind fast corner and ending up with tons of twists and turns until you get to the finish line. The LFA GT, when faced with any corner though, is simply brilliant. Only the slightest bit of understeer ever comes to threaten the car, but once you accelerate out, you get the most brilliant tiny little slide, and it is just so satisfying. And through some of the corners on the track, you can extend them to brilliant and long drifts which make this car an absolutely brilliant one.

Tune | Lexus LFA

Obviously the lack of power upgrades does prevent the car from reaching its full acceleration potential. However, the car has been fully lightened and given some new gear ratios to help it accelerate faster. Although it doesn’t feel as fast as it really is, this car can surely take the fight to most other cars in an all new spectrum of its own. One good advantage of keeping the engine completely stock is the sound. The LFA’s bitchin’ exhaust solo is enough already, and goes with the performance of the car so well. However, the transmission on the inside is LOUD.

And it sounds properly good for this reason. Yes, it does mute out the main exhaust on the inside but come on…just listen to it! The LFA suffers from a small lack of usability still but this thing certainly isn’t bad at all for a majority of races in the game. With more mods, it would probably be a candidate for winning Super GT, but the lack of available downforce would make that harder. There’s also the price tag. It starts at 375,000 Cr. to begin with, and putting on the modifications pushes it up rather close to 500,000 Cr. territory. Even so, its money well spent once you get it.

At the end of the day, the LFA GT is a superb tune from RKM. It’s kept the superb sound of the stock engine by keeping the engine stock, it still looks as sharp as ever and feels as right as a correct answer. With steering as brilliant as sliced bread, with the little flicks you get out of the corners, with the sensation of driving a superb tune, with the wonder of the feeling of this car, this LFA GT tune by RKM is a super tune for a super car. Now, where’s my pink LFA… ■

Text: C-ZETA

Tune | Lexus LFA

Tuner Comments The LFA is a pretty exclusive car. There are only 500 in the world. So we got one and gave it the RKM treatment. What? There are still 499 left, don’t give us that evil stare. When we first test drove the LFA, the engine scared the crap out of us. So badly infact that we’ve left it stock. However we did strip it of over 200kg and

improved on the already great handling. You’ll need to treat this one like a fine woman. Carefully and elegantly. If you mistreat this LFA, it’ll discard you without a second thought. If you treat it well, it’ll reward you in large amounts. Throttle control and smooth steering is a must to get the best out of this LFA GT. VTiRoj

RKM Motorsport’s LFA GT Transmission 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th Final Max speed: LSD Initial Torque: Acceleration: Braking: Suspension Ride Height: Spring Rate: Dampers (Extension): Dampers (Compression): Anti Roll Bars:

3.672 2.458 1.853 1.461 1.211 1.058 3.150 230 MPH 0/15 0/30 0/5 -20/-20 9.0/12.4 6/6 5/5 4/4

Wheel Alignment Camber: -1.8/1.7 Toe: –0.16/-0.29 Brakes Brake Balance: 6/7

Based on: Lexus LFA ‘10 Obtained: Brand new from Lexus Specifications Drivetrain: FR Horsepower: 547 BHP (@ 132.3 miles) Torque: 48 kgfm Weight: 1234 kg PP: 555 Tuning Shop Chassis Weight Reduction Stage 3 Rigidity Improvement Window Weight Reduction Fully Customisable Transmission Twin Plate Clutch Semi Racing Flywheel Carbon Propeller Shaft Fully Customisable LSD Fully Customisable Suspension Kit Sports Soft Tyres Intended Driving Options Transmission: Manual (MT) ABS: 1 Everything else: OFF

“You’ll need to treat this one like a fine woman.” 18

Article | Godzilla: The Sequel

Godzilla: The Sequel I

n 1998 a mutated creature grew to an incredible size and invaded Manhattan, destroying everything in its path. In 2007 history repeated itself and a beast once again left the Japanese Islands, with a much bigger goal this time around; to conquer every road in the World. However this time the beast was contained in a 3799cc engine. Pushing out over 470HP before any sort of modifications done to it. The amount of torque passed through the 1740kg body is most certainly still able to destroy a tank, amongst other things.

other 18 MPG of premium fuel. One comes in a terrifying color, while the other one has dark green scales. I have yet to mention the most truly terrifying fact of all. The Nissan GT-R (R35) has a brother, the stripped down version called SpecV and a Super GT cousin for the race tracks.

Specs GT-R ‘07 Price: 77,700 Cr. Horsepower: 482 Weight: 1740kg Torque: 599Nm Drivetrain: 4WD

With this, I must conclude saying that the invasion has begun and that it’s taking place on all forms of asphalt. ■ Text : thepineapple1 Photo: rabisuke

Reaching 60 mph in 3.2 seconds will definetely catch Dr. Niko Tatopoulos this time around; and with its incredible aerodynamic shape pushing down on the ground and 4WD, there will definitely be no rolling over in corners. The are more ways in which these 2 dominating beasts leave clues to their presence. Godzilla leaves gashes in ships, whereas the GT-R leaves tyre marks on concrete. One engulfs 3 trucks worth of fish, the

“Godzilla leaves gashes in ships”

Article | Godzilla: The Sequel

Review | Honda DC2R

Honda DC2R A front wheel drive car that can keep up with high powered sports cars. It’s a myth, right? Well, not exactly. In the early 90’s, after the NSX Type R made its debut, Honda decided to bring the Type R badge to the average man. The model they chose to accomplish this was the 1.8 litre Integra, and as it was already equipped with double wishbone suspension and an engine that produces 100hp per litre, it was a great base to build a road going race car.

A front wheel drive car that can keep up with high powered sports cars. It’s a myth, right? Well, not exactly. In the early 90’s, after the NSX Type R made its debut, Honda decided to bring the Type R badge to the average man. The model they chose to accomplish this was the 1.8 litre Integra, and as it was already equipped with double wishbone suspension and an engine that produces 100hp per litre, it was a great base to build a road going race car.

Honda proceeded to upgrade the suspension and beef up the chassis with a more solid sub frame and spot welds throughout the entire chassis, along with a handful of extra bracing. Most of the engine was scrapped and replaced with stronger and lighter components, allowing the red line to be increased to 8,900 RPM, with VTEC kicking in at 5,800 RPM. The interior was stripped of components that blocked out engine sound, and was fitted with a pair of Recaro bucket

Review | Honda DC2R

seats. The exterior was also slightly updated, increasing aerodynamic performance by 15%. This saw the car reach performance levels similar to sports cars with price tags three times as much. I have owned two Integra Type Rs, so I was desperately looking forward to comparing my car to the one found in GT5. I purchased it from the used car lot, immediately resprayed it to match the colour of mine, and then took it to Eiger Nordwand, the proving grounds for all of my cars. Both my car and the one in the game are close to stock, so it was as good comparison as could be. The visuals of the car are seriously disappointing, as it is only a standard model; it does not give an accurate representation to the beauty of the real machine. After the rolling start, as I approached turn one, I was immediately shocked and appalled at the corner entry understeer. This is partly due to the fact that the brakes are nowhere near as good as on the real car due to the standard brake balance, and also because the real car is fit with sticky tires, so you need to fit sports tyres to get a more accurate feel. After fitting new tyres and doing a few more laps I began to get the feel for the car in-game. As I clocked up more and more kilometres, I discovered other discrepancies where the game fails to match reality. The car is fitted with a 23mm rear sway bar, which in real life makes it rather toey under hard braking, and at times leads to some pretty hectic fwd oversteer. This is a trademark that is

“It does not give accurate interpretation to the beauty of the real machine.”

most popular among Type R owners, and its omission from the game is very disappointing. But even more disappointing is the lack of VTEC engagement. The real car has a very distinct cross-over point at 5,800 RPM when the engine changes the cam timing and duration, which the game seems to deem not important enough to recreate a realistic experience. It’s not all bad news, however. Last time I checked, a stock Integra Type R does 8:49 around the Nürburgring. The best time I could manage in the game was 8:45, so it seems the car performs similarly overall. It also seems to have an accurate straight line performance, which isn’t blisteringly fast, and also accurate steering and braking response, which allows you to negotiate corner entry and exit with great accuracy. This isn’t a drag car. It’s not the sort of car with which you would pull up at the lights and race the Impreza WRX STi anxiously idling next to you. Instead, it’s the sort of car that you drive to work and pick up the groceries with. Then, after a hard day’s work, you decide to take a detour out into the hills, and nothing else in the world matters. The Integra Type R is one of the greatest driver’s cars of all time; it will even surprise those waving the ‘RWD for life’ flag. If you haven’t tried out this car yet, check your used dealership now. I highly recommend it. ■

Text & Photo: Joshua Slapp

Photo | The beauty of Gran Turismo

The beauty of Gran Turismo 1. bmxmitch 2. gt5criss 3. Schwadegan 4. Etienne Albeau 5. Spark_GTP

6. Robert Jollymore 7. Spark_GTP 8. SMfan 9. Beccosinho

10. Etienne Albeau 11. haakondh 12. SMfan 13. Etienne Albeau

14. Dooblewas端r 15. Baljit W. Singh 16. Dorfm3ister 17. camille.eric 18. Thomas_982

Photo | The beauty of Gran Turismo

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Photo | The beauty of Gran Turismo

Article | Mach 1

Mach 1 My Take on the American Classic

he Mustang, one of Ford’s most prized and recognizable cars, has made it’s appearance once again in Gran-Turismo. However, this time, it’s different. I’ve got to give props to Ford for creating the car and Polyphony Digital for rendering it so beautifully and creating the physics engine to give it that feel of a good looking car with beast under the hood. The car itself is an absolute beast on the track. And with some background knowledge before hand, I purposely went and bought this as one of my first cars I owned (and still have!). I was thrilled to see it in game, however I was not so excited when I found out the only other classic Mustang was the Shelby GT350R Mustang (but hey, a tuned 289 Small-Block V8 is still fun at 550 horspower!). I was bummed to find out that the legend, the 1969 Boss 429 Mustang had yet again been excluded from my favorite racing game. Tuned, the cars power band is in excess of 715 horsepower, a power plant of a car. On the track, the handling is exceptionally well, and worth noting that bone stock rated at 300 horsepower, it can still pull and fly around corners leaving other classic cars in the dust.

With one of Ford’s greatest smallblock V8 engines underneath the hood, the 351 Windsor V8, the car has a sound that will blow your mind away. Outside of the game, it sounds even better. One of the things I noticed with this car was that Polyphony did not seem to get the sound right, even though it sounds excellent anyway. I have a built 351W H.O. (Boss 351/Mustang SVO) block, and a near stock 351W and they don’t sound anywhere near the same as the way PD rendered it to be. This kind of upsets me considering how they roar. They rattle my house when idling. Something

a local Ice-Cream parlour and I happened to see a man with the exact same car as the stock red one in the dealership. When I got home, I booted up my copy of GT5 and pulled out my Mustang, and I thought “Wow PD, you’ve really done it this time!”. In comparison to the real thing, I’ve got to hand to PD. Excellent work guys. You can’t get any closer to the real thing than they have done. I’m very happy with the way it turned out. The only thing that wasn’t right, was the fact that we need more classic Mustangs! Under the hood you’ve got the same settings to fiddle around with as the other cars, but quite

“You can’t get any closer to the real thing than they have done.” about the way they rendered it to be this light sounding car isn’t right. Here you have a juicy American V8 and it sounds like some old Volkswagon car. Blegh!

In regards to the graphics, you can’t get much better than this. I was driving down the road past

honestly, I don’t think it even needs tuning. I can easily do a straight line burnout with only 300 horsepower, thanks to the weight of the car, which can affect things when tuning unfortunately. Ram Air and all, the car has everything that a classic Mustang would have actually had in real life, even down to the matte black paint on the hood,

Article | Mach 1

and the chrome gas door. It’s cool to see the titanium racing exhaust come out of the sides of the car, but if they left them in the rear, it would have been cooler. Doing a burnout and then downshifting to get that backfire flame would have been an awesome photo from behind. Another thing that really bothers me is the fact that they could have put a bigger engine in the car for the game, considering their were larger options. Don’t get me wrong, the 351W is a great engine (or rather, WAS, since Ford halted production on all carbureted engines in 1997-98 and switched over to permanent fuel injection, which was the second blow the 351W had, after having the deck height raised in 1974 to lower compression. This was done to meet the new federal regulations and compression laws in the United States), but with the availability of having a 428ci/429ci “Cobra Jet” and “Super Cobra Jet” engines.

This would have boosted a tuned Mustangs in-game horsepower to 950+. Such tuned engines even in real life though, are strictly for drag racing. Unfortunatly, PD went with the second (and most popular) option for an engine, the 351W. All available options were the 302W (yes, a 302ci, similar to Cheverolet’s Camaro’s 302ci) 351W, 351C (351 “Cleveland”, a different engine of identical displacement) and the 428CJ + 429CJ/SCJ engines. Drag racing a 950+ horsepower Mustang would have been a blast. Bad on PD’s part? Or was it a problem with licensing? You decide, since we will never know. However, these engine upgrades would have had to come with a cost, since all the work underneath, such as suspension rendering would have had to have been redone to accomodate the larger engine.

Grabber Blue and Grabber Green, you can customize the car to your liking in GT Auto. It’s a common favorite in Muscle Drag lobbies online, so don’t hesitate to take it out sometime and let yourself come up to a challenge. If you haven’t already bought this car, you don’t know what you are missing. Go get it now, it’s dirt cheap in the dealership. I’m glad the PD decided to make this car a premium model, since they could have easily made it a standard model in-game. It is definitely worth the premium model. Thanks PD.

Overall the car is a beauty and definitly worth keeping in your garage. With a slew of colors like

Text: slashfan7964 Photo: Harry Saini

Don’t hold back, go get that Mustang! ■

Customization | Make-Belief

Make-Belief Text & photo: thepineapple1

Gran Turismo 5, the 1000+ car driving game. Phenomenal! But it’s safe to say that you have probably been puzzled at one time as to why some cars have not been included, especially when they are a staple in the genre. Fear not, where there’s a will, there’s a way! We have to use all the tools at our disposal and with a little bit (or a lot) of creativity and imagination, we can create a few cars that match their real-life counterparts both in looks and (more importantly) performance. And if you still can’t see it, try squinting your eyes, it might just work!

2011 Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera Car: Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 ’08 [Cr. 253,300] Paint: Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 ‘08: Bianco Monocerus/ Nero Noctis [Cr. 0] Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640 ’09: Arancio Atlas/ Giallo Orion/ Grigio Telesto/ Verde Ithaca [Cr. 385,600 + Cr. 2,000] Wheels: RAYS VOLK TRINITI V (black) [Cr. 3,500] Aero Parts: Front A, Rear A, Wing B [Cr. 50,000] Body/ Chassis: Chassis Weight Reduction Stage 1 (Weight 1340 kg/ 2954 lb) [Cr. 5,000] Engine Tuning: Stage 1 + Sports ECU (Max. Power 562 BHP) [Cr. 3,500] Transmission: Fully Customisable Transmission (Max Speed 330 kmh/ 205 mph) (Final Gear 4,456) [Cr. 20,000] Drivetrain: Single Plate Clutch + Differential (Distribution 30/70) [Cr. 16,500] Tyres: Sports Soft [Cr. 8,000] Total Price: Cr. 361,800 (or Cr. 747,400 with Murcielago Paint Chip)

Customization | Make-Belief

Mercedes-Benz SLR 722 GT Car: Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;09 [Cr. 598,500] Wheels: Prodrive GC-010G (Black) [Cr. 3,500 + 2,000] Aero Parts: Front A + Rear A + Wing A [Cr. 118,500] Body/Chassis: MaximumWeight Reduction, Rigidity Improvement, Window Weight Reduction, Carbon Bonnet (Painted) Weight 1390 kg / 3065 lb [Cr. 63,000] Engine Tuning: Stage 2, Sports ECU (Max. Power 680 BHP) [Cr. 48,500] Intake System: Intake Manifold, Racing Air Filter [Cr. 2,950] Exhaust: Titanium Racing Exhaust, Exhaust Manifold, Catalytic Converter [Cr. 14,000] Turbo Kits: Supercharger (Max. Power 650 BHP) [Cr. 17,500] Transmission: Fully Customisable Transmission (Max Speed 320 kmh/ 198 mph) Final Gear 3,911 (Gear Rations: 3.561, 2.191, 1.411, 1.001, 0.831) [Cr. 20,000]

The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 GT Edition features more than 300 modified components.

Drivetrain: Twin Plate Clutch, Semi Racing Flywheel, Carbon Propeller Shaft [Cr. 8,500] Suspension Kits: Fixed Sports Kit [Cr. 3,000] Tyres: Racing Hard [Cr. 15,000] Total Price: Cr. 914,950

Customization | Make-Belief

2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series Car: Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG ’08 [Cr. 104,400] Paint: Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG ’08: Calcitweis/ Iridiumsilber metallic/ Feueropal/ Obsidianschwarz metallic [Cr. 0] Wheels: Prodrive GC-010G (gray, or paint in any “Titanium Gray Metallic” paint if available) [Cr. 3,500 + Cr. 2,000] Aero Parts: Front A [Cr. 8,000] Body/ Chassis: Chassis Weight Reduction 1 (Weight 1710 kg/ 3770 lb) [Cr. 5,000] Engine Tuning: Stage 1,2 (Max. Power 510 BHP) [Cr. 17,500] Transmission: Fully Customisable Transmission (Max Speed 310 kmh/ 192 mph) (Final Gear 3,176) [Cr. 20,000] Drivetrain: Twin Plate Clutch + LSD [Cr. 10,000] Suspension Kit: Height-Adjustable Sports Kit [Cr. 4,500] Tyres: Sports Medium [Cr. 7,000] Total Price: Cr. 179,900 + Cr. 2,000 for painted rims.

The 2012 Mercedes-

Benz C63 AMG Black Series is the most track-ready C-Class ever made.

Customization | Make-Belief

Car: Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;09 [Cr. 598,500] Wheels: Prodrive GC-010G (Black) [Cr. 3,500 + 2,000] Aero Parts: Front A + Rear A + Wing A [Cr. 118,500]

Mercedes-Benz SLR 722

Body/Chassis: MaximumWeight Reduction, Rigidity Improvement, Window Weight Reduction, Carbon Bonnet (Painted) Weight 1390 kg / 3065 lb [Cr. 63,000] Engine Tuning: Stage 2, Sports ECU (Max. Power 680 BHP) [Cr. 48,500] Intake System: Intake Manifold, Racing Air Filter [Cr. 2,950] Exhaust: Titanium Racing Exhaust, Exhaust Manifold, Catalytic Converter [Cr. 14,000] Turbo Kits: Supercharger (Max. Power 650 BHP) [Cr. 17,500] Transmission: Fully Customisable Transmission (Max Speed 320 kmh/ 198 mph) Final Gear 3,911 (Gear Rations: 3.561, 2.191, 1.411, 1.001, 0.831) [Cr. 20,000] Drivetrain: Twin Plate Clutch, Semi Racing Flywheel, Carbon Propeller Shaft [Cr. 8,500] Suspension Kits: Fixed Sports Kit [Cr. 3,000] Tyres: Racing Hard [Cr. 15,000] Total Price: Cr. 914,950

Review | Beauty is only skin deep

Beauty is only

Skin Deep When you think of aggression, Lexus is not the first place to look. Lexus has the styling of a goddess, with curves and lines everywhere. In the case of the Japanese luxury automaker, Lexus was the luxury Toyota. Containing everything you’d find in a German company, Lexus was the iconic luxury brand.

exus was popular among the rich. The term “Beauty is only skin deep” never applied to Lexus, until the IS Series. The Lexus IS-Series, which was sold in Japan as the Toyota Altezza, until the introduction of Lexus in Japan, started production in 1998. The IS was a major hit in the US. The IS had been designed with a greater performance emphasis than typically seen on prior Japanese luxury vehicles. Lexus wanted to show the people that they weren’t just for the old and rich. The IS even spawned the now iconic “Altezza” aftermarket taillights. The IS was simply a beauty. The 1st Generation IS has won several awards from various car reviewers and companies. The IS300, the most popular of the 1st

generation and most high end version of the IS at the time, was considered a very popular car for the “tuner” scene. Lexus/Toyota sold the IS as both a Sedan (Simply named the Altezza/IS) and a wagon version (named the Altezza Gita/ IS SportCross). The first generation IS was, simply put, Lexus’s Ali. It was affordable, it was cheap, and it was economical, making it the best entry-level luxury car available. Now we enter into the 2nd generation IS, double the beauty inside and out and double the power. Launching in 2005 in both Japan and the US under the Lexus label, it was an instant success. Having dropped the slow selling SportCross, the IS went from the entry model car look, to a look that made you forget you’re driving a

32,000$ car. Models sold are the standard IS sedan and the IS-C Convertible. Winning several awards, as well as being converted into several top-notch racing machines, Toyota cranked out its M3 and C 63 killer, the IS-F, in early 2007. A 5.0 2UR-GSE V8 was stored under the hood. The 5.0 V8 produced 417 horsepower @ 6600 RPM, with 371 ft-lbs. of torque @ 5200 RPM. The engine featured a two-stage intake system, both direct and port injection, and VVTiE camshaft timing. It was pure enjoyment in a sport sedan. The IS F’s ride height was lowered 0.5 in. (1 cm) than the standard IS models. The hood features a prominent bulge. It was given a custom body kit and side skirts, and side air vents. It also contains faux quad exhaust tailpipes. On each side

Review | Beauty is only skin deep

were double-stacked tailpipes; however these were connected to the bumper, not the exhaust (the actual exhaust is hidden underneath the rear bumper). The sexy demon also contains bucket seats in both the front and the rear. It seats 4, and had the “F” logo throughout the cabin, and all of this for a price tag of 55,000$. The IS-F features an 8 speed SPDS automatic transmission gate with sequential shift and paddles. The 8 speed automatic, which was once, and still is, an over-advertised

“The Lexus IS-F is such a popular car” Lexus seller, also improved the gas mileage, and while other German rivals got the government allmighty gas tax, the IS-F got off the hook of the US Gas Guzzler tax. The IS-F comes equipped with Brembo cross drilled brake rotors and 6/2 piston calipers embalmed

with the Lexus logo. In the US, the first 50 IS-F models were sold as a Neiman Marcus limited edition special car. The car carried a rough price tag of 56,000 US dollars. Japan imitated a 500-year JDM goal, with 5000-6000 yearly goals for the US market. 150 IS-F models did find their way into the UK market, too.

Review | Beauty is only skin deep

With the newest updated model for 2010, IS F drivers get the luxury of design elements borrowed from the LF-A, such as the large central tachometer, and as well as basic features such as iPod/ USB connectivity and Bluetooth streaming, which had been surprisingly missing all this time. The model, sold as a 2011, is able to lap the Fuji Speedway, in just 2 minutes, a full 30 seconds from the 2009 (Which sold as a 2010) model. The Humberside police force acquired IS-F models for police cruiser duty in 2009, and the IS-F has seen its fair share of track models and aftermarket tuner models. The Lexus IS-F is such a popular car, that it has even had its own video game made specifically after it, called “IS-F Track Time”. The Lexus, while still being a speed demon, did not lose its Lexus design. Containing more standard features than its competitors, the Lexus IS-F had the full Lexus entertainment system standard, with the navigation and DVD playback embedded into the Lexus head unit. It had optional systems such as BLIS and parking sensors. It

also had other luxury items such as rain-sensing wipers, an in-dash 6 CD+MP3 changer, folding mirrors, all while managing to keep the car’s weight low. The test model I drove was a 2007 ISF. Bringing the car on what looked like to be a sunny day on La Sarthe, it quickly became a challenge to see how the IS-F did in wet conditions, as it soon started to pour rain. The handling of the car was elegant, feeling like a sports car, but yet also a luxury sedan. Reaching a top speed of 150 miles on the straight, I decided to run it around the ol’

High Speed Ring. The thing felt like a dream. Pitting myself against several other IS-F drivers (all of who were major fans of this tamed wild beast), I found a quick and fast acceleration, although I could tell that these fan club drivers had more experience with the car, almost mocking me, as I’m used to German engineering. I took it out for a nice Sunday drive around before regrettably returning the car to the Lexus dealer. Beauty is only skin deep, and the IS-F, is the perfect example. ■ Text & Photo: Chris Friend

“The handling of the car was elegant” 39

Article | Bertone Prototype

B e r t o n e Prototype

ou may have asked yourself “Why is this car so expensive”? Well I have found the reason and would like to share it with you. The Miura is the Homo Sapiens of Lamborghini cars. Because of it, Lamborghini cars are mental, from insane top speed and acceleration, to unbelievable engine sounds and gorgeous designs. With its creation in 1967 the modern supercar era begins. The Miura was a side-project being worked on just for the fun of it, by a group of 7 friends, all in their early 20s. Whereas other contemporary fast cars at the time had engines in the front, the Miura had its 3929cc V12 resting on the rear wheels; unknowingly this turned out to be one of the greatest innovations in car history, as all serious sports cars nowadays are MR.

“So what is it like to drive it?” you may be wondering at this point. It feels light on the steering wheel. Very responsive to the throttle input and remarkably, it is incredibly easy to drive around the track. It must be said that it does understeer, but whereas some might see that as a disadvantage, I believe it to be a great asset to the car. Would you trust this exquisite machine in the hands of your friend who just came to drive a few laps at your house, if it was an uncontrollable beast like a GT40 from 1969? I didn’t think so either.

garage will turn heads, because it shows class and appreciation for a car that has only one side mirror and tilting headlamps; it proves that you are a man of character. And do remember that this car allows for full modification. So give it another go with your Stage 3 Engine upgrade! So I ask you now if Cr. 15,000,000 is really that much to ask for a car that spawned one of the most beloved car brands of all time? ■

Text & Photo: thepineapple1

Sure you can spend your money on some other car that will handle better, be more powerful and reach higher top speeds than the Miura. But there are countless people with Enzo’s, Veyron’s and McLaren’s, but only a select few who are part of the Miura Prototype club. Saying you have a P400 in your

Tune | Raging bull Gallardo

Raging Bull Gallardo Here is my tailored 1169 kg raging bull: a 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-04. It has a maximum of 760 BHP but is limited to 668 BHP, to be able to attend the Lamborghini Seasonal Event, which is where I spent the first 6 hours of owning this machine fine tuning it to be perfect. The price of this car? Cr. 911,050! The car costs Cr. 253,000 at the dealership. The trip to the Parts Shop cost me Cr. 219,950 and the body-kits were Cr. 52,500. So what in Sant’Agata Bolognese cost me Cr. 385,600?! Well you see, I have a sweet tooth for green colored Gallardo’s. And not just any green, but Verde Ithaca, a color that only comes with the Murciélago. So I did what any sensible person does, and bought myself a Murciélago LP 640 ‘09 just so I can swap the paint on my Gallardo! After driving it for 1,428 km, I can confidently say that this car is appalling! It’s a wild bull that can’t be tamed. So all your controls are “kind of want to go left” or “kind of want to go right”. I say “kind of” because there 41

is no way you can be certain that the car will turn how much you want it to. This bull goes from understeer to oversteer with the slightest jiggle of the wheel. So far you may have gotten the impression that this car is horrible to drive; on the contrary, it’s fantastic! The problem is in finding a driving style that suits the car (definitely not the other way around). Each turn is exciting, and you’re always thinking to yourself “Can I hold on to the steering-wheel long enough, or will I just get kicked by the bull?”. Every race is one big power-slide. There isn’t one turn in which you’ll just slow down, turn

Tune | Raging bull Gallardo

Transmission 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th Final Max speed: LSD Initial Torque: Acceleration: Braking: Torque Differential: Suspension Ride Height: Spring Rate: Dampers (Extension): Dampers (Compression): Anti Roll Bars:

3.455 2.200 1.533 1.118 0.854 0.662 4.888 430 km/h (260 mph) 10/10 35/40 20/20 40/60 0/-5 12.0/12.0 2/2 2/2 4/4

Brakes Brake Balance: 10/0

Based on: Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-04 ‘08 Obtained: Brand new from Lamborghini Specifications Drivetrain: FR Horsepower: 547 BHP (@ 132.3 miles) Torque: 48 kgfm Weight: 1234 kg PP: 555 Tuning Shop Chassis Weight Reduction Stage 3 Rigidity Improvement Window Weight Reduction Carbon Bonnet Engine Tuning Stage 3 Sports Intake Manifold Racing Air Filter Titanium Racing Exhaust Sports Exhaust Manifold Sports Catalytic Converter Fully Customisable Transmission Twin Plate Clutch Semi Racing Flywheel Carbon Propeller Shaft Fully Customisable LSD Height-Adjustable Sports Kit Racing Soft Tyres

the steering wheel, and drive off relaxed. You’ll be begging, crying and crunching your teeth as you wrestle the “car” to do what you want it to do. There isn’t enough glue in the world to make this car stick to the track. Each time the wheels are turned, the wheel icon gets red; I’m not kidding when I say that you could blow air on the steering-wheel and it will make the icons go flaming hot.

It’s been 2,997 km now and I’d like to describe the feeling of when you know you’re actually behind the wheel. You go flat out, see a corner, break late, gear down as you turn in for the corner, break, break, break, full throttle down, and right then and there for a brief moment there is absolutely no resistance in the steering wheel. The wheel icons are going sun-core hot. That’s when the raging bull turns exactly how much you wanted it to. And that is when you Just to give you an idea: I went from finishing know you’ve taken the bull by the horns! ■ 20 seconds behind the first car (in the SuperCar Festival) to being first, without making the slightest adjustment to the car itself. I did that by simply understanding that I’m not in control of the car; I’m merely suggesting where it should turn next! Text & photo: thepineapple1 42

GTlife In memory of Grandpa.