Forza Motorsport 4

More than 20 of the World's hottest supercars have braved rush hour traffic for a spin around central London. The million pound automobiles 1 - including a Ferrari Enzo, Pagani Zonda, Bugatti Veyron and McLaren F1 - are in town for the launch of the Xbox game Forza Motorsport 4, which promises to faithfully replicate 2 the experience of driving these supercars for gamers in their living rooms.

Our reporter Li Dong has the details.

 

The chimes of Big Ben can't be heard over the exhaust roar of a five-liter, V10 super car. This Lamborghini powers through central London at the front of a petrol-head's dream collection of automotive exotica.

Crossing Westminster Bridge is a 12-litre Ferrari Enzo. Only 400 of these cars were ever produced and it is valued in excess of $1.5 million. It's capable of over 350kmh on the race track.

As soon as the cars pull over a crowd soon gathers, taking hundreds of photos on their mobile phones. The cars are touring London's landmarks 3 to join the launch of the new Xbox game Forza Motorsport 4.

The Forza titles have always prided themselves on the accuracy of their digital reproductions of real world cars.

Alex Hall, marketing 4 manager for Xbox, explains the lengths the game's developers went to for this latest title.

"Realism is a massive thing in Forza and we want the cars to look as close to the real life version as they do in the game and we really think we've achieved that. Taking the cars into Turn 10 - who make the game - putting them on rigs so they can test them, see how they perform, taking manufacturer data, taking tyre data from Pirelli, who have really helped us out in sensing what the physics of the car are going to be like when all four wheels are on the track. If it's rear-wheel drive how that's going to drive differently from if it's a four-wheel drive or front wheel drive car would drive. And then actually listening and getting a representative exhaust note so the car actually sounds as incredible in the game as it would do in real life."

Gamers get the chance to test drive this racing 5 challenge a day ahead of it going on general sale.

Glued to the screen, they won't stop playing. A gamer comments on the game as he plays:

"Obviously it's a game and it can't be 100 per cent realistic but as far as game-wise I think it works quite well because the car looks good, it changes gear like it would do in real life, so it's a good thing."

Another one says it's fascinating.

"Right now I'm driving a Bugatti Veyron, it's pretty sick. It's fast."

The game features over 80 manufacturers - from exotic super cars to everyday family hatchbacks - and a host of International circuits - including Laguna Seca in California; Suzuka in Japan; Mugello in Italy and Silverstone in England.

Forza Motorsport 4 is available from October 14, 2011 for Xbox 360 and costs USD $78.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.