Classic Alpine And Mystery Winter Location Coming To Assetto Corsa Rally

To say we’ve been a little bowled over by Assetto Corsa Rally is an understatement. The best-feeling rally sim to come along in years, and arguably the most visually sumptuous one ever, even in its nascent Early Access stage it’s tipped to finally dethrone the 21-year-old Richard Burns Rally as the go-to title for those wanting to go virtually rallying in the most punishingly realistic way possible.

The only big sticking point at the moment is a lack of content. This could be an issue even when the v1.0 version of the game eventually arrives, as it’s confirmed to only include around 80 miles of unique road at launch – understandable, given that every stage is being meticulously laser-scanned for accuracy – but in its current state, it’s a real barrier to replayability, with only four full-length stages in two locations totalling a little over 20 miles in length.

That should change soon, as AC Rally’s socials have teased a new rally that’ll introduce proper winter conditions to the sim. The exact location is tough to pin down – the trees, quaint wooden buildings and sheer snowiness are reminiscent of Rally Sweden, but some of the more vertiginous scenery is giving us vibes of the alpine setting of Rallye Monte Carlo.

Speaking of alpine, there’s one of those – with a capital A – coming to the title too. The teaser features of the original Alpine A110 drifting its way around the mystery location. This petite rear-engined coupe is, of course, a rallying icon, having won the inaugural World Rally Championship in 1973. The teaser gives us a listen to its throaty Renault four-cylinder at full song.

It’ll likely be joined by something far more modern in the form of the Skoda Fabia that runs in the current second-from-top Rally2 division, providing a rival to the Hyundai i20 from the same class that’s currently featured. While there are no in-game visuals of it yet, its imminent inclusion was confirmed by AC Rally developer Supernova Games Studios, last month. The two cars will bump the number included from the current 10 to 12.

Expect full info on the update, including a release date, before too long.