Forza 4 Head to Head: Sushi vs. Hamburger

THIS IS SUSHI VS. HAMBURGER!!

We got so many cars in Forza 4 we haven't tried yet on the Top Gear Test Track so instead of putting one car each, why not do a little head-to-head like some other car magazines do?

This is sushi vs. hamburger! He he he, sorry about that. Must have been watching too much Top Gear but whatever, I've watched an episode of Top Gear when Jeremy Clarkson races the Exige against a Ford Mustang, which was driven by The Stig. Anyway, what I have here is the same kind of cars as seen on Top Gear but they're a bit different. What I have here is a 2005 Ford Mustang GT and a 2006 Lotus Exige Cup 240.

First off, the 2005 Ford Mustang GT. When it was launched, this generation ushered a revival of old-school muscle car designs. That was first. I mean look at it, it kinda reminds me of the first Mustang ever made. Because of the fact that Ford never implemented independent suspension to the Mustang, the handling's a bit too challenging. With such an old-school suspension instead of the independent suspension, you can almost feel that the 2005 Mustang is too much dynamic in terms of handling. Dynamic but challenging, that's one of my philosophy when it comes to checking out the car's handling.

Despite being DYNAMIC, what appreciates me is the noise coming out of the 4.6L V8 engine. Just listen to that noise, you wouldn't believe that this is the noise scientists believed that this is going to be far worse to your eardrums but hey, we all like a bonkers muscle.

Anyway, enough chitter chatter, let's see how good is this car...

...the 2005 Ford Mustang GT crossed the line in 1.32.745.

Now, let's move from hamburger to sushi with the Exige Cup 240.

Back in Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson drove the Exige and he said that it can out-maneuver an Apache helicopter right until to the part that it got locked on and it's over. Later on, he jumped through the Exige S and it defeated the Ford Mustang. This was like sushi vs. hamburger.

Anyway, about this car, the Series 2 Exige, which is a hardcore hardtop version of the Series 2 Elise, was launched in 2004 and it comes with a 1.8L Toyota engine (2ZZ-GE) from the Celica, which produces 190HP of power.

In 2005, a special edition 240R was launched and it was limited up to 50 units, powered by a supercharged version of the 2ZZ-GE engine, which churns out 243HP of power and it was available in yellow or black, representing the colors of Lotus Sport.

Lotus Sport developed track-ready versions of the Exige dubbed as Cup and Cup 240, which were stripped-out versions of the 2006MY Exige, which has no luxury equipement in exchange for uprated clutch, sports exhaust, adjustable suspension, uprated brakes, limited slip differential, switchable traction control, a T45 steel roll-over hoop and Aframe with harness mounts, fuel and ignition kill switches and a fully plumbed in fire extinguisher system.

Anyway, enough analogy for now and into that car. Because this is the Cup 240, the interior's getting some scaffolding and yes, the luxury equipment is gone all in the name of lightweight and for the handling, unlike the Mustang, it isn't a bit too challenging and dynamic. It's just so easy, it's not a hard car. You can brake later, turn harder, and get on the power sooner than the Mustang. Lightweight cars are notoriously fun to drive than heavyweights but let's see how good is this...Exige.



...and the Lotus Cup 240 crossed the line in 1.24.514 so it's better than the 2005 Mustang GT!

NORFOLK - 1   DETROIT - 0

Frankly, the results aren't surprising because stuff sold by gram is always being more exciting than stuff sold by pound. As observed, it seems that small and light cars are more exciting to drive in every different ways. The Exige though, it is the triumph of British engineering.