Project Motor Racing vs Project CARS 2: Full Sim Comparison

Project Motor Racing serves as a spiritual successor to Project CARS 2, created by many of the same developers under Straight4 Studios leadership. While Project Motor Racing delivers more predictable tire communication and modern hypercars after post-launch updates, Project CARS 2 still offers far greater motorsport variety, double the console grid size, and a more comprehensive track catalog. For sheer scope and multi-discipline sandbox racing, Project CARS 2 remains competitive, whereas Project Motor Racing focuses squarely on sports car and endurance racing.

Side-by-Side Overview

The following breakdown compares the technical specifications, content volume, and platform details of both titles based on official release data and platform specifications.

Physics, Force Feedback, and Handling

Handling in both titles reflects their shared heritage under Ian Bell, though each runs on fundamentally different engine technology. Project CARS 2 utilized Slightly Mad Studios' Madness Engine. While praised for distinct car personalities, default setups in Project CARS 2 frequently suffered from a loose rear end, abrupt off-throttle oversteer, and cold tire sensitivity that made pushing consistently on a gamepad or default wheel setup difficult without deep tuning.

Project Motor Racing pairs GIANTS Engine 10 with Straight4's Hydron physics engine. At launch, modern prototype and hypercar handling received harsh criticism from outlets like Traction and IGN for feeling unsettled, twitchy, and lacking high-speed aerodynamic downforce. However, classic cars—such as the GTO and Group 5 classes—received praise from sim players for natural throttle-steering dynamics and lively chassis feedback.

Subsequent patches reworked turning behavior, braking stability, and downshifting mechanics across GT3 and GT4 categories. With default setups in the updated build, Project Motor Racing gives drivers greater predictability on corner entry and mid-corner load compared to the looser default balance in Project CARS 2. Wheel users on direct drive and belt-driven hardware benefit from detailed rack rate adjustments, though players on standard gamepads note high steering sensitivity that requires custom deadzone and saturation adjustments to avoid sudden slides.

Vehicle Roster and Track Catalog

Content scope represents the widest gap between these two simulators:

• Project CARS 2 Content Volume: Ships with over 180 base cars and expands beyond 220 vehicles via DLC. Its circuit library spans roughly 60 distinct locations and over 140 layouts. Crucially, it embraces an expansive multi-discipline structure featuring GT machinery, modern and historic prototypes, IndyCar, karts, stock cars, touring cars, Formula E, and dedicated rallycross courses.
• Project Motor Racing Content Volume: Delivers 70 base game cars across 13 classes, expanding to roughly 110 cars with released DLC packs. Its track selection features 18 base entries with 28 layouts, rising to 21 track entries and 34 layouts with DLC. It features downloadable mod integration via ModHub.
• Roster Differences: Project Motor Racing fills modern prototype gaps by including contemporary LMDh hypercars like the Porsche 963 and Toyota GR010, alongside the Aston Martin Valkyrie and Mazda 787B. However, its official lineup completely omits Ferrari and McLaren. It also omits all karting, open-wheel feeder series, and rallycross.
• Track Selection Differences: Project CARS 2 includes key endurance benchmarks like Circuit de la Sarthe (Le Mans) and Brands Hatch. Despite Project Motor Racing's endurance theme, Le Mans and Brands Hatch are absent from its official base track selection.

Visuals, Audio, and Console Grid Capacity

Visually, the eight-year gap between releases is narrower than expected. Project CARS 2 demonstrates dated trackside scenery and occasionally flat daylight illumination, but its dynamic LiveTrack 3.0 weather system, water spray, and nighttime headlights remain atmospheric.

Project Motor Racing provides sharper car cockpit modeling, visible G-force camera motions, and soaked tarmac shaders during wet sessions. However, players and reviewers noted washed-out daylight lighting, shadow pop-in on distant trackside foliage, and visual stuttering during replays on consoles and mid-tier PC configurations.

In terms of audio, both simulators deliver punchy mechanical notes, gear whine, and backfires across shared GT machinery.

Where the older title pulls ahead on console is race scale:

• Project CARS 2 fields up to 32 cars (player plus 31 opponents) on PS4-era hardware, making multi-class traffic management active and dynamic.
• Project Motor Racing limits console single-player fields to 16 cars (player plus 15 opponents), reducing pack density and traffic interaction, although online cross-platform multiplayer supports up to 32 players.

AI Behavior, Penalties, and Career Progression

Single-player race execution remains a primary friction point in Project Motor Racing:

• AI Racecraft: Launch reviews and community feedback noted that Project Motor Racing AI often adheres rigidly to the racing line, frequently failing to recognize overlapping player cars, resulting in side-swipes and door banging. In contrast, Project CARS 2 AI suffered from erratic pace jumps across session skips and weather shifts, but offered adjustable difficulty across a wider spectrum of cars.
• Penalty Systems: Project Motor Racing implements a strict track-limits penalty system. Reviewers reported receiving two-second slowdown penalties even after being forced off-track by rival AI or when spinning out in an incident that already cost track position.
• Career Mode Design: Project CARS 2 offers a zero-to-hero tier progression allowing drivers to begin in karts or Ginetta juniors before climbing into open-wheel, prototype, or GT series. Project Motor Racing provides an Authentic Career Mode with customizable team budget models, win-focused payout structures, and damage repair bills, though its authentic setting locks AI difficulty to 100 without race restarts.

Summary Verdict

Project CARS 2 remains a broader, more complete sandbox racing experience. Its massive roster across multiple distinct motorsport disciplines, extensive circuit count, and 32-car console grids deliver a complete motorsport weekend simulator that holds up despite loose default handling setups.

Project Motor Racing focuses on modern endurance machinery, sports cars, and an overhauled physics engine built on GIANTS Engine 10. While post-launch updates have substantially refined GT and prototype tire predictability, its restricted car and track rosters, 16-car console grid limit, and aggressive AI collision dynamics mean it has not completely eclipsed the scale of its 2017 predecessor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Project Motor Racing and Project CARS 2 developed by the same studio?

They are made by different studios that share key personnel. Project CARS 2 was developed by Slightly Mad Studios and published by Bandai Namco. Project Motor Racing is developed by Straight4 Studios, an independent team led by former Slightly Mad Studios head Ian Bell, and published by GIANTS Software.

Which game offers larger grid sizes on console?

Project CARS 2 supports up to 32 cars (31 AI opponents) in single-player offline races on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Project Motor Racing supports up to 16 cars (15 AI opponents) in offline single-player on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, though its online crossplay mode supports up to 32 cars.

Does Project Motor Racing have Ferrari and McLaren cars?

No. Project Motor Racing's official vehicle catalog does not feature licensed cars from Ferrari or McLaren. Project CARS 2 includes licensed models from both manufacturers.

Can you race open-wheel or rallycross cars in Project Motor Racing?

No. Project Motor Racing focuses strictly on sports cars, GT categories, historic touring cars, and endurance prototypes. Disciplines like karting, rallycross, IndyCar, and Formula-style open wheelers are exclusive to Project CARS 2.