The Porsche brand has become an icon and no other car brand in the world can match its history, racing pedigree, individuality, or is as easily recognized as those innovative German pieces of art and performance gracefully rolling off the line in Stuttgart.
A little history
Dr. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche cut his engineering teeth at Lohner, where he created the world’s first front wheel drive car, at Daimler-Benz where he created the Mercedes supercharged roadsters the SS and the SSK, before starting the Porsche and Volkswagen brands in the late 30s. It is interesting to note that Adolph Hitler himself conducted the groundbreaking ceremony at the Wolfsburg VW plant in May 1938.
Dr. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche
(1875-1951)
Also credited with the development of the first gas-electric hybrid Beetle, Porsche made tanks and bombers for the Nazis during WWII, and was consequently imprisoned in Dijon, France for his role in the Nazi war effort. He died January 30, 1951 just months before the production of the 356 was finished, the first Porsche with the now world-famous Stuttgart horse coat-of-arms emblem.
Porsche cars had been available in all other iterations of the Forza series up until Forza 4, which launched sans the iconic brand. Dan Greenawalt, Turn 10 director, lobbed a few shots at EA on forzamotorsport.net, explaining that EA held the exclusive Porsche license and was unwilling to part with any part of it like they had done in the past. Forza 4 was released with 3 Porsche-based RUF models of the 911 while EA wasted their exclusive license on their Need For Speed: The Run attempt at vehicular humor (or was that unintentional?) Seven months later, Forza fans are getting their long-overdue Porsche fix with a $20 price tag. Was it worth the wait?
Porsche 550 Spyder
“If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week.”
Alec Guiness to James Dean-Sept.23, 1955
James Dean upgraded from a Porsche 356 to the 550, in 1955, while shooting the film “Rebel Without a Cause”, laying the groundwork for his own demise and a cursed car story that rivals Stephen King’s 1958 Plymouth Fury. Dean commissioned George Barris to customize his 550, installing tartan seats, red stripes on the rear fenders, and the number 130 onto the hood. Dean named the Spyder “Little Bastard” and had master pin-striper Dean Jeffries paint the name on the car. Dean met Sir Alec Guiness that September at a restaurant and showed him the car. A less-than-impressed Guiness described the car as “sinister” and advised Dean against driving it. Dean died in the Little Bastard seven days later.
George Barris purchased the car for $2500 and soon after the car rolled off of a trailer and injured one of his mechanics, breaking his leg. Barris sold the engine and drivetrain to a couple of racers. One of them, Troy McHenry, lost control of his car and hit a tree, killing the driver. The other, William Eschrid, was injured on a turn when the car mysteriously locked up and rolled. Barris sold the two salvageable tires which, in turn, blew out and injured the driver. Even thieves attempting to pilfer parts from Dean’s “Death Car” were seriously cut and injured during the attempted theft. Spooky!
1955 550 Spyder at Fujimi Kaido - Design courtesy FungulousRex
When brought into Forza 3 as a DLC, the 550 immediately became one of the most hated leader board cars of the game. You literally could not enter a public race between F-Class and B-Class without half the room racing these Giant Killers. Even with the pi adjustments by Turn 10, the 550 is still a formidable opponent in the lower classes. It is very easy to drive, even bone-stock, and upgrading is nearly idiot-proof. I upgraded mine to C-Class and was pleased to find that the 550 needed very little work to be competitive, giving me a clean Personal Best (PB) on a downhill Fujimi configuration on its inaugural run. Expect short track PBs at Ladera, Positano, Fujimi, Maple Valley Short.
Top Gear Test Lap C-Class: 1:28.054
Porsche Cayenne
Design Courtesy of FungulousRex
The Cayenne proved to be the big disappointment of the Porsche Pack. Perhaps the bar was set too high in Forza 3, where it killed all other SUVs with Porsche punch and superior handling. Forget what you knew about this beast from Forza 3, this dog has been neutered for Forza 4. I initially set the pi to max out in A-Class to run the new Porsche SUV event from the event list, which ended in me throwing my controller and turning off the X-Box for a self-imposed “time-out.” I later came back to “the dog” and tuned it to S-Class, primarily adding parts and tuning to enhance the handling, which made it worse. The Cayenne is heavy, ungainly, and an absolute displeasure to drive on any track in any class. Easily outmatched by the most carelessly tuned Mercedes ML-63, Audi Q7, BMW X5, or Jeep Cherokee, this dog is best left in the hangar.
Top Gear A-Class: 1:21.714
And just for the sake of comparison, I am providing lap times in other A-Class cars:
Dodge Ram: 1:20.908
59 Cadillac Eldorado: 1:20.618
57 Chevy Bel Air: 1:19.188
Jeep Cherokee: 1:20.200
Audi Q7: 1:21.669
Mercedes ML63: 1:21.402
BMW X6: 1:20.555
This invaluable data tells me that if you go to England with the intent of impressing The Stig on his home turf, in an SUV…take a Jeep. That being said, the Cayenne is very photogenic, and here are some of my favorite pictures of the Cayenne in “action”:
“Noooo….the track is over there!”
“Skidmarks”
“Please don’t roll…”
And my favorite, “The Turtle”
1987 Porsche 959
Only the Koenigsegg CCGT tried my tuner's patience as much as the 959 in Forza 3. It was hard to tune and took a driving skill far beyond what I possessed to keep in on the track at anyplace but Le Mans. The welcome addition of being able to install an adjustable rear spoiler in Forza 4 has improved tuning and driving considerably. However the utilization of aerodynamics has robbed the 959 of some of its character and now lags several seconds behind other Porsches at the Top Gear track in S-Class.
Top Gear S-Class: 1:17.075
Porsche 996 GT1 “Strassenversion”
The glaring omission of this car from Forza 4 can only be described as “criminal.”
Porsche 914/6
Porsche 914/6 at Ladera - Design courtesy of DC Jamieson
This mid-engine, flat 6-cylinder, RWD, targa-top Porsche was intentionally designed to replace the aging 912 model and provide an affordable alternative to the pricier 911. A tooling cost dispute with sister company Volkswagen had significantly driven up the production costs for Porsche, and lack of enthusiasm for the “cheap” Porsche led to the discontinuation of the 914/6 in 1972.
The 914/6 is one of the grippiest lower-class cars in Forza 4, and one of the most accessible from a tuning standpoint. Even if tuners built the car to a target class without adjusting anything, they would find the car remains competitive. Expect PBs on all but the longest tracks.
Top Gear D-Class: 1:31.116
2012 Porsche Cayman R
Porsche Cayman R at Top Gear Track - Design courtesy of JCotter
The Cayman R is another wildly adjustable and easily tune-able Porsche. A staple spec-series favorite in the 2Old4Forza clan, there is no track the Cayman cannot compete at. The Cayman is stable, quick to accelerate, and provides an ample top end speed. Use it everywhere.
Top Gear A-Class: 1:19.610
1989 Porsche 944 Turbo
Design courtesy of Dog8MySk8
The 944 is a departure from Porsche’s usual 6-cylinder production models. The RWD 944 boasted a turbocharged 247 hp 4-cylinder engine mounted in the front of the vehicle. This is one of the few Porsches in the game that drivers will not have to “re-train” themselves to drive. Keep the tuning to A-Class or below and enjoy PBs at intermediate tracks like Iberian or Maple Valley.
Top Gear A-Class: 1:20.252
2003 Porsche Carrera GT
Design courtesy of Roo65
The Carrera GT was the first supercar that I purchased in Forza 3, and the first Porsche I bought in Forza 4. Within minutes of downloading the DLC, I had the car built and quickly tuned. I took it out for its inaugural run at Nordschleiffe…and promptly ran off the road on the first turn. The Carrera GT is not nearly as easy to tune as in previous iterations of Forza, but those persistent tuners will be rewarded with a car that can handle every track in the game and turn a clean lap. My R3 tune seems to prefer longer tracks like Indy, Nordschleiffe, and La Sarthe.
Top Gear R3 Class: 1:11.445
The 911
(insert dramatic music here)
911 Creator Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (1935-2012)
F.A. Porsche, grandson of Dr. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, was named head of the Porsche design studio in 1962, and brought the iconic 911 to the showroom just a year later. Originally designated as the 901, Forza fans know, through years of informative loading screens, that a dispute and impending lawsuit by French automaker Peugeot forced Porsche to ditch the “0” and rename the vehicle 911. The 911 was built to be a high performance upgrade from previous Porsche offerings, using the 130hp air-cooled flat 6 in a rear engine RWD configuration, a set-up that should sound very familiar to Volkswagen enthusiasts. In fact, Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson often refers to the 911 as a “glorified Beetle.” The engine placement and rounded styling are where the similarities end. Porsche’s status as a racing icon and reputation as a high performance luxury sports car were cemented with the introduction of the 1963 911, and has grown to legendary status as the longest production run sports car of all time.
1973 911 Carrera RS
'73 911 at Nurburgring Nordschleiffe - Design Courtesy of Dog8MySk8
This is the 911 that got Porsche noticed by winning the 1973 24 Hours at Daytona. Keep the revs high at launch to accommodate the rear engine weight bog. The 73 accelerates nicely and turns very sharply, some drivers may add positive camber to compensate for the car’s tendency to over-steer slightly. Builds generally work well all the way up to A-Class but will not be competitive on longer tracks. Try it at Laguna Seca, Sedona Club, and Maple Valley.
Top Gear B-Class: 1:24.774
2012 911 GT2 RS
“The Beast” - Design courtesy of Roo65
The 2012 GT2 RS is the most powerful 911 ever made, with a twin-turbocharged 611 hp, 6 cylinder monster loaded in the back of the car, directly over the drive wheels. Porsche has developed a Variable Turbine Geometry system, which allows access to the forced induction boost at lower RPM, as well as at redline. In other words, you get what you paid for sooner…and later. Tuning and testing this car was an absolute joy. I decided to keep The Beast in S-Class, leaving me with a sparse 33 pi to play with. I ordered wider tires, race suspension, diff, and a roll cage, which left me with just enough points to squeeze in a sport air filter. Even without relying on front and rear spoilers, I was able to lay down impressive laps times at both of the biggest tracks, Fujimi Kaido and Nurburgring Nordschleiffe, and several PBs at shorter tracks. I fully intend to buy another one of the to put in R3 Class. I guess that would be a Mega-Beast! If you keep it contained to S-Class expect PBs on all but the tightest tracks, particularly Silverstone, Indy, Sebring, any track with long enough straights to take advantage of the unusually responsive acceleration.
1982 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3
'82 911 Turbo at Road Atlanta
If the 2012 GT2 RS is nicknamed “The Beast”, then I would give the 82 911T the monicker of “The Bee-ach.” The oversteer in previous games in the series was so severe that the car actually punished the driver for having the audacity to make an error while behind the wheel. I’m reminded of a series of point to point races in the original Forza that were particularly agonizing to drive. The Forza 4 version is far easier to drive but caution is warranted and I would advise keeping this one confined to A-Class or B-Class. Keep RPM high at launch or get left at the line.
Top Gear B-Class: 1:24.450
And the rest…
2007 911 GT3 at Odessa Test Track - Top Gear A-Class: 1:20.928
2008 #7 Porsche Penske Racing Spyder Evo - Top Gear R1 Class: 1:05.667
2005 #31 Petersen-White Lightning GT3 RSR - Top Gear R3 Class: 1:10.986
The remaining production models, namely the Boxster and various 911 models, like the Sport Classic and the AWD 911 Turbo, are all quite capable and enjoyable cars to tune, paint, and drive. The race models, although I was only able to test the stock models, are grippy, quick, and capable although none were top-end monsters.
Final Verdict
So, is the Porsche pack worth the seven month wait and Porsche-sized sticker shock? The answer is an emphatic “YES!” RUFs are nice but nothing, and I mean nothing, drives like a Porshe. Porsche is an iconic and integral part of racing heritage and creator of some of the most innovative high performance sport and racing cars ever built, and the Forza experience is incomplete without those legendary Stuttgart machines.
About the Author
Rod “Sarcasmo Jones” Wymer has been a gamer since he rolled his first ten-sided dice and played Defender at a 7-11 back in the 80s. His first love is racing games, but he has a soft spot for good, turn-based RPGs. Rod writes political humor for http://theamericanleft.com under the pen name "Sarcasmo Jones." He was working towards a Bachelors Degree in game and simulation programming and hopes to finish if he can ever get his finances straight. His greatest accomplishment in life would have to be an essay he wrote regarding rock music trends in the 60s. His most embarrassing moment would have to be his 4th spelling bee defeat by the word "beachcomber", a word he still refuses to use to this day...he calls them "sandsifters."
