With the follow up to Assetto Corsa launching next year, could the GT focused ACC have one last hurrah by adding trackday hypercars?
Image credit: Kunos Simulazioni
Assetto Corsa and Assetto Corsa Competizione may share a name, but they are quite distinct. One is very varied and the other is the complete opposite. The original AC caters to every type of racing fan, whereas ACC is predominantly focused on GT racing. It mirrors championships sanctioned by the SRO Motorsports Group like GT World Challenge, Intercontinental GT Challenge and British GT.
As a result of this, there are many types of cars and tracks that would never realistically make their way into ACC. The playerbase have asked developers Kunos for years to add the likes of Nordschleife and Le Mans, but it was never going to happen since none of SRO’s championships race there.
With this very limited scope, ACC has left many racing fans frustrated with the lack of content. It’s one of the top sim racing titles, but the community is looking forward to a more varied experience when Assetto Corsa 2 launches in Spring 2024.
So we got to thinking. Before we bid ACC farewell, what would be the perfect selection of cars to add to the game without it breaking the SRO theme? Well we think we’ve found it in the form of the GT1 Sports Club.
Hypercars in ACC?
At the end of 2021, the first ever GT1 Sports Club event was held alongside the GT World Challenge Endurance Cup finale on the Barcelona circuit. Whilst they weren’t technically even racing, they were still running at an SRO event.
The cars being driven were track-focused versions of road-going hypercars. Not the diet prototypes being used in the World Endurance Championship, actual hypercars that could be bought from manufacturers.
The GT1 Sports Club plays host to owners of trackday hypercars which can only used when going to a racetrack. The manufacturer then takes the car back to the factory at the end of the day.
With the upcoming GT2 pack highly suggested to be the swansong for ACC, could it be too much of a stretch to see these cars get added? Here are just five of the cars permitted to be used in the GT1 Sports Club.
Bugatti Bolide
For fans of the world-beating Chiron, the Bolide is somehow even more extreme. It resembles a Le Mans Prototype car and has the same 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 as the Chiron, but the concept Bolide ups the power output to 1,850 horsepower. Not only that, but the concept weighs just short of 1.25 tonnes which is considerably lighter than the Chiron.
This means it can do 0-60mph in 2.17 seconds and in its lowest drag configuration, maxes out at over 310 miles per hour. But perhaps the most impressive statistic is that it lapped the Le Mans circuit seven seconds quicker than the outright record set by Kamui Kobayashi in 2017.
The production model will be honed back a bit though. It drops 250 horsepower and weighs just over 200 kilograms more than the concept. Not slow by any means, and it still retains its incredible aerodynamics. At 200mph, the downforce generated is worth over 2.6 tonnes, 1.8 of which comes from just the rear wing alone!
This car would be a dream to drive on any game, but ACC would be an incredible platform to drive a car as quick as this.
GMA T.50s Niki Lauda
Gordon Murray designed championship winning Grand Prix cars and the McLaren F1 road car, but in late 2020 the T.50 was revealed as a spiritual successor to the McLaren. It borrowed plenty of elements from the F1, but its most prominent feature is the fan on the back which forces air across the car to produce downforce even in slow corners.
But if the road car wasn’t already crazy enough, Gordon Murray Automotive revealed a track focused version called the T.50s Niki Lauda. Named for the late triple F1 champion who won in Murray’s previous fan car, the Brabham BT46B, in its only Grand Prix before being banned.
The T.50s Niki Lauda retains the road car’s 4.0-litre V12 that redlines at over 12,000rpm. But whilst the road car only produces 654 horsepower, this one ups it to 725 and also weighs 134 kilograms less at 852kg. It’s estimated to be able to get from a standstill to 60mph in sub two seconds, and its highest top speed gearing configuration lets it top out at 210mph.
With the downforce produced by the fan teamed with its lack of weight, this car will simply be unlike anything else to drive. Whether or not it’s ACC that this car appears in first, it’s essential that the T.50s is available to drive in a racing game eventually.
Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro
Aston Martin’s first attempt at a mid-engine hypercar was simply a hit out of the park. Developed in partnership with the Red Bull F1 team, the Valkyrie was initially set to join the World Endurance Championship as part of the Le Mans Hypercar class, but plans changed when the brand joined Formula One.
The Valkyrie AMR Pro features the same 6.5-litre V12 as the road car, so it will rev to 11,000rpm! Unlike the road car though, it loses the 160hp KERS unit so it’s down to 1,000 horsepower. It’s still enough to go from 0-60mph in 2.3 seconds and exceed 250mph, making it quicker than the road car.
But what little it has lost in terms of power, it more than makes up for in cornering ability. The Valkyrie AMR Pro is capable of producing more than twice its own weight in downforce and can pull up to 3.5 lateral G in corners.
The Valkyrie AMR Pro is estimated to be on the frontrunning pace of the Le Mans Hypercar class, so it’s a shame it never got a chance at Le Mans. Just for its engine sound alone, this car needs to be available to drive in a sim. But there are so many more reasons on top of that.
Lamborghini Essenza SCV12
When you think of Lamborghini track car, immediately you think of the Sesto Elemento. Based on a Gallardo Superleggera, it comes in at just under a tonne and is subsequently able to do 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds. But what if an Aventador was given the same treatment?
The end result is the Essenza SCV12. It has the same 6.5-litre V12 as the Aventador but the power has been upped to 830 horsepower. Unlike the Aventador though, it only has six gears but that by no means hampers its performance.
The end result of that power teamed with its relatively light weight of 1.36 tonnes, it’s estimated to go from 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds. Then it can go on to a top speed of nearly 210mph. But what perhaps makes the Essenza most interesting, unlike most Lamborghini production models, it’s rear wheel drive.
That would surely make it a tricky bull to tame, with all that power under your right foot.
Porsche 935
Last but by no means least, the Porsche 935. Back in the 1970s, the 935 was an iconic racecar in the FIA Group 5 category. This modern version is a tribute to that iconic car, but underneath is a 911 GT2 RS 991 generation model.
It retains the same 3.8-litre twin-turbo Flat-6 engine. That means 700 horsepower and it’s all sent to the rear wheels. In a car weighing 1.38 tonnes, that means 0-60mph is done with in 2.7 seconds and it goes on to a top speed of 211mph.
Only 77 were ever made, one of them just so happens to be owned by SRO founder Stéphane Ratel. It has even raced in a GT2 competition race, although not an SRO sanctioned event.
So could all these cars and so many more be suitable for ACC? Whether just to drive around like on a track day or perhaps breaking the immersion a tiny bit more by permitting them to be used in races.
There are more than just these five cars that can take part in the GT1 Sports Club. There’s the likes of the LaFerrari FXX-K, Pagani Huayra R and Zonda R, McLaren P1 GTR and Senna GTR, the Mercedes-AMG ONE and so much more.
All of these cars would essentially be to ACC the same as what the supercars from F1 22 are. Although it’s perhaps a safe bet to suggest they would be more enjoyable to drive and used way more often. These cars would certainly be very popular additions to ACC and serve as the perfect final encore for this amazing racing sim.
Which trackday hypercar would you like to see in Assetto Corsa Competizione? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
