It's painful to try to have a discussion about the relative merits of the CGT (an enjoyable diversion) in the immediate context of this terrible tragedy. The topic has been the cause of active and robust discussion among the online Carrera GT community for the last couple of days. The media has apparently become fixated on the Carrera GT and it's truly laughable to see just how fouled up their information is. Ironically, I'm pretty sure that the only effect all this misinformation will have is to grow the CGT legend. Certainly, an honest discussion of the CGT and it allegedly "scary" handling is innocent enough, but speculation about the cause of the accident in California and the conduct of the driver is clearly insensitive. I have no idea of what happened and nothing I say in this post should be interpreted as a direct reference to the accident. My post is meant as an extension of the review that opened this thread. I certainly hope this thread won't become a lurid discussion of the tragedy. May the driver and his passenger both rest in peace.
I would emphatically argue that the CGT is in no way tricky, scary, or otherwise uncouth to drive
when treated with a reasonable degree of respect and common sense. As we all know, a high horsepower exotic (like our FGT) demands caution, for the simple reason that the thresholds are SO high that crossing them results in lots of troublesome kinetic ugliness. Here's an example to illustrate the point I'm trying to make. Take my favorite whipping boy, the Toyota Camry. Stop at a deserted intersection, and mash the throttle while turning left. Result: flacid acceleration followed by plowing understeer. Ugly, but benign. The only injury will be to the tread on the front tires. Now try that in a Ford GT. On cold tires. The result will be massive oversteer, which will likely result in an overcorrection and an extremely ugly trip into a ditch. Or into a tree. Or... Does that make the GT "dangerous"? No. Does it mean that you have to respect the car and use a degree of caution that the Camry does not demand? Absolutely. The CGT is no different. I think its kind of cool to own a car that challenges its driver and maybe has a bit more to give that I feel capable of asking for
Another example which comes to mind is the Viper ACR I owned and tracked. The aero aids on the car were really effective, meaning that at high speed on the track, the downforce made the car stick. Consequently, I could carry a ton of speed through high speed sweepers. What really spooked me was that this made the stakes so high: the faster I would go, the harder the car would stick, but the faster I went, the more deadly the consequences became when the car finally let go. This was not a dilemma I would have faced has I been driving a Mazda Miata.
The CGT is analogous. It provides an incredibly tactile driving experience, which encourages great confidence. The low cg and stiff chassis, combined with the razor sharp steering makes a guy feel like he can conquer it all. And the acceleration, holy cow. When I drive the car in the canyon, I can feel everything the car is doing beneath me, and this encourages a feeling of...invincibility. Accordingly, when I read media depictions of the car as being "notoriously difficult to handle" it makes me want to cuss. The other side of the story, however, is that the CGT is reputed to get surly when pushed past its limits of adhesion. I've never spun my CGT, or my FGT. Because I have a strong survival instinct, I have no intention of exploring either car's limits on a public road. As a matter of fact, I don't plan on exploring them on the race track either. 8/10 if fine for me, and 8/10 in a CGT is my idea of heaven.
Bottom line is that the CGT is a fierce, intense, wickedly fast car. It demands respect, but that's what makes it such an enjoyable car to own and drive. Just like the GT.
