The Formula RSS 2 V6 2018 is the latest release from Race Sim Studio, the creators of the Formula Hybrid 2018 (which we believe to be one of the greatest cars in sim racing to date).

If you hadn't guessed already, the Formula RSS 2 is built from the FIA F2 specs for 2018. It boasts the following base stats:

Peak power: 620 hp

Wheelbase: 3135 mm

Front track: 1573 mm

Rear track: 1523 mm

Weight: 750 kg

and comes with the spec correct tyre compounds (Super Soft / Soft / Medium / Hard).

Like the Formula Hybrid 2018 before it, the Formula RSS 2 V6 2018 is a 'pay what you want' release available through the Race Sim Studio website with a minimum purchase price of 4 Euro. RSS have also decided to include last years car as a free download when you purchase the 2018 version, a nice touch we think.

The model is as beautiful as we've come to expect from RSS and holds up well when compared to the Formula Hybrid which sets the standard for modelling quality. In line with the Formula Hybrid, we get the option to toggle the HALO on or off. You can see our Spa hotlap video(not the best quality) to check out how the HALO looks when turned on.

Comparing our hotlap on the baseline setup, soft tyres and high fuel load to the fastest race laps of the recent F2 races at Spa we see very similar lap times (2:01) which indicates that the car is right around where it should be on pace when comparing to the real life counter parts.

I'm not sure how the real cars drive but the driving experience is equal parts frustration and satisfaction with the RSS 2. It certainly takes some getting used to and drives more like F1 cars from the 80s than it does modern day cars. The turbo V6 has a heap of turbo lag and a nervous chassis that makes it really difficult to drive fast, unlike the Formula Hybrid which feels almost impossible to crash at times due to the insane amount of aero it generates.

I'm a huge fan of the lack of hybrid in these cars. It adds so much character to the car(AKA lag) and takes away the annoyance of having to manage hybrid deployment, letting you just get on with driving. They also make a way better noise than the F1 cars and RSS have really nailed it with this one, it's a symphony of intake, turbo and engine noise that's just fantastic.

With that said... I mentioned just now that it's equally as frustrating as it is satisfying, and a lot of that frustration can be found in the fact that if you as much as sniff a curb while on throttle you're likely finding yourself sideways/backwards/in a wall. Overall I'd expect some loss of traction on curbs, but it feels like way too much here. Maybe it's somewhat of a solvable problem through tuning the diff and suspension but there's only so many hours in the day and I've not been able to find a solution yet. The result is that driving the car becomes an game of painting by numbers, desperately trying to keep it between the lines or risk paying the consequences.

While I struggled to get the dash display working properly for the longest time, someone on reddit kindly informed me that the headlights button binding is used to toggle between display modes. Something that is not documented anywhere by RSS.

SR247 Verdit

Overall we see another quality product come out of Race Sim Studio. The Formula Hybrid 2018 was always going to be a tough act to follow and a few small issues with the Formula RSS 2 hold the car back from meeting the same standards as its predecessor. However it does a really good job of capturing the essence of F2 and makes for a more raw and characterful driving experience that some(me included) might find more enjoyable than it's F1 counter part.

We score the Formula RSS 2 V6 2018 8/10

You can find the car for sale on RSS sellfy page