Shift Blog

EXOTIC RACING SERIES CAR OF THE DAY: Maserati GranTurismo S

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:31:00 GMT

A coupe on the same platform as the Quattroporte sedan, the Maserati GranTurismo S is the Italian automaker’s most recent range-topping grand tourer.

Unveiled at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, GranTurismo S also shares a platform with Ferrari’s newest halo car, the 599 GTB Fioriano, and when you examine their lines closely, you can see how one car takes after the other.

GranTurismo S is also closely tied to another car featured in the Exotic downloadable content Pack for Need for Speed SHIFT, the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, which uses a modified Maserati platform and powertrain.

Designed by former Pininfarina car guru Jason Castriota, GranTurismo S maintains the modern styling that has dominated the past several Maserati models while still giving a nod to the automaker’s past.

Sporting Maserati’s classic ‘trident’ badge, GranTurismo S, which was first offered in 2008, marks a significant upgrade on the basic GranTurismo platform.

Under its long, shapely hood is a 4.7-liter V8 - a larger mill than the 4.2-liter powerplant featured in the standard GranTurismo – which pumps out an impressive 434 horsepower, 35 more than the ‘base’ variant.

When equipped with a manual transmission, GranTurismo S tears up the tarmac, running 0-60 in less than five seconds with a top speed of 183 mph, more than enough to get your blood rushing.

Speaking of the transmission, GranTurismo S features a six-speed ‘robotic’ manual transmission which shifts smoother than a warm knife through soft butter, with a lightning-quick response time.

Its suspension system is aided by fixed-setting steel dampers, with the Skyhook adaptive suspension a factory option for drivers who want a bit more strength.

You owe it to yourself to take the GranTurismo S out for a burn in Need for Speed SHIFT's Exotic Racing Series because this car was built for the tracks in this game, especially Riviera.

EXOTIC RACING SERIES CAR OF THE DAY: Gumpert Apollo

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:35:00 GMT

The brainchild of Roland Gumpert, a longtime Volkswagen/Audi business development guru, and Roland Mayer, former chief of Audi Sport, the Gumpert Apollo is as close to a street-legal racecar you can get, and it’s available with the downloadable Exotic Racing Series for Need for Speed SHIFT.

Taking a look at the Apollo from the outside, it’s reminiscent of the cars we used to doodle in our notebooks as growing boys while feigning attention in math, English or history class so many years ago.

With its swooping, yet angular lines, the Apollo makes use of fiberglass technology to shed the extra pounds that come with steel construction, with carbon fiber pieces optional.

Apollo is constructed entirely upon a tubular chromoly frame and depending on options, weighs anywhere from 2,400-2,600 pounds.

But that’s not what anyone who owns or obsesses over the Apollo cares about.

The 4.2-liter, 40-valve, mid-mounted, 90-degree bi-turbo V8 engine is the star of the Apollo show. Gumpert has three different ‘levels’ of their vaunted mill: the ‘base’ engine has 641 horsepower, the ‘sport’ level boasts 691 ponies, and the ‘race’ Apollo has 789 pavement-eating German thoroughbreds.

On the track, Apollo burns from 0-to-60 in only 3.2 seconds, equaling the time set by the legendary McLaren F1.

Apollo is an outstanding blend of technology and raw engineering, with its drive-by-wire acceleration system, dry sump lubrication and on-board diagnostic system supplementing its prodigious power.

Gumpert claims the Apollo is so perfectly engineered that it can drive upside-down in a tunnel at around 190 mph.

Nobody has been able to test this theory, though British motoring show Top Gear has said they are ready to attempt the experiment but need a willing driver.

You may not be driving upside-down through tunnels with SHIFT’s Exotic Racing Series, but it’s a tempting proposition every time we look at the Apollo.

EXOTIC RACING SERIES CAR OF THE DAY: ALFA ROMEO 8C COMPETIZIONE

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:36:00 GMT

Long overlooked as an Italian performance brand due to its large selection of commuter cars, Alfa Romeo makes its return to the Need for Speed universe in the Exotic Racing Series for SHIFT.

First announced at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show as a concept car, the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione finally made it to full-scale production in 2007.

Its styling evokes memories of Alfa’s illustrious past, with the lines engineered to remind us of the iconic Alfas of the 1930s and 1940s, and it borrows the ‘Competizione’ name from the 1948 6C 2500 Competizione, which placed third in the 1949 and 1950 Mille Miglia races.

Departing from its retro looks, Competizione is a car with tanto – Italian for ‘a lot’ - of modern technology.

Its 4.7-liter V8 is a Ferrari-Maserati joint-venture, with Ferrari assembling the 90-degree, cross-plane, dry sump lubricated monster that kicks out 444 horsepower, running 0-60 in slightly more than four seconds. With an engine redline of 7,500 RPM and rev limiter kicking in at 7,600, this car doesn’t mess around.

The company line from Alfa Romeo is the Competizione has a top speed of about 181 mph, but independent tests have shown it can achieve higher than 190. One anonymous Alfa engineer said the company’s estimations were conservative.

Its lateral acceleration numbers are impressive as well, with the car drawing 1.02g of force, stronger than the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Porsche 911 Turbo and Audi R8.

Competizione comes with 20” tires specifically engineered for use on its chassis, with the rims being perforated in fluid molded aluminum.

As with any Alfa, you need to sit in the cockpit of the Competizione and actually feel the car around you to truly understand why people love these vehicles so much.

With only 500 ever built and sold for a cost of $175,000 each, chances are pretty slim you’re going to get your hands on one in real life, but Competizione is available in the Exotic Racing Series for SHIFT. Take it for a spin starting March 18.

EXOTIC RACING SERIES CAR OF THE DAY: McLaren MP4-12C

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:46:00 GMT

When your first efforts to produce a roadworthy car yielded the aesthetically beautiful and technically amazing McLaren F1, is it possible to build a better vehicle?

McLaren thinks so, and their second street-legal car, the MP4-12C, is set to hit showroom floors in 2011 and is part of the Exotic Racing Series for Need for Speed SHIFT.

MP4-12C is a complete structural change from the F1, with every inch of the car re-engineered for a more pleasurable driving experience on road or track.

Under the hood, MP4-12C is powered by a much smaller engine than F1, with its 3.8-liter, twin-turbo V8 being dwarfed by the F1’s 6.1-liter BMW V12.

But there’s little difference in power, with MP4-12C kicking out approximately 600 ponies from its engine, comparable to F1’s 627.

Where the new car has an advantage is in distribution of torque, with 80 per cent of MP4-12C’s grunt available at only 2,000 RPM.

MP4-12C has smoother lines than the F1, looking more like a polished performance car than a speed demon vacationing from the track on public roads.

One major change in MP4-12C’s interior is the removal of the F1’s awkward ‘1+2’ seating arrangement, as both driver and passenger will be seated next to one another in the cockpit.

McLaren has positioned the MP4-12C to compete with top-of-the-line sports cars from Italy, with the company setting its sights on the Lamborghini Gallardo and Ferrari 458 Italia.

With prices approaching $300,000, owning an MP4-12C may be out of your reach, but if you download the Exotic Racing Series for SHIFT, you can save your pennies and drive one today.

Announcing the Exotic Racing Series for Need for Speed SHIFT!

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:12:00 GMT

The all-new Exotic Racing Series for Need for Speed SHIFT, available March 18 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, introduces seven phenomenal new cars and an amazing new track.

Highlighting this exclusive pack of cars are the McLaren MP4-12C, Gumpert Apollo and the legendary BMW M1.

You won’t find more brilliance, innovation, or drama than in these magnificent machines, with each a potent mix of track-tested speed demon and capable daily driver. Beauty, agility, speed, and exclusivity are bred into each one of these models. Here’s your chance to take them out on the track.

Over 50 exciting new events have also been created just for these cars, so you’ll have plenty of time to revel in their beauty and - because this is Need for Speed SHIFT - power.

The challenging and spectacular new Riviera track boasts four unique layouts, each with daring corners, multiple blazing straight-aways, and a couple of hairpins and chicanes, pushing your cars to their limits.

Available March 18, the Exotic Racing Series for Need for Speed SHIFT is $10 or 800 Microsoft Points and is available on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles.

Final Caption Contest of Week 2

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:30:00 GMT

We had a lot of response to yesterday's caption contest, and we're closing out week two with another classic car, the 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T.

You know the drill here folks, the best caption e-mailed to kirk@needforspeed.com wins themselves a free Ferrari Racing Series DLC code. We're letting this contest run through the weekend, the winner will be announced on Monday.

Two weeks of Ferrari Wallpapers - March 4: Ferrari 430 Scuderia

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:17:00 GMT

We continue in our two-week rollout of Ferrari wallpapers with the beautiful Ferrari 430 Scuderia. This car is a hoot to drive, it's definitely in my top-three out of all the cars in the Ferrari Racing Series.

There are 9 beautiful wallpapers of this outstanding machine. All can be downloaded with a click and they default to 1920x1080.

Two weeks of Ferrari Wallpapers - March 3: Ferrari F430 Spider

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:30:00 GMT

With only three days left in our two weeks of Ferrari Racing Series wallpapers, I present to you the car we rode in during our visit to Empire One last month (see above), the Ferrari F430 Spider.

We have one wallpaper of the F430 Spider, it defaults to 1920x1080 and can be downloaded by clicking on it.

NFS Hot Lap – Week 20 - Mike makes a weird face...again

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:25:00 GMT

The big 2-0! It seems just like yesterday that the NFS Hot Lap was crawling around on all fours ready to take its first steps. Now look at it: in its sophomore year at Duke University deciding whether it has enough electives for its second semester. How quickly they grow up =P

Enough idiocy on my part and let’s get on with it! Hopefully you saw yesterday’s post and got the “leak” on which car and track we’re doing, but in case you didn’t here you go:

Car: BMW M3 E46
Track: Alpental

The competition will run until Monday, March, 15th at 9am PST :)

Here is my video. I bailed hard going into the final straight away, so the time should be relatively easy to beat this week =P (Really, when is it not?!)

The usual:
Make sure to use the same car and track, keep it to one lap per video, make sure the FULL LAP is recorded, and however you choose to record it, make sure your final time is clearly readable. Post it to your YouTube account and submit it as a response to our Week 20 video (embedded below). And, there’s no limit to the number of video responses you can post, so if you see your best time beaten by someone else, get back in and record a better one. And to make your video easier to track, please remember to tag it with NFS and put a link to needforspeed.com in the video’s description.

As always, if you have any questions, please drop me a line at michael@needforspeed.com and I can help you out.

Here’s my video!

Two weeks of Ferrari Wallpapers - March 2: Ferrari Superamerica

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:47:00 GMT

Here we go, day six of the wallpaper series for the Ferrari Racing Series for Need for Speed SHIFT. Today's car is my favorite in the DLC pack, the Ferrari Superamerica.

I just love its elegant curves and aggressive performance. It may not match up to the FXX and F50 GT in terms of raw horsepower, but this car is beautiful and fun.

As always, the wallpapers are available by clicking on them and default to a 1920x1080 size. Enjoy!