The artisans at Lamborghini announced recently that the 2,000th Lamborghini Aventador has come out of their Sant’ Agata Bolognese factory since the model’s introduction just a few years ago. Lamborghini confirmed that the 2,000th Aventador is bound for the United States as it was bought by Mr. Thaddeus Arroyo, the Chief Intelligence Officer for AT&T (stay in school kids).
Thad, as he likes to be called by no one, was impressed with the Aventador after he test drove one at a Lamborghini event in Palm Beach. In fact, he was so impressed that he ordered the raging bull on the spot. Then again, it probably wasn’t difficult to win ol’ Thad over. He is a self-proclaimed Lambo fan and already owns a Gallardo LP 550-2 Spyder.
We know for sure now that a new Xbox is on the horizon and that Forza Motorsport 5 will be a launch title. As of yet the only thing we know about the next Forza game is that it will feature the McLaren P1 as the cover car and that both the P1 and McLaren F1 will be usable cars in the game. Anything beyond that is a mystery! It should be called “Forza Motorsport ?”
It is probably safe to say that all the best parts from all the previous Forza games (including Horizon) will find their way into Forza Motorsport 5 but technically the page is still blank. So, I thought I would list off a few things that I want to see (and some things I don’t) in Forza Motorsport 5.
Adjustable and variable weather conditions
(Photo: Automobilsport.com)
This is something that fans have wanted for a long time. The team at Turn 10 Studios has put so much thought into their physics system that it seems a shame that players have not been able to experience those physics in rainy conditions. Snow would be pretty cool too! No pun intended..
Updated upgrades
One of the main selling points for Forza is the plethora of upgrades players can make to their cars. Not just in performance but aesthetically as well with body kits, wheels, and etc. The problem is that when it comes to body kits and wheels, the choices have not been upgraded much since Forza Motorsport 2. Some of the timeless body kits and wheels remain but there is some serious out-dated offerings still on the list. Also with new cars in the mix like the Scion FR-S it would be cool to see the Rocket Bunny kit make its video game debut.
Bottom line is that the Forza series is in desperate need of new body kits and wheels! P.S. It would be great if they can make the “Forza” branded body kits in the game more than just a carbon fiber front splitter.
More paintable surfaces
(Photo: HighPerformancePontiac.com)
Painting in Forza has always been a big deal. In fact there are very talented Forza painters out there making real money. While some of the limitations in the paint system have lent themselves to some serious creative solutions by painters, I would still like to see more car surfaces become paintable.
Open wheel cars
This is a tricky one. Forza has established a great relationship with the American LeMans series and has included most of the top teams from that series. With the ALMS/Rolex merger I am sure we will see some cool DP cars in Forza 5 as well but I would love to see some open wheel cars. However when most people think open wheel they think “F1″ but that license is all locked up over at Codemasters. Personally I would like to see Forza establish a relationship with Indy Car. There hasn’t been a proper Indy Car game in ages and Turn 10 is just the right team to do it justice.
More real life courses
(Photo: Long Beach Press Telegram)
To follow up with the course designer I think I would be nice to see more real courses in Forza Motorsport 5. I would love to see tracks like the Ascari road course, the Long Beach Grand Prix street circuit, and other scenic street courses like Monaco. Additionally I would love to see real life recreations of Formula Drift’s most popular courses in the game as well like Irwindale Speedway and the drift-specific section of Road Atlanta.
Porsche!
I know this is a touchy subject in Forza-land but I really hope that Microsoft came to some kind of agreement with Electronic Arts to allow Turn 10 studios to use Porsche in Forza Motorsport 5. Porsche should and needs to be apart of the Forza world, especially with the 918 Spyder on the horizon.
What I don’t want to see
There is really only one thing I don’t want to see in the next Forza Motorsport game and that’s an “always online” requirement. The Xbox One console itself is facing a lot of flak from gamers due to fears of the system requiring an internet connection to function. While Microsoft has dispelled that rumor (vaguely), a rep did say that they “hope” developers adopt always online requirements for their games. Although with Turn 10 Studios being a part of the bigger Microsoft Studios its very likely that “always online” will be a part of the next Forza. That would be a real shame because Forza is so much more than just racing online, so to force an internet connection could really hinder the experience. Especially for those out there like me who rarely use the online functions of Forza in the first place.
If being online is a requirement for Forza Motorsport 5 then I just hope there will be a damn good reason beyond a push from the higher ups.
Well I think that does it for my wish list. I would be pretty happy if even one of these things will be a part of the next Forza. Although, the guys at Turn 10 have yet to steer us wrong so even if none of the things on my list make it into the game I am still pretty confident Forza Motorsport 5 will be a top notch experience. I will find out for sure when I get my hands on it at E3 next week. Stay tuned to MotorworldHype for updates!
As a child I would sit down in front of the TV and be swept away by a tale; a tale of a man who did not exist. He was a loaner who roamed the country righting wrongs and fighting evil doers. He wasn’t alone though. That would be boring. This man, known as Michael Knight fought the forces of darkness with a car. An incredibly advanced car with the voice of a English school teacher. As a child I received hours of entertainment watching Michael Knight AKA Knight Rider armed with his mighty fro and Amazing car go on adventures.
I was such a big fan of Knight Rider that my first toy car was K.I.T.T. and my first big wheel was a K.I.T.T. big wheel. I used to race the kid down the street with the Dukes of Hazard big wheel all the time. We had some epic battles… Anyhow, if you want a taste of what the REAL Knight Rider was like (not that crappy remake from a few years ago) check out the 80s-licious intro below.
When it comes to the echelon of high quality wheels, HRE is certainly in the upper levels. Their wheels can be seen on everything form high end import car builds to exotics like Ferraris and Lamborghinis. They look fresh and are very high quality but as the saying goes “you get what you pay for” which means HRE wheels are very pricy and rightfully so. Unfortunately, most people can’t quite afford to put a $10k set of rollers on their cars.
HRE feels their pain and has decided to provide an entry into their brand with their new “Flowform” line. Named for the process in which the wheels are made Flowform is a special type of casting process. OK, I know that you’ve been trained to fear the word “cast” as it is associated with low quality when it comes to wheels, Flowforming is different. It is done using pressure rather than gravity, which results in a stronger wheel than traditional gravity casting would yield.
Further more HRE has reached out to a top notch facility in Japan to produce their Flowformed wheels. Their first wheel in the new line is the FF01 which features the traditional “mesh” design that is certainly hard to hate. The best part is that the FF01′s start at $2900 for a set of four, which is a pretty damn good price for HRE’s. The FF01′s come in 19″ and 20″ sizes as well as various offsets and bolt patterns.
I’m considering a set for my E39 in the future! Click the thumbnail below for a full-size pic.
In case you didn’t know, GRID2 is officially out for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC. If you are still on the fence about throwing down your hard-earned cash for the game then stay tuned to MotorworldHype over the next week or so. I will be giving you some previews of the various track locations in the game and wrap things up with my review of GRID2.
Today we take a look at Chicago. In GRID2 the great city of Chicago will be represented in a street course that snakes through downtown. Drivers will be surrounded by skyscrapers and other landmarks as they fight their way to the finish. To make the area as accurate as possible the team from Codemasters sent a two man team to the windy city for a three day research excursion. Each day the men spent 8 to 10 hours exploring as much of Chicago as possible, taking thousands of hi-res reference photos each day. They stood next to landmarks for scale and took as many measurements as possible. Along the way they even met a few colorful people such as a personal trainer that thought they were crazy (because she witnessed them taking pictures of a wall for 10 minutes) and a lovely “working girl” who even pointed them towards some notable landmark locations.
How did it all come out? You can see a preview for yourself by checking out the screen shots below.
It has been more than a week since Microsoft announced the new Xbox One console. The event was supposed to inspire excitement, anticipation, and enthusiasm among gamers and tech-enthusiasts everywhere. However, the presentation ended up causing a firestorm among the core gamer group due to reports that the new Xbox One would require a fee to play used games, cannot be turned off, and the biggest log on the fire: it would require a connection to the internet to work.
The fervor was only magnified by vague responses from Microsoft officials when game journalists questioned them about these rumors point blank. One thing that was clearly communicated is that the Xbox One device itself would not require an internet connection to work, but if software producers wanted to make that a part of their games not only are they free to do so but Microsoft would encourage it.
Now, Forza Motorsport 5 was the first game shown for the Xbox One and is a confirmed launch title. Forza 5 also comes via Microsoft Studios. This means, even though the game is created by Turn 10 Studios, Microsoft certainly has some level of influence. If Microsoft is really encouraging software developers to go the “always online” route; does this mean that Forza Motorsport 5 would be the champion of that initiative?
In the official announcement poston the Forza Motorsport website it states that Forza Motorsport 5 will ”take advantage of Xbox One and the infinite power of the cloud”. Usually when you hear the word “cloud” that is code for “features dependent on the internet”. Although, it could just mean that Forza Motorsport 5 will have asynchronous multiplayer features such as the rivals mode in Forza Motorsport 4 and Forza Horizon.
What do you think? Will Forza Motorsport 5 require an internet connection to work? If it does, will that influence your opinion of the game? Would it be a deal-breaker, an incentive, or are you simply indifferent?
While you ponder that I will try my best to bring you continued updated information on the next installment of the Forza franchise. I will also hopefully get some play time with the game in just under two weeks at E3, after which I will give you my impressions.
Any day where you receive a pile of packages from Fanatec almost as tall as you, is a very good day. I had one of those days recently as Fanatec sent over their entire ClubSport set up for me to try out. They included not just the wheel base, but the pedals, and two interchangeable wheel rims. I quickly set up my camera and ripped into all of those glorious boxes! It took a while but I got through it. Anything for my readers…I do these things for you!
As we speak I am working on a review for this set so I can tell let you all know if all this gear is worth your hard-earned cash. Also, I decided to get rid of the infamous black gloves I’ve wore in my previous unboxing videos. More on that in the video below. Enjoy!
Tony Kanaan is one of the most popular, well liked, and experienced drivers on the Indy Car grid. Hes won a championship with Andretti Autosport as well as many races with various teams. He grew up with the likes of Rubens Barrichello and Helio Castroneves in Brazil. Yet with all his skill, experience, and his hard work ethic he has never quite been able to capture the ultimate American racing prize, the Indy 500. For the last 8 years Kanaan has come very close to a victory but for one reason or another he came up short. This time, he wrestled his fate and willed himself to a victory with an amazing pass on lap 197 of 200 during a restart.
Just after Tony shot his way into the front a crash in the back of the field brought out the yellow flag, securing Kanann’s win under a yellow/white/checkered flag. This year’s race was certainly an exciting one and if you did not get to watch, there is a video of all the highlights below.
Before the Monaco GP, the Indy 500, and tons of artery clogging BBQ the Memorial Day weekend kicked off in Long Beach at Wekfest in the shadow of the Queen Mary. If the background in the pictures looks familiar its because I was just there for Toyotafest. No matter though. The important part is I have a gallery of clean cars for you to enjoy! WekFest is always a great show if you are really about fit and finish. You can look at over 100 cars at WekFest and not find a single fake wheel or knock-off body kit. The vibe at this event is all about being clean and simple. There is also plenty of variety as well. Old school, Euro, track cars, you name it, it was there!
Enough talk though. Check out a few teaser images by clicking the thumbnails below and hit the red text for the Facebook gallery.
While most of us think of Memorial Day as just a day off and a time for delicious, delicious BBQ we should not forget what this day is truly about. Today is the day when we honor the men and women who serve our country and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedom. So, before you throw another slab of amazing fatty American raised meat on the grill, take a moment to think about all the men and women who serve our country and who have given their lives to protect us. Better yet, if you know anyone in the armed forces, say “thank you” and throw another piece of meat on the BBQ for them!
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