Project CARS - Game Guide
- Chris SIRA
- Jul 3
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 9
Project CARS aka 'Community Assisted Racing Simulator' or 'PCARS1' for short, is the first title of 4 in the Project Cars series, releasing on Windows in 2016 and bringing a new level of graphics fidelity to the Sim Racing world with its Madness Engine.
Regarding its community nomenclature, the title was established from a mix of funding from the community and Developers themselves - with sales profits being shared to members in the first 3 years after launch.
Due to its myriad content and Career Mode (more on that later) one can argue that PCARS1 was the closest PC equivalent to the Gran Turismo or Forza series on consoles.
Featuring cars from multiple classes, such as Roadcars, Supercars, GT1, GT3, GT4, GT5, Indy/Indycar, DTM, LMP1/2/3/900, Karts, Trans-Am, V8 Supercars and a raft of Vintage classes particularly F1, PCARS1 impressed not only by its Car variety but the overall quality across the board.
A mixture of fantasy and real-world locations and Tracks are welcomed, particularly as the quality bar is high for the fantasy tracks. Bannochbrae Road Circuit set in Scotland being one of PCARS1 most stunning and arguably most memorable fictional tracks in Sim Racing. Additionally there are 2 x point-to-point roads inspired by the California Pacific Coast and the Côte d'Azur.
The title also features a Career Mode - which is rare within Sim Racing, and likely helped cement PCARS1 as a standout and worthy title.
At 2025, PCARS1 is not available on any cloud gaming platform - SIRA believes due to expiry of licenses within the title. If you want to play the game you'll need to find a physical copy - available on PC DVD-ROM*, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
*SIRA has found the game available for free through the Internet Archive, though cannot vouch for its legality.
Fun Fact 1
Project Cars was slated for a Wii U release but deemed 'too much' for the Nintendo system. According to Slightly Mad Studios in 2015, "the game could only run at 720p and 23fps".
Fun Fact 2
Nicholas Hamilton - brother of F1 legend Lewis - was involved in the project.
Fun (?) Fact 3
Project Cars 4 was planned for 2024 but cancelled in 2022 by Electronic Arts. This may have been due to the lack of success of PCARS3.
Release Date
May 6, 2015
'Game of the Year Edition' - May 6, 2016
Platform(s)
Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
VR
Yes
(PC only ; PSVR was planned but not implemented)
Cars (Out of the box / All DLC)
74 / 125
Tracks / Variations
30 / 110
Metacritic Ratings
PC - 83%
PlayStation 4 - 83%
Xbox One - 81%
Sales
2m
At October 2016
Developer / Publisher
Slightly Mad Studios / Bandai Namco Entertainment
Screenshots
Courtesy of PC MasterRace Latinoamérica
The good
Arguably a groundbreaking Racing title with next-level visuals at the time of release (the MADNESS Engine would go on to be used in Automobilista 2)
Incredible breadth of Cars and Tracks (for the latter many are fictional)
Well-regarded driving model and physics, especially given the number of Cars in the title
The less good
Not available on games platforms since September 2022
AI could be hit and miss
No vehicle customisation (TBC)
Links
Official Website - PCARS1, 2, 3 sites all appear to be defunct
Steam Page - PCARS1 is not available on Steam
Tags / Categories
