In a bid to promote the 914 series, the decision was taken by the management of Stuttgart to develop the machine for competition; after all, sales would undoubtedly increase on the back of any successes just as they had done with all previous Porsche production models. Bringing The Porsche 914/6 GT to Power & Glory
Graphics are nice, but what is the 914 like to drive? The mid engine configuration, gives a fantastic turn in and big amounts of traction. It also has balance, plenty of grip and the short wheelbase offers great agility, although it will bite you back if you overdo it. The engine is not very powerful but it's not either too weak. The early 70s tyres, although still treaded, are much better in both grip and precision, than the old 60s ones. Together with the wide rims, they make the car very precise, but still permit nice drifts and good feedback. All of this, make this car probably one of the best cars for starters, but it can also make you to never want to drive other cars again... you have been warned. For Power&Glory v2.0 we are simulating not only different tyre makers and compounds, but also the legendary sonauto entry of 1970s 24 hours Le Mans race, that used narrow rims on the same tyres. This solution, transformed the car's handling in less precise but much more predictable, giving to the drivers the opportunity to blast through the all wet race and achieve a 6th overall place and 1st among all GTs, just behind the five front runner prototypes of Porsche 917K and Ferrari P512S! A truly epic accomplishment for the little under 2 liters car. Check the 1970 24 hours Le Mans race results Finally some screenshots
|
|||||
| Comments | 2 | Hits: 157 |
The Ford Mustang first appeared in 1964 and was immediately popular for its style and its capabilities. Ford turned to SCCA racing to stir even more popularity for the car, and wanted a performance version of the Mustang that could go after the Corvette in SCCA B Production racing, so it tagged Carroll Shelby to build one, to fit competition rules. Shelby-destined fastback body style Mustangs began life on regular Ford production lines, but they were assembled without hoods, grilles, rear seats, exhaust systems, or emblems. The cars arrived at Shelby-American's Los Angeles facility with stock 289-inch, 271-horse V-8s, but they were soon treated to the Texan's recipe. Since the Mustang would be packing extra power (306 hp), the rest of the components were modified to respond appropriately. Chassis improvements included relocating the front-suspension mounting points and installing Koni shocks, traction bars, larger antirollbars, and special Goodyear Blue Dot tires on 15-inch steel or aluminum wheels. A quote from Motor Trend magazine's original test of the GT350 (May '65) stated: "Handling is much improved over even the best-handling, kit-equipped, normal Mustang. There's so much cornering force that the idiot light came on and the gauge wavered due to oil surge in the sump." As planned, Carroll Shelby also developed a lighter, race-ready GT 350R with the same engine specs as competition Cobra 289s. That meant a nominal 340 bhp (up to 380 bhp in some examples) - surpassing an outstanding 1.17 bhp per cubic inch. In order to qualify for SCCA homologation requirements, 100 examples needed to be produced by January 1st, 1965. Amazingly, the cars were ready to go by the due date, all painted in Wimbledon White livery with Guardsman Blue stripes. Well, they weren't entirely ready but they did pass the inspection.
The car won its first race ever in February of 1965 at Green Valley, Texas. The GT350R would go on to win SCCA races in Lime Rock, Connecticut, and Willow Springs, just to name a few. It was raced with a lot of success both in American and European events. A total of 562 Shelby GT350s were built in 1965, 37 of which were the lightweight race or "R-model" cars. With the Shelby-ized potent engine bellowing through a loud side exhaust, close-ratio aluminum four-speed with steep differential, quick steering, competent suspension and big brakes, the GT 350 was pure performance nirvana. It was the right car at the right time, putting Ford on the SCCA racing map, and leading Shelby to a promising future modifying Mustangs.
Bringing the GT-350R to Power & Glory A general clean up of the body was needed to bring the cars back to their period state The external changes made are:
Of course there have been changes inside the cockpit too.
Physics Two models are available to drive within Power & Glory 2.0. The SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) version, and the CASC (Canadian Auto Sport Club) version which ran a different set of guidelines and rules to their American counterparts. Certainly a heavy car, but extremely fun to drive. Although the car shows some understeer in "turn in" phase, you can easily eliminate it by pressing the gas pedal and instantly achieving a very nicely controllable power on oversteer. You can keep some incredible wide angle drifts with this car, but the key to go fast here, is to not overdo it with the gas and manage to keep a slight oversteer that points you at the turn exit. Keeping the differential lock heavily preloaded, will certainly help you achieve this kind of driving style and indeed the differential has two options with just a hint of preload and another one heavily preloaded. As easy as the the car control is, you better be a bit more careful under heavy braking. The rear drums can and will overheat sooner than the front disc brakes. This also means that they will also arrive at their optimum temp before the front disc pads , meaning that rear wheels blocking is something to be aware of. So you better keep this car braking bias way forward, to eliminate a bit the braking instability. The SCCA cars have a 340bhp engine, with amazing low and mid range torque that gives excellent tractability. The CASC car has a much powerful 380bhp engine, but lacks the low and mid range power of the SCCA cars and only comes alive after 4000rpm. You will find that the cars come with quite a variety of different tyres makes and compounds, from early to more modern dunlops, plus firestones and goodyears, each with it's own characteristics of course, but this makes part of a different story. With good front brakes, fun and easy handling and good grip, it's no surprise this car was a bad client for the Z06 Chevrolet Corvettes with their all around drums brakes and their heavy bodies.
Now for some screenshots
|
|||||
| Comments | 5 | Hits: 409 |
The Austin-Healey 3000 was a sports car built from 1959 to 1967, by Jensen Motors for the Austin-Healey marque, and is the best known of the 'big' Healey models. The 3000 was a successful car which won its class in many European rallies in its heyday - and is still used in competition by enthusiasts today. The car was originally to be called the "Mille Miglia" after the famous sports car race, but the displacement-based "3000" name stuck instead. Both the 3000 and the 100 before it were known simply as "the Austin-Healey" in the 1950s, since the company was essentially a single-vehicle marque. Austin Healey 3000's have a long competition history - having raced at most major racing circuits around the world, including Sebring (USA), Le Mans (France), Targa Florio (Italy), and Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst (Australia). "DD300" at Le Mans in 1961. "767KNX" at Sebring in 1965. The Austin Healey 3000 was pitched against much more exotic machinery in the GT class such as the Aston Matin DB4, the Jaguar E-Type and of course the Ferrari 250 SWB and GTO, the latter also being in the same capacity class (under 3 liters). Not surprisingly, Healey opted for rallying as the main focus for competition, but the car was raced occasionally in GT races. Bringing the Healey to Power & Glory The GTL model gave us a great base to start with, but again the details of the cars have been altered and changed to characterize each unique car. The external changes include
Of course there have been changes inside the cockpit too.
Physics As usual, great amount of time has been spent on research for this particular model.From different front tracks depending on the car bodywork, to accurate damage modeling of the delicate wire wheels and of course proper tyres and compounds for mk1s and mk2s, also depending on the model year. One of the most particular characteristics is the gearbox. The original car gearbox had an extra hydraulic overdrive mode for 3rd and 4th gear, resulting actually as a six speed gearbox. Track racing prepared cars, usually eliminated the overdrive because it would make the gear selection slow and also account for bigger drive train losses. The result was a very closely geared 3rd and 4th gear. Not only we have simulated this as needed and as you would expect, but one of the cars is actually a rally car that is equipped with the overdrive gearbox, resulting in slower gear changes and of course, six very closely placed gears. We are sure that accuracy enthusiasts will be delighted to drive this car. Although it is true that the car doesn't have top of the range performance and it is actually more of an underdog when compared to other more famous cars like Jaguars and Ferraris, it still is a very easy to drive car. As a matter of fact and despite the big 3 liters engine, people that drive it, tend to compare it with under 2 liter cars, not only for the low performance but most importantly for the agility and lightness in its handling characteristics. Nice low to middle range torque from the engine, good grip on slow circuits and easy on the tires, makes this car an excellent option for extremely long endurance races where driving comfort is very important. Now for some screenshots
|
|||||
| Comments | 5 | Hits: 398 |
Page 1 of 5
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 Next > End >>





















