The Lizard Nightmare is a bonus car made by Lizard, obtainable by finishing the extra trial in Ridge Racer Type 4. This devilish, sinister car was the rival of the Rivelta Crinale, but as a product of an American manufacturer, it bears an English name, hence Nightmare. The car also appears in Ridge Racer 64.
Design and performance[]
Design wise, it may look like a typical sports prototype racing car (likely the Porsche 962C Langheck, with bits of the Nissan R92CP, due to its air vent) with the addition of the 13th Racing livery just like the previous devil cars, but what's underneath is the key to the car's status as Lizard's devil car.
Powered by a thermonuclear fusion engine, the Nightmare is capable to reach considerably higher top speed than all of Lizard's "standard" racing cars. Using DRT tune, it can reach 369 km/h, but is slightly hindered by a terrible handling. Experts, however, can accelerate from a standstill to top speed from the sixth gear alone by using a technique on shifting gears and reaching RPM below the redline (similar to the rocket start in the later games).
Beating the Nightmare with a car tuned by Dig Racing Team and the full-blown Nightmare will be given to the player. Colored in black and detailed with flames, the car came with the classic "flaming-hot" paint job.
The following is a translated transcription of the car featured in the Japanese Ridge Racer Type 4 - Namco Official Guide Book R4:
The world of car windows is exactly the American dream.
It's this Nightmare that tells Lizard's founder, Lizard Burton, that this is what happens when his company embodies a dream. There is only a machine for the special stage, and the making is special in all of them. It is a courtesy when trying the thermonuclear fusion nightmare that has been talked about in development while being exposed to the terrible untitled truth of each country. The multi-engine has a spec of 3000 horsepower and can be said to be the flagship car of Lizard. It takes a little courage to run with the engine kept up to 8,000 rpm with the accelerator fully open, but the limit drift running at the speed of another world is suitable for the Nightmare running with the American dream.
Trivia[]
- In the Japanese version of R4, the car's rear wing of DRT version's livery has "DEATH" and "SACRIFICE" written on it; but in the other versions of R4 and all versions of RR64, these are changed to "NIGHTMARE" and features the text of Lizard instead. The RR64 version also changes the devil symbol on the car's hood with the logo of Lizard instead.
- Ironically, since the Nightmare resembles the long-tailed Porsche 962C, it also references the 13th Racing/Rivelta Crinale as well, which resembles the short-tailed Porsche 962C.
- It features cowling on the rear wheels similar to the Jaguar XJR-9 and Nissan R89C, but parts of the rear wheels can be visibly seen.
- Interestingly enough, despite it looking like a Group C prototype which is supposed to be lightweight despite their long and wide bodies, the Lizard Nightmare negates this as its nuclear fusion engine is rather heavy, causing the car to weigh more than 3000kg.
- It is the only car in the Ridge Racer series to be powered by nuclear energy,
- It may be possible that the air vent on the Nightmare acts as its nuclear reactor.
- This makes a reference to the 1957 Ford Nucleon, a hypothetical design study of a possible nuclear-powered car.
- The Nightmare could also be a byproduct of Lizard and Rivelta's partnership for the 13th Racing Kid; evidence of this is that Lizard were able to supply the engine of said car, and thus, set out to create their own tribute to the original 13th Racing car.
| Cars in R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Assoluto Promessa · Lizard Bonfire · Terrazi Ambitious · Age Solo Prophetie | |
| Stage 2 | Assoluto Bisonte · Lizard Detector · Terrazi Troop · Age Solo Dirigeant Assoluto Regalo · Lizard Wisdom · Terrazi Rumor · Age Solo Bataille Assoluto Fatalita · Lizard Officer · Terrazi Wildboar · Age Solo Megere | |
| Stage 3 | Assoluto Rondine · Lizard Colleague · Terrazi Capital · Age Solo Antilope Assoluto Cavaliere · Lizard Comrade · Terrazi Cowboy · Age Solo Averse Assoluto Infinito · Lizard Ignition · Terrazi Starlight · Age Solo Licorne | |
| Stage 4 | Assoluto Aquila · Lizard Tamer · Terrazi Decision · Age Solo Espion Assoluto Estasi · Lizard Cataract · Terrazi Terrific · Age Solo Sorciere Assoluto Squalo · Lizard Reckless · Terrazi Destroyer · Age Solo Supernova | |
| Extra Trial | Assoluto Vulcano · Lizard Nightmare · Terrazi Utopia · Age Solo Ecureuil | |
| Other | Pac-Man | |