Forza Motorsport 4 “We Dream” Commercial

September Pennzoil Pack announced for Forza Motorsport 4

The downloadable car packs continue for Forza Motorsport 4, as Turn 10 offer up 11 cars on Tuesday September 4th, 2012 for a cost of 560 MS Points. That’s one car more than would normally be available in a car pack, potentially due to the similarity between the two 2013 Viper GTS-R models included in the pack. As the September Pennzoil Pack, one of the Vipers is in Pennzoil livery (#93), whilst the other is the Forza Motorsport-sponsored #91 which also competes in the American Le Mans Series.

So what do you get for your points?

September Pennzoil Pack: Forza Motorsport 4

• 2013 Viper #91 SRT Motorsport GTS-R
• 2013 Viper #93 SRT Motorsport GTS-R
• 1968 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale
• 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato
• 1958 Austin-Healey Sprite MK1
• 1953 Chevrolet Corvette
• 1965 MG MGB GT
• 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR
• 1967 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia
• 1983 GMC Vandura G-1500
• 2011 Citroen DS4

As always, new rivals events will appear with the release of the pack, including a rivals mode event featuring the 2013 Viper GTS-Rs which will include a unicorn car given each week to 100 random players posting a time on the leaderboard.

And although our interest has waned in new car packs due to the sheer number of automobiles already available that we haven’t sampled, and the lack of any new tracks and locations which are sorely needed, this pack might have our willpower crumpling. Of the 11 cars, there is an unusually high number of classics, even if you don’t count the A-Team’s ’83 GMC van.

Plus the MG MGB GT is a classic which we grew up with, and the 1953 Corvette is an American legend. And then there’s the Froeye Sprite, which was a brilliant, inexpensive and fun sports car. And that’s before you discover only 20 DB4 Zagato Astons were ever made, or the fact that the 1955 Mercedes was a Mille Miglia winner.

If you’ve lost track of how many cars are now available in Forza, which belong to which DLC pack, or whether your favourite car is already in the game, then check out our Forza Motorsport 4 Official Car List.

August Playseat Car Pack DLC announced for Forza Motorsport 4

Turn 10 has announced the cars included in the latest monthly downloadable car pack for Forza Motorsport 4. The August Playseat Car pack will be available on august 7, 2012, and will cost 560 MS Points.

As always, there’s a range of cars included, covering dates from 1962 to 2013. In the mix are a WRC legend, a record setting Le Mans sportscar, some notable classics and some of the latest examples of cool cars.

August 2012 Playseat Car Pack:

• 2003 Aston Martin DB7 Zagato
• 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
• 2013 Ford Boss Mustang 302
• 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track
• 2012 Lexus GS350 F Sport
• 1962 Lincoln Continental
• 1989 Mercedes-Benz #63 Team Sauber-Mercedes C9
• 1984 Peugeot 205 T16
• 2013 Scion FR-S

First up for discussion are the two modern muscle cars. The Mustage Boss 302 features styling cues from the original 1970s classic, and the 5.0 litre V8 engine from 2012 with 444hp and 380 ft/lb of torque (The original series also ran for two years on the same drivetrain, so it counts as another homage). There’s a few styling upgrades with heat extractors and a new front splitter, plus the yellow paint referring to the 1970 Trans Am championship car of Parnelli Jones.

The Boss is up against the 6.2 litre supercharged V7 of the Camaro ZL1, which goes with Brembo brakes, adjustable suspension and 850hp.

Then there are the classics – the Lincoln Continental stands out as the least track-friendly car despite a big V8. But by comparison the 1962 Triumph TR3B weighs just 2,200 pounds, with a 2 litre engine making 105 horsepower. Which means it’ll be competitive against the open top classic sportscars already released for Forza.

Skimming over the rest of the modern era, there’s the DB7 Zagato, which is cool but not radically different from every other Aston. The 3.8 Track version of the Hyundai Genesis should handle and perform pretty well with a good combo of power and handling, and there’s a luxury Lexus. It’s the Scion which stands out as the result of a collaboration between Toyota and Subaru – it’s a return to sports cars for Toyota. The end result is a rear-wheel drive car weighing 2,800 pounds, housing a Subaru flat-four 2.0 litre with 200hp.

And finally there are two sporting legends. The Mercedes claimed pole and second position at the start of the 1989 Le Mans race and followed with a win and a second place at the end – also claiming the fastest legitimate speed on the old Mulsanne Straight with 247mph. The aluminium twin-turbo V8 gave 800hp to propel a light-alloy monocoque chassis. It’s darn quick.

And finally there’s the one car which really got us interested in this pack, despite the fact it looks like a normal front-wheel drive hatchback of the early 80s.

The Peugeot 205 T16 was built for one reason – to meet homologation for the Group B World Rally Championship, which required 200 road cars. To race and claim an astounding win record before Group B was deemed too fast and dangerous, the French firm built a mid-mounted four-cylinder turbocharged 16 valve engine powering four-wheel drive. And the only difference for the road cars were the lowered turbo boost and the interior trim.

This is the one which we’d love to own in real life – the rally cars took first place in 3 rallies in 1984, 7 wins in 1985 and 6 in 1986 before the Group B rallying days were sadly brought to an end after fatal accidents for both drivers and spectators. Timo Salonen took the driver title in 1985 with Juha Kankkunen winning in 1986 and the constructor title going to Peugeot both years.

This hatchback took on the Audi Quattro, Ford RS200, Metro 6R4 and the Lancia Delta!

And as with all the Group B cars, they did live on in sports such as Rallycross, where a Peugeot 205 T16 was a race winner in the hands of Finland’s Matti Alamaki. With the Ford RS200, Lancia Delta and Audi Quattro already present, all we need is the Metro 6R4 to run a full rallycross championship in Forza at last!

 

FM4 August Playseat Car Pack DLC Trailer

New Forza Motorsport 4 Rivals Events for June

Some teaser details have been released for the new Rivals events for June 2012, which will accompany the release of the new Meguiars Car Pack DLC when it launches on June 5th for 560 MS Points.

The details are:

• ALMS Corvette V2
  Take to the track in this updated version of the Spec Hot Lap Rivals event “American Le Mans Corvette” featuring the 2011 Chevrolet #4 Racing ZR1. Each week, 100 randomly chosen players from this leaderboard will receive a 2002 BMW M3-GTR, a “unicorn car” only available from Turn 10. The Meguiars Car Pack is required to participate in this event.
• The Big Bopper
  The 1950s brought the world “crusin’”, but if you want to beat your rival in this event you will have to push these 1950′s classics past their cruising speed as you weave through the traffic.
• 4-Cylinder Fahrvergnugen
  Throughout the 1990s, Volkswagen used “Fahrvergnügen” as their advertising slogan. Find out which of these 4-cylinder cars lives up to claim of “driving enjoyment”.
• Oh, What A Celica
  The Toyota Celica has long been one of the Japanese manufacturer’s bestselling automobiles. Take to the track to find out which Celica can be named the best of the breed.
• Turbo Twin Drag
  The eternal debate–single turbo or twin turbo—is temporarily put to rest in this Rivals mode event. Tune your favorite twin turbo car up to 500hp and get ready to hit the strip.
• June VIP
  This Rivals Mode event is open to Forza VIPs only. The car, track, and competition type were chosen by a series of polls conducted on the official Forza Facebook page. Players will be drifting on Maple Valley.
• Audi Endurance Event
  This Audi-themed event is for Forza players in France and will be locked to EMEA players only.

So it’s time to get practicing for the new events if you want to top the leaderboards. And even if not, it’s still worth competing in the Corvette event to be in with a chance of a unicorn car (This will require purchasing the new car pack for 560 MS Points).

Meguiar’s Car Pack due June 5th for Forza Motorsport 4

Even after the big release of the Porsche car pack, Turns 10 continues to add even more cars to Forza with the news of the Meguair’s Car Pack, which will arrive on June 5th, 2012, costing 560 MS Points. It includes a further 10 cars to add to your Forza garage ranging from the oldest vehicle in Forza to a 2012 Mercedes, so here are the car details:

Meguiars Car Pack:

• 2011 Chevrolet #4 Corvette Racing ZR1: – Here comes another ALMS Corvette, this time the 2011 5.5 litre, 485 horsepower LS5.5R driven by Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen and Richard Westbrook (for the three ALMS endurance races). Second in the ALMS overall standings last year with a win and nine top finishes.
• 1959 BMW 507: Only 252 of these hand-built cars were ever produced. Although BMW lost money on every one, even with a $11,000 price tag, the fact that it was such a change and celebrities such as Elvis Presley bought one made it worthwhile. That and a 3.2 litre V8 with 150hp, 0-60 in 8.8 seconds and a 136mph top speed.
• 1940 Ford De Luxe Coupe: The origins of hot rodding come to Forza with the pre-war flathead V8 which proved the basis for the American modified seen. And at 2,970 pounds, the Ford De Luxe is surprisingly light, which will definitely help on the drag strip and the track.
• 2011 Aston Martin Cygnet: The controversial decision for Aston Martin to produce a city car has resulted in an upgraded Toyota IQ with 97hp, four seats and a 106mph top speed. The tiny front-wheel drive also gets a bit more luxury in terms of fixtures and fittings, aiming to tempt the richer urban dwellers.
• 1958 MG MGA Twin-Cam: The English MGA twin cam feature a high-compression aluminium head to deliver 108hp from the inline four-cylinder engine, plus Dunlop disc brakes, meaning you could actually slow from the top speed of 113mph and 0-60 of 13.3 seconds. It also had a lower centre of gravity from previous cars with the seats being mounted lower to give better handling.
• 1997 Maserati Ghibli Cup: With a name from a 1966 model, the modern Ghibli had the highest power-to-weight of its time with 330hp and just 3009lbs in weight. The power comes from a 2-litre, dual-overhead cam, 24-valve, intercooled twin-turbo V6. It also featured Brembo brakes and four-way adjustable suspension.
• 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series: Over 500hp in this SLS AMG supercar powered C63, with a seven-speed auto box including launch control. That means 0-60 in 4.3 seconds, and the quarter mile in around 12. Additional aerodynamic parts including a front splitter and flared wings help both the speed and the wider front and rear tyres.
• 1987 RUF CTR Yellowbird: Following surprisingly soon after the Porsche pack, it’s the 211mph car created by Alois Ruf which took a standard 930 and added aluminium doors, hood and decklid, two huge turbos to the engine, and a five-speed Ruf gearbox. A total of 29 cars were built with 469 horsepower, 408 ft/lbs of torque and weighing just 2,662 pounds. The ‘Yellowbird’ name came from journalists researching a story called ‘The Fastest Car in the World’.
• 1992 Toyota Celica GT-Four RC ST185: This isn’t just a Toyota. This is the car produced for WRC homologation with the 1992 ‘Carlos Sainz Edition’ to honour the legendary Spanish rally driver. It has 232 horsepower (10 more than normal), plus a new bonnet and front bumper to make it a desirable and collectable edition. The ST185 won the WRC driver’s championship in 92-94 and the manufacturers championship in 93 and 94, bringing Japanese success before the arrival of the Subaru Impreza.
• 1963 Volkswagen Beetle: We give it 30 minutes before the first ‘Herbie’ replica arrives on the marketplace. The ‘People’s Car’ could carry two adults and three children at speeds of up to 62mph for a low price with a 40hp flat-four motor.

We’re definitely looking forward to the Ford De Luxe and what hot-rodding options might be available, plus the awesome BMW and MG convertibles. The Toyota will definitely see use as a competitive car but we’re not sure everyone will appreciate ‘another Porsche’ even if it’s one of the most famous performance cars of all-time, and the Corvette joins a couple of similar existing models unless you’re a big ALMS afficionado. The Beetle might not be exactly a ‘drivers car’, but it is iconic, and some one-make Beetle races should be fun.

As usual, new rivals modes arrive with the car pack, including an ALMS Corvette based event – Turn 10 will give a unicorn car to 100 randomly-selected entrants each week.

Race Diary: Virtual Motorsport GP2, Season 2, Race 1: Road Atlanta

The racing season is underway once again with the Virtual Motorsport GP2 series which features the Seat Leon Supercup in a specific S613 tune for all drivers – which tends to mean close qualifying times and even closer racing.

So having had a few practice laps in the car, I’d adjusted to a front-wheel drive racer despite my preference for RWD or AWD machines. As it’s specified, it’s handles pretty nicely although any car can struggle with understeer when there’s that much power trying to get through the front wheels. As a result my practice laps were hovering between 1.29.500 and 1.30.500, which seemed respectable if not blisteringly fast.

Qualifying is a quick 5 lap affair, and it couldn’t have gone worse. Having completed a clean out lap, I then managed to screw up the following four flying laps for various reasons, leaving me last of the 69 drivers competing in the 10-14 car lobbies.

So the only upside was that things had to improve, and they certainly did in the first race – despite a couple of worrying moments during the first lap on cold tyres, I slowly started to move my way up through the field from 12th on the grid.With so many similar cars, the qualifying times had been relatively close even down to the final lobby, so it was pretty tough against some talented but very gentlemanly drivers.

Over the course of 12 laps, I eventually managed to take 5th place which was a fantastic result, although it was frustrating that my lap times were comparable to the podium places – by the time I’d managed to get into 5th, the top four drivers were long gone and there was no way to pull back the deficit. But on the way through I’d enjoyed a titanic battle with F4H Castrol who pulled off some impressive overtakes, including heading into the tight final chicane three abreast as I attempted to pass another driver.

And if you want to know how this particular corner played out, here’s a quick clip showing me taking some evasive action in the orange Seat as I was surprised by Castrol’s blue hatchback suddenly appearing out of nowhere:

 

Race 2 should have been easier – in the GP2 series, the second race is an 18 lap event with a mandatory pit-stop, and most importantly the first 8 finishing positions are reversed, which meant I was starting from third place.

But on a night when nothing seemed to go right and the lobby had suffered immensely with connection issues, I managed to fluff the start and the opening lap, meaning that I’d dropped from 3rd to 6th. As the pits opened on lap 3, a couple of drivers took the chance for an early break, and I followed shortly afterwards to try and clear my head and re-focus. Luckily I was able to put in some consistently quick laps at the start of the stint and made up a couple of places as the pitstops resolved themselves to put me back up to 4th – despite occasionally catching the leaders earlier in the race, I just couldn’t be quite consistent enough to close enough to put in a challenge for the lead, so in the end settled for 4th – again, not a terrible result given my start to the evening.

So overall I’m disappointed that I qualified so badly, but happy that we eventually got to enjoy two great races with some good drivers and I salvaged two respectable results. Given the level of driving in all the VM series, it’s as tough to make up places in the last lobby as the times I’ve qualified in the top two, and the fastest times in our races would have been competitive up even in the 3rd lobby. Plus I’ve got more races to get to know the Seat and iron out the tendency for it to try and swap ends under braking – tracks with less camber on the corners will definitely be a little easier.

Race Organisers: Virtual Motorsports

Race Series: GP2 Season 2

Race Meeting: Round 1, Road Atlanta

Positions: Race 1: 5/12, Race 2 4/11.

Now it’s all about the special Nurburgring 2.4 hour event on Saturday, followed by the toughest series challenge yet – the VM Super GT series, which features Japanese high performance touring cars with no assists, no guiding lines, and some of the toughest drivers in Forza. I’m one of a minority of drivers currently running the 2008 Nissan GT-R so it’ll be interesting to see how it pans out, especially following on from 160 minutes of racing the R2 DTM Audi the night before…

Virtual Motorsports GP2 Season 2 Race 1 Road Atlanta Action

A quick clip of the action in the first race of the Virtual Motorsports GP2 Season 2 meeting at Road Atlanta, which proves that 3 into the final chicane can sort of work. ORDC driver Badger Gravling was racing in the orange Seat Leon Supercup, and having started in last due to mistakes in qualifying, he managed to climb back up to eventually take 5th place, despite a hard fought battle with the blue Seat of F4H Castrol, who pulled off this audacious overtake on 2 cars into the chicane and lived to tell the tale!

May TopGear Car Pack arrives for Forza Motorsport 4

The May Top Gear Pack has arrived for Forza Motorsport 4 today, adding another 10 new cars to the total available in the game (Check out the complete Forza Motorsport 4 car list), and showing that although the launch Season Pass deal has ended, Turn 10 will be continuing to release new cars for the Xbox’s top racing game. We’ve also got the Porsche Pack to look forward to, although there is growing concern that so far there has been no news or rumours of additional tracks to add some needed variety.

Importantly, the May TopGear Pack is not part of any deals, so it’ll cost you 560 MS Points.

Again there’s a decent amount of variety in the cars selected, so here’s a rundown:

 

The May TopGear Pack for Forza Motorsport 4:

2012 Hennessey Venom GT: It makes perfect sense to base a car around the Lotus Elise, but then give it over 1,000 horsepower and lighten it a bit, which is probably why only 5 real cars will be built in 2012, because there are probably few people who fancy a 1,200 twin turbo 6.2 litre V8 in a carbone-fibre car weighing only 2,685 pounds. That means 0-200mph in 15.3 seconds which is almost 10 seconds quicker than a Bugatti Veyron can manage.

1977 AMC Pacer X: One of the icons of ’70s car design as made famous in Wayne’s World. By comparison with the Hennessey, the Pacer X has 100 horsepower in a 3,000 pound car.

2011 Ford Transit SuperSportVan: Ford starting making hot examples of the humble transit back in 1971 with possibly the most famous being the Cosworth-engined Supervan 2. This slightly more sensible version has a 3.2 litre 198 hp engine from the Transit Jumbo to add some fun.

2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon: Featuring the new Pentastar V6 engine with 280 hp and 260 ft lbs of torque, we’ll wait and see what it’s like on the track.

1966 Lotus Cortina: Our most eagerly awaited car for Forza – the legendary rally and touring car winner which was made famous by the likes of Jim Clark. You get 115 horsepower with 2,060 pounds of weight, and the joys of hearing the dual-Weber carbs.

1992 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4: One of two classic Japanese saloons in the pack, this is a turbo-cahrged, four-cylinder, four-wheel drive sedan, with 237 horsepower and front-wheel steering to help you turn.

2012 Smart ForTwo: The first micro car to be released to the American market, the Smart ForTwo is just 106 inches long, with 70 horsepower from the three-cylinder engine. We’re not sure it’ll topple our current comedy car favourite – our S Class Toyota Aygo, but we’ll give it a try.

1990 Subaru Legacy RS: Before the Impreza came the Legacy which started the firm’s off-road success with 200+ horsepower from the EJ20G engine and all-wheel drive.

2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8: Built like a brick outhouse, the bungalow-sized SRT8 has a 450hp Hemi motor producing 465 lbs ft torque with 0-60mph in under 5 seconds assuming you can afford new tyres.

1965 Austin-Healey 3000 MkIII: Up there with the Lotus Cortina for European car fans, the Austin Healey was Jensen built with a 147 horsepower 2,912 cc six-cylinder engine. Perfect for classic racing.

Virtual Motorsports announce GP2 Series 2

If you’re tempted by racing in a competitive series featuring every driver in the same car, then you might be interested in the Virtual Motorsports GP2 Series 2, which will put all racers in the 2007 SEAT Leon Supercup at S613 performance index.

Starting on May 1, 2013, the series will run on Tuesdays at 13:00 CST / 19:00 GMT / 05:00 AEST, and will feature a two-race format with partially reversed grids. Tracks on the schedule include Road Atlanta, Iberian International and Tsukuba, followed by Maple Valley Raceway, Infineon Raceway, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and the Nurburging Grand Prix Circuit before finishing up at Sunset Peninsula Raceway on June 19th, 2013

You’ll also be able to compete in four championships, with a Drivers Championship, Teams and Privateers Championships, and for all drivers new to the event, a Rookies Championship. The series is sponsored by Turn 10, so those finishing at the top of each championship receive unicorn cars and in-game credits, or credits only for the Team Champions.

You can sign up via the Virtual Motorsports Forum GP2 Series 2 Forum.

 

Want to take part with OnlineRaceDriver?

If you’re interested in taking part, and fancy being part of a friendly team who hope to do well, why not join up with ORD driver Badger Gravling (That’s me!) to be part of a team entry? If you’re interested, let us know in the comments, or look me and the ORD Forza Motorsport 4 club (ORDC) up in the game and send us a message/application to join.

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