This issue has persisted since the first Forza Motorsport on the original Xbox. The 2002 Lotus Esprit has a wildly inaccurate model, which was only ever modified in Forza Horizon 2 where the rear wheels became deeper, and no other changes were made.
To put it simply, every single part of the Esprit’s body is deformed. The body line is too boxy, the front is proportionally too big, yet too short and droops too low. The side line right below the windows doesn’t go low enough from the rear spoiler to the bonnet, instead it appears almost flat.
The front end is egregiously inaccurate thanks to the pop-up headlights, which are too big. The front bumper lacks shape, yet appears too big and too wide compared to the rest.
The small rear lip above the taillights appears connected with the license plate space, but it should be slightly outwards. The rear wing is too thin. Once again, the car is not round enough.
Here is the same car as it appears in the first Forza Motorsport. As you can see, the depth of the front wheels was changed, but that was done when the Esprit V8 returned for Xbox One. It was also turned into a UKDM model for Motorsport 2 when its side markers were deleted, and the steering wheel was pushed to the right.
I honestly thought I was the only one who noticed this. I’d sit in the Auto Vista menu for ages, feeling like something about the car just looked wrong but not being able to put my finger on it. Then I realised the headlights are far too big for the car it looks ridiculous. It’s a beautiful car but in Forza it looks like a frog. It’s frustrating because I expect better from Forza. With every new release, it feels like they just carry over the same models from the last game without fixing these flaws. Over time, it’s as if they’ve become complacent with their design work, especially when you compare it to the attention to detail Gran Turismo puts in.
ps I also run the ‘Lotus Esprit V8’ page on Facebook so this is why it p****d me off
It’s been like that since the very first game. Really the only things that get changed are the physics, the graphics, and the sounds. Even the upgrade system and livery editor have been functionally identical since FM3, and can be tracked back to Fm1 once again. I don’t know of any other car game series with this amount of recycling.
