While most racing titles diverge along simulation or arcade paths, Wreckfest splits both lanes with a pretty serious take on full contact racing. Through the demolition derbies, off-road events and traditional race fare, collisions win positions, from perfectly timed T-bones to salvaging a sloppy corner with an opponent as your guardrail.
Wreckfest races are always one turn away from mangling every car on the grid, a drastic departure from the clean race lines and photorealistic models of marquee realistic racing titles like the Forza and Gran Turismo franchises. Still, running a gauntlet from the back of the pack to the podium takes more than brawn alone. The most successful vehicles in Wreckfest prove that acceleration, top speed, cornering and strength often do their best work in tandem.
8 Rocket, Class C Midsize: A Capable, Flexible American Classic. For Free
Welcome to Wreckfest. You’ve completed zero races and have no experience, but here’s an excellent free car to get you started. The Rocket isn’t the fastest (5.0 base top speed) or the toughest (4.1 base strength), but behind its wheel players will learn the Wreckfest basics: racing, wrecking, bonus objectives and event types.
Best of all, the Rocket is free, a boon for players who take a more cost-savvy approach to car buying. Its utility across event types teaches lessons in race-specific tuning, as well as the interplay between upgrades and armor that allows cars to move between classes. This highlights the fact that most of Wreckfest’s vehicles are viable with the right settings and drive style. The souped-up variant is the RX, a faster (8.4 base acceleration), drift-prone alternative locked behind a lengthy Tournament grind.
How To Obtain It:
- Free at the start of the single-player Career mode.
- Rocket RX can be purchased in the Tournament mode store for 100,000 fame.
7 KillerBee, Class C Compact: A Spritely Speedster That’s A Bit Lacking In Strength
The diminutive KillerBee is a giant-killer in the body of a 60s-era Fiat. This nimble compact accelerates swiftly (3.8) and manages a respectable top speed (4.6), darting through traffic and corners (4.0). KillerBee is tough to catch on open track but is easily knocked aside on contact (1.7 base strength). After a full-on juggle from an aggressive field, it's not likely that a mangled KillerBee's going to make it to the finish.
The KillerBee S unlocked later will make the original obsolete, better in every way yet equally flimsy when trading paint. An upgraded KillerBee S zooms through creases to topple bigger and meaner opposition, the risk-reward being a DNF or 1st place.
How To Obtain It:
- Available in the market for 4,050 credits.
- KillerBee S is unlocked as a reward for the Attack of the Killer B event in Career mode.
6 HammerHead, Class B Wagon: A Swift Turbo Drifter With Room For Four
A Wreckfest favorite, the HammerHead is unusually fast for its lengthy build (5.7 base top speed). Based on the 1975 Volvo Estate, this speed wagon sprints off the line quickly (5.3 base acceleration), carrying enough heft to fend off the bitter nudges of those it passes (3.6 base strength).
HammerHead handles oversteer with satisfying drift control (5.1 base cornering), all fun and games until someone dives into its lengthy back end. The vastly improved RS model in the Tournament store is a top-tier favorite that’s better in nearly every category, particularly acceleration (7.1) with its lighter weight.
How To Obtain It:
- Available in the market for 13,780 credits, unlocked at level 15.
- HammerHead RS is available in the Tournament store for 70,000 fame.
5 GateCrasher, Class A Full-Size: Heavy Metal With A Heavy Petal
Wreckfest, like its famous wreck-racing cousin Burnout Paradise, rewards damage dealing almost as much as speedy lap times. If the top cars value strength as a survival trait, GateCrasher’s the vehicle they’re trying to survive. This Chevy Monte Carlo doppelgänger is super fast (6.8 base top speed), super strong (5.3) and super sloppy on most turns (3.7 base cornering). It’ll take a moment to wake, but once it does, GateCrasher is a raging tank of aggression and acceleration (7.5).
Wreckfest, like the Forza franchise, has its share of slower vehicles, often one-trick ponies that eschew speed for spectacle. GateCrasher’s dual-use as a demolition race and derby weapon is the opposite, with utility beyond the pure chaos or pure speed options. While so-called corner bombing is generally frowned upon, if a Venom’s flashing broadside, a GateCrasher can handle things better than most.
How To Obtain It:
- Available in the market for 19,990 credits.
4 Rammer, Class C Full-Size: A Big Bully With Top Speed Stride
Rekindling visions of stock cars of yesteryear, it's the big-bodied Rammer sedan. As the name implies, the Rammer is a rear-wheeled behemoth, lumbering around the track with little regard for its neighbors (4.8 base strength). It utilizes top-end speed (5.0) and the physical prowess to negate quicker (usually less robust) opponents. Initial acceleration (2.9) is iffy, but Rammer is formidable with a full head of steam.
The RS model makes the leap to higher class races with a change from 4-speed to 5-speed transmission and performance increases all around. RS addresses acceleration (5.5), though the original Rammer outperforms it on straightaways.
How To Obtain It:
- Available in the market for 6,940 credits.
- Rammer RS is unlocked as a reward for the Ramming It Down challenge in Career.
3 Boomer, Class B Midsize: Too Big for Compact, Too Small for Full-Size, Too Quick for All
The Boomer weaves through tight-cornered tarmac like a compact despite being a midsize (6.2 base cornering). Don’t be surprised to see it near the front of the pack, darting through traffic, pivoting on a dime and jetting off just as quickly. Boomer excels at acceleration (6.1), but its small stature falls short in the strength department (1.9). Hold on to your lunch as opponents throw shoulderchecks, dodging destruction with every turn and every pass.
The RS model can be a top-tier king in capable hands, defensive driving to the front and running clean to an easy first place finish. With exceptional acceleration (8.1) and cornering (8.1), a charging Boomer RS is always a threat (and a target).
How To Obtain It:
- Available in the market for 13,650 credits, unlocked at level 10.
- Boomer RS is unlocked as a reward for The Underdog challenge in Career.
2 SpeedDemon, Class A Midsize: A Blazing Import That Folds Like Paper
The SpeedDemon is seemingly based on an older Toyota Supra, Japanese street-racing royalty a long way from the neon underglow of its Need for Speed appearances. It earns its place alongside other dirt-spewing weekend warriors by doing what it does best: going fast (8.1 acceleration, 7.2 top speed). This makes SpeedDemon very difficult to beat on ovals, tarmac and other speed-intensive tracks. Comparable to other class speedsters like Sunrise Super and Venom, the SpeedDemon has a better balance of handling (6.0 cornering) and survivability (4.5 strength) among the three.
SpeedDemon is far from a perfect machine; dragging a mangled mess to the finish after a hairy collision is just the beginning. With or without a ruined suspension, the power of the rear-wheeled SpeedDemon can lead to unruly handling and near-uselessness on gravel and dirt. Stick to the tarmac and give those maulers a wide berth, however, and you'll leave opponents in the dust.
How To Obtain It:
- Available in the market for 25,190 credits, unlocked at level 32.
1 RoadSlayer, Class B Full-Size: A Top-Tier Beast With All-Around Balance
You’ll be hard-pressed to find fault with the RoadSlayer, arguably the king of Class B (or Class A with upgrades and tuning). With the age of performance electric motoring upon fans, there’s plenty of nostalgia in the roar of this 70’s era American gas guzzler. The RoadSlayer comes with rear-wheeled power to match (5.6 acceleration, 5.3 top speed). Feathering the throttle through turns induces a manageable drift, with the ability to power out of corners with ease. The RoadSlayer effortlessly finishes near the top of the leaderboards, with power, control and enough power to trouble any speedsters trying to pass (4.4 strength).
The RoadSlayer GT ups the ante in acceleration (7.5) and top speed (6.9), which improves the original’s strategy of power slide and power out immensely. RoadSlayer GT holds its place as one of the most capable, balanced class A vehicles in the game.
How To Obtain It:
- Available in the market for 16,100 credits, unlocked at level 23.
- Roadslayer GT is unlocked as a reward for the Slaying the Road event in Career.