Year: 2010
Make: Nissan
Model: GT-R SpecV
Power: 478 HP
Why It's Hot: "It's no secret Nissan has done everything right when it comes to the GT-R. The car has tamed the Nurburgring, besting supercars that cost far more money while delivering real world reliability and daily drivability. Like the Spec-Vs of early 1990s Skyline GT-R fame the latest rendition of Nissan's factory special edition takes the car to a whole new level. The Spec-V is currently a Land of the Rising Sun only proposition, making its inclusion on the Forza 3 DLC a real treat for players around the world."

Year: 2010
Make: Ferrari
Model: 599XX
Power: 700 HP
Why It's Hot: "The XX in the Ferrari 599XX badge gives clues to its experimental mission. The car is basically a library book that needs to be checked out at the front desk and the library is in Maranello. While based on the 599 GTB Fiorano, with the same transaxle layout and engine type, this prototype is an extreme track car. It is not road legal and its performance envelope has been stretched to brink of rupturing."

Year: 2009
Make: Aston Martin
Model:#007 Racing Lola LMP1
Power: 650 HPs
Why It's Hot: "Step up to big-time racing in this stunning Lola chassised, V12 Aston Martin-powered masterpiece. Built to Le Mans LMP1 specification the Aston Martin Racing (AMR) Lola was tasked to take down the oil-burners at the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans on the 50th anniversary of Aston's win at la Sarthe. In 1959 Roy Salvadori and none other than Carroll Shelby took out Ferrari Scuderia's 250 GT with the famous Aston Martin DB1."

Year: 2010
Make: Jaguar
Model: XFR
Power: 510 HP
Why It's Hot: "Any thoughts of Tata sitting on Jaguar's laurels go out the window with one look at the sensuous XFR. The regular XF, which replaces the S-Type, has resurrected the brand and given Jaguar a bit more spring in its step. The full-tilt boogie high-performance R model takes the XF to the next level, delivering performance and luxury in a neatly wrapped package. A totally revamped AJ Series V8 displacing 5.0 liters has been supercharged and super-tuned to pound out 510 horsepower and 460 lbs-ft of torque which puts the XFR squarely in M5 and AMG territory."
"

Year: 2009
Make: Audi
Model: #2 Sport Team Joest R15 TDI
Power: 600+ HP
Why It's Hot: "Audi's recent Le Mans success started with the gasoline powered R8's win in 2004 and saw its diesel dominance take full effect with overall 24 Hours of Le Mans wins in '05, ‘06, '07 and '08 with the V12 TDI R10. The R15 is the evolution of the concept. The powerplants hard specs include a pair of Garrett turbochargers, four-valves per cylinder, DOHC, two 37.9mm engine air-intake restrictors (stipulated by regulations) and maximum turbo pressure of 2.75 bar absolute, diesel direct injection TDI®, fully stressed aluminum crankcase, and a Bosch MS14 engine management system."

Year: 2010
Make: Mercedes
Model: SLR Stirling Moss
Power: 650 HP
Why It's Hot: "The SLR Stirling Moss is retro but innovative. There is neither a roof nor a windscreen to separate the driver and passenger from the outside world; they enjoy unadulterated high-speed excitement with all the attributes of a true open ‘al fresco' speedster. The body, a fully carbon fiber masterpiece, is pointy at the nose with deep-grooved accents and a wide-open cockpit. The humps behind driver and passenger serve as rollover protection and air scoops. Peak beneath the bonnet and you're greeted by a 650 horsepower, AMG-sourced supercharged V8 that displaces 5.4 liters. 0-60 whizzes by in 3.4 seconds and, if your hair can handle the turbulence, the SLR will top out in the neighborhood of 215 mph. This sparkling performance costs a petty penny, 750,000 Euros or a tad over $1 Million."

Year: 2010
Make: Lamborghini
Model: Murcielago LP 670-4 SV
Power: 661 HP
Why It's Hot: "The ‘SV' at the end of the name stands for Super Veloce, a moniker reserved for Lambos with a little extra punch under the loud pedal. Also the ‘4' prior to the ‘SV' equates to all-wheel drive. In this case the Super V its 6.5-liter V12 develops 29 more horsepower, topping out at 661 compared to 632 in a standard Murcielago. The added gusto comes complements of revised valve timing and alterations of the intake system. The hard data on the Prancing Bull's mid-ship-mounted V12 include an 88.0 mm bore, 89.0 mm stroke, 11:1 compression ratio, double overhead cams, variable valve timing and four valves per cylinder."

Year: 2010
Make: Ferrari
Model: 458 Italia
Power: 570 HP
Why It's Hot: "Maranello brought its A-Game, giving the 458 Italia the best of the best. Its all-new aluminum chassis structure has been endowed with a highly functional body the 458 has just enough resemblance to its predecessor, the F430, to recognize the bloodline. The 458 Italia is a combination of banned F1 active-aero technology and the voluptuous vision of the Pininfarina design house. The 458 features ‘aerolastic' spoilers in front that shape shift as the car accelerates altering the flow of air into the radiator and decreasing drag. Pininfarina provided the classic Ferrari elements; five-spoke star wheels, Prancing Horse fender badges and V8-under-glass engine presentation. But Pininfarina's sculpted character lines, flowing fender treatment, high-tech LED headlamps and scowling front fascia take the Italia to the next level."

Year: 2010
Make: Audi
Model: S4
Power: 333 HP
Why It's Hot: "The ‘S' designation means big performance for Audi fanatics. S models come with standard Quattro all-wheel drive, pumped up engines, big brakes and sport tuned suspensions as well as unique interior and exterior styling cues compared to its ‘A' designated siblings. With its penchant for poshness in recent editions some people say the ‘S' in the S4 has stood more for Style than performance. For 2010 the ‘S' stands for Scintillating.

The 2010 edition pounds the pavement with a direct-injection supercharged V6 in place of turbo V6 and V8 offerings found in previous S4s. The 3.0-liter blown V6 pumps out 333 horsepower. The new powertrain is only 11 horses shy of the V8 but provides a 23 lbs-ft gain in torque, enhancing the sedan's low-end grunt and overall drivability. Shifting can be accomplished with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. The latter delivering quicker acceleration and improved fuel economy, 27 percent better than the previous S4."

Year: 2010
Make: Porsche
Model: Panamera Turbo
Power: 500 HP
Why It's Hot: Because including a Cayenne in a DLC of "Hot Holiday" cars is wrong, the Panamera Turbo is the only four-door Porsche we'd consider taking to the track. Though the engine is on the wrong side of the car, the übersedan still puts down 500 HP from its twin-turbo V8. It's enough juice to take three of your friends and their golf bags to 62 MPH from a cold start in just 4.2 seconds.

The DLC pack is downloadable today and costs 400 Microsoft points.

Click "next" to see the full comparison between the lists so you can decide which garage full of digital cars you'll want.

Quantity

Advantage: GT for PSP
Reason: GT for PSP has almost double the number of cars as Forza 3, which is an advantage that's hard to ignore consider it's hand-held against big-box. On the other hand, how many versions of the VW Lupo does one person want or need? It's not just about quantity, it's quality, so click through to see how the two face off in important categories.

American Cars

Advantage: Forza 3
Reason: Both games include must-haves like the Buick GNX and Ford GT, but Forza 3 has a special Motorsports Legends Car Pack with the 1969 Dodge Charger, 1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, and 1960 Chevrolet Corvette. And even if it didn't, choices for classic American cars like the Ford Mustang are limited to the 2005 GT and 2000 Cobra R according to the GT for PSP list. By comparison, Forza has those cars plus the 1970 Boss 429, 1993 SVT Cobra R and the 2004 Tiger Racing Mustang.

Japanese Cars

Advantage: GT for PSP
Reason: Most of those 400+ cars Gran Turismo has that Forza doesn't come in the form of highly specific Japanese special editions. If you're looking for a 2002 Nissan Fairlady Z with the Z33 option wheel instead of the regular wheel you're SOL with Forza 3. There's also a better historical collection of Japanese cars with GT for PSP, which offers classics like the 1973 Nissan 2000GT-R.

Italian Cars

Advantage: Forza 3
Reason: There are only a few Ferraris and Lamborghinis in GT for PSP, giving a clear advantage to Forza 3 with its stable of classic and modern Ferraris including the Tafel Racing F430GT and 1964 Ferrari GTO. Gran Turismo does have a better collection of Alfa Romeos though...

European Cars

Advantage: Toss-up
Reason: As much as we love the RUF-tuned Porsches, the continued lack of a Porsche vehicle in the Gran Turismo series and its inclusion in the Forza series already gives Forza a leg-up. On the flipside, the GT series has an entire host of Alpines, Citroëns and other special models lacking in Forza 3. The advantage depends on your personal preferences.

Racing Cars

Advantage: Forza 3
Reason: Though you can find some extreme race versions of very specific cars ( like the 1999 Citroën Xsara Rally Car) in GT for PSP, unless you're a rally fiend the racing cars in Forza 3 will appeal more to the modern racing fan. The number of ALMS/Le Mans cars in Forza 3 is far superior. The lack of an R10/R15 in GT for PSP is a glaring omission. The one exception to this is in rallying, where GT for PSP has a clear advantage.

Australian Cars

Advantage:Forza 3
Reason: Only Forza comes with a slate of Australian V8 Supercars, which feeds our need to race Holdens against FG Falcons in an Outback race-to-the-death. At least Gran Turismo has one Falcon FG.

Odd Cars

Advantage: GT for PSP
Reason: Because of the quantity of cars in Gran Turismo, you get some truly wonderful cars Forza didn't have space for. Can you say 1988 Volvo 240 GLT Estate)? We love racing unique rides you don't normally find in racing games. How does the 1998 Taurus SHO match up to the DeLorean S2? Inquiring minds want to know. What about a non-SRT10 Dodge Ram?

Photo of Volvo Wagon from GT4 as there is no press screen of Volvo from PSP available yet.

Crappy Cars

Advantage: Forza 3
Reason: This is not exactly a category you want to win. Whereas the crappiest car in Gran Turismo for PSP is arguably the still awesome Daihatsu MOVE CX '95, Forza includes no less than a Chevy Aveo5... LT! Why, with only 400 cars, did such a crapbox end up in the game?

Conclusion

Advantage: Forza 3
Reason: If you're a JDM nut who doesn't care about Aussie Supercars, classic Ferraris or American muscle you'll be unimpressed by the number of Suzuki kei cars in Forza 3 and should opt for Gran Turismo PSP. But if you're less impressed by total numbers than you are by attention to detail you'll love the great cars of Forza Motorsport 3, which is why it has the advantage. When (if) GT5 comes it'll likely have so many cars it will warp our feeble little minds. Our advice? Get both.

Links to the two full lists below so you can compare and disagree with us.
All 400 Cars Of Forza Motorsport 3
All 830 Cars From Gran Turismo PSP

2008 Acura #15 Lowe's Fernandez ARX-01b
2008 Acura #26 Andretti-Green Racing ARX-01b
2002 Acura #42 Realtime Racing NSX
2008 Acura #66 de Ferran Mortorsports ARX-01b
2009 Acura #66 de Ferran Mortorsports ARX-02a
2005 Acura NSX
2002 Acura RSX Type-S
2007 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione
2009 Alfa Romeo Brera Italia Independent
2008 Alfa Romeo Mito
2006 Aston Martin #007 Aston Martin Racing DBR9
2008 Aston Martin #008 Bell Motorsports DBR9
2008 Aston Martin #009 Aston Martin Racing DBR9
2005 Aston Martin DB9 Coupe
2003 Audi #1 Champion RS 6
2008 Audi #2 Audi Sport North America R10 TDI
2006 Audi #2 FSI Champion Racing R8
2006 Audi #8 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R10 TDI
2008 Audi A4 Touring Car
2009 Audi Q7 V12 TDI
2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro
2006 Audi RS 4
2003 Audi RS 6
2000 Audi S4
2004 Audi S4
2007 Audi S5
1983 Audi Sport Quattro
2004 Audi TT Coupe 3.2 quattro
2007 Audi TT Coupe S-Line
2004 Bentley Continental GT
2009 BMW Motorsport 135i Coupe
1971 BMW Motorsport 3.0 CSL
2001 BMW Motorsport #6 Prototype Technology Group M3-GTR
2009 BMW Motorsport #92 Rahal Letterman Racing M3 GT2
1997 BMW Motorsport M3 E36
2005 BMW Motorsport M3 E46 Coupe
1991 BMW Motorsport M3 E30
2008 BMW Motorsport M3 E92
2002 BMW Motorsport M3-GTR
2009 BMW Motorsport M5 E60
2009 BMW Motorsport X5 xDrive48i
2008 BMW Motorsport Z4 M Coupe
2009 Bugatti Veyron 16.4
2008 Cadillac #8 Remington Shaving CTS-V
2009 Cadillac CTS-V
2004 Chevrolet #3 Corvette Racing C5.R
2005 Chevrolet #31 Whelen Engineering Corvette Z06
2006 Chevrolet #4 Corvette Racing C6.R
2007 Chevrolet #4 Corvette Racing C6.R
2003 Chevrolet #50 Corvette Racing C5.R
2003 Chevrolet #73 3R-Racing Corvette Z06
2005 Chevrolet #99 Tiger Racing Corvette Z06
2009 Chevrolet Aveo5 LT
2002 Chevrolet Camaro 35th Anniversary SS
1990 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z
2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS Coupe
1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28
1979 Chevrolet Camaro Z28
1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS-454
2005 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Coupe
2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
2008 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Stock Car
2008 Chrysler 300C SRT-8
2006 Chrysler Crossfire SRT6
2009 Citroen C4 VTS
2002 Dodge #1 Team Zakspeed Viper GTS-R
2008 Dodge #11 Primetime Racing Group Viper Competition Coupe
2008 Dodge #2 Mopar Viper Competition Coupe
2004 Dodge #22 3R-Racing Viper Competition Coupe
2003 Dodge #23 Magellan Financial Viper Competition Coupe
1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi
2009 Dodge Challenger SRT-8
1969 Dodge Charger R/T
2006 Dodge Charger SRT8
2008 Dodge Charger Stock Car
2006 Dodge Ram SRT-10
2003 Dodge Viper Competition Coupe
2003 Dodge Viper SRT10
2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR
2005 Ferrari #11 Larbre Competition 550 Maranello GTS
1964 Ferrari 250 GTO
1998 Ferrari #30 MOMO Doran Racing F333 SP
1967 Ferrari 330 P4
1994 Ferrari F355 Berlinetta
1995 Ferrari F355 Challenge
1999 Ferrari 360 Modena
2003 Ferrari Challenge Stradale
1991 Ferrari 512 TR
2002 Ferrari 575M Maranello
2006 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
2004 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
2006 Ferrari #62 Risi Competizione F430GT
2008 Ferrari #71 Tafel Racing F430GT
2003 Ferrari #88 Veloqx / Prodrive Racing 550 Maranello
2008 Ferrari #90 Farnbacher Racing F430GT
2009 Ferrari California
1969 Ferrari Dino 246 GT
2002 Ferrari Enzo Ferrari
1987 Ferrari F40
1989 Ferrari F40 Competizione
2004 Ferrari F430
1995 Ferrari F50
1996 Ferrari F50 GT
2005 Ferrari FXX
1984 Ferrari GTO
2010 Fiat 500 Abarth SS
2009 Ford #1 TeamVodafone FG Falcon
2004 Ford #10 Tiger Racing Mustang
2009 Ford #25 Britek Motorsport FG Falcon
2009 Ford #5 Ford Performance Racing FG Falcon
2009 Ford #9 Stone Brothers Racing FG Falcon
2009 Ford Fiesta Zetec S
2009 Ford Focus RS
2006 Ford Focus ST
2003 Ford Focus SVT
2008 Ford Fusion Stock Car
2005 Ford Ford GT
1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429
2000 Ford Mustang Cobra R
1993 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R
1985 Ford RS200 Evolution
2009 Holden #2 Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore VE
2009 Holden #33 Garry Rogers Team Commodore VE
2009 Holden #39 Supercheap Auto Racing Commodore VE
2009 Holden #51 Sprint Gas Racing Commodore VE
2005 Honda #18 TAKATA DOME NSX
2005 Honda #8 ARTA NSX
2004 Honda Mugen Civic Type-R
2006 Honda Civic Si Coupe
2007 Honda Civic Type-R
1991 Honda CR-X SiR
2009 Honda Fit Sport
2002 Honda Mugen Integra Type-R
2000 Honda Integra Type-R
2002 Honda Integra Type-R
1992 Honda NSX-R
2005 Honda NSX-R GT
2003 Honda S2000
2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
2003 Hyundai Tuscani Elisa
2008 Infiniti G37 Coupe Sport
2009 Jaguar XKR-S
2008 Koenigsegg CCGT
1988 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV
1999 Lamborghini Diablo GTR
1997 Lamborghini Diablo SV
2005 Lamborghini Gallardo
2006 Lamborghini Miura Concept
2005 Lamborghini Murcielago
2007 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640
2008 Lamborghini Reventon
2003 Lexus IS300
2006 Lexus IS350
2009 Lexus IS F
2002 Lexus SC430
2005 Lotus Elise 111S
2009 Lotus Evora
2006 Lotus Exige Cup 240
2008 Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged
2005 Maserati #15 JMB Racing MC12
2008 Maserati GranTurismo
2004 Maserati MC12
2009 Mazda #16 Dyson Racing B09/86
2009 Mazda Mazdaspeed 3
1994 Mazda Miata
2007 Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe
2001 Mazda Mazdaspeed Roadster
1997 Mazda RX-7
2002 Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type-A
2004 Mazda RX-8 Mazdaspeed
1997 McLaren #43 Team BMW Motorsport McLaren F1 GTR
1997 McLaren F1 GT
2009 Mercedes A200 Turbo Coupe
2004 Mercedes C32 AMG
2009 Mercedes C-Class Touring Car
2009 Mercedes ML 63 AMG
2009 Mercedes SL 65 AMG Black Series
2005 Mercedes SLR
2003 MINI Cooper S
2009 MINI John Cooper Works
2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
2006 Mitsubishi HKS Time Attack Evolution
2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR
1999 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR
2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR
2008 Nissan #12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R
2003 Nissan #12 CALSONIC SKYLINE
2008 Nissan #23 XANAVI NISMO GT-R
2008 Nissan #24 WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R
2008 Nissan #3 YellowHat YMS TOMICA GT-R
2010 Nissan 370Z
1970 Nissan Datsun 510
2003 Nissan Fairlady Z
1994 Nissan Fairlady Z Version S Twin Turbo
2007 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V
1992 Nissan Silvia CLUB K's
1994 Nissan Silvia K's
2000 Nissan Silvia Spec-R
1993 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec
1997 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec
2002 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II
2002 Nissan MINE'S R34 Skyline GT-R
2000 Nissan Top Secret D1-Spec S15
2009 Nissan Versa SL
2004 Opel Speedster Turbo
2003 Pagani #17 Carsport America Zonda GR
1999 Pagani Zonda C12
2002 Panoz #50 Panoz Motor Sports LMP-01
2005 Panoz #51 Panoz Esperante GTLM
2005 Panoz Esperante GTLM
2004 Peugeot 206 RC
2007 Peugeot 207 RC
2007 Peugeot 207 Super 2000
2007 Peugeot #8 Peugeot Sport 908
2009 Peugeot #9 Peugeot Sport Total 908
1968 Chrysler Plymouth Barracuda Formula-S
2009 Pontiac G8 GXP
2006 Pontiac Solstice
2002 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Ram Air
1973 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am SD-455
1987 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am GTA
2008 Porsche #16 Dyson Racing RS Spyder Evo
1987 Porsche #17 Racing Porsche AG 962c
2008 Porsche #2 Gruppe Orange Racing 911 GT3 Cup
1998 Porsche #26 Porsche AG 911 GT1-98
2005 Porsche #31 Peterson-White Lightning 911 GT3-RSR
2008 Porsche #45 Flying Lizard 911 GT3-RSR
2005 Porsche #5 XBOX 360 911 GT3-RSR
2005 Porsche #55 Applied Materials 911 GT3 Cup
2005 Porsche #66 AXA Racing 911 GT3 Cup
2008 Porsche #7 Penske Racing RS Spyder Evo
2007 Porsche #80 Flying Lizard 911 GT3-RSR
2006 Porsche #82 Red Bull 911 GT3 Cup
1995 Porsche 911 GT2
1982 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3
1970 Porsche 914/6
1989 Porsche 944 Turbo
1987 Porsche 959
1998 Porsche 911 GT1
2004 Porsche 911 GT3 (996)
2008 Porsche 911 GT2 (997)
2007 Porsche 911 GT3 (997)
2007 Porsche 911 Turbo (997)
2003 Porsche Boxster S
2003 Porsche Carrera GT
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS
2009 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S
2006 Porsche Cayman S
1980 Renault 5 Turbo
2003 Renault Sport Clio V6 RS
2007 Renault Clio Renaultsport 197
2009 Renault Twingo Renault Sport Cup
2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo X
2002 Saleen #11 Graham Nash Motorsport S7R
2003 Saleen #2 Konrad Motorsports S7R
2006 Saleen S281 E
2008 Saleen S331 Supercab
2004 Saleen S7
2006 Saturn ION Red Line
2007 Saturn Sky Red Line
2005 Scion tC
2009 Scion xD
2009 SEAT Ibiza Cupra
2007 SEAT Leon Cupra
2007 SEAT Leon Supercup
2007 Ford Shelby GT500
1968 Shelby Mustang GT-500KR
2003 Subaru #77 CUSCO SUBARU ADVAN IMPREZA
2006 Subaru Impreza S204
2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STi
2005 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi
2008 Lexus #25 ECLIPSE ADVAN SC430
2008 Lexus #36 PETRONAS TOM'S SC430
2008 Lexus #6 ENEOS SC430
2004 Toyota Altezza RS200
2003 Toyota Celica SS-I
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205
1984 Toyota Celica Supra
2002 Toyota MR-S
1985 Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT Apex
1998 Toyota Supra RZ
2008 Toyota Yaris S
2005 TVR Sagaris
2006 Vauxhall Astra VXR
2009 Vauxhall Corsa VXR
2004 Vauxhall VX220 Turbo
2009 Volvo C30 R-Design
2004 Volvo S60 R
2003 Volkswagen Bora VR6
1995 Volkswagen Corrado VR6
2006 Volkswagen Golf GTi
2010 Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk6
1992 Volkswagen Golf Gti 16v Mk2
2003 Volkswagen Golf R32
1984 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI
2008 Volkswagen Scirocco GT
2008 Volkswagen Touareg R50
2003 Honda #16 G'ZOX NSX
2004 Honda Civic Type-R
1999 Honda Civic Si Coupe
1994 Honda Civic 1.5 VTi
1995 Honda CR-X Del Sol SiR
2005 Honda NSX-R
2000 Honda Prelude SiR
2005 Mazda Axela Sport 23S
2001 Mazda Mazdaspeed Familia
1990 Mazda Savanna RX-7
1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX
2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse GTS
1998 Mitsubishi FTO GP Version R
1997 Mitsubishi GTO
2003 Nissan #23 XANAVI NISMO GT-R
1997 Nissan #23 Nissan Motorsports R390
2003 Nissan #3 HASEMISPORT ENDLESS Z
1998 Nissan #32 NISSAN R390 GT1
2005 Nissan #46 Dream Cube's ADVAN Z
1969 Nissan Fairlady Z 432
1998 Nissan R390
2003 Nissan Skyline Coupe 350GT
1993 Nissan MINE'S R32 Skyline GT-R
1998 Subaru Impreza 22B STi
2005 Subaru Legacy B4 2.0 GT
1969 Toyota 2000GT
2006 Toyota #25 ECLIPSE ADVAN SUPRA
1999 Toyota #3 Toyota Motorsports GT-ONE TS020
2004 Toyota #35 Yellow Hat YMS Supra
2005 Toyota #36 OPEN INTERFACE TOM'S SUPRA
2005 Toyota #6 EXXON Superflo Supra
1995 Toyota MR2 GT
1995 Toyota Tom's T020 MR2
2002 Toyota Tom's W123 MR-S
2002 Toyota Soarer 430SCV
1992 Toyota Supra 2.0 GT Twin Turbo
1998 Toyota Top Secret 0-300 Supra
2001 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
2002 Audi #1 Champion S4 Competition
2001 Audi #4 Johansson Motorsport R8
2004 Audi #5 Audi Sport Japan Team Goh R8
2004 Audi #8 Audi ABT TT-R
2008 Audi R8
2003 Bentley #7 Team Bentley Speed 8
1999 BMW Motorsport #15 BMW Motorsport V12 LMR
2005 BMW Motorsport #2 BMW Motorsport M3-GTR
1998 Ferrari #12 Risi Competizione F333 SP
2003 Ferrari #72 Team Alphand Aventures 550 Maranello GTS
1961 Jaguar E-type S1
1993 Jaguar XJ220
2002 Koenigsegg CC8S
1992 Lancia Delta Integrale EVO
1974 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale
1989 Lotus Carlton
1972 Lotus Elan Sprint
2002 Lotus Esprit V8
2005 Maserati #35 Risi Competizione MC12
2005 Maserati #9 Vitaphone Racing Team MC12
2006 Maserati GranSport
1997 McLaren #41 Team McLaren F1 GTR
1998 McLaren #41 Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren F1 GTR
1954 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing Coupe
2003 Mercedes CLK55 AMG Coupe
1998 Mercedes AMG Mercedes CLK GTR
2003 Opel #5 OPC Team Phoenix Astra V8
2007 Peugeot #1 Peugeot 207 Super 2000
1993 Peugeot #3 Peugeot Talbot Sport 905 EVO 1C
2005 Porsche #3 Lechner Racing School Team 1 911 GT3 Cup
1998 Porsche #5 Zakspeed Racing 911 GT1-98
2002 Saab 9-3 Aero
2003 SEAT Leon Cupra R
1998 TVR Cerbera Speed 12
2001 TVR Tuscan S
2005 Vauxhall Monaro VXR
2004 Volvo #24 At-Speed S60 R
2004 Volkswagen Beetle
2001 Acura Integra Type-R
1997 Acura NSX
1987 Buick Regal GNX
2004 Cadillac #16 Team Cadillac CTS-V
2002 Cadillac #6 Team Cadillac Northstar LMP-02
2004 Cadillac CTS-V
1996 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport
1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 427
1970 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1
2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser GT
2003 Dodge #126 Team Zakspeed Viper GTS-R
2000 Dodge #57 Carsport Holland Viper GTS-R
2000 Dodge #91 Viper Team Oreca GTS-R
2003 Dodge SRT4
1996 Dodge Stealth R/T Turbo
1999 Dodge Viper GTS ACR
1998 Chrysler Eagle Talon TSi Turbo
1966 Ford GT40 MkII
2005 Ford Mustang GT
2003 Infiniti G35 Coupe
2003 Panoz #11 JML Team Panoz LMP-01
2006 Panoz #81 Team LNT Panoz Esperante GTLM
2004 Pontiac GTO
1968 Pontiac GTO Hardtop
2001 Saleen #26 Konrad Motorsports S7R
2000 Saleen S281
1965 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C
1999 Shelby Series 1
Exclusive Cars Limited Collector's Edition Cars:

2005 Acura Forza Motorsport NSX
2005 Aston Martin Forza Motorsport DB9 Coupe
2010 Audi Forza Motorsport R8 5.2 FSI quattro
2008 Dodge Xbox 360 Charger Stock Car
2003 Nissan Forza Motorsport Fairlady Z

Forza Motorsport VIP Membership Car pack:

2008 Aston Martin DBS
2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
2007 Ferrari 430 Scuderia
2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera
2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997)
Exclusive Preorder Cars:

2009 BMW Motorsport Walmart M5 E60
2009 BMW Motorsport GameStop M5 E60
2009 BMW Motorsport GAME M3 E92
2009 BMW Motorsport MicroMania M5 E60
2008 Mitsubishi GameStation Lancer Evolution X GSR
2010 Audi R8 5.2 Community Edition

(Hat Tip to Cory!)

The next edition in the Gran Turismo line was announced at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo, at which time the developers claimed they had already been working on it for four years in an effort to include every car in the world. The latter now just seems like ambitious hype; the former, if true, is just sad.

No release date was claimed at the game's announcement, but during interviews in the summer of 2008, Yamauchi said the game wouldn't be coming out until late 2009. Sony and Yamauchi had been sticking to this rough date in interviews and press materials until yesterday. As expected as the announcement of more waiting may be, it's still disappointing for fanboys — particularly as the demo for Forza Motorsport 3 is on Xbox Live already, right on time. [GTPlanet]

Polyphony's version is definitely more a lingering look at the new Ferrari, which hasn't always been a part of Gran Turismo. Conversely, including Ferrari was a big deal for Forza in its early days, but they haven't always gotten the legendary Italian cars quite right, with early screenshots of the game earning criticism for strangely long-nosed Enzos. Will Turn 10 get the Italia right?

Here's what the car looks like in the metal.

And here's Turn 10's effort at linking the new Italia to previous Modena icons.

[via GTPlanet]

The demo will feature one track, the fictitious Camino Viejo de Montserrat circuit, and five cars: the 2007 Porsche #80 Flying Lizard 911 GT3-RSR, 2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro, 2009 Ferrari California, 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR, and 2009 Mini John Cooper Works. The demo will have the cockpit view, damage model, and rollover feature from the full game, as well as full leaderboard support for lap times. For those who enjoy dressing up their Live avatars, Turn 10 will also be making helmets, fire suits, and racing shoes available for you on the 24th, although you may want to feel ashamed of yourselves. [Forzamotorsport.net]

Start your journey though our top 20 auto-themed video games by clicking next on the right and give us what you think we missed in the comments below.

Game: Spy Hunter
Creator: Midway
Release Date: 1983
Original Platform: Arcade

Why We Love It: Elegantly designed and incredibly well-balanced, but all we cared about in 1983 is that we had a Z28 with guns on it. Unlimited ammo machine guns. Also oil slicks, smokescreen, anti-air missles, and support infrastructure in the form of the weapons and replacement vans, and what else do you need from life as long as you had access to the sit-down version? Even the Peter Gunn theme never seemed to get old.

Photo: Wikipedia

Game: Pole Position
Creator: Namco
Release Date: 1982
Original Platform: Arcade

Why We Love It: The faux-3D graphics, the inclusion of the more-or-less actual Fuji Racetrack circuit and the qualify-to-race format allowed certain junior car geeks to act aloof and superior to everyone else in the arcades. Hey, we all thought we were going to be nuked at any moment, and we were living for the moment, okay? Pole Position also featured in-game advertising, which seemed cool in those more innocent times.

Photo: Videogamecritic.net

Game: F-Zero
Creator: Nintendo
Release Date: 1991
Original Platform: SNES

Why We Love It: Listen, Mario Kart is great and all, but F-Zero was hardcore stuff. In the 27th century, gigaillionaires race cars which hover a foot over a track lined with damaging walls and festooned with magnets, mines, and slip zones. Unlock the Super Jet boost by putting in a good lap and you're in a for a combination of Pole Position and Sonic the Hedgehog, meaning that it was fun, colorful, and difficult as hell.

Photo: Wikipedia

Game: Newman/Haas Racing Featuring Nigel Mansell
Creator: Acclaim
Release Date: 1994
Original Platform: SNES

Why We Love It: Now YOU can be Nigel Mansell! Er…great? Well, there weren't a lot of licensed games based on actual series for console owners in those days, and Nigel Mansell was pretty much the most complete. In the early '90s Mansell came over to the States from Formula 1, proceeded to trounce everyone on the Indy-series ovals with a combination of talent and stupefying bravery, and then put his intimidating Brit-stache on this perfectly adequate game. Interestingly, you could retire from a race, or a few in a row, with injuries to the driver, which was perhaps a nod to Mansell's 1993 injury at Phoenix, or perhaps just a really silly idea.

Photo: SNESclassics

Game: Daytona USA
Creator: Sega
Release Date: 1995
Original Platform: Arcade

Why We Love It: Hey, you could race against up to eight of your friends! Or most likely the guy in the one other cabinet who has $14 in quarters up there, won't leave, and smells like gerbil bedding. Still, it was cool, and several different oval, road, and street courses were on offer, plus the option of manual transmissions, so you could actually get pretty wrapped up in it. And it ran extremely fast and smooth for the time. Sadly, instead of an evolved version, Buck Hunter and Golden Tee rule today's bowling alleys and bars.

Photo: Softpedia

Game: Twisted Metal
Creator: SingleTrac
Release Date: 1995
Original Platform: PlayStation

Why We Love It: Mario Kart was cute and all, but character-based car games were going away from races and more towards the fighting-game model. Twisted Metal was the car-combat result, and it was a huge success, even though its evil boss character was the already played-out evil clown. More importantly it had surprising tactical depth and a decent variety of stages and vehicles. Plus you could drop the Eiffel Tower on people, always a must for any fantastical demolition derby. Sadly, the series got "darker," supposedly, and less fun as time went on and people got bored by scary clowns.

Photo: SCEA

Game: WipEout series
Creator: Psygnosis/SCE Liverpool
Release Date: 1995
Original Platform: PlayStation, PC

Why We Love It: Rave on, racers! While in many respects these games hew close to the F-Zero hovering rocket-car format, the production design is extremely 90s and the throbbing electronic soundtrack is extremely throbbing. It also happens to be very good arcade racing, if you can tolerate the well-executed if psychedelic atmosphere. Still popular among people who like their racing alternate and futuristic, their music futuristic and throbbing, and their consciousness throbbing and altered.

Photo: consolewars

Game: Formula 1
Creator: Psygnosis
Release Date: 1996
Original Platform: PlayStation

Why We Love It: It may not have been a true simulation, but the first in-depth racing game for the PlayStation was a very good one indeed. Formula 1 featured the entire field and all the tracks from the 1995 season, full practice and qualifying sessions, and commentary by Murray Walker himself. Graphically, and in most other ways, it was a big step beyond anything else commonly available, and was arguably better than any of the next couple follow-ups in the series, which eventually bogged down somewhat in gimcrackery and tacked-on arcade modes.

Photo: rscnet

Game: Streets Of Sim City
Creator: Maxis
Release Date: 1997
Original Platform: PC

Why We Love It: Before anyone figured out that manipulating simulated people were where it's at, simulated civil service and urban planning were a huge genre. Streets allowed you to be a puppet master by day and an automotive vigilante puppet by night; the streets you raced and fought on were the very ones you designed. It seemed like a novelty, but besides the racing and car combat it was remarkably absorbing to just cruise the streets of your very own metropolis, consider raising taxes again, and wonder why all your slums were invariably down by your stadium.

Photo: Gosugamers

Game: Interstate '76
Creator: Activision
Release Date: 1997
Original Platform: PC

Why We Dig It The Most, Baby: It's car combat set against a malaise-era oil crisis with a 'sploitation sensibility, and it is funny and it rocks. You play as "Groove Champion," and you fight to stop OPEC from nuking Texas—for reasons that certainly must have seemed sound at the time—from behind the wheel and trigger of an alternate-universe Plymouth Barracuda. The combat mechanics are surprisingly detailed, the driving engine is consistent if unremarkable, and the soundtrack is huge, bass-heavy and fretless. There were sequels, but they didn't have the same magic. A great reason to own an older PC or to emulate.

Photo: Wikipedia

Game: Grand Prix Legends
Creator: Papyrus
Release Date: 1998
Original Platform: PC

Why We Absolutely Adore It: A gem that slowly evolved into a masterpiece and ten years after its release is verging on a magnum opus. You want to talk cult hits and rabid fans? This little game, which started out as an extremely solid simulation of the 1967 Grand Prix season, still has a dedicated playing and modding community today, and when we say dedicated, we mean they're almost done putting together the entire Targa Florio course-all 45 miles of it. It's a classic example of a looks-okay-but-plays-amazing game, and if you're remotely interested in the game type and want to play alongside a passionate, dedicated group, this is exactly what you've been looking for.

Photo: Softpedia

Game: Gran Turismo series
Creator: Polyphony Digital
Release Date: 1998
Original Platform: PlayStation

Why We Love It: Without this game, would people still crave RHD JDM R34 Skylines, we wonder? Probably, but not with the same intensity. Aside from the 176-car menu, Gran Turismo introduced the joy of simulation, with its emphasis on careful setup and car control (if not damage modeling) to consoles. A great racing-school component, challenging event stages, and tantalizing unlockables kept a new generation of digital gearheads playing all night. It was five years in the making, but it was worth it, as every edition since has been a stunner, and there's every reason to suspect that long-delayed GT5 will be astounding as well. As for developer Polyphony Digital, who changed motoring culture by putting Skylines in their product, they now put their product in the Skyline; they famously do the dash graphics for Nissan's GTR.

Photo: Polyphony Digital

Game: Crazy Taxi
Creator: Sega
Release Date: 1999
Original Platform: Arcade

Why We Love It: It's perhaps the last truly great arcade driver, Crazy Taxi is a roaming mission-based game of fare deliver with an odd but consistent physics engine and a great sense of humor. It was simple, buy there was a lot of depth and plenty to enjoy, including the sights and folks of coastal pseudo-California, the ever-present KFC ads, and the jaunty punk soundtrack. It nibbled away your time in happy 90-second bites, and it only got better when it evolved into The Simpsons Hit And Run.

Photo: Loot Ninja

Game: Midnight Club
Creator: Angel Studios
Release Date: 2000
Original Platform: PlayStation2

Why We Love It: The PS2's debut was a revelation, and aptly-named publisher Rockstar Games was there to capitalize with an open-world off-road free-for-all called Smuggler's Run and this free-roaming street racer. The setting was Manhattan, a semi-open world which seemed huge at the time and provided great choose-your-own-course point-to-point racing. The series continues to evolve and has become even more challenging; it may be the arcade racer with the steepest difficulty curve.

Photo: Gamespy

Game: Colin McRae Rally/ DiRT
Creator: Codemasters
Release Date: 2000
Original Platform: PlayStation, PC

Why We Love It: As indescribably cool as rallying is, there aren't many rally games to choose from. Therefore it's fortunate that the McRae games are very good indeed. Although they trend towards the arcadey side in later editions, all of them are fun, challenging , and smooth, and a fitting pop-culture tribute to one of the greatest drivers of all time. They're also some of the best-looking car games out there regardless of genre, and the sound must be heard to be believed; motorsport, and rallying in particular, is not a quiet activity, and this title does a better job than any other game s of bringing it home to the vicarious driver.

Photo: Gamespot

Game: Grand Theft Auto III-IV
Creator: Rockstar
Release Date: 2001
Original Platform: PlayStation2

Why We Love It: Okay, so it isn't purely or even primarily a car game, despite its title. Yet the driving aspects of these satirical mayhem simulators are so much evil-hearted cinematic fun that it can't be left off this list. Much thought has been put into the cars that populate GTA's hilariously mean-tempered cities, and every model is meticulously detailed and clearly inspired by some real-world counterpart. They all blow up real good, too. And the latest installment finally looks good enough to make the first-person view worth using during police chases, which adds an almost frightening level of immediacy to your inevitable brutal demise.

Photo: IGNl

Game: Burnout series
Creator: Criterion
Release Date: 2002
Original Platform: PlayStation2, Xbox, GameCube

Why We Love It: The problem with many racing games, even the less realistic ones, is that one little crash can render the entire race a moot point. Burnout's genius solution was to make crashing just as important as racing, and just as skill-intensive. All the titles were fun, and though the most recent edition, Burnout Paradise, lost the bowling-for-cars Crash Mode, it added a free-roaming component that more than made up for it. One of the great Neanderthal time-wasters of the videogame world.

Photo: Wikipedia

Game: Need for Speed Most Wanted
Creator: Electronic Arts Canada
Release Date: 2005
Original Platform: PlayStation2, Xbox

Why We Love It: The Need For Speed series has been around just about forever, but frankly not all its editions have been worthwhile. Of the many good ones, we prefer Most Wanted, because if you're going to have a glossy, unrealistic, over-the-top street racer, you should really try to outrun the cops as well. The police pursuits are the best part of this game, which is set in a world where the entire focus of the United States government is apparently dedicated to preventing you from speeding, which results in some wonderfully fun and over-the-top chases, all of them treated with deadly serious attitude. Oooh, those street racers and their pesky nitrouses!

Photo: NFSAddons

Game: Forza Motorsport series
Creator: Forza Motorsport series
Release Date: 2005
Original Platform: Xbox

Why We Love It: While the Xbox had a very pretty and enjoyable arcade racer in Project Gotham, it badly needed a sim-based game. It got a great one in Forza, which had hundreds of cars, very deep graphic customization, extended replays, the Nürburgring Nordschleife, and damage modeling. Finally, a gorgeous, deep console racer where you couldn't just berm off other racers without consequences! Happily, the series continues to evolve in a positive direction, and we have high hopes for the debut of Forza 3 in a couple months.

Photo: Kotaku

Game: Test Drive Unlimited
Creator: Eden Games
Release Date: 2006
Original Platform: PC, Xbox360, PlayStation2, PSP

Why We Love It: The Test Drive series began in 1987-1987!-and like NFS, has varied widely in quality. But it's always featured exotic hardware raced in traffic on public roads, and Unlimited does that wonderfully. The developers took a map of Oahu, simplified it down to a mere thousand miles of road, and modeled it for free roaming. The MOOR system, or Massively Open Online Racing, allowed players to race against friends or just cruise with them, which was much more popular than you might think. Your customizable character was visible to other players at the car clubs, although they couldn't come hang out at your mansion and check out your ever-growing collection of undamagable exotics. There was even an in-game photography mode that allowed players to live out their buff-book fantasies. It was really an automotive lifestyle game as much as a racer, and a pretty decent piece of escapism to zone out with.

There's a lot of good games out there, and it was tough to keep this one to just twenty titles. Think we missed big? Know something we should try? Enraged at the omission of Big Rig Racing? Let us know in the comments.

Photo: Gamerhell

Feast your eyes on the in-game automotive hotness below.

Back in the day you used to be able to roll around in a Dodge Ram 1500 in Gran Turismo 4, but this is taking four-wheelin' to a whole new level. Seriously, how well can a big lug like these luxo-utes handle and why on Earth would you have any interest in racing them in a video game?

Thankfully, this wasn't the only update that Turn 10 provided us today as we now know we'll have the opportunity to drive the Pontiac G8 GXP forever and pretend that GM never killed it. Phew!

Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]

Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]
Check out our continually growing Forza 3 car list HERE. [via Forza Motorsport]

The October release date of Microsoft and Turn 10's XBOX 360 racer looms ever closer, reminding us that we'll be spending some quality seat time on our couch this Fall. Check out our ever growing car list HERE to see what other rides you'll be able to pilot, though we think the Audi R8 5.2L V10 is all we'll ever need. [Forza Motorsport]

The addition of cars like the Toyota Yaris, MazdaSpeed 3 and Honda Fit mash nicely with the all-wheel-drive prowess of the Subaru WRX STI, Mitsubishi EVO IX MR and Nissan GT-R SuperGT, making us crave for the official October release of the newest XBOX 360 racer.

Check out the updated (07.01.09) car list HERE.

[via Forza Motorsport, Kotaku]

The announcement that the famed 8.489 Mile, 21 turn Circuit De La Sarthe will be included in the next generation of the famed Forza series has got to get more than just a few enthusiasts excited. Previously the only way you could act out your French endurance dreams was by going to the Playstation-based series, Gran Turismo. Thankfully Turn 10 developers made the trek across the pond to measure, photograph and accurately re-build the famed circuit in digital form for us to create our own epic 24 Hour of Le Mans battles. In fact, Turn 10 Track Team Lead, Matt Collins, apparently collected over 15,000 images to help with the Stateside team's digital replica including images of the track barriers, road materials, rumble strips, vegetation and trackside buildings. The nearly 60GB of source material has been accurately placed with the help of physical data collected via GPS to create ultra realistic digital versions of both circuit configurations, Bugatti and Sarthe.

Also released this weekend was this partial car list of ten included Le Mans Prototypes along with a few detailed images of the exterior and interior of each of the digital versions of these famed racers which you can see below.

We've also compiled a list of the cars that we know will make the game thus far, but remember this is nowhere near the final list as there will be over 400 cars from 50 different manufacturers, all of which will feature full range of visual and mechanical customization. Also, expect to see more parts-flying carnage thanks in part to a more realistic damage model that will also include the ability for cars to completely roll over during a race, a feature not previously attempted in a racing game.

(Updated: 07.15.09) Forza Motorsport 3 Confirmed (Partial) Car List:

Alfa Romeo

* 8C Competizione

Audi

* 2 Audi Sport North America R8
* 2 Audi Sport North America R10 TDI
* 8 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R10 TDI
* 2009 Audi Q7 V12 TDI
* 2010 R8 V10
* R8 V8 FS I
* 2010 S4
* 2009 TT

Aston Martin:

* 2009 DBS
* DB5 Vantage

Bentley

* 7 Team Bentley Speed 8

BMW

* 15 BMW Motorsport V12 LMR
* 2008 135i Coupe
* 2009 M3
* 2009 BMW X5 xDrive 4.8i
* Mini Cooper
* 2009 BMW M5 E60

Cadillac

* 6 Team Cadillac Northstar LMP-02
* 2009 CTS-V

Chevrolet

* 2006 Corvette Z06
* Corvette ZR1

Chrysler

* 2008 Chrysler 300C SRT-8

Dodge

* Challenger SRT-8
* Viper SRT-10 Coupe ACR

Ferrari

* 30 MOMO Doran Racing F333 SP
* California
* Dino
* 2007 430 Scuderia
* 599 GTB Fiorano

Fiat

* 500

Ford

* 2005 GT
* RS200
* 1968 Shelby Mustang GT-500KR

Holden

Honda

* Civic
* 2009 Jazz
* NSX

Infiniti

* 2009 G37

Jaguar

* XKR-S

Land Rover

* 2008 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

Lamborghini

* Murciélago LP640

Lexus

* 2009 IS-F

Lotus

* Elise
* Evora

Maserati

* GranTurismo

Mazda

* 2008 Mazdaspeed 3

Mercedes-Benz

* CLS 63 AMG
* McLaren SLR
* ML 63 AMG
* SL 65 AMG Black Series

Mitsubishi

* Lancer Evolution VIII MR
* Lancer Evolution X GSR

Nissan

* 3 YellowHat YMS TOMICA GT-R (2008)
* 12 Calsonic IMPUL GT-R (2008)
* 21 Nissan R390 GT1 (1997)
* 23 XANAVI NISMO GT-R(2008)
* 2009 370Z
* Sentra
* Skyline GT-R R33
* 2008 Tiida

Pagani

* Zonda C12-S

Peugeot

* 3 Peugeot Talbot Sport 905 Evo 1C
* 8 Peugeot Sport 908

Pontiac

* 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP

Porsche

* Porsche AG 906c
* Porsche 956
* 997 GT2
* 2009 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S

Seat

* Ibiza

Subaru

* Impreza WRX STI

Toyota

* 3 Toyota Motorsports GT-ONE TS020
* 6 ENEOS SC430(2008)
* 25 Eclipse Advan Supra (2006)
* 2009 Yaris

TVR

* Sagaris

Volkswagen

* 2008 Volkswagen Touareg R50

As we mentioned above, the Circuit De La Sarthe will see its Forza debut along with 100 other real life global circuits which will include drift circuits, road courses, oval tracks and the long-rumored drag strip. You'll be able to pick up your very own copy of Forza Motorsport 3 this October. [via ForzaMotorsport]

The most obvious comparison to make is to Sony's Gran Turismo 5 due out on PS3 sometime before the next millennium, most notably the precise and cleanly rendered real-time visuals that Turn 10 Studios have created for their newest console-racer king of the hill.

Looking closely at some of the cars represented in this preview and you'll notice a 2009 Corvette ZR1, Aston Martin DBS, BMW 135i, BMW E92 M3, Audi R8 5.2L V10 among several other new comers and the inclusion of fully rendered and modeled interiors for the first time in the Forza series. The final list of cars will exceed 400 from 50 various manufacturers with each and every one having the ability to be fully customized as we've all come to know and love in the Forza series.

Also included are over 100 true-to-life global racetracks ranging from locations in Spain, Italy and the American Southwest which will feature both standard circuit and oval events as well as the long-awaited and heavily rumored drag racing and drift events. A new feature to the game will be the inclusion of a race calendar in which the player will be able to participate in a personalized 200+ event racing calendar. Cool stuff indeed.

A firm release date is not yet set, but we're guessing Microsoft will release Forza Motorsport 3 just before this year's Christmas season to solidify their crown in the console racing wars. [via Kotaku, YouTube]

The year was 2004 and the Corvette Racing Team was in its final and 4th championship winning ALMS season with the venerable GT1 class C5-R race car. After winning multiple ALMS championships as well as at the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans, the team began using the "Take No Prisoners" motto along with a generic skull logo. It makes sense, given they were considered by many to be the pirates of the GT racing world, taking whatever treasured prize they set their eyes upon. Ever since, the skull's grown into a representation of the team's triumphs and mentality. While not new today, Jake has become a visible power statement to anyone involved in the racing world and he's gaining more and more traction every day. We're here to tell his story.

After 2004, the 2005 season was quickly approaching with a new Corvette C6-R race car in the midst of development, the Corvette Racing Team needed to make their aggressive mentality known. Luckily for them, graphic designer Eddie Jabbour of Kick Design was in the stands during the C5-Rs final 24 Hours of Le Mans race and witnessed for himself the skull logo and the unrelenting drive the Corvette Racing Team portrayed. Also in the stands was the crew from BadBoyVettes, a dedicated group of fans that have brought a viral approach to racing. They had an opportunity to sit down with the Corvette Racing Team to discuss how they could help make the unofficial skull logo into something more.

BadBoyVettes and Corvette Racing contacted Kick Design and with the team's mentality in mind, Jabbour sketched on a cocktail napkin what would eventually become one of the greatest automotive marketing logos of our generation, the Corvette crossed flags within a dark skull outline. Thus, Jake was born.

How Jake truly received his name has been kicked around quite a bit, but the one story that comes up frequently is that a former New York City cop, Gary Claudio, named the skull after notorious movie badass, Jake, from the Blues Brothers film. We've also been told that the name was given after being thrown around the Corvette Racing Team's garage for a few weeks, but either way, it's pretty damn fitting.

Jake made his first official appearance, albeit in small form, underneath the XM Radio sponsorship decal on the B-pillar of the new Corvette C6-R racer during the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans race and also as a spray painted stencil on the ground outside of Corvette Racing's pit stall. From there, Jake really took off, landing himself on team uniforms, driver's helmets and memorabilia with BadBoyVettes at he helm of this genius viral marketing scheme.

The Corvette Racing Team took their "Take No Prisoners" approach and Jake through next four ALMS seasons, battling the Prodrive Aston Martin DBR9s for three of them and leading the pack by themselves in 2008. Jake had become a racing success. In 2007, Corvette Racing was approached by BadBoyVettes to design a new racing livery for the Laguna Seca race, something that would really push Jake to the forefront of racing and give his enthusiastic followers something to celebrate. The livery design featured the now famous Corvette Racing yellow with a splash of black across the rear 3/4s of the C6-R. Jake was then applied in yellow in a sort of brushed appearance on the sides as well as splashed across the hood in black of the number 3 car. The number 4 car was the inverse of this design and both cars really packed a visual punch racing down the Corkscrew with the help of their screaming 7.0-liter V8s.

The Jake livery was even duplicated in Forza Motorsport 2 using the over complicated customization paint shop and made its debut in the in-game auction house on the eve of its Laguna Seca race debut.

Jake also surfaced on numerous European series GT1, GT2 and Z06R Corvettes showing that Corvette Racing's symbol of determination and power could transcend borders and enter into various other international racing series. In 2008, the C6-R took on a whole new look, utilizing what's now referred to as the "Jake Scrape." The team created a single black stripe down the center of the C6-R with visual scrapes following the design of Jake's teeth who himself, hid in the waterfall vent on the hood, while smaller versions adorned the front and rear fascias as well as the familiar B-pillar location.

Realizing the huge success of the Corvette Racing program GM decided to give a nice little nod to the team and to BadBoyVettes in the company's most powerful and, potentially, most iconic Corvette ever. The 2009 Corvette ZR1 features an embossed Jake on the intake snorkel instead of the usual Corvette cross-flag logo of lesser models. Corvette Chief Engineer, Tom Wallace, explained to BadBoyVettes why;

"I saw the crossed flags on the ZR1's supercharger along with the conventionally placed ones on the nose and the intake snorkel and balked at the 3x arrangement."

Prior to this official addition, Jake was transformed into Elwood (get it? Jake and Elwood...), the unofficial mascot of the ZR1 "Blue Devil" vehicle program, and was featured on numerous ZR1 captured test fleet vehicles that we spotted during the Woodward Dream Cruise in 2008. The Elwood decals were made up in blue to represent "Blue Devil" and featured horns and a more demonic grin than the humble Jake.

For the 2009 ALMS season, Corvette Racing released another Jakegasmic livery, this time placing him front and center on the C6-R's hood along with a 2008-inspired "Jake Scrape." This season marks the end to the C6-R GT1 car as Pratt & Miller and Corvette Racing prepare for the new C6-R GT2 racer and to celebrate, GM has released the 2009 Corvette GT1 Championship Edition featuring a 2009 C6-R livery-inspired decal package with Jake sitting proudly upon the raised fiberglass hood as well as stitched into the special edition's headrests.

Hidden deep within the controversial carbon fiber bodied, Jason Castriota-designed, Stile Bertone Mantide hides the inner mechanical workings of a 2009 Corvette ZR1 as well as our friend heroic friend, Jake. While we're sure it's not the last coach built ZR1, it was the first and we're told that Jake is proud to be leading the supercharged 638-horsepower LS9 sitting low in this Italian-designed brute.

Jake has been fully embraced by the Corvette Racing Team and all that come in contact with him. He's been featured in video games, clothing, memorabilia, scale models, fan-owned Corvettes of all generations and even tattoos. Jake's truly a mascot to be remembered and with Corvette Racing's C6-R GT2's racing debut quickly approaching, we're infinitely curious how he'll be represented next. (References and Images: BadBoyVettes, Corvette Racing, Digital Corvettes)

Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios recently held a secret developer meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil and a very covered Forza Motorsport 3 logo popped up on the screen during a Powerpoint presentation. CVG managed to capture some video of the event, which has now been removed from YouTube. Regardless, OXCGN was able to get the released artwork, which you can see on the left, depicting Forza Motorsport 3's official logo.

As we reported back in January, Forza Motorsport 3 will feature a total of 400+ cars and over 100 tracks necessitating the game to ship with two seperate discs. It's likely that Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios will show a preview of the game later this year. We can't wait.

[Kotaku via CVG / oxcgn]

Hint: Skip to the one-minute mark to see the action, everything prior is unnecessary fluff.

We've been patiently waiting for Forza Motorsport 3 which in turn makes us wish we had a working Xbox 360 (stupid RRoD) so that we could play Forza 2.

[via forzamotorsport]

Although no official release date has been revealed, the company behind all the pretty in-game artwork has let loose a couple of teaser images of the new Forza Motorsport 3. Microsoft Game Studios has sub-contracted Kaarbo Designs to create menu graphics for all previous Forza Motorsport games and they’ve let loose some early pre-production proofs of Forza 3 in-game race posters. The images were found on Kaarbo Design’s website and then promptly removed adding to the legitimacy of the images. In response to the leak, Kaarbo has said that the posters “are only samples and are not to be used.” Something that may be finalized is the Forza 3 logo in the upper left-hand corner of each poster.

While Forza 2 was big, it’s said that FM3 is so large that the DVD format has become an issue. With a total of 400+ cars and over 100 tracks it will likely ship on two separate discs. A preview of Forza Motorsport 3 will likely be shown later this year at the E3 show. We can’t wait to get our hands on a copy since our thumbs are just now healing from the first game.

[via xbox360 fanboy]

March Car Pack 2008 Audi S5 2007 Audi TT Coupe S-Line 1971 BMW 3.0 CSL E09 2008 BMW E92 M3 1989 Ferrari F40 Competizione 1996 Ferrari F50 GT 2007 Ferrari 430 Scuderia 2007 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 2007 Maserati GranTurismo 2006 Maserati MC12 Corsa 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR 2008 Porsche 911 GT2 (997) 2007 Peugeot #1 Peugeot 207 Super 2000

In celebration of the release of the car pack, the developers will also be having a giveaway. Play the game over the weekend and you may randomly be selected to win racing wheels, autographed copies of the game and more. [Kotaku]

So, as you may have already seen, I got my shot.
Shawn quit after one day, but I didn't know until I walked into the garage as they were about to film him making the announcement. I walked in to see what the commotion was about and almost immediately heard the news. I'm pretty sure I set a personal best in the vertical leap at that moment. They even tried to get me to do it again for the cameras, but I'd made a pact with myself before I flew down to keep the hamming it up to a minimum, so I declined. I hoped I'd learned a few things from watching reality shows in the past.

Lee called me over and I was introduced as the Godfather teams' third driver. Do you realize I've had to keep my mouth shut about that since October? I even had to be coy about it here, which made me feel like a fake. But that's all over now, baby blue. Here's how it went down...

After I shook hands with Hal, Rick and Jeff from Godfather and Freddie, their first driver, I talked to Shawn.
"It's some personal stuff, man," was how he answered the question. I thought it must be some pretty serious personal stuff for him to walk away from a shot like this, so I didn't ask him to elaborate. I still can't honestly say I know exactly why he made that decision, but I sure wasn't going to press it at the time.

I took over on the night after the race at Lanier with two days and three races to go and one hell of a deficit in points. The Godfather team had become a little skeptical of drivers by this point, but their attitude tended toward the "we want to win, but we know it's just a show, so let's have fun," side of things. This was clearly a team with their priorities in order; they were the ones who, within hours of finding out they'd have to spend another night in the trailer, had hooked it up with a hot tub, brought in a friend with a large grill to cook them steaks, and adorned the Chateau Le Dump with Christmas lights and a sign saying "Godfather Bed & Breakfast." I liked their style.

I got up the next day and went to the set feeling pretty much the same way I imagine Lyle Lovett did when he first got Julia Roberts's number. This was the final modification day, and it was about time for me to get in the car I'd be racing tomorrow for the first time. My crew chief, Rick, came back from a test run and was asked how the car was doing.

"I think it runs like a scalded dawg for what it is," he answered. "You want to take it out for a spin, Xbox?" He and I jumped into the Z for my first test run.

A note on that: You may have noticed people calling me "Xbox" on the show. I probably had the fewest hours on-track out of all the drivers on the show. I'm barely a weekend warrior with some experience at track days and autocrosses over the past four years. When I was 17 I received as a present a trip to the Skip Barber School of Advanced Driving up at Lime Rock, but that was ten years ago by the time I filmed the show. I'd found out about Forza Motorsport Showdown on the website the game developers created for Forza 2, the game the show was meant to hype. I entered a form and was chosen, cast as the "gamer" on the show. I like the game a lot, but I'd never even played in online, so "gamer" might have been too strong a term. But if that's what got me in, so be it. Tony, the crew chief of the Challenger, started calling me Xbox and the nickname stuck. He's also the one who christened the trailer out back the Chateau Le Dump, so I guess he had a flair for that sort of thing.

I got in the Godfather Z with Rick, who sat on the floorpan and hung onto the roll cage as I drove. The car took off well and really slapped your head back when the single T3/T4 turbo spooled up. We ripped through the north Georgia countryside for a while (the upgraded brakes were fantastic) until the motor started to choke high in the rev range. It would pull like crazy up until about 2,000 rpm shy of redline and suddenly run out of steam, managing only another 200 rpm before it would go no further. I had no idea what made it misbehave. ("Tuner" is another word that wouldn't apply to me.) We took the car back to the shop and the crew took a look at it... and the 100-shot nitrous kit they'd picked up after the last race knowing there would be one last drag event. They decided the bottle would do less damage as a paperweight and left it off the car. The cameras would catch me later on that day as I talked with Ken, Jace and Angela, who were doing some smack talking to hide their fear of racing against me the next day. Um... or something.

By the time I got back to the hotel Shawn was gone. I thought about the morning and visualized laps of Road Atlanta in my head. We had all lapped the course in the Panoz cars, but tomorrow was to be my first day firing up the Z in anger. I had a hard time getting to sleep that night, but when I did it was with a big smile.

The next morning I jumped out of my team's Suburban and back into the Z for some test launches. The team had gotten some drag radials with their points, and they helped. But I was having trouble getting a decent launch. The engine glitch seemed to be fixed, though. Thankfully, I had some experience with this kind of thing. I'd done my share of stoplight drags in front-wheel-drive Japanese cars, long before "The Fast and the Furious." Thus, the risk to my safety was just below that of spending spring break in an South African whorehouse. My racetracks had turns in them now. I'd never seen a pro tree before, and damned if I knew how to do a standing burnout in the rear-drive Z. My first two runs were disappointing, running low 13's and spinning the tires all the way through the first two gears. I lined up for my third run next to Clay in the 427 Camaro clone, listened to Rick tell me to launch at 4,000 rpm over my helmet radio, and concentrated on not missing the tree.

Bam! The lights went green and I bogged slightly on the launch, but found all the traction I could. I ran through the gears as Clay's car fuel starved and I whipped past him.

"Twelve-nine! Twelve-nine!" hollered Rick in my ears. I clapped my hands and returned to the car transporter. Ken had been able to wring a 12.1 out of a similar setup, but that was the fastest quarter mile I'd ever driven. The team came over and slapped my back. I was happy to have been able to put some points on the board for them. Time to get to the road course where I actually knew what I was doing.
The time trials from two days before had been canceled due to the rain. Now they would serve as qualifying for the final event to decide which team walked away $100,000 richer — a 15-lap sprint at Road Atlanta. My turn came and the gremlins made their way back into the Nissan's motor. I could not run the damn thing to redline. I estimated it was costing me 25 to 30 mph in top-end speed on the back straight and maybe 20 mph everywhere else. I hit my apexes and gave it all it could take, finishing with a 1:53 and change in last place. But there's more to sports car racing than miles per hour, isn't there?
Ken and Jace's cars were malfunctioning, Ken's with a bad seal around his master cylinder (somehow caused by heat from the turbo), and Jace's with a blown thermostat that had given up the ghost in the 90-plus-degree heat. The producers called the teams together to discuss. Wwould we allow the teams half an hour to fix their cars so they could run the race, worth double or triple points, which would determine the winner?

One of the YearOne crewmembers immediately pointed at Lou Gigliotti and spoke up:
"He wouldn't give us shit if that was us. I say no." There was a general consensus among the teams. Another idea was put forward though: did anyone want to win that way?

Shit... no.

So Ken's team got to work on his car as a local Corvette owner stepped forward and offered up the thermostat from his C6 to save Jace's ride — a bit of drama that escaped the show's final cut. My team sat there and worried over the Z. The motor trouble was a phantom; we didn't know where it was or what to do to correct it.

The announcement came that we would be inverting the field, making me the leader for the rolling start. It seems the underdogs had been thrown a bone. The decree was met with howls from the LG team. We all took to our cars for pace laps behind a Panoz School instructor in a GT-RA. This was it.

The pace car peeled off into the pits to the right of turn twelve, the diving right-hander before the start/finish line, and we maintained our speed and positions as we'd been taught.

"Green! Green! Green!" came the call through my helmet as the flag waved and I slammed on the throttle. I ran it as hard as the erratic motor would allow, but was passed in the first turn by the Camaro. Angela's Mustang filled my mirrors as we charged down the short straight into turns six and seven, the two 90-degree right-handers that lead to the long back straight. I was in second place.
I took turn six with all the speed I could, and set myself up for a good line through turn seven. I apexed and rolled into the throttle a little too quickly as I tracked out, fishtailing wildly as cars blew past me. I saved the car and hauled after them.

(Another side note: I had believed that the oversteer was due to too much throttle applied at the exact rpm at which the turbo spooled up, making me break loose, but it seems there's more to it than that. I spoke to Rick last week and this is what he told me: "I didn't want to scare you at the time, but the motor was boiling off a little coolant, and it was running down the body and splashing onto the rear tires." Six months later, this was news to me.)

I hit terminal velocity at about 138 mph two thirds of the way down the back straight. I crested the hill before it dove down to the turn 10 A/B complex, left at A, uphill right at B. Omigod! Ken and Angela slammed into one another and had nearly come to rest under the bridge at turn eleven as I knifed past to their left. I believe Jace in the Corvette was disappearing around turn one when I again made the front straight. Uphill on one, a little left at turn two, and sunlight sizzled off the yellow Vette, motionless in a run off area before the sweeping turn three and the esses. I was the only car I could see on the track as I completed a much better turn seven and took to the back straight again, this time flying by Clay Dale as his formerly race-leading Camaro sat dead in the grass, the victim of a shattered carbon-fiber driveshaft. I had passed four cars out of six to retake second place, and Clarence was in my sights.

I managed to use the better agility of the Z to catch up to Clarence, but I could do nothing to prevent him from burning me once we got to the back straight. I set myself up to the inside of the track before 10A/B and late-braked Clarence without excessive difficulty in A, with a car or two lead by the time we exited B, flung ourselves under the bridge on the blind turn eleven, and skittered across the track on the diving, off-camber turn twelve. The editors chose to skip that pass, however, but it's ok. I'm sure Clarence's 17th joke about women drivers was more worthy of the viewers' time than a pass for the lead anyway. At least I'm not bitter about it.

That Challenger's 440 was asking questions my wheezing turbo Z couldn't answer, and once again I was passed before turn one. I dogged Clarence through the turns but didn't pass him again. I knew the lighter Z could out brake the heavy muscle car every time on the turn 10 complex, and I knew I could hold him off until after the finish line once I'd done it. I almost a lap ahead of everyone but Clarence, and I would bide my time. I waved to Clay as we tore by him on the straight and he waved back. This was fun.
My eyes were down track on turn five at the end of the esses when God hit the slow-mo button on his remote. My rpms fell smoothly away and my car slowed to a halt off line before the turn before the motor died. I radioed it back to the pits: the car had overheated and killed itself. I couldn't get it started. Clarence swung all the way around the track and passed me again before I got the engine to turn over in limp home mode and I stuttered around three-quarters of the track on what felt like two cylinders before I was able to coast downhill into the pits. The pace car came by with Clarence, Ken and Angela rumbling behind.

My thermostat had clanged shut, and the whole team raided every cooler the crew had in order to pour bottle after bottle of water into the radiator. The first bottle instantly vaporized, scalding an extra mechanic we had somehow picked up with a jet of steam. Meanwhile, the race began again with the three cars grouped tightly together. Many long minutes had passed and there was no longer any chance of my winning. I just wanted to finish. I didn't want this one to end in a DNF. We got some water back in the car, got it started up, and I got back on the track. I completed several more modest laps before I got my own checkered flag. I pulled into the pits just in time to see Angela spinning the Mustang in crazed donuts on the other side of the fence. Holy shit, she'd done it. That girl driver could drive.

The show closed with the presentation of the check while Lou stormed back and forth contesting the outcome. The cars had all been fitted with transponders and had been clocked by Road Atlanta officials, however, so his dispute was for naught.

The Godfather team crowded together for the ceremony and they told me how proud they were of me and I apologized for not keeping a better eye on the temp gauge. Clarence and Angela, the best of friends in the real world despite their portrayal on television, were inseparable. Everyone agreed that the past two weeks had been fantastic.

I returned to the set and Rick told me to go take a look at my banner in the garage. A paper sign had been taped to my banner right where the "Help Wanted" sign had been when Shawn quit. Yeah, yeah, Xbox gamer boy, I'd heard it all. That wasn't it, though. As I got closer I could read the sign. And I got a lump in my throat. It was in black marker with an arrow pointing up toward my face, and there were only three words: "Race Car Driver." I don't know why, but I think it was the underline that got me. I couldn't thank they guys enough for that.

Everyone cleaned up and met at a bar outside town for the wrap party. The smiles were just that much brighter with the addition of booze to the equation for everyone but Jace who, at 17, was stuck with soda for another couple years. We struck the set the next day and cleaned up. I got on a plane and thought about the nature of luck. – James Gribbon

[James Gribbon was there the whole time Speed TV was filming its new series, "Forza Motorsport Showdown." Teams of supposedly amateur drivers compete in multiple challenges — from road course and autocross driving, to oval, drag, and drifting — for a shot at $100,000. Each week James will be conveying what it was like to ditch his office job to get sunburned, shit on and generally treated like the Gimp for an outside shot to drive someone else's car really, really fast. So check out the show, or spoil it for yourselves each week.]

Related:
You Are There: SpeedTV's Forza Motorsport Showdown, Episode 3 [internal]

The morning of the second mod day rolled around, and I woke up in a good mood despite the insistent nagging of a low-grade hangover. Bourbon's all fun and games until you arise with a steel band around your skull and Technicolor breath. I grabbed a few cereal bars and an energy drink at the set and looked around for ways to make myself useful. The fog was burning off, both literally and figuratively, when I walked outside the main garage to look for some missing gear in one of our vans and spotted Freddie heading towards the set from the Chateau Le Dump.

"Hey," I started, but something was very wrong. Freddie was walking like he was a hundred years old, barely shuffling up the incline to the set. His arms didn't swing as he moved, but jerked at angles like a barefoot person walking over sharp rocks. How hard had he hit that wall?

A former football and baseball player, Freddie's back wasn't in tip-top shape to begin with, and the close encounter with the wall while drifting hadn't helped. He figured he'd know by that night what was what. Wow. Just when I felt like I was being accepted as part of the production staff and was feeling comfortable in my role, it looked like Shawn or I might get a shot. That woke me up. My mind spun as I found tasks to occupy my time and make the daylight hours pass more quickly.

The teams were once again busy changing suspension components, boosting power, adding downforce, and trying not to think about what a long day and night of wrenching they had ahead of them. The Camaro and Challenger got air dams and spoilers, which made them look a little like the cars campaigned by Mark Donohue and Sam Posey in early 70's Trans-Am competition. I tried to imagine Clarence in a lime-green E-body and laughed. The Corvette was more intimidating than ever, with a new front splitter, a three-section spoiler, a vented hood and wheels wide enough to sit proud of the rear panels. The C6 made the other team owners stop and frown when they looked at it.

Shadows grew longer in the afternoon light and there was a buzz on the set. Meetings were being held behind closed doors. Word went out that all the drivers and crews should assemble in the garage. Hot lights burned overhead and the cooling fans were shut off. The teams gathered, and Lee made the announcement: Freddie couldn't continue. I stood under the long arm of a jib camera and applauded while Shawn walked into the light and into the cameras' eyes. I was envious, obviously, but I was also his biggest fan at that moment. Shawn and I were like our own little sub-group among the producers, directors, cameramen, grips and drivers. We were outside all the groups looking in, and now one of us had made it. I knew the producers had made the only choice they could have, Shawn did have a tenth of a second advantage on me in the timed laps, maybe more. I didn't know which laps they had caught.

An executive from the Speed Channel had come down to Georgia to check out our progress and meet with Bud Brutsman, the executive producer. I saw the two of them leave in Bud's car, a brand-new '69 Mustang clone with a supercharged motor from a late model SVT Cobra and done in pure black with a matte hood. (You may have seen it at the drag track in the first episode.) I was sitting outside in the cool evening air with a group of other production assistants when the line producer, Lynda, approached us and asked who wanted to drive the Speed exec's rental car out to the Chateau Elan for him. I looked past the keys held in her outstretched hand to see a red 2006 Mustang GT and was making "vroom, vroom" noises in the driver's seat before I even got the key in the ignition. I made the most of the surface roads while trying not to topple the tall stack of folders in the passenger seat. I eventually just put a seatbelt on them while at a red light. The light turned green and I launched myself onto an on-ramp ... and into voluminous traffic.

Curses! I kept to the right two lanes for the two exits I had to drive and entertained myself by rowing through the gears, grinning hugely with each blip of the throttle as I downshifted.

Weeks earlier, each of us was asked to send in a photograph of ourselves wearing a racing suit so our name and likeness could be put on 12 foot tall banners which were hung on the wall of the garage. This was a simple task for the other drivers. I had to contact a family friend with a vintage racing shop, borrow a suit, take a few snaps, and give it back. I returned from my ride in the Mustang and was handed my banner. "I guess we can just give you this now," said the young woman who handled wardrobe and props. I unfurled it back at the hotel and took a look. I pictured how it would have looked hanging next to the others. I got in bed and shut off the lights.

You know the drill by now, dear readers: load truck, unload truck, hang banners. This time it was at the Lanier Speedway. I'd never driven a banked oval before, but Shawn had a smile on his face a mile wide; this was his element. I was sent to the inside of a turn with a pickup truck and a cameraman. My job was to roll slowly forward as the cars flew by and he filmed while standing on the bed. Clarence and Ken, the only two non-circle track drivers, both put on huge smoke shows: Clarence as his fender rubbed a rear tire and Ken as he chose to drift a few turns during the timed laps. Clay Dale, more than once a track champion at Lanier, just couldn't get the Camaro to stick in the turns. Jace once again set the fastest lap in the Vette, garnering praise from Lou and a few more points towards the overall championship.
Clouds had slowly been rolling in during the time trials at Lanier, and we packed up and headed back. I was riding in the back of the truck with four other people and nearly every piece of sound and camera gear used in the production when the floor smoothly took on an alarming pitch. Gravity tried to dump all the cargo, including us, out the back as the truck traversed the steep banking to exit the track. We each grabbed a handhold and some gear - too easy, drill sergeant.

A quick rain shower hit Road Atlanta and quickly left when the production rolled in. The track was soaked, and they had a decision to make. The cars sat in a line along the pit wall as the producers talked it over with the track officials. The teams sat in their shiny new Suburbans and Yukons in the parking lot and ... wait a minute!

Before long, all six of the massive SUVs, along with another pickup and the flat bed wrecker which belonged to the track, were grunting and chugging out laps in an attempt to dry out the racing line. The kid-haulers ran in a tight group, big bodies roaring down the front straight like B-17s in formation. Lou Gigliotti, scornful of the pace as could only be expected, ran to the inside of the group on the diving turn 12 before the front straight and passed several other teams before the finish line. I could hear his team cackling over the radios. The asphalt was just beginning to look good when the rains came again and washed away any chance of driving that day.

Back at the garage, everyone was looking forward to an early night. The crews joked with one another as they dried off the cars. I was thinking of getting myself a snack when Bud blew past me, anger all over his face. The teams were called back into the garage. Somebody's going to get a talking-to, I thought. I found my way back into the garage, hoping to rubberneck at the scene that was about to take place. Many pairs of eyes settled on me as I walked in. Shawn had quit. – James Gribbon

[James Gribbon was there the whole time Speed TV was filming its new series, "Forza Motorsport Showdown." Teams of supposedly amateur drivers compete in multiple challenges — from road course and autocross driving, to oval, drag, and drifting — for a shot at $100,000. Each week James will be conveying what it was like to ditch his office job to get sunburned, shit on and generally treated like the Gimp for an outside shot to drive someone else's car really, really fast. So check out the show tonight, or spoil it for yourselves each week.]

Related:
You Are There: SpeedTV's Forza Motorsport Showdown, Episode 3