1967 Plymouth Belvedere GTX

-----------------EXTERIOR / HISTORY----------------------

Cheech & Chong dope fiends, drag racing buffs, and stuffy classic car fans with lots of money to spend at a Barrett-Jackson auction all have an equal share here. The Plymouth Belvedere GTX.

It's unfortunate that in GT2, early Chevy Impalas aren't in the lots. They would be truely welcome competition for the GTX. Both of these cars are long, boxy, yet somehow sleek-looking, and both are frequently converted into lowriders. In case you've never seen a lowrider, just imagine a GTX with an incredibly tacky paintjob (gotta have the airbrushed hood and fenders, and the actual colors have to be neon/pastels and clash with one another) fuzzy shag-carpeted dashboard, mock-gold steering wheel, tiny super-low profile tires that seem more at home on a Ford Ka, shiny metallic rims, and any other fantastic modification you can imagine.

...And true to the word, imagine the GTX is lowwwww, barely sits above the ground. But I just went on a huge, non-essential tangent just now. We can't do any of these mods in GT2 (besides the wheels) so never mind.

I967 was this car's first year of production, and you may or may not know this car was actually called the "Belvedere GTX", not just "GTX" as the game has it. After 1968, Plymouth started simply calling these cars GTXs. So another small PD error to add to the virtual files.

There was a difference between the Belvedere and its GTX versions; just as nowadays there is a difference between the Lancer and the Lancer Evolution. The Plymouth Belvedere GTX in real-life is somewhat overlooked. It was never as popular as the Camaros, Mustangs, Roadrunners, GTOs...etc. Produced from 1967 till 1972, Plymouth hasn't used the GTX or Belvedere name since, not even in the 80s when Dodge released their wimpy, disappointing front-drive Charger, and Plymouth's equivalent was their Horizon TC3.

During its first year (1967) 12,115 GTXs were made. Over the course of its 6 years of existence, just 57,347 were sold, and in that last year (1972) Plymouth would only crank out 2,942. Compare these stats to the millions of Mustangs that Ford sold during the same era, and it's no wonder the GTX eventually bit the rust sandwich. Even the Roadrunner (which debuted later than the GTX) immediately outsold its own brother when it started production in 1968.

I gotta be honest, if I were in charge of stocking the cars of GT2, this Plymouth would have been passed, especially since there's no drag racing. There are several better, more capable cars from the same era (like original Mustangs and American Motor Company's Javelin and AMX) that are missing from the game. But hey, as odd as it seems, as unrealistic as it seems, the GTX actually can be road raced in GT2.

--------------------ENGINE / DRIVETRAIN---------------------

The real-life GTX had just two engines from day 1: the famous 440 (which was the standard powerplant) and optional 426 cubic-inch. Both were (of course) V8s. I've already written alot about both of these engines since they appear in several other muscle cars in Gran Turismo 2, and there isn't much to say that hasn't been said before. So I won't say it again. Just read my review of the Plymouth Roadrunner or the Dodge Charger if you want some info on these big-blocks. And if you don't wanna read them, here's the scoop:

Acceleration? Yeah. V8 rumble? Yes. Super low-to-mid range torque converted into lots of wheespin? You betcha.

The car in our game comes with the famous 426 Hemi, so engine power shouldn't be much of an issue. Sorry to all my Gran Turismo Car Reviews fans out there (both of you) that I'm writing about this monster muscle car instead of something modern and juicy like the Mine's tuned R34 Skyline, I have no excuse. You'll just have to wait till 2007 or something.

One thing to make note of is the transmission, which (like the GTX itself) is...uh, problematical. In real-life, this car came standard with a 3-speed automatic; while a 4-speed manual was optional. Oddly, Gran Turismo gave us the 3-speed, which is one of the WORST in the game. 1st gear will safely get you going. No prob. 2nd gear...how do I put this? I can only think of one word: why?

ZIP! It tops off at 67 mph just after first tops at 50 mph. You'll only spend like a couple seconds in 2nd gear! And 3rd is too tall. After 2nd peters out, the tachometer needle falls waaaaay down into the torque curve (thankfully it's a meaty torque curve, otherwise we'd never get past 100 mph) and tops off at an undramatic 137 mph. Whatever you do, promise you'll get right over to the shop...get the fully-modifyable tranny right away! The rest will begin to make sense.

I fear this is yet another Polyphony Phuckup, folks. Though I couldn't find any gearing specs for the TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic from this era, I highly doubt its gearing ratios were arranged the way PD has them set.

-------------------CHASSIS / HANDLING-------------------

That last section was short, which may have left some of you wondering why I started this review in the first place (I'm beginning to wonder myself). Even you Cheech & Chongers out there might be dis-satisfied with my writing skills and performance so far. Well, there's plenty to say here, since the GTX handles high speed banked curves okay but is akin to steering the Titanic in most any other situation.

Here is where you'll spend most of your credits, time, and tuning skills. Not to spoil the surprise, but the GTX Belvedere will never handle well. It's as simple as that. However, this doesn't mean it won't win lots of races. Like I said, it's not realistic to road race one of these; the GTX was strictly a drag-racer and perhaps participated on NASCAR ovals a bit--but then, Gran Turismo isn't always reliable when it comes to realism, is it?

The front end of this giant steel block on wheels will understeer heavily at first, and the trunk swings around so much even when driven mildly it's downright comical; but with a semi-racing or full racing suspension and racing slick tires + fully-customized limited slip, you'll at least make this car competitive against RUF Porsches and other sports cars in various races.

Yes, that's right...I have skooled some RUFs, some TVRs, some RX7s in my GTX. The GTX will still lean heavily into turns after extensive tuning, display snap-throttle oversteer (more like snap, crackle, pop oversteer) but all is not lost with a GTX. You just gotta baby it alot.

Cheech Marin may race this car low & slow...guaranteeing a 6th place finish everytime, while Tommy Chong gets baked in the back seat, but for serious Gran Turismo drivers, this one can be a winner if you're persistent.