Raging Roaring Road Runners Pt.3

Just when you start to wonder why it is taking so long for ProStreet Cars to release a new supercar, they suddenly unveil the one car that has been in my wish list for a long time now. TerdNerd Barbosa releases that Prancing Horse from the its stable, and expect this black stallion to be doing wild horse kicks on the track. This car is like no other and is nothing near being amateurishly crafted. Like the other supercars I have featured in my 4R-series (Raging Roaring Road Runners) blog, this latest release is also in my list as one of the best and rare beauties you would find in SL.

This car is available in a cabriolet or a standard top with seven colours to chose from. Choosing which one to take will not be as easy as you think. It took me 20 minutes-plus and at least two purchases before I could finally say that I was truly happy... laughter

ProStreet Cars gave me back confidence in collecting SL cars since getting very disappointed with the first one I bought from another maker as a noob. People would surely remember their first set of wheels, but mine was surely one I'd rather forget.

TerdNerd's latest releases are Havok 4 ready, with strong sigh of relief.

Havok 4 is a new platform that sort of destroyed if not killed a lot of scripted objects that were pre-H4 manufactured, cringes. ProStreet Cars (like all of the other builders of cars, aircrafts, boats and security systems) was not spared by this dreaded phenomenon that affected some of the older generation products.

It had been a while, after so many visits to their car showroom at Winkie that they had finally released something new. And just by chance having that gut feeling in me to visit the shop, that I got a hold of this road-legal Ferrari.

Proud Ferrari owners: My babes shows how pleased she is with this easy to drive supercar, as she burns the blue asphalt at Racer's Island prior to having our cars copulating together. grins...

The 2008 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano

IRL (in real life) this new car is an all-aluminum two-seater named after the circuit Ferrari uses to hone the performance of both their race cars and street cars. The GTB stands for Gran Turismo Berlinetta giving tribute to the Berlinettas that also helped the Italian car maker (ahem.. and Tom Selleck's Magnum P.I.) become a household name.

It is by far the best Ferrari ever to be produced in Second Life, replacing the Lamborghinis (which I also got from ProStreet Cars) as my favourite among the other supercars in their roster. It is one of the most stable cars I have ever handled. So straightforward that even noobs will not have a hard time taming this wild horse.

The superb stability can be credited to the new standards which high level car makers include in their packages. Think Porsche Carrera GT and Formula One cars. User friendly menus and HUDs have put the level of SL supercar enthusiast a notch higher, giving birth to Gen 4 autos (Generation-4) which have adapted to the H4 platform. This means more features... more special effects... more stability... high performance... less lag problems.

Rear it baby! Driving a Gen-4 has never been this great especially when you get to race one with the love of your life. Now this gives new meaning to the word "sex-drive"!

Gen~4 Standard Menus

What seems to have been a special feature in Gen-3 cars is now a standard in today's H4-ready supercars. They give drivers the option to customise and tweak the cars default settings. Though short of being as fully customisable as Z.A. Motor's Porsche Carrera GT, the custom~menu offers one of the most important tweak-able feature in racing cars: adjustments for suspension and steering.

Upon clicking the Suspension button (see below), options to set the car on Race mode or Drift can be found. As well as the car's Height for both the front suspensions and back; Down Force which adjusts traction; and Turn Rate which tweaks the cars steering capability. The higher the gear, the lower the number should be.

I would personally recommend Turn Rate 2 for Gear 4 or Turn Rate 3 for Gear 3 when driving in the Grand Canyon circuit, the newest track for Formula SL racing.

If ever you feel that you have messed up your car's settings, just click the RESET button.

Now for the fun part.. well actually the showing-off part hehehe. Self explanatory buttons: Rev revolutionises as well as make your engine roar, while Burn will billow out smoke from your burning tyres.

Hit the pedals, hold the hand brakes and release the clutch. Burning rubber drifting style! Amazing special effects in todays Gen-4 cars.

My First Wheels

Coincidentally my first car was a Ferrari but it was a bit of a disappointment for me. It was a "boxy" Gen-1 built (Generation-1) as what you would expect with the earlier circa 2004 versions. It looked a lot better on the vendor picture and I only got to see its true nature when I rezzed it on the ground. I had no second thoughts in deciding not to drive it around Barcola and Miramare as it was something that was surely meant to be forgotten.

With the release of this magnificent Ferrari 599, I can now have the closure I need for having to ditch my old one and finally move on. I'll just leave the rest of the story to history books.

I want my sushi! And don't forget the wasabi...

Most of my supercars in my collection are European makes. And why not? They are prestigious, glamorous and very appealing, quite stereotypical I may say. BUT you ain't see nothing yet until you have tried the legendary Mitsubishi Evolution VII. Apart from the regular English breakfast, fish and chips, pasta and pizza, croissants and frankfurters... it would be very interesting to try sushi, sashimi and the usual misu soup. It is now time to try Japanese!

IRL it commands respect as it is known to be the best Japanese rally car ever to be built as it can go head-to-head with the famous Subaru Impreza. Each new Evo release gets better than the former and the Evo-VII is the living proof.

Tunnel vision: Testing the Evo on the tracks of the Grand Canyon circuit as it breezes through smoothly at each chicane.

ProStreet Cars hits the jackpot again with this exotic lass from the East. Just like the Ferrari 599, it is so quickly to rez and is quite low in lag which is common to most, if not all Gen-4 cars. It also has a menu for you to be able to adjust its steering and balance the handling ability of the car. But that is not only what makes this car so great, listen to its spontaneous and realistic throttle as it shifts gears and peaks up speed. It gives you the impression that you are really behind the wheel. So get your drifting gear and try this mean momma for yourself.

Smokin' blizzards! The Evo-VII drifting through the canyon's tunnel as it auto balances itself against under-steer.

To see it is to believe...

I discovered ProStreet Cars by accident while going on a FREEBIE hunt. A Gen-2 Lamborghini Countach was my target, unfortunately as I got there it was no longer available as a freebie give-away. But instead it was offered as a prize bundle for a "first letter of your name" lottery. The closest I was going to get my hands on this car was slim to none since the odds of seeing a letter N being called that day was almost impossible.

Not all may be lost as it seems since visiting the showroom lead me to discover better Gen-3 autos, all from ProStreet Cars:

Lambourghini Spyders (hardtop and a slide-up door cabriolet); a Lambourghini Gallardo (slide up doors); a Porsche 911 GT (swing door and rear-engine hood animation); and an Aston Martin DB8 which all are still available to purchase from L$500.00 at their Winkie showroom

The shop boasts of three levels filled with over 40 supercars on sale. Featuring most of the popular makes we know today, from the classic era to modern day cars. I was actually sent out the first time I went there. Not because I played some annoying gesture or had griefed the place with lag-creating scripted objects, nup not that at all. It was simply because I caused people to slip on the floors. Apparently, I never stopped drooling looking at every featured car. hahahaha

So the next time you go there, please try to bring for yourself a drool bag.

A place I wish I can call my home. You'll spend hours just marveling at these cars. And perhaps even just for a second, you would surely wish you had all of them for yours to keep. Visit ProStreet Cars at Winkie: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Winkie/216/124/71

Raging Roaring Road Runners Pt.1

"Oh a lucky penny!"... that's what most people say when they find a tiny copper coin along the way. But what if you chance upon something bigger... something even more grand? Something that is composed of Carbon Fiber reinforced Plastics (CFP) instead of copper? Yep, I'm talking about the latest update for one of SL's greatest supercar!

Now this beauty is something I can really call my own! I painted this car.. I changed the alloy wheels... I adjusted the engine and tweaked its steering and breaking HP... I buffed it until it shined! And who would have thought that something we would do in a real life car could also be done here in Second Life. Am I dreaming or what?

It was just a couple of months ago when I posted a review about this fantastic car, as well as sharing some first hand information on its official release. With the amazing outcome of the beta version (the prototype was offered to the SL public for those who cannot wait for the actual release), we somehow expected something explosive on the next public offering... and only to find out that it was something even better!

The Porsche Carrera GT~SR

After a fairly slight delay for the update, the Carrera GT finally goes into full blast living much to its expectation for being one of the best cars ever to be produced in Second Life. There is more than meets the eye with this car! Not that it is going to transform into an amazing alien robot or something.. no, not at all... It is all about the added features not only for the car per se but for its Heads Up Display (HUD) as well.

Think more buttons for the HUD. Think spares for your flat tyres! Think never ending tinkering with its settings and discover more of what you can do with it, giving you the freedom to customise almost everything to your heart's content. Never has any car in SL been this interactive ever before!

The revamped HUD: with new additions on top of the existing ones, everything is accessible with just a click of button. The Colour/Tint Configuration button is located at the far right side of the HUD, while the Options and Camera View buttons are both easily located at the inner~bottom portion.

This gives new meaning to the phrase: "no car will ever be the same again". And yes sirs and madams, your car for the first time will have its own identity. Say goodbye to that funny feeling of having to drive your car alongside one that looks exactly as yours.

The new colours? There are unlimited colours to choose from! Think of all the possibilities and endless choices. As promised by its creator, the new package includes a Colour/Tint Configuration tool which as mentioned earlier, gives you the freedom to choose your car's colour as well as the option to adjust its RGB (red, green, blue) hue values, a tint to overlay the base colours.

The moment we have all been waiting for. Giving a new paint job for our prized beauty! Customizing its colour can be done by part leaving your car with highlights as well as giving it more depth and dimension. Can't decide what colour to make of your car? Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgU-93jWENc

Apart from the 12-colour base option (see menu below), you can add three (3) levels of shine (from matte to super gloss and wet look) as well as adjust the RGB tint of the car (as seen on the menu above). And by the way, you have to CLICK the "blue pill looking" APPLY button on top of the UI to make your adjustments work!

Why we have LIME as a colour option is beyond my knowledge, (chuckles). Don't be surprised to find out that it is the default colour we all will be getting in our new package. Maybe I give IAm a call and ask him why lime? (laughter). Now that I think about it, it may be a way to push us to immediately custom colour our cars before driving them on the road and track (winks).

As mentioned in my last blog about this magnificent machine, new alloy wheels will be included in the update. But who would ever have thought that there are actually three (3) options for us to play around with. Think wet, dry and intermediate tyres! You will never get tired looking at the same tyres ever again!

The Colour/Tint Configuration tool also includes a selection of three (3) alloy wheel sets to match your taste and style. All three can be custom coloured just like the rest of the car. (see related photo below)

Surprise, surprise! And aren't you glad you have waited a bit longer? Instead of only one replacement for the plain looking-beta version wheels, IAm gives his loyal and "patient" clients a treble treat! SL cars had never been so close to RL cars as Z.A. Motors offers

Tweaking The Unthinkable

Another great feature of the car is giving you the ability to tweak the cars settings to your preference as seen in the menu below:

seating position to adjust according to your AV's size. So say goodbye to short arms and hanging hands seemingly unable to reach for the steering wheel;

power options which also adds to the thrust, torque, push and pull of the car;

steering to adjust the under-steer preference, the same adjustments they do on F1 cars depending on the type of track. It is also used to adjust your cars drifting capability to make that perfect 360-clutch-screeching-and-rubber-burning spin. Mind you, white smoke from burning rubber will actually show up when you drift as well as when you hit the breaks;

breaks will adjust the distance of your breaking horse-power.

No Pain, No Gain.. and please pass me the salad!

It was obviously hard work for the car's creator to jam all these superb features into one magnificent package. Like something that is properly cooked before being served to guests. Much like Gordon Ramsey making you wait just a little bit longer for the main course BUT with the guarantee of having all the right ingredients for you to enjoy... well less the swearing and F-words of course. For new Porsche owners, it is like having a spanking brand new car while pioneer drivers like me are having our lindens worth for the investment we put on the prototype.

The standard adjustment values for the three main features (power, steering, breaks) are shown in the diagram above. The most crucial adjustment would be modifying the understeer of the car. No driver drives exactly the same as the other, making these tweak-able features a big jump forward on how SL cars really should be. Encouraging a bit more of interaction between the man and the machine really adds a lot to the appeal of this Porsche Carrera GT.

The standard realistic headlights and tail lights (that actually glow and illuminate) are just but a throw in, as well as the new Carrera GT sounds that react to the car's every move and action. The nitro-boost and the drift feature is something I still have to master or try even, but that can wait. For just sitting behind the wheel and viewing the car 360 over already gives you that feel-good sensation. What more when you actually try it on the tarmac on some of SL's best race tracks.

By the way, have you tried driving this supercar on 3rd gear? If not, you are missing a lot! Turn up your speakers, listen to the authentic engine sounds roar and watch out for that rear-end spoiler go aero-dynamic (hints). You could even try going a gear higher, 5th gear even and see the unparalleled stability and control this car offers. I have never driven any car past 4th gear until I got behind the wheel of this Carrera.

Every single detail adds to the fun factor as one would say. There are three (3) viewing options (I am really starting to believe that three is the favourite number of IAm Zebellin, hahaha) for the on-board camera. It is the only car to have a dynamic camera, something which I have only seen on planes created by Wilder-Mills Aviation, Inc. oh my such amazing planes!

There are instances where in the camera view goes on auto-panning as if a third-party person is showing different angles as you drive and turn. It is truly amazing I tell you!

Satisfying My Vanity

And of course, there is nothing wrong in adding up a special feature I crafted up myself. Just like in real life, car owners have this knack on having vanity plates for their exotic beauties. Something that would make your car truly one of a kind in the whole of the SL world.

Sorry IAm, I really think my registration plates looks way much cooler in my car! hehehe

I believe that a car without a plate is like having a baby without a name. So why not have one for yourself? I had a great time crafting this on my own, and patterned it after local registration plates here in UK. Now that really is a beauty!

Hrmm I hear some IM request for some customised plates coming in... "kaching".. hahaha

Take A Tour

Have not got your own Porsche Carrera GT yet? Try visiting Mo Island and see some of the cars on display, as well as getting the chance to tinker with the first ever prototype. Try changing its oil, check the under chassis or even listen to the original set of engine sounds to get that interactive feel. See if that is not convincing enough for you to grab yourself a unit?

http://slurl.com/secondlife/MO%20Island/208/231/24

You can also visit Z.A. Motor's showroom at Racer's Island alongside other sports cars on display. Look next door and you will find another set of supercars to marvel at, hint. There is also a multi-level race circuit below the showroom, where you can drive test your Carrera GT right away! But a friendly piece of advice, please do come script-free as well as devoid of any unnecessary attachments. You won't need your AO and radar on the track anyway and it helps giving you and other drivers a superb high-performance experience!

On display: Both the prototype and the final release version are on display at Racer's Island. And I was not joking when I told you about lime being the default colour. hehehe... Well you probably know by now that it is only temporary. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Racers%20Island/176/169/97

Latest Scoop?

Wondering if there are any updates needed for the Carrera GT? Hrmmm... where was it that I heard of a gear knob and a pair of sporty wipers being crafted for a Porsche? winks.

More of the details can be find in Z.A. Motors official blog, so i need not to make redundant details. IAm Zebelin can explain it better.

Talk Of The Town

There have been rumours about a detailed albeit low prim hot car being offered in the SL racing community. A super-car dubbed the katana blade of exotic automobiles, the Porsche Carrera GT which never fails to amaze me in RL is now available for in-worlders to own in SL.

Showing off the Porsche Carrera GT at the Mooz race track for a test drive... Being one of the few owners of this brute machine is not only prestigious, but also a privilege. Never felt this pleased with an SL car since owning a 2007-08 Ferrari Formula One. Although my Kimi Raikonnen replica helmet still says how much I still feel about my other "red devil" of a car (laughter).

I believe fate had lead me to cross paths with this car as it was being road tested by IAm Zabelin (not a mis-caps name by the way), the car's creator who was at the Mooz Racing Circuit at that time. I was burning pixel rubber of my older Lamborghini Gallardo (my all-time favourite road car before the Carrera showed up hahaha) when I chanced upon Zabelin and his magnificent creation. It just seemed like yesterday when I was told about the eventual release of the prototype which was said to be just a couple weeks away. Since then, I had never stopped wondering when I can finally get my sweaty hands on this beauty. With that in mind, I was still confident that it would be just a matter of time when the roaring sounds coming out of the double barrel exhaust as I put my foot on the pedal, gnashing its gears and cruising around popular SL hotspots.

The heart and soul of the car is its engine! You'll be amazed with the detail this car has as well as it being crafted to scale the real life model. In RL the car boasts of a 5.7 V10 engine and is considered the third most expensive car to ever be manufactured (and the most expensive Porsche in the company's history), about £330,000 and close to L$7,000.00 in Second Life. There is a certain sense of pride in getting to own one, something money simply cant buy.

The Second Life version of the Porsche Carrera GT was crafted by ZA Motors and has its humble beginnings at Mo Island http://slurl.com/secondlife/MO%20Island/211/229/24. Who would have thought that this awesome car would be assembled in a beachfront cottage! You can also see the car in its earlier version by visiting the place and be witness to its raw and prime glory! Not to mention variations of the car's upcoming colour updates which are on display. If you're lucky, you just might see IAm himself working on upcoming upgrades for the car.

The rear engine hood, front car boot and its two sleek doors are fully functional (they open and close in a click of a mouse). Sporty tan leather cup-seats which are also standard in the RL version adds more to its x-factor. Authentic Carrera GT engine sounds is but one of the many features that make this car a must-have and worthy enough to be included in your SL wish list.

To date there are a little over a hundred proud owners of this dream car which includes the Lindens (wow!) and me of course... We're like a group of racers who can't seem to wait for its official launching! The car is currently in its infancy stage and owners are testing, as well as enjoying it at the moment. It may still be considered a prototype but the car works like a charm. Having to shed 7Gs of your precious lindens, I personally believe it still is a great investment as the car is a limited release. Only a few more brave ones would probably be getting the chance to own one, so I suggest you get yours now while you still can.

Careful.. careful! This car was crafted with an ingenious feature of getting real-like damage when bumped into or when crashing off the tracks.

This beauty does have a few aces up her sleeve and is probably the first in SL, where the car actually gets damaged when hit or during the event of a collision. Apart from rezzing up a new car from your inventory to have a fresh one, you also can actually "mouse-click" the damaged panels and they quickly return to their normal form. It also has functional head lights and tail lights which activates when driving as well as 3 start-up modes (Chill, Cruise, and Racing); a burn and drift option and 5 gears that absolutely work well with the Havok 4 platform.

Of course there are occasional FREE updates which is part of the package when purchasing the car. The first update in the pipeline will give the owners the option to customise the colours of their cars. Fine-tuning of this new feature is still being done by IAm as of press time, and more updates will be sent out to group members as they come. If you are not a member yet, I would suggest you join the group... it's FREE!

Chillin'-out with Liz as we both evaluate and test the car for ourselves. The verdict? Two-thumbs up! With so many Porsche wannabes in SL, nothing so far beats this Carrera. As what the old adage says, if the wife approves of it then it must be really good! Hahaha!

The Colour HUD tool which is still on its BETA stage will be on a Release Candidate version in a couple of days time. The new HUD will include adjustments for the car's base colour, its shine and tint levels that conforms to the owner's taste and sense of style! This will add more character and individuality to each car's identity. I was just so fortunate enough to be at the right time to spy on IAm working on this new feature! hahaha AND not only that!... we may be in for another pleasant surprise with a BONUS for an unannounced update! Don't you just love surprises!

Superb after-sales service! An unannounced update for the car's existing alloy wheels. Well ventilated disc-brakes and the official 5-spoke alloys adds more charm to the already mind-blowing creation of ZA Motors.

The Head's Up Display (HUD) is one of the most unique and cleverly-designed fully functional HUDs in SL with interactive buttons and features. The car's gears status also appear in its digital display. The blue i-button which can be located at the far most left part of the HUD will open an online owners handbook, you simply just cant go out without it! All the A-Z about the car can be found in there!

So are you up to it? Want to be one of the coolest dudes on hot wheels in Second Life? Then go get yourself one! Believe me its one investment worth trying. For more information, please refer to the official sites and blogs of ZA Motors: http://zamotors.blogspot.com/ and http://sl-carreragt.blogspot.com/.

See the latest review of the Carrera GT here: http://n71aeon.blogspot.com/2008/07/raging-and-roaring-road-runners.html

If that ain't enough for you, watch this official video from UK's number one car magazine show, Top Gear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE_WqdKbTvY&feature=related. I am sure after watching, you may really want to get one.