Playing racing video games is a great way to put yourself behind the wheel of cars you can only dream of driving.
In real life, your chances of pushing a McLaren P1 GTR around a track are virtually nil, but in Need For Speed Heat, you can do it as many times as you like. The Aston Martin Vantage GT12 or Ferrari 288 GTO may be out of your reach in the real world, but if you fire up Project CARS 3, they are two of the wonderful vehicles available for you to drive.
Some games put you in control of cars on track; others allow you to burn through the streets of towns and cities in an array of wonderful vehicles. One game that features driving at its core is Grand Theft Auto V, the Rockstar Games’ title, which has been popular for more than a decade and three generations of consoles now. It was first released on PlayStation 3 and has since come out on PlayStation 5. It keeps an appeal by releasing new content regularly, including new vehicles for petrolheads to try.
What are the coolest cars on GTA V? There are far too many to list them all, but these are some of the very best.
Vagner
The Vagner has been described by Games Radar as being a ‘beast of a car’ which is arguably the best all-rounder. It is very quick, but handles well and has good acceleration for those essential getaways after a big heist. In the real world, it is based on the Aston Martin Valkyrie prototype hyper car, which was developed in conjunction with Red Bull Racing and Cosworth.
Massacro
GTA V cars come in classes, super, sport, muscle etc, and the Massacro is certainly the fastest in its class. It dropped as part of the High Life update, and is more affordable for newer players. Those looking for a budget option with decent speeds and the look of a quality supercar need look no further. It is based heavily on another Aston Martin, the second-generation Vanquish, although there are elements of a Ferrari 360 and F430 within the design too.
PR4
The open wheel series on GTA V is not the most popular, having originally dropped as part of The Diamond Casino Heist update. The PR4 is a strong car though, offering a slightly different experience to many within the game. It is based on the McLaren MP4/5, a Formula One car from the late eighties and early nineties. It was famous for being the car Prost and Senna dueled in back in 1989, both winning the Driver’s Championship in it. It fits nicely with GTA, having twice triumphed on the Monaco street circuit in both years of its service. Monaco is a tricky circuit, with only 30% of those able to win on its winding streets going on to be World Champion. In the years they won the title in the MP4/5, Senna, and Prost also won at Monaco, which made it a perfect choice for the improvised street circuits of Los Santos in GTA V.
Flash GT
The Flash GT is a hot hatch for the boy-racer generation, and is fantastic fun in GTA V. It is heavily customizable, and is largely based on the Ford Fiesta RS WRC, as well as drawing elements from the Ford Focus RS RX. Whilst both are aspirational cars, they are the sort of models which you may see at car shows, and perhaps are more attainable to the average driver than a Formula 1 McLaren. The Ford Fiesta RS WRC is a renowned rally car, with race wins throughout its five-year history. Notably, Nasser Al-Attiyah drove it to four wins in 2014 and three more in 2015, winning twice in Portugal and Australia. Sadly, the Flash GT is not quite rally-ready, and you are best sticking to the street circuits of Los Santos, rather than the dusty tracks of the Grand Senora Desert.
Swinger
Yeah baby! It would be remiss to miss out the fun Ocelot Swinger, based heavily on the prototype Jaguar XJ13 and boasting a paint job straight out of the swinging sixties and Austin Powers. It is heavily customizable and one of the fastest classic cars on the game, with decent handling for a vehicle without a rear spoiler. Some of the classic cars can get a bit loose in the corners and the Swinger is no exception, but it is manageable, unlike some of the other in its class. It is a decent price too, making it within reach of new gamers without significant outlay, unlike the real-life equivalent.