John Srp – Here I can’t help but recall the legendary Alfa Romeo Scighera from Need for Speed 3: Hot Pursuit, where it was renamed to Italdesign for some reason. It is a racing prototype that was made in just one single piece, but this car was one of the best in the game. And definitely the most beautiful.
Need for Speed 3: Hot Pursuit
I also loved all the stylish “crakes” from Flat Out, which had pieces of sheet metal falling off while driving. In general, I think fictional brands are better for games than real ones, which usually can’t have a realistic damage model due to licensing agreements.
Honza Kouba – Just a few months ago, I would say the iconic Red Eagle from the Carmageddon series. But that was before Pacific Drive. The chipped station wagon here is a soulful little car. It’s not the fastest, it doesn’t stand a chance on steep hills and it always takes over the wheel at the most inopportune time, but it’s the right companion for discomfort. They playfully shove all the other shiny cars into their pockets, whether they have as many horses under the hood as they want and can climb as many hills as they want without a problem.
Pacific Drive
Brutal racing Carmageddon
Tadeáš Pepř – First, I will allow myself to sabotage the given question a little and instead of specific cars I will mention the best models. Because I suffer from a very fundamental problem of not being able to be a little original. Practically every time I start a new racing game, I think to myself that this time I could reach for cars that I don’t usually choose, and thus bring a little novelty into my life. At the same time, it practically always ends with me sitting behind the virtual steering wheel of the same machines. You can quite regularly find me in a classic Civic 93, Lancer Evo IX, Nissan GTR, AMG GTR and my racing journeys regularly end in a Lamborghini Aventador. I simply find it very difficult to resist this five, unless the model is completely missing from the game, which doesn’t happen very often.
But let’s leave that aside. Paradoxically, I don’t really have a favorite hero car. I consider Most Wanted to be one of the most overrated continuations of the Need for Speed series, so I won’t mention the obligatory M3 GTR. From the cult series, I would rather stick out, for example, the promotional battered RX-7 from my beloved Pro Street, which in period trailers and intros was able to perfectly lure in uncompromising semi-professional racing. In addition, the genius feeling of belonging to the machine was able to conjure up Mad Max. The especially powerful rasping sound when starting the Magnu Opus did not stop entertaining me even to the very end, on the contrary. Few things were more stylish than Tanner’s Dodge Challenger R/T in Driver: San Francisco, and of course as a Halo fan I can’t help but mention the Warthog, although I always prefer to sit in the Scorpion tank anyway.
As a result, the most favorite game car for me is the rather inconspicuous (to say with a big exaggeration) Lamborghini Huracán. I stand by the fact that the best racing game of all time is Forza Horizon 2. I remember very vividly how I turned on my then brand new Xbox One some ten years ago and watched the opening sequence with incredible goosebumps, which perfectly described the atmosphere of the game and which perfectly primed the players for the incredible portion of racing fun that followed. Then when the game finally puts you behind the wheel of a yellow Huracán to the sounds of Eric Prydz’s perfectly summery Liberate and launches you into the beautiful sunny world of southern France, you feel like there’s nothing better in the world. And maybe the fact that I consider the Huracán-Aventador sibling duo to be the most beautiful thing the automotive industry has ever produced is somewhat related to this.
I wish every game had an opening like this.
Andrew Zach – Not that I have a favorite car. In general, however, I like go-karts, buggies, and in the “big” racing games like Forza or Gran Turismo, I love the old legends from the 70s and 80s. And I also like to drive in a VW T1 minibus, just to relax.
Forza Horizon 5
The Crew Motorfest
Honza Lysý – I’ve had a driver’s license since I was eighteen, but after a few separate drives I decided that I shouldn’t be behind the wheel. However, paradoxically, I like racing games, but rather arcade-style, I don’t really enjoy realistic races. If I had to pick a specific vehicle, firstly I can’t name one and secondly it wouldn’t be a classic car but pretty much anything that was seen in Star Wars Episoder I Racer and the WipEout series.
Star Wars Episode I: Racer on Switch
