great start for the Katana.
me likey
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I see quite a lot of mangusta in it now. I was initially comparing it to a Pantera and a Countach (cause of the wing). Even so, I wouldn’t consider the mangusta to be mid 60s design, far more of an early 70s look. And as for the Muira, I can’t really see much of that. Great looking build though!
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Ah yeah, I just think that they didn’t work very well with your grille shape and where you put them. They just kinda looked tacked on.
3rd place on styling, wow! I will admit that the redlines and rear striping was probably against my better judgement xD
now to completely lose my lead in the BeamNG testing because Giovanni crashes and dies
2 Likes
Giovanni will certainly be updating his life insurance policy to include exotic car test drives.
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just ve cautious when simoutaneously slowing down and turning…
it has a mild tendency of oversteer at this point
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Countach was the inspiration when going for the wing, actually, so that’s not a bad comparison at all 
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Before judging round two, we should familiarise ourselves with what lies under the bonnet of each of the contenders, to give a vaugue idea of what they’re like to drive.
Spec declassification coming soon…
EDIT:
The full spec declassification is up! Go and check out the specs of the competition in the main post
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looks at like 4 FR with DW all around
REEEEEEEEEE
also sees another car with exact same weight as the Keika
DOUBLE REEEEEEEEEE
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looks and realises that his offering is the only one that isn’t a strict 2-seater
hmmm… not sure if good or bad decision…
looks and realises that his offering is also the only one with a solid rear axle
hmmmm… that might not be a great decision 
Although both were because of pre-existing lore, so…
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Round two judging is about half done, but I’m completely overwhelmed with school-work right now, so that might put things back possibly a week or two.
I’ll do what I can to get it done but homework unfortunately has to take the priority 
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only car with a V12
looks smug
but will Giovanni slide off a cliff and die?
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Yes. Yes he will. He’ll also snap oversteer off into a tree as soon as there’s an elevation change.
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Update:
I’ve gotten through a bit more than half of the judging, but the earliest that we’ll see round two is likely next weekend.
I’m taking my time writing a detailed review for each car, but yeah… that takes time.
Thanks for your patience! 
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Update:
I have all of the testing done, and only one more comment to write. I might take some photos in beam, and I still have to do the graphs but I’m getting close to done!
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Update:
All of the content/judging has been gathered/created/decided, just now need to find some time to put it all together into the op!
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before note:
i had to put this down here, thanks to discourse’s lovely character limit which i managed to surpass. anyway, enjoy the read!
Round 2: The test drive
In this round, Giovanni takes each car on a test drive, and the cars are scored in 3 main categories; being Drivability, Sportiness and Enjoyment, with each category having various sub scores. Lets jump into it!
Franklin Cerberus
by @Jaimz
First impression: Revvy and Zippy
Pulling out of the town and onto the road, the car immediately felt very light and playful. The very revvy in-line 6 coupled to a short ratio 5 speed was an awesome combination, you could just row through the gears like nothing else. In the short straights, you could absolutely floor it and still have fun without flying off a cliff. 135 horsepower is certainly in the lower end of the spectrum, but the Cerberus didn’t leave me wanting more, especially on this route and with that gearbox.
As far as drivability goes, there was a little bit of an issue with the steering becoming quite light at fast pace, and sometimes caused a snap of oversteer. It wasn’t a dominant problem but it did force me to be a bit more wary of where I could push the car.
Driving technique required: Deliberate, low - high speed
Final Verdict: Very fun little machine with a great gearbox.
Maccheroni S6
by @Mad_Cat
First impression: Light but dangerous
The initial offset was good, the car was decently quick and got up to speed nicely. But the driving experience was very tense due to sudden attacks of extreme oversteer which entailed a certain spin. Usually this was on the exit of slower corners, and even if I wasn’t gunning it. Also happened multiple times during fast sweepers and especially over crests. It was quite sudden as well, leaving no time to try to catch it. I had to adjust my driving style, and sure, you can keep it together driving like Nonna on her way to the fish market but where’s the fun in that?
The motor provided adequate grunt, but it was hard to use due to the aforementioned issues
Driving technique required: Overly cautious, low - moderate speed
Final verdict: Giovanni nervously hobbled out of the car, white faced and sweat-stained. “trappola mortale” he mutters.
Keika Katana
by @Elizipeazie
First impression: Revvy, Nippy
On the road the Katana drives considerably well. It feels rather quick and nippy, and does like the corners. There were some of the usual snap oversteer incidents that come with a mid engined design, mainly on the exits of corners, but it wasn’t super sudden and they didn’t handicap the car nearly as much as it did others. It felt moderately planted, and was probably almost the best you’re going to get a classic mid engined car to handle in beam.
The v6 could rev up to more than 6500 rpm which was good fun, and although the gearbox was 4 speed, a shorter gear ratio made sure it didn’t feel too sluggish at all.
Driving technique required: Mildly cautious, low - high speed
Final verdict: Nippy little car with quite a revable motor. A bit dangerous but good fun!
FS - Azure Mk III Italia
by @Flamers
First impression: Rowdy
The Azure instantly feels considerably larger than the other competitors, and a bit of your driving view is taken up by the gaping air scoop on the hood. Upon setting off, there was quite a bit of wheel-spin, due to the relatively sharp power delivery . This sharp power delivery was also prevalent whilst driving, although it wasn’t the usual issue of nothing-nothing-death, it was more like ok-ok-woah. A bit more subtle, but still a bit of an issue considering the small size of the roads. So I became a bit afraid to rev it into the “woah” zone, so this limited fun and power usability scores. I initially though this was a powerband issue, but looking at the graph it looks like a somewhat sensible line, so perhaps it’s a gearing thing
It did make good pace, and handled decent (although there was some instability, perhaps thicker sway bars need to be employed). It may have been in its element on a German country blast, but ultimately it wasn’t great for these roads.
Driving style required: Light footed, cautious.
Final verdict: Decent performance set-back by sharp power delivery
Angelerini Pegasus
by @EddyBT
First impression: woah
How. Is. This. thing. Actually a great car to drive.
Somehow, this stupid v12 beast, is actually driveable at speed. And great to drive, at that.
While it’s one of the most powerful car in the competition, it’s still a remotely planted, stable car to drive (thanks to the ridiculously sized tires), and because of that, you can actually make great use the ridiculous amount of power that this thing weilds. The gear ratios are quite long, but it has enough power through the whole band to not feel sluggish. In fact, it’s far from sluggish, it goes like a bat out of hell.
It’s also crazy loud, and sounds great. It means business.
It does have it’s weaknesses though.
Flooring it off the line is a no-no, and slow corners are defiantly not it’s forté,(flooring it out of one will result in instant death by oversteer). Because you’re going so fast, if a problem does present itself good luck saving yourself.
It takes a bit of practice, but if you can master it without dying, it’s a very rewarding car to drive.
Driving style: Brutal but cautious, moderate to very high speed
Final verdict : Giovanni may need a change in underwear
Scarab Nebula
by @gridghost
First impression: woah
Wow. This is a real supercar.
When I first saw the Nebula, I was sure that it would be a beastly mess. 3.2 litre v8 pushing 230 odd hp in 1966, I was very sceptical of how it would be to drive especially as far as controllability and wheelspin are concerned. But I was completely wrong.
It’s awesome to drive. Heaps of power, but easy to manage. Super planted and stable, likely thanks to the employment of thicc tires and that illegal rear wing. I was worried about the power being unusable, but you could take corners almost flat out, and absolutely gun it down the straight sections. I had to adjust my brake points, as this thing gets up to speed so much faster than the other cars.
I honestly don’t really have any gripes at all with this thing. Very well engineered, and a blast to drive
Driving style: Deliberate, pedal to the metal
Final verdict: Regardless of wether he buys it or not, Giovanni will definitely be back for another test drive.
Corsair 2.0 MFI
by @Anubeia
First impression: Strange.
Being 904KG and having a 2L v6 making a healthy 143 HP, it sounds like a pleasing package at face value. Certainly potential to be a promising contender.
But here is where things get weird: this motor is mounted transverse.
Yes, It’s FWD. Interesting…
Overall it’s a lighter engine/transmission package than most of its opposition, and this is a contributing factor. However during the test drive there was noticeable understeer, and this affected drivability. I respect the creativity though.
While we’re on handling though, the Corsair suffered from stability issues. It was wobbly on the costal route and on the freeway it was quite difficult to keep it in line at high speed, (could have utilised thicker sway bars I think). That aside, it managed to eventually reach a comfortable cruising speed and wasn’t horrid to drive.
However, the entire car was severely handicapped by a completely inappropriate 3 speed gearbox. Again, I imagine this was another choice based on weight saving, but I feel it completely ruined the potential of the decent motor. For these costal roads, you want a car to go through the gears, to have fun even if you aren’t going super fast. With the Corsair, first gear goes fast and then it was stuck dragging its ass along in second for the rest of the run. The ratio felt long as well, so even though the car wasn’t all that slow (8.0s 0-100) it made it feel slow. It definitely would have been worth copping an extra gear, even if it’s heavier it’s essential for this competition.
Driving technique required: Wary, Brutal, low-medium speed
Final Verdict: Creative ideas, and the concept is interesting. The engine had potential, but it was let down by mainly a shoddy gearbox.
Epoch M20 S2800c
by @machalel
First impression: Big clumsy muscle
Ok, that first impression may be a bit of an overstatement but compared to the other cars I’ve driven so far this immediately feels like it doesn’t belong here. The big, burbling v8 sounds like it will swallow small children whole. It’s a decently powerful car, and out onto the road, the acceleration is pretty good. I was however, greeted with some nasty lift off oversteer almost immediately, and even on very slight turns. This turned out to be the dominant issue throughout the whole test drive, and even at low speeds it would still occur. If I were to guess, I would say it’s a suspension issue, perhaps the dampers are too soft or sway bars need to be thicker.
Driving style: Light footed, cautious, awaiting death
Final verdict: Snap oversteer claims another victim.
Armour Motors California 190
First impression: Big, powerful
The big v8 up front certainly has its weight, and that shows when you drive the California 190. The car has a very English feel, in particular an Aston Martin vantage kind of thing going on, which is good, however it doesn’t feel very suited to these roads. It’s a decent car to drive overall, gets turned in, accelerates well, but I think the overall heft of the car sets it back from it’s competitors. The lockable diff was a fun touch, but I can’t imagine Giovanni, a middle aged Italian fruit store owner, ripping phat donuts in the village Piazza
It didn’t really feel… exciting. Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly a good car, but it just doesn’t bond well with these tight Italian roads
Driving style: Deliberate, low - high speed
Final verdict: Good to drive, but not amazing on these roads
Terrier Sport Cabrio
by @8bs
First impression: Light, zippy, all over the place
Once again, this little thing completely lives up to its name. The Terrier looks, drives, and performs like an excitable puppy. It’s quite Revvy, and pulling out onto the road it accelerates quite quickly. The steering is very responsive, which is good because this thing jumps all over the place. Left, right, up and down. Although it was actively trying to kill Giovanni, it was actually quite a lot of fun to drive. Corners were solid, not many issues there. I even managed to get a tiny bit of controlled oversteer happening, which is rare because drifting is certainly not my forté.
Overall, I had mixed feelings about the Terrier. It was a blast to drive, but it came at the risk of veering into a tree
Driving style: Cautious, Light footed, Alert
Final verdict: Jumpy, playful, murderous and fun… just like a terrier.
Neko Pure Sport
by @Mikonp7
First impression: Light, zippy,
The Pure sport is a funny one. A very small little compact chassis with a 3 litre v6 crammed into the engine bay. Upon setting off, the car made quite a bit of smoke before gripping the road, but after that it was sort of planted. Around town, the short wheelbase made the Pure Sport insanely manoeuvrable. It could squeeze down all sorts of alleyways, pull sudden u-turns, and whip through the tiny streets.
It was relatively controllable, and considering to short wheelbase it was pretty stable. It was quite zippy, and could hold a bit of speed. The suspension was very well set up, and allowed for some semi controlled slides. But it wasn’t all too… enthralling… out on the costal roads
In the end, it’s a good driving car, although I felt it was more at home in the city alleys than the costal roads
Driving style: Light handed, low - moderate speeds
Final verdict: Well suited to the city streets, but a bit lacking on the costal roads.
Final results for round two:
Enjoyment:
Drivability
Sportiness
Competition standings:
Judge’s comment and foreshadowing
After the test drive, Giovanni’s opinion some of the cars has changed drastically.
The two previous leaders have lost their lead, and the Scarab Nebula now sits on top, with the Cerberus and the Pegasus in a tied second place.
Poor suspension setup seemed to claim the competitiveness of many of the cars, which was a shame. Automation suspension can be quite difficult to master, (myself included) but at the end of the day, I have to give credit to the people who got it right.
Round 3 is the final round, where Giovanni inquires about the pricing. (bonus points and penalties will also be applied then)
And I’ll tell you now: Round 3 changes a lot…
Stay tuned!
Bf94387
10 Likes
Dang… yeah, you got it in one to be honest. I’ve had a lot of trouble trying to get the suspension working on this car.
Well at least I hope to gain some ground in Round 3 
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Whoa, Giovanni must be a pretty skilled driver. I was barely able to keep my own car together on the road!
Tied for 2nd O.o
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