I have been tossing around the idea of an LMP article similar to my GT2 and Super GT500 ones and decided it would be best split into two categories: LMP2 and modern LMP1 (containing all LMP1 class cars 1998 and newer, if you want to know about the older cars like the Mercedes-Sauber C9 or Mazda 787B there is a plethora of information online about them and they’re not really a racing class/era I’m familiar enough with to write anything in-depth about so I’m going to refrain from covering them entirely).
The bottom line is LMP as a whole is perhaps the most misunderstood group of cars in Forza 4. It’s not surprising as the racing community is far more centered around modified production vehicles (not saying that’s good or bad that’s just the general demographic that plays this game). I’ve heard Forza players refer to LMP cars as anything from Indy cars to F1, as sad as it is I also realized information on these vehicles is not readily available and Forza itself does a relatively poor job of explaining much about them. If you were not already a racing enthusiast familiar with ALMS or general international endurance racing then you likely have no clue what makes these cars special. The other thing I hear constantly is these cars are “all pretty much the same” which, for lack of better terminology, is completely moronic and saying so demonstrates just how little the person truly knows about them. You don’t have to already have extensive background knowledge of these cars to figure out they’re each worlds apart from the others, take 10 laps in 3-4 of them on your favorite track and, once you have learned to properly control the car enough to run a generally smooth lap, the individual characteristics come through plain as day (note: though I won’t deny it is incredibly difficult, driving them without TCS is what is really going to make them come alive and it is something I have spend countless hours myself to master). I’m not trying to be elitist or condescending with this, but the fact is that driving them with TCS on really can make them feel watered-down and rather similar.
What exactly is LMP? LMP stands for Le Mans Prototype (aka P1 and P2, P-types, prototypes, or occasionally still referred to by its older name of “sports car racing” though I feel with the resurgence of GT classes that feature true production-based sports cars that the term can be rather misleading); a Le Mans Prototype racer is a hardcore, ground-up, thoroughbred racing machine with very few, if any, parts used on any production car. These cars are as crazy as it gets and as I said above, many people hold them in the same regard as Formula 1. In fact, more than one LMP car over the years has used mechanical components derived from or directly transplanted from an F1 car (especially the ‘90s sort of “interim” cars that fell between Group C and the modern LMP era). The old Peugeot 905 was actually little more than an experimental F1 engine and chassis with bodywork, though Peugeot’s F1 program did not enjoy anywhere near the success of the 905 (back-to-back victories at Le Mans is hard to beat).
I won’t be going into any detailed history of how they came about as that’s an article by itself. However, I’ll try to break down the general differences and very brief timeline/outline for those interested. After the whole Group C thing went bust, the future of prototype racing was uncertain and almost fell to the wayside as the focus shifted to the GT1 category. GT1 quickly self-destructed as manufacturers were exploiting seemingly endless loopholes to qualify purebred prototype-style racecars as “production-based” GT cars (Porsche 911 GT1, a series of Mercedes CLK variants, Nissan R390 GT1, Toyota GT-One, etc).
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The ACO (note: the ACO is actually in charge of all the 24 Hours of Le Mans stuff and they can dictate their classes separately from the FIA, though they usually work pretty closely together to make sure their rules are pretty similar as race teams don’t want to make extensive changes to a car for just one race out of the reason) restructured GT1 to put a clear dividing line between the actual production cars and the pure racecars by establishing the GTP (GT Prototype) class that allowed many of the thinly disguised prototypes in GT1 to have a class of their own. This soon transformed into the LMP900 and LMP675 classes (900 and 675 being their respective minimum weight limits in kilograms).
LMP1 is treated as the higher class as their restrictors allow them to make considerably more power to overcome the weight disadvantage. This is a class where the sky is the limit and it offers the constructors more freedom of design than the vast majority of other professional motorsports. Whereas F1 or Indy Car require all cars to run a single engine layout, LMP1 merely dictates the maximum displacement for different types of engines (turbocharged, production-based, diesel, etc). Beyond that, the ACO chooses to focus more on regulating the cars’ aerodynamics than the actual engine’s output.
An LMP1 car often has either direct or backdoor support from a major manufacturer such as a Audi. The expense of fielding one is astronomical, virtually impossible for all but
With the cost of building an LMP1 so incredibly high that only a large car manufacturer would have the funds to do it, what are all the privately-owned racing teams with nowhere near that kind of cash supposed to do?allets so LMP3 and LMPC (LMP Challenge) also exist as even lower-cost series for small racing teams that don’t have the seven-figure bankrolls still required to run LMP cars.
What exactly is an LMP2 car? There’s no definite explanation for that as the class, like all racing series, is constantly evolving; not to mention you have a split between the American and European rules along with the ACO rules which governs the 24 Hours of Le Mans individually so a car from one set of regulations does not always directly fit into another. Got a headache yet? Don’t worry, I’m not going into any detail of the specifics per series (even those can vary considerably by year) as it’s all just wayy to much junk. The basic concept is that LMP2 cars have price caps for what the engine and chassis can cost in order to keep the big checkbooks from running the show like they do in LMP1. The LMP2 chassis is often manufactured by a company such as Lola, Oreca, Courage, etc while as of 2010 the engine is supposed to be a production-based unit from a major manufacturer. prior to the 2010 rule change full clean-sheet racing engines were allowed, such as the 3.4L V8 in the Porsche RS Spyder that shared no similarities with anything Porsche sold to the public. The Porsche presented the powers that be with a new issue: on shorter tracks the lightweight, nimble nature of the LMP2 cars saw them not only running up with the supposedly faster LMP1 cars, but the LMP2 class could occasionally even secure an overall win as they beat out the big diesel Audis and Peugeots. Clearly LMP2 cars needed to be slowed down if the balance of power was to be maintained. They enacted new rules with highly regulated pricing for major components to help keep it as a friendly stepping stone for drivers and teams without requiring full factory support just to afford the car; car makers like Porsche and Acura cranking out highly dominant chassis/engine combinations that were one step sort of a works team on race day was starting to go against the very concept of the LMP2 class. Strict price caps, performance inhibiting regulations, and new requirements for production-based components put a stop to the backdoor skunkworks programs of Acura and Porsche, slowed down the cars to maintain the clear dividing line in performance between LMP2 and LMP1, and made it a more level playing field for the smaller race teams for whom LMP2 was intended.
My reason for mentioning this is the dividing line in performance established as of 2011. The cars from the pre-2011 era of LMP2 have performance nearly on par with the LMP1 cars and even with no upgrades can give the LMP1 cars a run for their money around the tighter tracks of Forza. If you don’t believe me, just go set some lap times with the Acura ARX-01b LMP2 car around a technical track like Laguna Seca then count how many different LMP1 cars you try before you’re able to beat the Acura’s time (and that’s assuming you bother getting out of the ARX-01 at all, once you rip up a twisty track in that car there’s just nothing else quite like it).
Chevrolet-Oreca FLM09
Engine: General Motors LS3 OHV V8
Displacement: 6.2L
Power: 444hp at 5400rpm (5800rpm with cam)
Torque 464ft-lbs at 4600rpm (4900rpm with cam)
Redline: 6000rpm (6600rpm with cam)
Chassis: Oreca FLM09
Notes: Only LMP car that gets camshaft upgrade (it really wakes that car up), smallest tires of any LMP, #99 car gets one size larger 320mm compared to the maximum upgraded 310mm front tire width of the other two cars (no idea why they did that)
Detailed Description:
The Chevy cars are not actually true LMP2 cars at all. Instead, they are LMPC cars. LMPC is a spec series where all the cars must use the same Oreca FLM09 chassis (a simplified and cheaper Courage LC75 unit) and a GM LS3 V8. While many question its presence in Forza 4, I personally welcome it. Why? The Chevy can do in Forza hat it does in real life: get racers accustomed to the dynamics of a LMP car at a slower pace than in the big leagues. If you leave the Chevy stock, it’s a remarkable way to get a good feel for what it takes to drive an LMP car without the steep learning curve of true LMP2. Don’t let LMP2 being a “lower” class mislead you, things in those cars still happen at a pace you are most likely not used to reacting to. Mistakes can happen in a split second and can cost you the race before you even knew your car was spinning. Spend some time in the Chevy! It can help ease you into the dynamic of LMP: these cars have insane levels of downforce that contribute to cornering speeds and braking distances that would otherwise not seem physically possible even to a seasoned R2 class driver.
What if you’re already an experienced enough LMP driver? I gave the nickname “kamikaze LMP” to the Chevy in its upgraded 998PI form. Though there are a few different methods of doing it, they all generally result in a car producing 720-735hp and weighing roughly 1950lbs (about the same power-to-weight ratio as the fire-breathing LMP1 Panoz upgraded to 998). Considering the Chevy gets the same absurd power-to-weight ratio as one of the most powerful LMP1 cars, the fact that it gets a maximum of 310mm front (320mm for the #99 car only) and 330mm rear tires makes it sometimes downright frightening to try to pilot around the track! I’ve logged nearly 1,000 miles now between all of my LMP Chevy cars and it can still get away from me when I’m pushing it. No doubt it can be competitive (I’ve personally logged 1:49.291 on Sebring full, 1:01.877 on Sebring short, and a 1:16.877 on Laguna Seca with mine), the only issue is while it’s tame in generally stock trim it becomes a monster when upgraded! If you’re running without TCS (I always do as it’s a lot more fun for me personally) then an upgraded Chevy is nothing short of a handful and should probably be left to those with Buddhist monk levels of throttle control. However, the Chevy easily ranks in my top 3 favorite LMPs and there are very few cars in the entire game I enjoy driving quite as much. Every time I take it out I know it will be challenging; it is capable of blazing fast lap times and taxes my skill to the very limit trying to hit them!
This thing can be made ballistic missile fast with over 720hp on tap and still remain in R1 class. That said, with that much power in a lightweight chassis not built to handle it and the smallest tires of any LMP car the smallest mistake makes the car try to kill you. It’s very challenging to get it right, highly rewarding when you nail that perfect lap, and has an absolutely outstanding exhaust noise that manages to instantly relieve any frustrations from spinning out just by hitting the gas again! Possibly the car I enjoy driving most in the whole game, maxed out Chevy affinity to level 50 long ago and have logged another 400+ miles since then on just one of my Chevy LMP cars (I own all 3 variations). I can never get enough of this car! Being the lowest LMP class car in the game and getting the smallest tires, many rank it at the bottom of the totem pole in this class which only makes that LS3 V8 war cry all the more addictive when I blow the doors off LMP1 drivers in the little “underdog” Chevy.
Porsche RS Spyder
Engine: Porsche MR6 DOHC V8
Displacement: 3.4L
Power: 503hp at 10,000rpm
Torque 284ft-lbs at 7500rpm
Redline: 10,300rpm
Chassis: Porsche proprietary design
Notes: Mere shadow of its former glory after its dominance in FM3, suffers major rear downforce issues (as in it doesn’t have any), nerfed to the point that it’s barely competitive, long hours spent tuning to prevent spontaneous U-turns yields disappointing performance.
Detailed Description:
I almost didn’t want to do this car at all because of how painful it is to know what it’s truly capable of then be forced to endure the total slap in the face that Turn 10 gave every person who put forth MORE of their hard-earned money for the Porsche DLC. I find they had intentionally ruined a legendary prototype racecar and they charged me extra to buy a car they purposely ruined! Still, I don’t regret a single cent spent on that Porsche pack as almost every other car in it was worth driving (I say almost due to the presence of the Cayenne and the Panamera, I understand their economic necessity and that the massive profits help fund bigger race programs than the Porsche company of old ever dreamed of but that doesn’t mean I have to like those ugly mommy-mobiles lol). While you can’t really say the RS Spyder looks good, it does sound good! Then you drive it and save the replay so you can go back to hear the screaming 10,000rpm fury of that V8 without driving it again and risking controllers being thrown at the TV in anger at the atrocities that have been committed. So what exactly am I on about here? One look at the maximum rear downforce value will tell you all you need to know. The LMPC car gets 901lbs on the rear. This is the Porsche that cleaned house in LMP2 and managed to beat the Audi R10 to the overall victory at a whopping 8 races in 2007 alone. You can’t convince me it managed to pull that off with the 683lbs of rear downforce Turn 10 gave it. Instead of bothering to try and actually balance the performance, they just made the rear terrifyingly unstable any time the car is going faster than 17.3mph! How bad can it really be? Think the #2 and #6 BMW M3 GTR downforce problem, multiply it by 10, then remember this is an LMP so it is insanely sensitive to the smallest inputs. What you end up with is a car that pulls a U-turn if your eyelid twitches the wrong way.What a complete and total waste of disk space for this car after how badly they destroyed it.
I suppose since the chassis has obviously been rendered useless, I’ll just stick to briefly talking about the engine: crazy high-revving due to a 95mm bore and a 59.9mm stroke (yeah the old “big bore short stroke” thing still works when you want a race motor with 15:1 static compression to read 5 digits on the tachometer, but let’s just say you definitely wouldn’t want to put that in your old Porsche 914 and try to deal with it in traffic lol). Now don’t get me wrong when I say this, as I will readily admit I am certainly impressed by any engine that can turn over 10,000rpm reliably for hours on end in endurance races, but I have to say Porsche comes off as thinking of themselves just a little too highly with this one. As some of you may already know, I deal with racing engines on a daily basis so I’m not just some moron with too much time on his hands (well, actually I probably am at least that part lol) just downing Porsche based on some junk I read on a forum somewhere posted by some random dude with no credentials or clue what he’s talking about. Basically Porsche was acting like it’s some black magic engineering to get a motor from 478hp to 504hp with the same size restrictor plate. You added direct injection! That’s not exactly a scientific breakthrough! Maybe it was in 1954 when Mercedes put it on the 300SL, and I’m wiling to bet they got the idea from their WW2 aircraft experience so that means we have probably known about this little trick for like the past 70+ years. For those not familiar with a restrictor plate motor the idea is simply that there’s this plate somewhere along the air intake system that has a specific size hole in it to only allow an a limited amount of air in and therefore limits the engine’s ability to make power (less oxygen means less boom from the fuel and less boom means less power). There are 3 general methods to “unlocking” more power (I say unlocking because the motor makes the same power you’re just trying to make it lose less of it due to external factors) in a restrictor plate motor: reduce friction of the rotating assembly, make the fuel/air mixture burn more efficiently (what direct injection does), and reducing resistance against the underside of the piston as it is coming down after combustion. That last one is not the same as friction, it’s literally dealing with reducing the air pressure below the piston that pushes back up against it on power stroke. In American terms: you want to pull a vacuum in the crankcase to allow the piston to come down easier. In European terms: you want the kPa below the piston as low as possible so that way you have the least amount of force pushing back against it during your combustion event. It’s actually not nearly as hard or complicated to do as it sounds, but I’m also not going to give away our “crazy stuff normal people would probably never think of” type secrets either haha! So yeah, good going there Porsche. You found out that direct injection helps create a more efficient combustion event, we’re all so proud of you.
Acura ARX-01b
Engine: Acura/HPD AR6-LM DOHC V8
Displacement: 3.4L
Power: 510hp at 10,000rpm
Torque 284ft-lbs at 7500rpm
Redline: 10,300rpm
Chassis: Acura ARX-series (highly modified Courage LC75)
Detailed Description:
If your blood is still boiling from the Porsche situation, this baby is the cure to all your problems! Everything you prayed for the Porsche to be was answered, only the responding deity missed with the whole lightning bolt of supernatural track performance and hit the Acura instead. All in all, can’t really complain as the engine behaves the same as the Porsche and, even though I might get burned at the stake for saying this, might actually sound better than the RS Spyder! I’m convinced this car could have been developed with alien technology because it corners like nothing of this planet should. IF you have not driven it yet, it’s the LMP2 I suggest above all others to try first! Once you get adjusted to the incredibly precise and sensitive handling, it just sort of effortlessly glides around the track. In a 10 lap race on Laguna Seca or Road Atlanta I can quite literally lap almost every other driver I come across at least once when I drive this car (rules set to year 1998 or newer to keep that Group C nonsense in the museum where it belongs and not ruining what is a class of incredibly close racecars, minus a couple Porsches that got nerfed hard enough to file assault charges). I never fully comprehended the meaning of the phrase “excellence in motion” until I took this car out for a few laps, which quickly turned into like 35 laps as I just did not want to stop what was the equivalent of a figure skater hitting the perfect routine. This car takes thrashing 4 big chunks of rubber on some asphalt and turns it into a work of art. I just can’t really put this car in words. Go drive the thing and stop reading my stupid ramblings of trying to describe what perfection on a road course feels like!
If you’re still here and not driving it, I’ll go ahead and tell you a bit about it! Unlike the RS Spyder which was an entirely clean-sheet design by Porsche, the Acura ARX-01 actually began life as a Courage LC75 chassis. When stuck it in a wind tunnel the aerodynamicist immediately started laughing and asked where the actual racecar was. Obviously, they had a little work to do. When they got done they had modified it so much that they were required to homologate the chassis as an Acura because it was so thoroughly changed from its original Courage specifications, and thus the ARX-01a was born. The ARX-01a was kind of a rush ordeal to get it on the track so they made numerous developments as the season progressed. They compiled everything and took their time getting all the details right, the result was the ARX-01b that we see here.The Porsche fanboys will love to gloat about their" dominating" seasons in LMP2, but what they seem to conveniently forget is Porsche only won the 2008 championship by a mere 2 points. In 2nd place? Yep, the Acura ARX-01b lost out to the Porsche by a hair.
Now that the chassis has been reworked to the point of eternal bliss on the track, what about the powerplant? Think Porsche, just better. On paper it appears nearly identical. On the track it has noticeably better throttle response at all times. It climbs through the rev range faster and the acceleration could almost make the RS Spyder feel sluggish by comparison. despite the obvious similarities of both being a high-revving, low-displacement V8 racing engine, the AR6 is not directly related to Honda’s Indy motor (before they switched to the current twin turbo V6 configuration). Although, rumor has it that the AR6 was actually derived from a leftover prototype engine design that had originally been intended for the IRL program but was did not receive the green light. Whatever the case, Honda’s main motorsports background stems from open-wheel Indy cars and their expertise in that arena certainly shows as the engine has gone on to earn itself an excellent reputation for power, reliability, and fuel economy in the LMP realm. As I said above in the Porsche section, I am always impressed with an engine that can reliably be thrashed at 10,000rpm for hours on endwith no issues. This little Acura/HPD V8 is no exception, it has no qualms about showing off its Indy DNA and produces one of the very best LMP soundtracks to listen to as you’re zipping around the track in the Acura.
Honda Lola
Engine: HPD HR28TT SOHC V6 Twin Turbo
Displacement: 2.8L
Power: 450hp at 6200rpm
Torque 406ft-lbs at 5000rpm
Redline: 7600rpm
Chassis: Lola B11/80
Detailed Description:
Unlike the Acura, this particular vehicle was not designed as a works car by Honda Performance Development. It is merely a Lola chassis outfitted with the HPD twin turbo V6 motor. Don’t take that to mean the car is not as good, it now ranks 3rd of all my LMP cars in most miles. I have to say that in the hundreds of miles I’ve driven this car there is one thing that stands out: consistency. It is not the best car for setting the fastest lap times, it’s not the best car for any one type of track, but it is competitive and can be driven consistently on every track I run it on. I got into a 20 lap race on Le Mans (with chicanes) using a max downforce I originally put together for Hockenheimring with no time to switch cars. After 20 laps I crossed the line ahead of all 12 other cars! I was running consistent 3:38 to 3:40 lap times, while I had the slowest fast lap time I never once lost control or even felt uncomfortable as I pushed the car in every corner and braking zone to maintain that pace. It’s also worth mentioning that sim damage was on so on Sarthe for laps that meant fuel consumption was actually a concern. Well, a concern for those not in the Honda anyways. I crossed the finish line still with over 18 liters left in the tank and never had to make a pit stop even though it still was hitting nearly 205mph in every straight!
I love the Honda, period. This is a great car and if you are looking to buy just one good all-purpose LMP then the Honda easily ranks up there with the Audi R8 and Aston Martin Lola V12 as one of the very best LMP cars that can do everything without a fuss. The motor revs like you’d expect a Honda would, then the turbos move the powerband very low in the range. The end result is that you have power from virtually anywhere you want, just sort of shift whenever you feel like it and the car responds accordingly. If there is a fault with this car I have yet to find it, in my opinion this is the most balanced and consistent car in the entire LMP field.
Mazda-Lola B09/86
Engine: Mazda MZR-R DOHC Inline-4 Turbo
Dispacement: 2.0L
Power: 525hp at 7800rpm
Torque: 406ft-lbs at 5000rpm
Redline: 8500rpm
Chassis: Lola B08/80
The Honda has a torquey V6 assisted by a pair of low-pressure turbochargers that aid power in a fashion so linear you almost wouldn’t notice them at all save for the very occasional wheel spin coming out of a corner (which rarely sends the car into any uncontrollable sideways motion and the car typically just maintains a straight line even with the tires fighting for traction). The Mazda is the total opposite: a low-displacement motor assisted by a single high-pressure turbocharger that is responsible for a very large percentage of the engine’s output. In simple terms: if you’re driving without TCS you better be prepared for this thing to sling the rear sideways with just a millimeter too much throttle. When that turbo spools up it is an abrupt, sudden, violent delivery that instantly doubles the power at the rear wheels and be a serious pain to keep under control coming out of low-speed corners. Once I mastered the technique of preventing the “sudden death sideways” as I call it, this car proved that it can hang with the pack in LMP2 and on certain tracks can run with the LMP1 crowd. It’s the one I drive the least as it lacks the overall smooth, consistent nature of the Honda and the outright blazing lap times of the Acura. That’s not to say it’s a bad car at all, you’ll just need to pay much more attention to keeping that turbo from spooling up when you don’t want it to. Unlike the Porsche, the results are worth the effort in this case as either of the Mazdas can easily be competitive with a competent driver and I generally find it my LMP2 of choice on some of the faster tracks where the handling advantages of the Acura and Honda won’t be of much use.