The Gnade Esperanza is a machine manufactured by Gnade, first appearing in Rage Racer.
Design and performance[]
The Esperanza first appears in Rage Racer as the player's first car, and the only Grade 1 car available in game. The Esperanza takes cues of European boxy luxury sedans of early nineties such as the BMW M3 (E30 and E36 generations) and Alfa Romeo 155 as well as their Japanese contemporaries such as the Mitsubishi Galant VR-4. The car's body have touring car aesthetic to it, starting out as a Supertouring-specification car in early three classes and evolving to DTM-style bodykit in fourth grade, where the resemblance to Alfa Romeo 155 is more visible, at fifth grade, the Gnade Esperanza looks a lot like the Nissan Skyline GT-R LM race car which raced in the JGTC at the time Rage Racer's release. As the player's first car, the car has a well-balanced handling and speed, enough to take the opposition in Grade 1. This particular design was carried over to Gnade Dignistar in Ridge Racer Vita, with the Esperanza nameplate switching to a sportier look in later years.
In Ridge Racers, the Esperanza was dramatically changed to a more curvy bubble-top look resembling an Audi TT with wheel arches resembling the ones of the Audi Rosemeyer concept and is positioned as a mid-end, mild-drift machine in the later games. The machine received a facelift in Ridge Racer 6, looking more like the 2003 Audi Nuvolari Quattro concept.
In Ridge Racers, Ridge Racers 2, Ridge Racer 6 and Ridge Racer 7 incarnations, despite it being front-engined, the rear section is somewhat long enough to be mistaken for a mid-engined machine, and that the body is also even wide enough to determine.
The Esperanza is a rear-wheel drive car and uses a straight-six engine. This specification is called Gnade Erstlanze in Ridge Racer Slipstream, where the car has Dynamic handling instead.
Performance chart[]
Rage Racer[]
The upgrade chart for all the car's available configurations in Rage Racer.
Grade | Power | Gears | Engine | Max speed (MT) | Price (eg) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 70 ps | 4 | I4 SOHC 1600cc | 163 km/h 101 mph |
Given at start |
2 | 140 ps | 4 | I4 DOHC 1800cc | 187 km/h 116 mph |
1,600 |
3 | 200 ps | 5 | I6 DOHC 2000cc | 196 km/h 122 mph |
13,200 |
4 | 240 ps | 5 | I6 DOHC 2000cc Turbo | 217 km/h 135 mph |
61,900 |
5 | 280 ps | 5 | I6 DOHC 2600cc Turbo | 245 km/h 152 mph |
310,000 |
- All maximum speed numbers correspond to the car when driven with manual transmission. Please note that not all cars in Rage Racer can be equipped with automatic transmission.
- The price that appears in the first row indicates the car purchase price from the car shop. All other prices are prices for upgrading the car.
- All versions of Rage Racer uses ps (metric horsepower) as unit of power.
- Data taken from rr-ken.net (Japanese only), except for top speeds, which is taken from Sal_89's GameFAQs entry.
Ridge Racer 6[]
Class | Engine | Top Speed |
---|---|---|
2 | 3.2 liter DOHC inline 6 | 247 km/h |
4 | 4.0 liter DOHC inline 6 | 312 km/h |
Ridge Racer (PSP), Ridge Racer 2 (PSP), Ridge Racer Accelerated[]
Specifications for the 3 main variants of the Gnade Esperanza are as follows:
Class | Type-S | Type-R | Type-Z |
---|---|---|---|
2 | 239 km/h | 241 km/h | 243 km/h |
5 | 314 km/h | 316 km/h | 318 km/h |
Each variant of the Gnade Esperanza is quick, with a high top speed and acceleration, with a stable handling yet sharp drift angle. The Esperanza is best for twisty tracks due to its larger emphasis on handling.
Gallery[]
Rage Racer[]
Ridge Racer (PSP)[]
Ridge Racer 7[]
Ridge Racer Slipstream[]
Videos[]
File:RRPSP Gnade Esperanza Nebulasray Unlock.mp4
Trivia[]
- Esperanza is Spanish for "hope".
- In Ridge Racer Slipstream, the name "Erstlanze" is German for "first lance".
- The Rage Racer incarnation of the Esperanza in Grade 1 specification may probably have the lowest horsepower output of any car in the series.
- In Rage Racer, if the Esperanza is un-bought using a cheat device when at Grade 1, the car will be revealed to have a 0 eg purchase price.
- If listened to at night, the radio host in We Ski, another title by Bandai Namco Games for the Wii console, mentions a Gnade Esperanza having been left with its headlights on.
Cars in Rage Racer | ||
---|---|---|
Class 1 | Gnade Esperanza | |
Class 2 | Lizard Acceron ยท Age Erriso | |
Class 3 | Lizard Bayonet ยท Age Abeille ยท Assoluto Fatalita | |
Class 4 | Lizard Hijack* ยท Age Pegase* ยท Assoluto Istante* | |
Class 5 | Assoluto Ghepardo* | |
Class 6 | Lizard Bulldog* ยท Age Vainqure ยท Assoluto Squaldon* | |
* denotes car only available with manual transmission |
Cars in Ridge Racer (PSP) and Ridge Racer 2 (PSP) | ||
---|---|---|
Class 1/4 | Kamata Fiera ยท Age Prophetie ยท Danver Bayonet | |
Class 2/5 | Age Abeille ยท Gnade Esperanza ยท Assoluto Bisonte | |
Class 3/6 | Assoluto Fatalita ยท Himmel E.O. ยท Soldat Raggio | |
Specials | Kamata Angelus* ยท Soldat Crinale* ยท Rally-X Car' ยท Namco Pac-Man* ยท Danver Hijack^ ยท Terrazi Wild Gang^ ยท Age Angelus Kid^ ยท Age Crinale Kid^ ยท Yamasa Raggio^ | |
* indicate cars in both games but with different designs, ' indicate cars only in 1, ^ indicate cars only in 2 |
Cars in Ridge Racer 6 and Ridge Racer 7 | ||
---|---|---|
Lower Classes | Kamata Fiera' ยท Age Abeille' ยท Age Prophetie' ยท Terrazi Wild Gang' ยท Gnade Magnifico^ ยท Danver Bayonet' ยท Terrazi Starnose' ยท Sinseong Jujak^ | |
Upper Classes | Assoluto Fatalita' ยท Assoluto Bisonte' ยท Soldat Meltfire' ยท Terrazi Centellee^ ยท Kamata RC410^ ยท Himmel E.O.' ยท Gnade Esperanza' ยท Soldat Raggio' ยท Danver Hijack' | |
Specials | Himmel 490B ยท Gnade G00 ยท Assoluto Pronzione ยท Danver Bass Cruiser ยท Age Ultranova ยท Terrazi Terrajin ยท Kamata Angelus* ยท Soldat Crinale* ยท Monstrous ยท Namco Pac-Man* | |
* indicate machines in both games but with different designs, ' indicate machines with Complete Machine variants, ^ indicate machines introduced in 7 |