In our days, video games have reached a very important status. The development and advancement of new technologies has allowed this world to become a very broad professional field, to the point that teams and competitions have been formed to play games all over the planet. However, it all started before, when the intention was (and could not be) more than spending some time playing the console or in the arcade.
The 10 most mythical cars in the history of video games had a lot to do with this background, which will be the protagonists of this new entry by AutoUsaPremium. Some could be driven in real life, others were simply created by and for the screens in a great exercise of the imagination of their authors, but all of them gave unforgettable moments to motor and entertainment enthusiasts in their own way.
You will be invaded by nostalgia: the 10 mythical cars of video games
Once we have traveled slightly back in time, it is time to tell the story of each of the 10 most mythical cars that have been seen in the history of video games and point out what made them so special. Prepare to rejuvenate.
1.Ferrari Testarossa – Out Run
When the graphics were still quite crude and it was difficult to identify what was what was on the screen, in the arcades of the 80’s the game Out Run became popular.. In each place where it could be played and found, the user had at his disposal a simulator seat that made his experience more immersive and, therefore, the time spent playing it more fun.
Basically, this game created by Sega consisted of a duel against the clock on the road driving a red convertible Ferrari Testarossa, with which you had to go through the different sections within a route before time ran out and, therefore, so much, the machine told you that “Game Over”. However, people liked it so much that the video game was released for the main platforms (Playstation, XBOX, Nintendo, etc.).
2. Lancia Delta HF Integrale – Sega Rally Championship
Rallys were a highly sought-after discipline when it came to creating video games for recreational games, and the Sega Rally Championship delighted fans of the motor world during the 1990s. Inspired by the cars that competed in the WRC at that time, this company offered several models to the user to run on the stage that he recreated graphically.
Of the cars that the game gave to choose from was the Lancia Delta HF Integrale, white in color and the colors of the Martini sponsorship, very recognizable since then in the subsequent cars that it sponsored (remember the Ford Focus). The truth is that the verisimilitude of that game to drive and control the cars was spectacular, and that was what made it attractive to the players.
3. Dominator Sports – Burnout 3: Takedown
Unlike the first two that we have just mentioned, the third vehicle that we include in these lines is merely fictitious, and it is that the Burnout video game does not acquire the brand or car licenses that we see in reality to recreate them and let the users handle them, but rather use their imagination to create them, as well as ideas and concepts from different firms in the automotive world.
With this formula they create authentic wonders, among which is the so-called Dominator Sports, a high-performance car that draws on components from the Honda Prelude, the Nissan GTR R35 and the Honda NSX-R GT. If not the fastest, then at least one of the fastest the player can drive in this popular series of urban racing games.
4. Dodge SRT Tomahawk – Gran Turismo Sport
Although it also recreates numerous real cars to put players at their controls, Gran Turismo also has a selection of fictional models with which it delights locals and strangers alike. An example of these is the Dodge SRT Tomahawk, which was originally designed by Fiat Chrysler (now Stellantis) and was available in the Gran Turismo 6 and which, with the rights to the SRT brand back in the hands of Dodge, was renamed in the GT Sport that went on the market in 2017.
For those who have mentioned this last game, it must be said that it is designed for high-performance racing, with all its complete and detailed specifications to the millimeter, although it has never entered production. Of course, from how it sounds on the screens, surely any sports lover would like to have it in his garage.
5. Koenigsegg Regera – Need for Speed Payback
Returning to the real cars that appear on the screens of the most popular video games, we find the Koenigsegg Regera, the protagonist in Need for Speed Payback. The super sports car from the Swedish house is a hybrid from which some 80 units were initially released, which were valued at a price close to 2 million dollars. (the same amount practically in euros). Its 5.0-liter V8 engine is a delight for speed lovers.
As many of you know, Need for Speed is a saga that deals with street racing that had its first installment back in 1994. Since then, it has not stopped releasing others that have given moments of fun and adrenaline to millions of kids.
6. Aston Martin Vantage – Gran Turismo
Another sports car recreated like a charm by the Gran Turismo saga in its Sport edition (2017) is the Aston Martin Vantage, which is available for the most demanding races in terms of speed. It has a 510 hp V8 engine on board that allows it to reach a top speed of 314 kilometers per hour, in addition to accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in a matter of just 3.6 seconds. Surely all those of you who have this delivery in your home have enjoyed driving that English car like dwarfs, which in real life can be obtained in exchange for just over 130,000 euros.
7. Speed Star – Team Sonic Racing
Some of you who are not so young probably know who Sonic is, the blue hedgehog faster than the wind and who came to the screens back in the 90’s thanks to SEGA again. Well then, this iconic fictional character (360 million copies of video games sold) was also taken aback by the world of cars and, in one of the most recent installments, Team Sonic Racing, gave it the Speed Star. This convertible car, blue and white, has a slight source of inspiration from the Chevy Camaro, so that its main virtues revolve around around speed and control.
8. Lamborghini Murcielago – Need for Speed
The Lamborghini Murciélago delighted the youngsters of the first decade of this century in Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2, Most Wanted (2005), Carbon and Carbon: Own The City. Audi’s first masterpiece for the luxurious Italian sports car brand had a 6.5-liter V12 engine on board that allowed it to reach 342 kilometers per hour and accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds. Unfortunately, it went down in history in 2011 when it was replaced by the Aventador, but there remain the great afternoons and nights of speed that it gave to many motor and video game lovers.
9. Super Mario Kart – Mario Kart
This list could not miss, at all, the famous kart with which Super Mario became so popular in its day. A car that earned its place in the history of video games on its own merits and those of Nintendowho was the one who came up with the idea of giving one of his flagship characters a means of transportation to diversify his saga.
As many of you know, the races in the different Mario Karts are full of obstacles and surprises thanks to the transparent boxes through which the participants have to pass and that can take them to the top or bottom positions without any consolation beyond having had a good time playing.
10. Fernando Alonso’s Renault R25 – F1 Grand Prix
With the arrival of the PSP on the market (2005), Sony came up with the idea of offering a pack of its new portable console along with the F1 Grand Prix, whose cover featured Fernando Alonso who had just won his first prize. two world titles aboard his Renault R25. It was the moment of the fury of this sport in Spain, and millions of people rushed to buy it.
That blue and yellow car is part not only of Spanish motorsports, but also of the history of video games in Spain, which logically also appeared in F1 2005 for the rest of the platforms that came out a few months before.