| “ | I see we've got a New Beetle RSi pulling off from the starting line, let's see if this driver can handle that horsepower! | ” |
— San Francisco Announcer (US Sportscaster, winning races with the New Beetle RSi)
| ||
The VW New Beetle RSi is a standard car in Midtown Madness 2 that is unlocked through completing five London Circuit races with a podium position. It returns in Midtown Madness 3 but is unlocked by default. It is significantly faster than its base model, the VW New Beetle and its off-road variant, the VW New Beetle Dune. In HQTM Team's Classic Madness mod, it is replaced by the classic BMW 507.
Overview[]
In-Game Description[]
VW New Beetle RSi
Great for Circuit Racing, the New Beetle RSi a powerhouse on the streets but a poor choice for anything off-road
Details[]
The VW New Beetle RSi is generally great for competing in Circuit races due to its good acceleration and top speed, provided the player doesn't enter off-road conditions with it, especially since the car will hit the curb getting onto the grass due to its low ride height and obstructing bodykit. Instead the player should stick to racing in London, as it isn't as mountainous as San Francisco so the player won't risk damaging their car out mid-race. Taking shortcuts is sometimes risky, especially if the player has to travel over a curb as the car will likely hit the curb and render the shortcut inconvenient.
When driven at high speeds the VW New Beetle RSi will become harder to steer, forcing the player to slow into corners, however this does make it more stable while driving fast, so the player doesn't lose control of the car. In general, the VW New Beetle RSi is a brilliant choice for competing in races with flat ground, no off-road conditions and is very stable in straight line racing.
History[]
A real New Beetle RSi
The VW Beetle began life in 1938, when Dr Ferdinand Porsche designed the Type 1 KdF-Wagen for the German population. It was intended to be such a huge revolution in engineering, that it had its own town, Stadt des KdF-Wagens (now Wolfsburg), named after it. Unfortunately, the dawn of World War II led to the KdF-Wagen's factory to be used to produce the military Typ 82 Kübelwagen and Typ 166 Schwimmwagen. However after World War II, the Typ 1 resumed production under the new name, Volkswagen. Following the war, the "Volkswagen Beetle" as fans called it (due to its visual similarities to a beetle) became an international phenomenon, quickly becoming one of the world's most popular cars of all time, and inspired the iconic Porsche 356. In 1967, it received a facelift, but fell in popularity, due to its aging design. In 1978, mainstream production of the Beetle ceased in Germany, but small factories in Brazil and Mexico carried on producing Beetles until 2003, when production of the Typ 1 ceased entirely. In 1997, Volkswagen Germany decided to revive the Beetle, creating the VW New Beetle. It was larger and more spacious than its predecessor, in order to keep up with modern rivals. In 2001, the VW New Beetle RSi was introduced as the performance model, while the VW New Beetle Dune concept car was unveiled in 2000, as a possible off-road model, but was never put into production. In 2011, the New Beetle received a facelift and was on sale until the car's production ended in July 2019.
Races As An Opponent[]
All races with the VW New Beetle RSi as a computer-generated opponent:
All races with the VW New Beetle RSi in San Francisco:
| Race |
Number of Cars (Amateur) |
Number of Cars (Professional) |
|---|---|---|
| Racing 101 | 0 | 0 |
| Deck The Hall | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Hour | 0 | 0 |
| City Tour | 0 | 0 |
| Foggy Memory | 0 | 0 |
| Park & Ride | 0 | 0 |
| The Hills Are Alive | 0 | 0 |
| Lookout! | 0 | 0 |
| Wanted! | 0 | 0 |
| After Hours | 0 | 0 |
| Full Speed Ahead | 0 | 0 |
| Panoz Pressure | 0 | 0 |
| Color | Featured in Race |
|---|---|
| Yes | Yes |
| No | No |
| Race |
Number of Cars (Amateur) |
Number of Cars (Professional) |
|---|---|---|
| Take It Easy | 0 | 0 |
| Hang Time | 0 | 0 |
| Gimme SOMA | 0 | 0 |
| Wind It Up | 0 | 0 |
| Midtown Mayhem | 0 | 0 |
| Chinatown | 0 | 0 |
| Presidio! | 0 | 0 |
| Square Dancing | 0 | 0 |
| Circuit Breaker | 0 | 0 |
| Floor It! | 0 | 0 |
| Color | Featured in Race |
|---|---|
| Yes | Yes |
| No | No |
All races with the VW New Beetle RSi in London:
| Race |
Number of Cars (Amateur) |
Number of Cars (Professional) |
|---|---|---|
| Top Of The Morning | 0 | 0 |
| Bridge Bash | 0 | 0 |
| Through The Park | 0 | 0 |
| V & A Visit | 0 | 0 |
| South Bank Brawl | 0 | 0 |
| River Thames Run | 0 | 0 |
| Circuit Within | 0 | 0 |
| Check This! | 0 | 0 |
| Splish Splash | 0 | 0 |
| Cut It Short | 0 | 0 |
| Dizzy Driving | 0 | 0 |
| Foggy, Foggy Night | 0 | 0 |
| Color | Featured in Race |
|---|---|
| Yes | Yes |
| No | No |
| Race |
Number of Cars (Amateur) |
Number of Cars (Professional) |
|---|---|---|
| Mini Race | 0 | 0 |
| Round Westminster | 0 | 0 |
| View From Two Bridges | 0 | 0 |
| Parks But No Parking | 0 | 0 |
| City Circuit | 0 | 0 |
| Underground | 0 | 0 |
| London Run | 0 | 0 |
| Gimme Some Royalties | 0 | 0 |
| Soho Mojo | 0 | 0 |
| Zany Zigzag | 0 | 0 |
| Color | Featured in Race |
|---|---|
| Yes | Yes |
| No | No |
All races with the VW New Beetle RSi in Paris:
| Race | Number of Cars |
|---|---|
| New In Town? | 0 |
| Going Downtown | 0 |
| Bridge Sightseeing | 0 |
| Block Rock | 0 |
| Twist And Turn | 0 |
| Highway Patrol | 0 |
| Tower To Tower | 0 |
| Subway | 0 |
| North By South | 0 |
| Elysées Insanity | 0 |
| Color | Featured in Race |
|---|---|
| Yes | Yes |
| No | No |
All races with the VW New Beetle RSi in Washington, D.C.:
| Race | Number of Cars |
|---|---|
| Parktown | 0 |
| Trickie At Pickie | 0 |
| Tunnel Racer | 0 |
| Grass And Asphalt | 0 |
| Chinamaze | 0 |
| Blockers | 0 |
| Second Park Run | 0 |
| Good Old George | 0 |
| Block 'N Roll | 0 |
| The Big One | 0 |
| Color | Featured in Race |
|---|---|
| Yes | Yes |
| No | No |
Stats[]
- Top Speed: 155 mph
- Horsepower: 225 bhp
- Mass: 3,340 lbs.
- Durability: Low
Available Colors[]
| Reflex Yellow |
| Vapor Blue |
| Silver |
| Cup 2000/New Beetle Cup |
| Team Emon (unlocked through victory in all London Circuit Races) |
| Team MS (unlocked through completion of Midterm 1 of the London Crash Course) |
| Team Angel (unlocked through completion of Midterm 1 of the San Francisco Crash Course) |
| Team Panek (originally cut from the game, but made available through use of MM2 Revisited) |
| Green (replaced by Silver in the final game, but made available through use of MM2 Revisited) |
| Cup 2000 Beta (originally cut from the game, but made available through use of MM2 Revisited) |
| Cup '99 (also known as New Beetle Cup, replaced by Cup 2000 but made available through use of MM2 Revisited) |
NialBlack's Mod[]
| Red (made available for MM2 Colors Pack) |
| Yellow (made available for MM2 Colors Pack) |
| Purple (made available for MM2 Colors Pack) |
| Pink (made available for MM2 Colors Pack) |
| Magenta (made available for MM2 Colors Pack) |
| Turquoise (made available for MM2 Colors Pack) |
| Cheetah (made available for MM2 Colors Pack) |
| White (made available for MM2 Colors Pack) |
| Light Blue (made available for MM2 Colors Pack) |
| Black (made available for MM2 Colors Pack) |
Sounds[]
All sounds for the New Beetle RSi have been reused from the VW New Beetle:
| Sound | Information | Audio File |
|---|---|---|
| Demonstration | Heard from the Vehicle Selection Screen when the player selects the VW New Beetle RSi. | |
| Horn | Horn Sounds | |
| Idle | Engine idle, vehicle motionless | |
| Engine Sounds | Engine rev sounds | Low: Low Rev 2 (unused): |
Quotes[]
All in-game commentary pertaining to the VW New Beetle RSi:
All San Francisco quotes that apply to the New Beetle RSi, provided by various announcers:
| Quote | Heard When | Spoken By | Audio File |
|---|---|---|---|
| I see we've got the New Beetle RSi pulling up to the starting line, let's see if this driver can handle that much power! | Starting a race with the VW New Beetle RSi | US Sportscaster (San Francisco) |
| Quote | Heard When | Spoken By | Audio File |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brilliant driving out there in the Beetle RSi! Congratulations, driver! | Winning race with the VW New Beetle RSi in first place | US Sportscaster (San Francisco) |
| Quote | Heard When | Spoken By | Audio File |
|---|---|---|---|
| An average performance from an above average car! The New Beetle RSi wants a driver who can do just a little bit better! | Losing a race with the VW New Beetle in second place or below | US Sportscaster (San Francisco) | |
| A poor showing by the New Beetle RSi! Hang your head in shame for losing in that racing machine! | Losing a race with the VW New Beetle RSi in second place or below | US Sportscaster (San Francisco) |
| Quote | Heard When | Spoken By | Audio File |
|---|---|---|---|
| Congratulations, you've just unlocked the custom paint job for the New Beetle RSi. | Unlocking the VW New Beetle RSi's Team Angel paintjob by completing the first midterm exam | San Francisco Crash Course Advisor |
All London quotes that apply to the New Beetle RSi, provided for unlocking lines by various announcers. For unknown reasons, no pre-race, winning, or losing lines were recorded for the VW New Beetle RSi for London.
| Quote | Heard When | Spoken By | Audio File |
|---|---|---|---|
| Congratulations to that driver for just unlocking the New Beetle RSi! | Unlocking the VW New Beetle RSi by completing five London Circuit races | UK Sportscaster (London) | |
| Congratulations on unlocking a New Beetle RSi! | Unlocking the VW New Beetle RSi by completing five London Circuit races | Scottsman (London) | |
| Congratulations! You just unlocked the New Beetle RSi! | Unlocking the VW New Beetle RSi by completing five London Circuit races | Mister (London) | |
| Congratulations. You've just unlocked... the Beetle Cup. | Unlocking the VW New Beetle RSi by completing five London Circuit races, recorded where it was known as the VW Beetle Cup during development. | Shakespeare (London) | |
| Congratulations! You've just unlocked the Volkswagen New Beetle RSi! | Unlocking the VW New Beetle RSi by completing five London Circuit races | Woman (London) | |
| Congratulations to that driver for just unlocking the new paintjob for the New Beetle RSi! | Unlocking the VW New Beetle RSi's Team Emon paintjob by completing all London Circuit races | UK Sportscaster (London) | |
| Congratulations on unlocking a new paintjob for the New Beetle RSi! | Unlocking the VW New Beetle RSi's Team Emon paintjob by completing all London Circuit races | Scottsman (London) | |
| Congratulations for unlocking a new paintjob for the New Beetle RSi! | Unlocking the VW New Beetle RSi's Team Emon paintjob by completing all London Circuit races | Mister (London) | |
| Congratulations, you've unlocked a new look for your New Beetle RSi! | Unlocking the VW New Beetle RSi's Team Emon paintjob by completing all London Circuit races | Woman (London) | |
| You've earned a special new paint job for your New Beetle RSi! | Unlocking the VW New Beetle RSi's Team MS paintjob by completing the first midterm exam in London. | London Crash Course Advisor |
MM1 Mod Version[]
This is the VW New Beetle RSi converted from MM2 to MM1. It includes the original dashboard and sounds, appropriate tuning, MM1-style headlights (compatible with MM1 Revisited V3 mod), and 10 colors with all the beta colors from MM2 Revisited V5 mod!
Trivia[]
- In real life, the Beetle RSi is a four wheel drive car, whereas in the game it is front wheel drive. In fact, the Beetle RSi seems to share many characteristics with the New Beetle Cup Car which features similar bodywork, and is front wheel drive.
- This is one of the cars to crash into curbs. This also applies to the Panoz GTR-1 and Aston Martin DB7 Vantage, however, in MM2 Revisited V6, this was fixed thanks to new geometry and bound models of these three cars.
- Reflex yellow and New Beetle Cup RSis have signal lights on the front bumper, whereas the signal lights on the silver and vapour blue RSi's appear to be missing. The racing RSi's do not come with signal lights at all, but in MM2 Revisited V6, the silver and vapor blue colors were given signal lights. The racing RSis do not come with signal lights at all.
- The Team Panek livery that was cut from the game (for unknown reasons) is a reference to Jay Panek, who produced the first two Midtown Madness games as well as the Midnight Club games.
- The Team MS livery promotes Microsoft's first video game console, the original Xbox. It was in development when this game was released in 2000, but it wasn't released until late 2001 (in North America) and early 2002 (in Europe, Asia and Oceania).
- Despite "Cup 2000" being a custom paint job, it doesn't have to be unlocked. However, the other three custom paint jobs, "Team Emon," "Team MS," and "Team Angel" still need to be unlocked.
- There is duplicated copy of the .pkg file for this car named "Vpvw_cup." This duplicated .pkg file uses only two paint jobs, Team Emon and Team Angel. This also applies to the London Cab, the American LaFrance Fire Truck (except there are two duplicated .pkg files for it and its trailer), the Aston Martin DB7 Vantage, and the VW New Beetle Dune.
Gallery[]
TBA
References[]