Judging Part 2
warning: I had problems with some fixture disapearing since I imported the cars, tried to salvage as much as I could but many are missing, especially one steering wheel used by a few cars. Sorry about the shots with missing fixtures, it took a lot longer to try to fix those issues, but I did not succeed
Most Luxurious GT (3/5)
Comfort, Prestige and Authenticity
The judges notes are in for each cars in the competition for this category.
@TheAlmightyTwingo
The Haniyasushin Monaaku LV6-IIb Suzuka spec Rally is a mouthful but is not such a comfortable ride compared to many other. Understandably, as a rally spec, it focused more on performance, but even there it lacked some oomph. With a sporty Manual 5 transmission and short gearing, this did not help much bring our a luxurious side to this GT. The wheels have a nice balanced feel to them, but brakes were very grippy. The high quality sport interior with premium accessories, plus a very soft suspension setting, could not compensate for the tight and small cabin with cramped seats, especially considering the simple black interior felt rushed. With the fourth lowest comfortable ride, prestige had to be really good to compensate, but it came about the same position as well there, not helped by the smallest pushrod V8 at 4.2L. The lack of exotic options, most likely due to the rally spec trim, is the culrprit as the base options are really good, but competition here went all out on prestigious options. On the authenticity front, the rally spec also played tricks here. The judges felt the car was more a premium muscle car than purely a GT. The looks and engine/transmission were very west Gasmean and while many other GTs also used pushrod V8, it was hard to hide the origins of this one. Not a bad GT at all, but not one that is luxurious enough for this category.
@Riley The Zephorus GT T is a different beast than the Haniyasushin for sure. With its fully luxurious interior and amenities, this is a class act. The beautifully crafted interior charms you but does feel a bit oversized - with the cabin proportion, it has the advantage of fitting in large fellows with plenty of space and headroom. While its quality is astounding, it comes with a few rough spots in the assembly of the interior. The wheels and tyre profile and medium compounds makes the ride really smooth, compensating for the slightly sporty brake pads - it does grip for sure, maybe a tad much, but tamer than expected. The killer is the fancy hydropneumatic suspensions - it might explain why they did break down a few times, being a pretty state-of-the-art. The suspension is also on the soft side. As for prestige, this one is up there in the top 3 for a teen’s poster of choice. The full aluminium DOHC V8 is tuned for peformance and less for comfort or enjoyment. The trottle response is atrocious and smoothness is non-existent, nothing to write home about. It was made to rev and judges felt it was a bit too much performance oriented. The rear independent suspensions and 5-speed manual with overdrive felt balanced. Overall, a great balancing effort between comfort and performance, retaining GT authenticity everywhere but the engine. Still not as luxurious as some other entries, which is understandable considering everything else it brings to the table.
@Prium The Duquesne Frigate is a boat. A luxo boat. A convertible luxo boat. It was not made to bring you fast from point A to point B, but to bring you in style. The very well crafted luxurious interior is at the top of the class. Comfort was never compromised (but we can’t say the same about performance), with fully automatic transmission, IRS, smooth brakes (but with a lot of fade and maybe lacking a bit of grip), comfortable pads, and hydropneumatic like the Zephorus. Here it makes a big difference. The engine, a 5.0L SOHC V12, is very, very smooth. You feel in a bubble while you drive. The advantage of the Duquesne is that it also passes emission standards in West Gasmea. It is made to be a luxury boat, but unfortunately is not the most suited for a GT and not the most prestigious, right in the middle of the pack. A good effort.
@SolidSnake
The Silverstone DS5 SE '79 is not the most comfortable car out there. In fact, it is near the tail of the pack. Getting a closer look you can see why. It does make it up in the prestige department, thanks to it’s V12, but the interior is a bit premium with the accessories. The engine is smooth, the suspension is comfortable. So why isn’t it competing with others? Cabin space. It is cramped. You feel like you are in a tin can when you drive it. The gearbox could be improved, but mostly this is about having enough space to be comfortable inside. A shame, because it does feel authentic otherwise, the interior, while hastily crafted, is not bad as well. It is just too small for a GT. A LWB version with a beefed up engine would probably be very competitive here.
@HighOctaneLove The Proletariat Panache is here to show what Archana can do. And kinda failed to do so while Mara did achieve success. Comfort is second lowest here, which is not enviable. Prestige is non-existant. Authenticity? Well, it does look the part!! Lack of a well crafted interior is a big let down here, a lot is left to the imagination. It is old, barely updated since 1968. It even has a phonograph!! This is a museum relic more than a modern GT - the old V12 from a tank is not helping anything here. Smooth, sure. Silent? Yeah. But this barely makes 160hp, has enough torque to break you back, and has absolutely no throttle response. Stay away. Scavenging parts is not the way to build a GT car.
@cake_ape The Mons Deimos is an interesting espresso beast. Comfort is average here, nothing bad tho. The beautifully crafted hand made interior is however top of the back. The kammback brings some uniquness to the table against tough competition, and overall looks and feel like a GT. With such quality in, what is the issue with its comfort? Well, very very grippy brakes and pads does not help at all. The cabin could be a bit less cramped - it does look like it has plenty of room but is surprisingly tight. It has a ton of storage space behind tho. The suspension it where it went sour. Nothing bad here, but for a GT we would have expected it to be slightly softer, or at least its competition decided that was the way to go. Great effort and craftmanship, but will it be enough? Well, the good news is that the whole package feels incredibly prestigious.
@Der_Bayer The Cisalpina Presto 72 is in the same boat as the Mons, but is definitely not a boat. A very GT entry, very authentic, good comfort, but let down by the gearbox here and the dampers on the suspension. The very smooth V12 helps here a lot, and the incredibly well crafted hand made interior is a big bonus, but premium accessories is a slight letdown. The brake grips are similar to the Mons - way too grippy and could lockup while still exhibiting some slight fading issues. Overall not a ton of compromises here, but not an overall luxurious entry. It does not have to be tho, as it showed on the road.
@AndiD The ** Mara Irena GTC** is a very interesting entry. An unexpected surprise. Ok, it is not comfortable at all, we won’t lie. Prestige is non-existent with only 4 cylinders. Is it authentic? Not really. This is a very small an agile car with a bit of Oomph, but this is nowhere near GT level. Without any interior to speak off, this is really not a great option here. Next.
@SenseiB12 The TransitStar Pan Gasmea with both average comfort and prestige, the TransitStar is not doing too bad. It does not really have any good interior here, even if supposed to be luxurious. Brakes a slightly grippy, but comfortable. The progressive suspensions is welcomed here, as it is very soft and smooth. The V8 is not the roughest one of the lot, and lets out enough noise while being not too noisy. While the look is authentic, the internals does not fully speak GT here. A good effort here, but missing the mark as a luxury option.
@th3maldonado
The Brooklands Bamburgh GTS Royale is surprisingly… not comfortable. For such a renown brand, we expected a lot more luxury in this package. Interior is good and comfortable for 4, but a bit tight. Gearbox and the amount of torque it has to deal with makes things a bit rough around the edges. Suspension is pretty good, also running on Hydropneumatic springs. Engine is not too rough and responsive, one of the rare V8 DA OHC of the lot. Well built and pretty authentic overall. Do get us wrong, comfort is good, as is prestige, but not what we expected from Brooklands for a GTS Royale.
@Xepy The Tristella Ciconia GT-5 feels similar to the Brooklands. For sure we did not expect the same luxury level, but it is a premium brand and did not completely hit the mark on comfort, despite a beautifully detailed hand-made interior. Prestige is however in the top percentile and the DA OHC V8 is very responsive and feels like a GT engine. It feels as authentic as it looks, and while the suspensions feels a bit hard, it does the job. Overall a very good result, but the torque and gearbox, alongside the firmer suspension is pushing it out of the top.
@Aruna The Arion Aquila 8C Pursuit is a beauty, no two way about it. The incredibly well crafted interior is a testament to Arion’s legacy. It is an hand-made full luxury package. Overall an above average comfort, including a very smooth suspension running on hydropneumatics. Brakes are incredibly rough and way too sensitive. Another V8 here, but DOHC full aluminium and average across the board. Where the Arion really shine is prestige! It has a boatload of it, anyone looking at it up close (and far away), feels a certain magnetism, the pull of the Arion. This is a hard to beat package.
@arn38fr But the Lacam Malissol GT4 finds a way to edge the Arion out. The interior is also incredible, the creamy yellow leather goes very well with the white exterior. It feel top end for sure, and it oozes comfort all around, and prestige to top it out. Another hydropneumatic wonder, but tuned for comfort. The automatic is there to make gear changes as seamless as possible. It even runs on Hard compound, but with comfortable brake pads. Engine is very very similar to the Arion, but is very silent and well insulated. It was built with luxury and comfort in mind. Pretty authentic as well, another tough cookie to beat.
@Mikonp7 The Pfeil Spessart is, well, a Pfeil. While they always made great funny ads, it did not translate here. It does look like a tame GT unfortunately, a bit bland. Authenticity is not its best trait, and a lack of interior or an engine with good forged component are very obvious issues here. It is one of the few inline 6 of the group, but the all cast components clashes with the rest. Comfort is not bad overall, with luxury amenities and one of the softest suspension around, but the small cramped cabin, gearbox and loud motor does not help it. Prestige is also very subpar here.
@BannedByAndroid
The ZKF Z4000CSi is not the answer to the question: what is a luxurious GT car? Is it even a GT? It really does not look like one at all. It does not have much comfort, nor prestige. Yes, it has a nice luxury package, and soft suspensions, but you can’t polish a muscle car into a GT. It simply does not work.
@Harvester The HRV - RVH shines on this stage. It has above average comfort and the most prestige of all, thanks to its ultra smooth V12. The lack of detailed interior is a big loss here however, and might sting, especially with such lower authenticity. The hand-made cabin and luxury equipment really shines here, and the front bench is unique on this class. Another hydropneumatic suspension here as well, and it does the job very well while not being too soft. Overall a luxurious option with a rough side.
@Tzuyu_main and @chiefzach2018 The Mistral L600 is an interesting entry. It is creative, used as a camera car, filming the rallye - too bad it was never in the thick of the action there. Rest of the car does not feel very GT, despite a nice smooth V12. It is however pretty comfortable, but prestige is dead average, which is enough to make it competitive at least, but not enough to get a ton of praise unfortunately.
@Kyorg
The Tiburon 388 did not perform as good as expected in the rallye and also is not the best performer here. Really not. It had the worst comfort of all competition, big let down for a GT. The archaic 3-speed manual transmission is not helping here. The slightly grippy brakes, the fade and less comfortable pads are pushing this toward a performance car, without as much as needed. This is no Zephorous. The interior is very well craft tho, but is very sporty and only premium, not offering much luxury. The sporty suspension does not help much, neither does the engine - even rougher than the Zephorus. Beside an incredible reliability, you feel like you are sitting on a brick, and surprisingly it does not feel prestigious - a ton of work went into styling and interior, but the insides are letting it down. It does feel more authentic than the Zephorous tho, but overall Tiburon needs to work on it some more.
And now for the results.
In 3rd position...
Zephorous and the GT T! What a car it is. It is from from the top cars tho, but enough to beat the rest of the competition for 3rd place. Is there something the Zephorus is not good at? @Riley
In 2nd position...
HRV and the RVH. Really not far from 1st position, but the lack of an interior really penalized it - even a simplist one would have probably crowned it as the most luxurious option. @Harvester
And the winner of the **Most Luxurious GT** award is...
Surprinsingly a tie!!! A tie between the Arion Aquila 8C Pursuit and the LACAM Malissol GT4. They both are incredibly luxurious options and it was hard for the judges to crown one of them, so they decided to reward both with the award! @Aruna and @arn38fr
Congratulations to the winner and runner ups. Now, it is on to best value…
Best Value GT (4/5)
Enjoyment, Economy and Costs
Now, how about the value proposition of those cars? Not a lot of people can afford GT cars, but if you have the money to burn, getting back a bit of value would be nice, wouldn’t it?
@TheAlmightyTwingo The Haniyasushin Monaaku LV6-IIb Suzuka spec Rally fuel economy came in at 20.8 L/100km, unfortunately was outside the 18L/100km category where many fell in. Not the worst, by far (nearly twice better in fact), competition was fierce here. Service costs however were great, one of the best of this category, which helped it immensely. You would not expect that from a rally spec. Enjoyment was slighlty below par tho with a not so great throttle response, a very unsmooth engine thanks to it being pushrod, but steering was ok, as well as gearing which was too tight, but cornering was a big letdown for a rally spec. Overall, not a bad value proposition, but it could have been better.
@Riley The Zephorus GT T fuel economy came in at 18.6 L/100km, which sounds pretty good in this category, but actually had trouble competing with many other and finished in the bottom-tier, but only because it was a very tight competition and many entries came in around 18.0 L/100km. The brakes were without any noticeable fade but performance oriented engine does make for a bit less enjoyment, feeling very sporty and race-ish without being very responsive. This is also the roughest engine reviewed, the V8 balance and timing was not great with a noticeable shake. The high-revving engine really felt you were in a race car. Then the roll was considerable on such a performance vehicle so close to the ground, which was detrimental to the driving experience. Judges felt steering was at the limit, if not without oversteering issues. This is nowhere near a tame entry, but we do not think it was supposed to be! As for costs, th good news was that the Zephorus is not the costliest option to service… but it was not very far behind, with over AMU$3000 and it is right at the limit of costs for this class of GT. You will not find any good value here if you want every cent you invest to count.
@Prium
The Duquesne Frigate does not shine here. The V12 is a guzzler, with 36.1 L/100km… yeah, this will burn a whole in your pockets for sure. Enjoyment is very average here, nothing bad, because it has great response and smoothness from the engine, but it is a boat. They are made for cruising. Cornering is bottom of the class, steering is not great, gearing from the automatic could be better. The sportiness is a real let down here. The service costs are pretty good and it is one of the cheapest GT in this category, but there are no redeeming factor for such a poor economy. We would stay away.
@SolidSnake The Silverstone DS5 SE '79 has good fuel economy. Nothing to complain about here, even if the top ones are in the 17 L/100KM category, it is not far. Service costs are pretty low, and it cost less to purchase than many other. The judges were not impress with the overall GTness of the car. While feeling authentic, the enjoyment was not there. That aluminium 3.0L V12 DOHC engine is smooth for sure, but throttle response could have been improved with better timing. The gearing, steering and cornering were all subpar compared to the competition tho. Grippy brakes and very understeering tendencies really were a letdown here. There is no WOW factor here.
@HighOctaneLove The Proletariat Panache has an old V12 from a tank. Can you guess how well it did in fuel economy? Actually, it top of the class. Top 5 at least. A surprising 16.4 L/100km here. How did they do that? We’re not sure, but this is no Duquesne. Service costs are great even. It is also the cheapest to acquire, being such an old relic, at around AMU$25,000. Really, you can buy 3 for one Zephorus. How about enjoyment? This is where it gets dicey: you will not find any here. Other than a balanced engine that is relatively smooth, the response is bad, steering is non-existant, gearing is lacking, cornering is nowhere to be found. You were worried there for a minute the judges would recommend it right? Well, they still do. It is not the worst, and if you want a 10 year old car and museum piece in your driveway, you could do much worse. It does look like a GT and is Archana, there could be value there in the future. Just avoid driving it.
@cake_ape The Mons Deimos was a fan favorite, but does it bring any value to the table? It does, with the second best fuel economy of the competition! At 14.7 L/100KM, it is hard to beat for a GT. The service costs are a tad high, and it is slightly cheaper than many. Is it enjoyable tho? It is not bad actually. Steering is good, not too much oversteer, cornering is average for the pack, but the smootheness and throttle response are a bit of a let down here, and gearing could be improved - the automatic transmission ignores most gears since they are so close together. Great for cruising and economy tho. Overall, while it lacks in pure GT enjoyment, it does bring good value to the tablle. Enough of it? We’ll see.
@Der_Bayer The Cisalpina Presto 72 has pretty good economy. Not as great as the Mons, but better than average. Service costs are average but not too high, and price is not at the limit of the class. So overall, a pretty average value, but then you need to factor in excitement. It has top of the class cornering, throttle response and smootheness, good steering and not too bad gearing. The engine purrs and roars at the same time. A very nice driving experience, if not the best. Truly a enjoyable GT to drive, a remarkable feat considering the performance it exhibited.
@AndiD Then on to the ** Mara Irena GTC**. What can we say about it? It is a Frankenstein. It has top of the line cornering, as good as the Zephorus. Good steering also, but how would a 2.5L pushrod straight 4 really perform here? Like a rattling can of death. We’re unsure how could the GTC get to where it is in the standing when looking at the engine. Non-existant smootheness, incredibly poor throttle response, a very low redline cutting off the power. There are not a lot of redeeming factor here. Is there? Yes. It is efficient. The most efficient engine at 12 L/100km. Well, not surprising from a 4 cylinders really. Service costs are slightly above average, and price is a bit below average. We would have expected a cheap entry like the Proletariat, but they went overboard and just pushed on every. single. component’s quality. Way too much for what this offers. A cheaper option would actually have fare much better, this is non-GT mechanics overengineered to make it a GT. They never give up, that we can say.
@SenseiB12
The TransitStar Pan Gasmea is very enjoyable to drive. Beside not being very smooth, with a 5.0L V8 cast iron pushrod that is still running on a carb. Engine response is not the worst, everything seems to be well tuned there. We could not call it efficient tho, far from it. With a 25.4 L/100KM, this is one of the worst gas guzzling engine. Service costs are pretty good, but price is a bit high, a lot due to the massive engineering invested to tune the engine and the quality-focused components. Overall, not enough value is brought to the table.
@th3maldonado Does the Brooklands Bamburgh GTS Royale bring any good value to the table? Let see. A slightly below average consumption. Slightly above average service costs. High MSRP. The 4.5L V8 shines tho. Responsive and not too rough for a V8, with good mechanical fuel injection. Good cornering, acceptable gearing and steering. It really ends up right smack on the average, but surprisingly edges out a lot of the competition who all have some kind of Achilles heels.
@Xepy
The Tristella Ciconia GT-5 has unfortunately an above average fuel consumption. The 5.0L V8 is however fun to drive, with enough reponsiveness while not being too loud, just enough. Service costs are par for the category, but is on the pricier side of acquisition costs. However, while the response from the engine is top of the class, it does not feel as enjoyable overall to drive as the Brooklands, surprisingly. Gearing and steering could be improved, they are a bit tame. On paper the 5-speed manual is performant and brakes are pretty well balanced. It just has a tad too much of an oversteer.
@Aruna The Arion Aquila 8C Pursuit is a bit of a gas guzzler for sure, with 21.7 L/100km. It is not gonna win any awards there, and while the MSRP is pretty low compared to many, service costs are pretty high - you will pay a premium there. While the V8 response is good, cornering is not. As we’ve seen from the rally, this is a luxo boat more than a performance car, it feels like someone someone’s uncle would drive. Cornering is below average, steering is a bit on the understeer side, the very short gearing is also not helping here, but keep wheelspin manageable. Overall, this is a luxury package, not a value package for sure.
@arn38fr The Lacam Malissol GT4 is in the same boat (pun intended) as the Arion - it is a luxury package. It has worse reaction while driving as a GT - it is a much better cruiser. Enjoyment is not at the top of the list here unfortunately. It does have also above average consumption, like Arion. Service costs are much more acceptable here, but it comes at a very premium price, at the top of the class. You will not find a ton of value here.
@Mikonp7 The Pfeil Spessart has great economy tho, one of its strong point. It is cheap at around AMU$45K, and service costs a pretty low. Is it fun to drive tho? Well, surprisingly, yes. It has a good response from the engine, is pretty smooth, has average cornering, but the steering is a bit of a let down, on the understeering side. This does end up being pretty good value. Pfeil! Pfeil! Pfeil!
@BannedByAndroid The ZKF Z4000CSi had it rough in the rallye, but is it of any value? Fuel economy is better than the average bit a bit, and it is also very cheap, cheaper than the Pfeil at around AMU$37,000. Service costs are a bit higher tho. The main issue is the complete lack of enjoyment. It has no cornering abilities, gearing isn’t great, It understeers even at low speed, the engine is also not very smooth, despite being very responsible. The iron/alu V8 is not the worst of the class for sure, but is nothing to write home about unfortunately. Definitely not a Pfeil here.
@Harvester The HRV - RVH has some value for sure. Somewhere. Pretty dead on average economy, it does have many caveat, like costs. It has the worst service costs of the group, by far. It won’t be gentle on your wallet for sure. MSRP is also pretty high as well. It is however on the more enjoyable driving experience side, but even good cornering and smoothness from the V12 cannot compensate for the lack of everything else.
@Tzuyu_main and @chiefzach2018
The Mistral L600 is really more a luxury sedan than a GT. It is not super fun to drive, with poor response, steering and cornering overall. You can find more fun entries for sure. The economy is one of the worst, which does not make it such an attractive option. Service costs are good tho, but it is also on the pricier side, acquisition-wise. We would not recommend.
@Kyorg The Tiburon 388 is in a similar position than the Zephorous and many others - it’s 19.3L/100km is good for the class, but many of the competition went even further in the low 18, making it less interesting there. It is however higly enjoyable compared to most, with a good throttle response, at the limit steering, gear spacing, above average cornering but a slightly high roll, the shaky engine and a lot of wheelspin feel like a cold shower. It is not as performant as we would expect such a 5.0L DOHC V8, but even the rudimentary mostly cast component feels it cheapens the car a bit. The race car feel you see when you look at the engine does not translate - but it is enjoyable. Would you pay AMU$80,000 for something subpar but that feels ok? Well, it does have very low service costs. In fact judges were perplexed by them, they were the lowest of all competition. It does end up being a chimera - it does bring somewhat good value to the table while being subpar everywhere else.
And now on the to the results.
In 3rd position...
Mons and the Deimos. It brings a lot to the table, and while many competitors were subpar, this one was good all around, but not without its rough spots. Still enough to place 3rd. @cake_ape
In 2nd position...
Cisalpina and the Presto 72. Wow. What a good balance this car is, it can beat anyone in a Rallye and is also an extremly good value. Mostly because of a lot of the GT cars are not a very good value in themselves. Still, impressive. @Der_Bayer
And the winner of the **Best Value GT** award is...
Pfeil and the Spessart! This is a complete surprise. While it is not such a great GT car and did not perform while, it is hard to beat its price, maintenance costs and the fun it is to drive after a long day. Still, if you have the money, you should not pass up the Cisalpina, but if you are on a budget, it is a fun low cost car. @Mikonp7
Congratulations to the winner and runner ups. Now the judges are deliberating on the final ranking for this competition, stay tuned…
There have been some truly nice cars I have been afraid of.
