GT SPORT: The Originals

When the first ever Gran Turismo game was launched in the PlayStation since late December 1997, the R33 Skyline GT-R and the JZA80 Supra are the cover cars of the first GT game and with these cars now playable on GT SPORT, it's time to savor the moment with the original GT heroes.




Here they are. They were the cover cars of the original game and twenty years later, these originals still looking fresh in the prime of their lives. This is definitely the dream where all motoring dreams are made of thanks to these cars and the Gran Turismo series itself since the beginning.



Before having a blast with the originals, let's get to know the originals that became immortalized in the world of Gran Turismo through the years, beginning with the R33 GT-R. Penned by its advert as the "minus 21-second roman", the R33 GT-R lapped the legendary Nurburgring 21 seconds faster than its R32 predecessor. The hood is now made of aluminum along with the front fenders and the engine that powers it is the RB26DETT engine mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox, delivering power through all four wheels via Nissan's ATTESA E-TS all-wheel drive system. This generation once participated the 1995 Le Mans and one of them finished in 10th place overall, fifth in class.



Hailed as "The Sports of Toyota", the A80-spec Toyota Supra was launched in 1993 and its unique styling makes it one of the most iconic sports cars ever to come out from Japan. This generation comes with two engine choices; a naturally aspirated and turbocharged version of the 3.0L 2JZ straight-six engine. The turbocharged variant produces 276HP of power but the ones used in the JGTC (now called SuperGT) produces between less than 400 to 500HP, although speedo boys love to tune the Supra to Fast and Furious levels. Toyota says that this Supra is the best handling in its class because of its double wishbone suspension setup. Despite being discontinued in 2002, it remains popular among speedo boys and if its good enough for Paul Walker, it's good enough for every speedo boy worldwide.

So, now that I got my word on these two cars, let's bring these "originals" to that one track that stirs a lot of nostalgia for speedo boys everywhere and I think I got one. Ladies and gentlemen, let's take a trip to Tsukuba Circuit.



Ah, Tsukuba Circuit. This track takes us all back because for speedo boys, this track was commonly used for comparison tests as demonstrated from those direct-to-video Best Motoring tapes and now that Tsukuba's back on GT SPORT, it's the ideal place to take these GT heroes for a spin.



During my sighting laps, I find myself nervous upon driving both of these 90's JDM legends round Tsukuba. The R33 has a tendency to understeer while the Supra is downright tricky to drive due to its rear-wheel drive nature, but the more I get to know these cars, the more I realize that it doesn't take a lot of effort to master these legends. With my sighting laps done, it's time to get scientific as I'm going to find out which one of the cover cars from the first GT game is still the hero of Gran Turismo. As a matter of face, there can be only one so let's get cracking. This is going to be the most interesting moments I have ever done in my GT life.



And now, I got the times...

R33 - 1:08.268
JZA80 - 1:09.129

It's unbelievable! The gap between them is almost a second and looks like Godzilla nicked The Fast and The Furious by almost a second. Consider that a close shave but I had a lot of fun driving these two JDM legends.



As the Gran Turismo franchise continues to evolve through the next two decades, it's impossible to forget the cars that stamped "the real driving simulator" in the first place and these cars have a strong place in the history of Gran Turismo now and forever. Looking at the cover art of the first Gran Turismo game and these two cars with your eyes, it's certain that why they are loved by many because they really are the originals that forged from our passion for cars and it's certain where we are now without them.

It's been an honor to drive the cover cars of the first GT game right here on GT SPORT and whether you are either regrettable or dignified, it's never too late to take a bite with these icons because these cars played a very important role in Gran Turismo history and that is the bottom line.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Trump says US-NK summit will happen

US President Donald Trump said he plans to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month or early June to "hopefully" reach a deal on denuclearization of the regime.

Trump made the remarks at a cabinet meeting where he also acknowledged the two sides were in talks to prepare for the meeting. The White House previously said that the president would meet with Kim before the end of next month.

Trump said direct talks should've happened years ago, but stressed that he was looking forward to the summit.

The meeting was arranged through a group of South Korean envoys who met with Kim in Pyongyang last month. The envoys said Kim had expressed a commitment to denuclearization and promised to halt nuclear and missile tests.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (April 10, 2018)

- President Rodrigo Duterte ordered mining companies yesterday to conduct tree planting projects and threatened to ban all open pit mining next year. The Southeast Asian nation’s mining sector has been under fire by Duterte’s government for environmental damage and alleged violations that include building mines in prohibited areas like watersheds. The fiery leader said miners should make an extra effort to plant trees in areas denuded by mining.

- Returning to the Grab-Uber drama, a former LTFRB member pointed out that the company still has a  local competition. Atty. Ariel Inton, founder of the Lawyers for Commuters Protection clarified that the LTFRB accredited three TNCs in the Philippines: Grab, Uber, and U-Hop, a local company. However, Inton questioned the capability of U-Hop to compete against Grab since the Filipino TNC is not well-known.

- Over two months after former president Benigno Aquino III, former Health Secretary Janette Garin, and other officials were slapped with a complaint over their alleged violation of the Omnibus Election Code in relation to the Dengvaxia fiasco, another complaint will soon be filed against the same former government executives.

- Only about 6,700 out of the 400,000 Filipino war veterans recognized by the United States are still alive.

- Sinclair Broadcast Group is facing an attack on its own stations as a certain advocacy group spent "six figures" on ads targeting against the company after a Deadspin video featuring news anchors reading the company-mandated script criticizing "fake news" went viral last Holy Week. In its defense, Sinclair aired their 15-second message before and after the ad in question, saying they are "proud to present both sides of issues" but calling it "misleading" in their post-ad message.

- The Audi Vision Gran Turismo was unveiled, in hybrid and e-tron guise, and it's now playable on GT SPORT via the latest update. In addition, the Audi e-tron VGT will be making a real-world appearance at this weekend's ABB FIA Formula E Rome e-Prix.

2018 Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo

- The sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro gains a facelift for the 2019 model year with all automatic models now armed with a 10-speed AT.

2019 Chevrolet Camaro

- Seiyuu Atsuko Enomoto is one with the #MeToo movement and discusses about harassment in industry.

- Actress Bea Alonzo unfollows but follows back Gerald Anderson on Instagram.

- New Pokemon Sun and Moon toys from Takara Tomy on the radar! The Pokemon plushies range welcomes Pikachu and Dusk Forme Lycanroc, in their Ultra Guardians duty, as well as the legendary Pokemon Lugia in honor of this summer's Pokemon film. These plushies will arrive this May. New in the Poke Del-Z range is the DX Battle Set featuring Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, available this late April, with a Groudon and Kyogre set coming this June.

TTFN!!!

GT SPORT: A110 reborn

The story starts with a French legend known as the Alpine A110, a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive coupe that became a sensation in the world of rallying.




First produced in 1961, the A110 is one of the most successful cars ever made, although it has some bits and bobs from the Renault 8 while featuring a steel backbone chassis with a fiberglass body. Prior to Renault's takeover of Alpine, the A110 involved in the world of rallying and where it scored eight wins out of 13 events since 1973. When the A110's production ended in 1977, a total of 7,160 cars are built. The A110 remains one of the most important sports car in history and it's so important, Renault decided to revive it for the 21st century.



And here it is, the 21st century Alpine A110, arrived exclusively at GT SPORT for the first time and when they said exclusive, THEY MEAN IT.



Unveiled to the world at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, the 21st century Alpine A110 brings back the spirit of the legendary machine while promising a new kind of driving experience in the real world. Of course, for a car like this, it wasn't really meant to be fast on the straights. It was design to go fast in the real world, making it a serious car for serious drivers only. As a lightweight car, the new A110 not only uses a lightweight and rigid aluminum chassis but the stuff on the inside is pretty much lighter than everyday cars and as a result, it weighs about 2,432lbs. Powering the new A110 is the turbocharged 1.8L inline-4 engine producing 248HP of power and 320Nm of torque while mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox, resulting to a 0-100kph time of four and a half seconds and a top speed of over 250kph. The suspension setup uses double wishbones at all fours.

Anyway, no time for dribble about that car because it's time to find out just what is like to drive one...



Despite being a light car, the A110 is surprisingly scary to drive if it oversteers. This is like getting wrestled by a gerbil bothering your home all day and all night and because it's mid-engine, there's no weight to the front, resulting to a questionable dynamics that puts themselves between a rock and a hard place. I know, I tried.



Scary the new A110 can be, I managed to get a hold of it and when I'm starting to familiarize with the questionable dynamics of the new A110, I'm starting to be with it. Yes, it can be somewhat unforgiving to drive if you're new to this but by getting the most out of it, the new A110 can be a potent track weapon that is made for serious drivers only, not made for people fancying themselves as cowboys. Anyway, to see how serious the new A110 can be, I'm looking for a very serious track to put this car to test its own theory and I found one.



The Nurburgring Grand Prix circuit is the ideal proving ground to see how serious the new A110 can be and by thorough investigation, having myself in the new A110 is a bewildering experience but in the interest of science, I'm stuck with it and to my amazement, the new A110 never fails to impress drivers with its racing pedigree honed by its legendary ancestor, even if its on a race track instead of the ancestor's favorite homefront. As I spent several moments toying around with the A110, I had a brainwave because since this is a lightweight mid-engined sportscar, how about comparing this to the other mid-engined sportscar worth noting?



Here's one, it's the Alfa Romeo 4C. It's lightweight and mid-engined just like the Alpine I'm driving. As I checked these two cars, the Alpine is slightly more powerful than the Alfa but the Alfa's got more torque and more lighter than the Alpine, making this a one-sided match. So, let's translate numbers into action with some timed laps to see which one is better. Let's cue the tape.



With the laps completed, let's find out the results...

A110 - 2:32.651
4C - 2:33.284

By amazement, the new A110 is over half a second quicker than the 4C, making it a shock result no one saw it coming but I'm impressed with what Alpine did to it.



That said, the new Alpine A110 is somewhat scary to drive for me but this is one of the most interesting sportscars ever driven in the game and between you and me, this could be your next favorite car. Although not as fast in the straights, the new A110 cares about its dynamics more than its performance and as a serious car made for serious drivers, it's all about getting the job done with no questions asked and I admire such tenacity this car possess.

Speaking of which, I had a little present for the new Alpine...



This is the new A110 I wanted it to be, which is a shame for everyone now that the new Alpine A110 is a certified Gran Turismo-exclusive. So, what can I say? Should I bash this new Alpine A110 for being a Gran Turismo-only car? Nah. Just burn it. Oh wait, someone already burned it so there's no need to do it. He he he...

SUPER GT 2018 Round 1 OKAYAMA

The Autobacs SUPER GT Championship kicked off their 2018 season at Okayama International Circuit and this opener has some surprises in store as one of the best drivers in the world joins the fray, putting so much excitement in one of Asia's premiere sports car racing series which remains a favorite among JDM enthusiasts worldwide.

SUPER GT 2018 Round 1 OKAYAMA

Anyway, at the end of the season opener, the podium finishers for the GT500 are, in descending order, 3rd placer #1 KeePer TOM'S LC500 driven by Ryo Hirakawa and Nick Cassidy, 2nd placer #100 RAYBRID NSX-GT driven by Naoki Yamamoto and (for a very special role) Jenson Button, and winner #17 KEIHIN NSX-GT driven by Koudai Tsukakoshi and Takashi Kogure. In the GT300, meanwhile, third placer goes for the #2 HOPPY 86 MC driven by Takamitsu Matsui and Sho Tsuboi, #7 D'station Porsche driven by Tomonobu Fujii and Sven Muller, and winner #18 UPGARAGE 86 MC driven by Yuhki Nakayama and Takashi Kobayashi.

Highlights:

The next race will be at Fuji Speedway on the 4th of May.

2018 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup - O'Reilly Auto Parts 500

The Texas Motor Speedway, one the world's biggest oval racetracks located at Fort Worth, has became the battle arena for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series' O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 race and the drivers are saddling up their stock cars on what was becoming one of the most chaotic races of this season happened at the Lone Star State. Ride'em cowboys.

Trouble's brewing at the third lap as Alex Bowman's #88 spun out of control, claiming a few victims in store in the early stages of this race. In Lap 81, last year's champion Martin Truex Jr. is having a bad day at Fort Worth as his car got chewed by the walls forcing him out of the race. At Lap 126, the Kyle Larson's engine got blown and then crashed while Kevin Harvick's pit problem cost him seconds. In Lap 177, DISASTER! Denny Hamlin got spun and triggered a pileup of collision! In Lap 303, Ryan Newman blows his right front tire following a badly crash through the wall.

After one helluva wild Texas treat, Kyle Busch wins the race for Joe Gibbs and Toyota.

Next race is on Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500 on the 15th of April.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: PM scheduled to give policy speech to parliament

The government is stepping up efforts to get its 3.7 billion dollar supplementary budget through parliament at the National Assembly.

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon is scheduled to give a policy speech to lawmakers on the extra budget at 1400 hours local time but it is still unclear whether it will go ahead as some parties have vowed to stay away.

Oppositions remain at odds over numerous bills and efforts to revise the Constitution, preventing them from normalizing parliamentary proceedings since the first day fo the April extraordinary session.

Eyes are on the meeting between the Assembly Speaker and the floor leaders of the main opposition parties this morning.

The proposed supplementary budget is the second of its kind under the Moon Jae-in administration that aims to improve the employment market for young Koreans.

Source: Arirang News