Description

For quite a while now I've had an interest in 1930s racing. There's the powerful yet unrefined (and highly dangerous) cars, with their poor brakes, experimental suspension, explosive fuel and the complete absence of safety precautions. There's also the daredevil drivers, many of whom were fighter pilots, who flung their vehicles around tracks with a carefree aggression rarely seen today.

I've done my best to make each car as accurate as possible, however I've had to base this on what I've read combined with my imagination as I've never actually seen cars from this era race, let alone drive one. If anyone has an Alfa 12c or ERA R11B in Australia and would be happy to let me take it for a (very careful) spin, please get in touch!

The carset is not yet complete, as I'm working on the robot driver opponents. I thought I'd put this page together to give an overview of the cars & a feel for what it'll be like when its finished...

	Alfa 12C/36: Driven by the Scuderia Ferrari team, the latest model from Alfa had a powerful engine and relatively short wheelbase that made it difficult to control. Its 4064cc V12 engine was capable of 320.7kW.
	Alfa Tipo P3: Although it had been superseded by the 12C-36, the P3 had been a good performer in previous years and in 1936 was still raced in Grands Prix by privateers such as Raymond Sommer. 3822cc inline 8 cylinder engine capable of 244kW.
	Auto Union Type C: A Porsche-designed mid engined car with an incredibly powerful engine, the Type C suffered considerable rear-wheel slippage on acceleration. It was hampered by a poor mass distribution (60% weight on the rear wheels) and an innovative but flawed suspension system. Very few drivers could push this car to its limits, but the few who could master it often found themselves on the winner's podium. 6006cc V16 engine capable of 388kW.
	Bugatti T59: Despite its ancient chassis the Bugatti was a nimble car suited to tight technical circuits, but was no match for the powerful Italians and Germans on faster tracks. 4972cc inline 8 cylinder engine capable of 220kW.
	Era R11B: This is a Voiturette car that didn't compete in Grands Prix, but I've included it anyway. Much lighter than the other cars its "twitchy" handling can be a challenge to master, and its at its most competitive on tight technical circuits. 2000cc inline 6 cylinder engine capable of 190kW.
	Maserati 6C/34: A light & reliable car, the 6C/34 was obsolete by 1936 but was still raced with some success. 3724cc inline 6 cylinder engine capable of 210kW.
	Maserati V8RI: One of the last cars made while the Maserati brothers still owned the impoverished marque, the V8RI was driven by Count Trossi during the 1936 grand prix season, after which the cars went to the USA where they competed successfully in Indianapolis races. 4800cc V8 engine capable of 240kW.
	Mercedes W25: Like the other German car (Auto Union), this was very powerful and also difficult to master. The car had been put together in a hurry after a plan to fit it with a V12 engine failed. The W25 suffered from a combination of understeer and kick-back oversteer while cornering and its chassis wasn't rigid enough for the suspension to work properly. This TORCS implementation has the understeer, but I didn't try to replicate the kickback problems as I wanted a car that was still driveable. 4300cc inline 8 cylinder engine capable of 300kW.

visitors since 12 Feb 2007.