It's been nearly four years since Slightly Mad Studios opened up their crowdfunding initiative, convincing 80,000 sim racing fanatics to donate more than €2m to a project that aimed to create the ultimate racing simulator. Now, in 2015, Project Cars is finally nearing release. With a huge roster of cars, an expansive list of tracks and a whole host of gameplay features, it's time to recap everything we know about the game.
RELEASE DATE AND PRE-ORDER BONUSES
Project Cars was originally anticipated to launch in November 2014, but that release date was pushed back. The official reason for the delay was that a number of major driving and racing titles were due to be released that month including The Crew and GTA V for Xbox One and PS4. Whatever the reason, the new official release date for Project CARS in the is March 21st for the UK, March 17th in the US, March 19th in Australia and March 20th in Europe.
The game will be available for PC, PS4, Xbox One and Wii U. Pre-ordering the game will grant you access to five exclusive cars: the McLaren F1 road car, Sauber C9 Le Mans prototype, BMW M1 ProCar, Mercedes-AMG C-Class Coupe DTM car and 1967 Ford Mk IV endurance racing car. The Steam pre-order "Modified Car Pack" edition has a different set of bonus content: The Ruf CTR3 SMS-R, Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster and Ariel Atom 3 Mugen.
The Pre-order version of the game can be found on Steam for PC and from various UK retailers including Argos and Zavvi for PS4, Xbox One and Wii U.
PC SPECS & HARDWARE
Minimum specifications: 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 or 3GHz AMD Phenom II X4 940, 4GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 260/ATI Radeon HD 5770, 25GB hard disk space
Recommended specifications: 3.5GHz Intel Core i7 3700 or 4GHz AMD FX-8350, 8GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 600-series/AMD Radeon HD7000-series, 25GB hard disk space
The racing wheels and pedals supported by Project CARS varies between consoles and PCs. For example, only specific Thrustmaster hardware approved for PS4s and Xbox Ones will be supported at launch. PC, of course, is more open: Wheels from Thrustmaster, Fanatec, Logitech, Microsoft, Mad Catz and SimRaceway are supported. Click here for the full list.
Nvidia's SHIELD will also be supported, as will Oculus Rift VR hardware.
SINGLE PLAYER
The Project CARS career mode is a freeform game mode that will let you to start anywhere on the motorsport ladder. Typical email-style drive offers and event choice calendars will let you advance your race season. Also present will be fictional coverage of the racing world you're in and scrolling tickers of fan comments and discussion to give the game a more immersive feel.
If you'd prefer to jump straight in, there's a full complement of single player race modes, allowing you to set up full race weekends, quick races and free practice sessions. There will also be dynamic weather, day and night cycles, safety cars and dynamic track conditions.
MULTIPLAYER
In a similar vein to single player, the game's multiplayer allows for heavy customisation of race weekends. There have yet to be any public blog posts detailing exactly how online multiplayer will work in the final game. There is no split-screen multiplayer for consoles; you'll have to head online to get your multiplayer fix, which means paying for either Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus.
TRACK LIST
The locations in Project CARS include a mix of legendary real-world tracks and fictional layouts based on real-world locations. The list of tracks available at launch differs to the tracks that have been playable for early backers. For example, the official list does not include several kart tracks that had previously been announced and/or playable, and neither does it include the Nurburgring. Oval circuits including Indianapolis and Bristol Motor Speedway aren't present on the list. The full list of tracks hasn't been announced, but below are the circuits that are known to be available at launch.
Real-world tracks
Le Mans (two layouts)
Laguna Seca
Donington Park (two layouts)
Bathurst
Oulton Park (three layouts)
Road America
Imola
Watkins Glen (two layouts)
Brands Hatch (two layouts)
Dubai Autodrome (five layouts including one karting track)
Hockenheimring (three layouts)
Monza (two layouts)
Oschersleben (two layouts)
Silverstone (four layouts)
Zolder
Fictional tracks
Azure Coast (point-to-point, five layouts)
Azure Circuit
California Highway (point-to-point, five layouts)
Glencairn karting circuit (six layouts)
CAR LIST
There's currently no official car list available from the developers themselves and lists compiled online are patchy at best. However, we can list the cars that are available in the preview version of the game, although whether these make it into the final game is unknown so this list should be taken with a large pinch of salt. Slightly Mad Studios has stated that all cars available at launch will be drivable without the need for unlocking them through DLC or progressing through the career mode.
Fictional cars
250cc Superkart
Formula A
Formula B
Formula C
Formula Rookie
RWD P20 LMP1
RWD P30 LMP2
Real-world cars
Alpine A450
Ariel Atom 300 Supercharged
Ariel Atom 500 V8
Ariel Atom Mugen
Aston Martin Rapide S Hydrogene
Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3
Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4
Audi R18 TDI
Audi R8 LMS Ultra
Audi R8 V10 plus
BAC Mono
BMW 1-Series M Coupe
BMW 320 Turbo Group 5
BMW M1 Procar
BMW M3 E30 Group A
BMW M3 GT
BMW M3 GT4
BMW Z4 GT3
Caterham SP/300.R
Caterham Seven Classic
Caterham Superlight R500
Ford Escort Mk1 RS1600
Ford Focus RS
Ford Mk IV
Ford Mustang Boss 302R1
Ford Mustang Cobra TransAm
Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth Group A
Ford Zakspeed Capri Group 5
Formula Gulf 1000
Gumpert Apollo S
Ginetta G40 Junior
Ginetta G55 GT3
Ginetta G55 GT4
Lotus 49 Cosworth
Lotus 72D Cosworth
Lotus 78 Cosworth
Lotus 98T Renault Turbo
Marek RP 339H LMP1
Marek RP 339H LM2
McLaren 12C
McLaren 12C GT3
McLaren F1
McLaren P1
Mercedes 190E DTM
Mercedes 300SEL
Mercedes A45 AMG
Mercedes AMG C-Coupe DTM
Mercedes SLS AMG
Mercedes SLS AMG GT3
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X FQ400
Oreca 02 Nissan
Pagani Huayra
Pagani Zonda Cinique Roadster
Pagani Zonda R
Palmer Jaguar JP-LM
Radical SR3-RS
Radical SR8-RX
Renault Clio RS Cup
Renault Megane RS
Ruf CTR3
Ruf CTR3 SMS-R
Ruf RGT-8
Ruf RGT-8 GT3
Sauber C9