It's a Racing Kart 125 Shifter, a go-kart with a manual gearbox for added challenge, capped at 175kph but can I, and some well-established open-wheelers do better? I think I can...
At Gran Turismo, we're always at the forefront of open-wheeling proportions. Those cars maybe small but they are surely had big attitudes, leaving a big and fast sportscar stripped out of its dignity and sent home to its mom. Today, I'll be personally testing three track-focused open-wheelers and find out if it can beat the 125 Shifter's 1:31.394 lap time round the eastern part of the Twin Ring Motegi.
First up is the KTM X-BOW, it's made by an Austrian motorbike company and it features a turbocharged Audi engine mounted in the middle as well as host of other features that makes it more track-focused while being usable on the road. We've gone for the R version because this is more powerful than the Street version I had a while back.
As the clock starts, the X-BOW set sail like a wheelchair mounted with fire extinguishers. This little track-day car does really have a really big attitude and in the corners, it's all in a cleavage's work. Cleavage? Ahem, it's a geology kind of cleavage, not the one you're familiar with but anyway, it managed to shaved off a second from the racing kart, bearing the time of 1:30.319, With its sleek aerodynamic styling and its superior handling, the X-BOW managed to outwit the smaller racing cart by a margin without a margin of error. So, what's next?
This. The Gran Turismo-exclusive LCC Rocket. Before Gordon Murray gave birth to the design of the McLaren F1, he collaborated with Chris Craft, a former Grand Prix racer, to establish the Light Car Company and this is the brainchild of the LCC. It's powered by a 4-cylinder Yamaha FJ1200 motorcycle engine sitting in the middle of the car producing 166HP of power. It was styled to look like a Grand Prix car from the 60's but the question is...will I need it?
Weighing less than 400kg, it's surprisingly lighter than the X-BOW but it's short of power than the X-BOW. With such stats, I felt like I was getting ripped off by the promise of being a quick car and betrayed by my steering so in the finish line, it's a photo finish. The Rocket finished at 1:31.158, a few milliseconds quicker than the go-kart but slower than the X-BOW so it's time for the last roll of the dice.
With me and my Caterham Fireblade. Of course, other games feature numerous Caterhams but the only Caterham you won't find anywhere else is, to be exact, the Fireblade. I may not quite specific about what Caterham should not be allowed to be featured in any other game but I'm sure this is it. This is the Caterham no other game should feature rather than the Gran Turismo series...the Fireblade.
A hard foot on the pedal...and nothing. No matter how hard I tried, the Fireblade is struggling to keep up against the go-kart and the go-kart rocked home and I am magnanimous in defeat.
KTM X-BOW R - 1:30.319
Rocket - 1:31.158
Fireblade - 1:38.900
So, based on the results conducted by me, the X-BOW R is the champion on this GT6 comparo test. Those motorcycle engine-powered open-wheelers maybe a waste of time but it's official, if you want an open-wheeler that is even better than the Rocket or the Fireblade, then the X-BOW R is for you!
