Hot Wheels

Not long ago, I mentioned to my wife that I thought it was time for me to get another car. I’ve had my trusty 1983 Volvo GL Wagon since 1985, but the odometer stopped at 260,000 miles, and that was about five years ago.

I knew I had to sell her on the idea, so I started with a sob story. I reeled off the condensed version of the car’s biggest flaws: broken heater, sunken driver’s seat, wheezing engine, rusting paint, but she never looked up from her magazine. That was a bad sign, but I pressed on.

I told her my next car had to have more style and pep than my wagon. “I’m thinking I could get a 3- or 4-year-old sporty car, you know, maybe a BMW convertible or a Jag or a Mustang ….”

Her laughter stopped me mid-sentence. She was laughing so hard you might have thought our house was located over a leaking nitrous oxide pipeline. She was trying to tell me something, but with all the giggling I couldn’t understand a single word she said. Her meaning, though, was clear: "Dream on, sucker!"

Perhaps that’s why I’m so devoted to Project Gotham Racing® 2. Playing that game is as close as I'm ever going to get to some of the world’s fastest, most exotic, and expensive cars. PGR™ 2 shipped with more than 100 automobiles, ranging from budget-friendly compacts to road-ripping dream machines that sell for millions of dollars—that is, if you can even find one for sale. I may never own a sports car of my own, but at least as long as I'm playingPGR 2, I've got a sweet ride.

There are four vehicles at the top of the PGR 2 food chain: the Mercedes CLK-GTR, the Porche 911 GT1, the TVR Cerbera Speed 12, and the Ferrari 250 GTO. The first three are members of the Ultimate class, while the Ferrari 250 GTO is the showcase car among the Classics. All four have been brought to PGR 2complete with the precise, exciting, and unique performances that made them famous in racing circles.

That's not where the similarities end. Just like in real life, these cars aren’t free in PGR 2. You must pay a high price: You earn them via the Kudos World Series. To unlock them you will have to log a ton of laps and beat all comers in one race after another. But the cost in Kudos tokens in infinitesimally smaller than what you'd have to fork over for a real version of any of the game’s top cars.

The following is the rundown on these dazzling cars:

FERRARI 250 GTO
Engine: V-12
Horsepower: 300 bhp @ 7,700 rpm
Engine location/Drive: Front/Rear wheel drive
Gearbox: 5 speed
Weight: 1,936 lbs. (878 kg)
0-60 mph: 5.8 seconds
Top speed: 158 mph
Price: $7 million to $8 million
Sizzle factor: A revolutionary car when it was introduced in the early 1960s, many consider it the most beautiful and powerful sports car ever built. Its value is driven by beauty and scarcity—only 39 were built, and 36 remain in circulation.
PGR 2 unlock: Complete the Kudos World Series at Bronze level.

Ferrari 250 GTO

In terms of high speed, the Ferrari 250 GTO is the slowest of this select group, with a top speed of "only" about 158 mph. However, it is the oldest, rarest, and most valuable of the foursome. When it debuted in 1962, it sold for $18,000. Only 39 were built. In recent years, the cars have sold for as much as $8 million at auction. You are given the keys to the Ferrari 250 GTO in PGR 2 by completing the Kudos World Series at the Bronze level.

PORSCHE 911 GT1
Engine: Twin Turbocharged Flat 6
Horsepower: 600 bhp @ 7,200 rpm
Engine location/Drive: Mid-engine/Rear wheel drive
Gearbox: 6 speed
Weight: 2,200 lbs. (1,000 kg)
0-60 mph: 3.4 seconds
Top speed: 192 mph
Price: $1 million
Sizzle factor: Although it's a high-tech race machine, the Porsche 911 GT1 is remarkably easy to drive and set up. For racing teams, simplicity is a blessing. The car runs well on a variety of tracks, so the teams don’t have to spend a lot of time hunting for a setup that will allow the car to be competitive.
PGR 2 unlock: Complete the Kudos World Series at Silver level.

Porsche 911 GT1

The Porsche 911 GT1 made its racing debut at the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1996, when it finished second after leading for 22 hours. Two years later, a pair of 911 GT1s finished first and second at the world’s toughest endurance race for sports cars. Unlike the other cars in this article, this one runs on a 6-cylinder engine (the others are powered by V-12s). The Porsche 911 GT1 becomes yours when you complete the Kudos World Series at the Silver level.

MERCEDES CLK-GTR
Engine: V-12
Horsepower: 600 bhp @ 7,000 rpm
Engine location/Drive: Mid-engine/Rear wheel drive
Gearbox: 6 speed
Weight: 2,220 lbs. (1,000 kg)
0-60 mph: 3.4 seconds
Top speed: 191 mph
Price: $1 million to $1.5 million
Sizzle factor: A pricey street-legal car built to compete in FIA’s GT series. The CLK-GTR has taken the checkers twice at Le Mans.
PGR 2 unlock: Complete the Kudos World Series at Gold level.

Mercedes CLK-GTR

The Mercedes CLK-GTR won its inaugural race at the Nürburgring in June 1997. It went on to capture the FIA-GT championship that season, winning six of that year’s 11 races. To comply with FIA-GT manufacturing rules, 25 CLK-GTRs were sold for highway use, at a cost of approximately $1.5 million. InPGR 2, you must complete the Kudos World Series at the Gold level to claim your CLK-GTR.

TVR CERBERA SPEED 12
Engine: V-12
Horsepower: 800 bhp @ 7250 rpm
Engine location/Drive: Front/Rear wheel drive
Gearbox: 6 speed
Weight: 2,359 lbs. (1,070 kg)
0-60 mph: 3.5 seconds
Top speed: 240
Price: $250,000 to $300,000
Sizzle factor: The Cerbera has the best horsepower-to-weight ratio in the group of elite PGR 2cars (800 hp/2,359 pounds). The chassis is built from aluminum honeycomb and tubular steel, while the bodywork is carbon fiber (reportedly, the body weighs less than 100 pounds).
PGR 2 unlock: Complete the Kudos World Series at Platinum level.

TVR Cerbera Speed 12

The TVR Cerbera Speed 12, the game’s ultimate car, is reserved for ultimate drivers. The real-life version has 800 horses trapped under the hood, giving this car the type of performance that draws comparison to Formula 1 cars. Although it's a thoroughbred racecar, it's built to meet highway regulations and could be driven on the street (though I can't see driving this monster to the supermarket). You have to win all events in the Kudos World Series at the Platinum level to unlock the Cerbera.

I’d like to tell you that I’m racking up mucho Kudos and having big fun driving all these cars, but that would be a lie. I’ve only unlocked the Ferrari 250 GTO so far, but only four Ultimate events stand between me and the Porsche 911 GT1. I should have it in my garage soon. In the end, I'm determined to bag the Cerbera Speed 12 and the CLK-GTR, but given the pace of my progress, that could take a while. My trusty rusty Volvo could have another 100,000 miles on it before I finally reach my goal.

By Keith Procter