You start out with a Mini and a Cortina
and have to unlock the rest. The unlocking logic is that once
you have won a championship in either of these cars you'll
be awarded with slightly faster cars, or exotic cars. For
example, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL was awarded to me rather
quickly (not really a fast or "dangerous" car, although it
is classified as a "GTP" by FIA). Not long after that, I was
awarded the Pantera, which is quite a handful to drive quickly
and safely. For my money, I think the Pantera should have
been saved for a later stage in the game, so I really cannot
see the logic behind this. On RSC you can find a guide
to how to unlock cars and tracks.
The cars in the game are:
Abarth 1000TC:
A souped-up Fiat 600. If you're above a certain
age you probably rode in one.
AC
Cobra: This is very nice car to drive. Well balanced, well-behaved and
great to set up into drifts and slides.
Alfa
Romeo GTA: Initially I took that classic car for a short spin, and it seems
to be reasonably powerful and well-handling. In Cup E it impressed me with good
acceleration and being very easy to drive for longer stints. A good car although
it lacks the top speed to be really competitive on a power-track like Monza.
Austin
Healey 3000: This seems like a good beginner's car. It is easy to control
and not too powerful.
Austin
Mini Cooper S: Very short wheelbase, very nimble car but low on power and
front-wheel drive which makes it under steer a lot and it has to be thrown into
corners for it to drift through them.
BMW
CSL: The CSL seems to be a very tricky powerhouse, requiring precise lines
and speeds into corners and a careful and sensitive right foot out of turns.
Chevrolet
Corvette: Looks and sounds better than the Mustang, but handles about 10
times worse!
De Tomaso
Pantera: Quick, very quick, and requires some concentration to tame or
you might find yourself off-track very quickly.
Ferrari
275 GTB/C (bonus car): *
Ford
Capri RS: Like the Beemer it doesn't like being thrown into corners if
you're going too fast. It will respond with under steer, and careful with that
accelerator on exit.
Ford
Escort RS: A very nice car, easy to drive but not very quick if you measure
it against the likes of Pantera or TVR.
Ford
Falcon: Slide Machine Numero Uno! Looking for Fun?
Ford
GT40 (bonus car): *
Ford
Mustang: True to the reputation that North American muscle-cars look and
sound great but handle horribly. It under steers into turns and is very quick
to spin out if you give it the boot too early or you're not heading straight.
Jaguar
E-Type: Strong on paper perhaps, but I don't quite like its handling tendency
towards under steer, and it's unwillingness to give me usable throttle over steer.
Jaguar
MK 2: The "getaway-car", preferred by train-robbers and police primarily
because at the time it had disc-brakes on all four wheels and stopped so fast
that Jaguar felt they had to warn other motorists by putting a disc-brake-badge
on the rear-bonnet of the car. In GTL it lets you enter competitions in fine aristocratic
style. Choose your opponents well because as a racer it is not that fast.
Lotus
Cortina: Good power, Rear-wheel drive and a very nice balance especially
on the limit where it is very controllable with the throttle and brakes.
Lotus
Elan 26R: A superb-handling car, fast and so responsive, yet no real vices.
Lotus
Elite: A very forgiving and nice car. Not terribly quick but it seems like
a good beginner car.
Mercedes
300SL (Bonus car): Surprisingly docile and not terribly fast. Dashboard
really looks the part and I should know because I've seen a lot of them, as the
Benz's are used as taxicabs in this neck of the woods.
Porsche
906 (bonus car): *
Porsche
911RSR: As long as you're careful with the throttle and not get the rear-end
too far out it's a nice and well-handling machine.
Porsche
914-6: The Porsche 914 never really gained acceptance as a real Porsche
when it hit the market due to the fact that the car was built in close cooperation
with Volkswagen and some were even sold as VW. In GTL the car is very nice. Drives
well, is pretty quick and well-behaved through corners.
Renault
Alpine A110: French automotive sophistication. Nimble, light, fast and
a bit like the Pantera in the way it will run away with you if you are not paying
attention to it. I like this car. A lot!
Shelby
Daytona Coupe: *
Shelby
GT350: This car looks a lot like the Mustang but is easier to get through
corners. Aim the car for an early apex and it will slide with the front end until
you send it into a throttle-controlled over steer on the exit.
TVR
Griffith 400: Extremely fast and not as bad around the turns as the Mustang
or Corvette. It uses up brakes and tires very quickly if you are not careful.
While
you may see some sites proclaiming that GTL has some 90-odd cars, this staggering
number is made up from the basic car-models being represented in different liveries.
SimHQ's representatives at this year's E3 learned that the developers were
courting the current owners of these beautiful cars who were intrigued by the
possibility of seeing their cars in a game, and drive them. For what it's worth,
the owners did find the physics model to very accurately depict the handling of
their particular cars, and enjoyed driving the virtual versions on the virtual
tracks.
