The Nakamura SI-7 Turbo is the first shutdown rival encountered in the game. It is a front-wheel drive Speed Boost vehicle from Burnout Paradise.
The SI-7 is also the first Speed class car unlocked and serves as an introduction for players to Speed boost. Its front-wheel drive layout makes the car's handling extremely responsive. To be fair, the SI-7 is more of a "trainer" for speed boost rather than a serious racer.
It will help you get used to the lackluster strength and the incredible speed advantage over its opponents. That said, it is a very good car in the right hands, especially against other speed-1 vehicles. It is no brawler, but you should be easily able to outrun a Cavalry or Mesquite.
Description
Front wheel drive means no surprises in the drift, but no doughnuts either! It won't cause you many heart-stopping moments, but it's slavish obedience will get you out of sticky situations.
How to Unlock
Win 3 events then shut it down.
Performance
The Nakamura SI-7 is an average performer. It is the first Speed boost car players can unlock and serves as an introduction for this boost type. The SI-7 is lacking in terms of power. It has a mediocre off-the-line, though mid-range, acceleration. This is compensated slightly with decent acceleration when Boosting.
As the car is equipped with Speed boost, it is possible to partially refill the Boost Meter via Burnouts. However, its low top speed makes continuous Burnout chains difficult to achieve. The front-wheel-drive setup enables the SI-7 to be easily controlled and is responsive at higher speeds, but may feel a bit sluggish in those tight and sharp corners. The SI-7's front-wheel-drive setup also makes it difficult to throw the car into a Drift at lower speeds and may understeer until higher speeds are achieved. The SI-7 also has an interesting capability to do doughnuts while in reverse due to its front-wheel-drive.
With a strength rating of '3', strength is clearly not the SI-7's strong point. This makes it difficult to compete in Road Rage events unless driven carefully. Despite not having Stunt boost, the SI-7's small body and light weight make it a decent choice for Stunt Run events as long as players can keep the speed up to prevent the boost from disengaging at low speeds. Overall, the SI-7 is a decent lower-end car for players that prefer light and agile cars.
An interesting thing about the SI-7 are its brakes. They are unusually strong. Probably the strongest in the game and most realistic. Due to this, it makes the car difficult to initiate a drift unless the lightest of pressure or a simple tap is made on the brakes. One can be shunted from behind by a Nighthawk at full speed and still have enough braking power to stop within a reasonable distance or slow down to avoid walls or obstacles. Due to its low power and speed, it is best to not drift the SI-7 around most turns since the car drives more or less like a "real" car since it has lift off oversteer.
Resemblance
The SI-7 model is based on a 2005–2006 Hyundai Tiburon with a taillight and rear bumper design resembling a 1990–1993 Mitsubishi 3000GT ; the front fascia seems to also follow some cues of later 1997–2001 3000GT's (the rounded, less aggressive shape). The name seems to be inspired by Nissan S platform chassis (the number "1" being visually similar to an "I"). The reverse light is similar to that seen on the 1991 Toyota Camry. The overall body shape is likely inspired by the Mitsubishi FTO. The front is a striking dead ringer to the 1998 Toyota Supra. The taillights even have a striking resemblance to the Chevrolet Cavalier.
Burning Route
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SI-7 Burning Route |
Notes
- The SI-7's handling was tweaked in Burnout Paradise's Free February Update lowering its boost rating from 3 to 2.
- Many recommend using the SI-7 when trying to unlock the Burnout x20 Xbox Achievement and the Burnout x20 Paradise award because of its low speed and boost strength which lowers the risk of crashing. However, the SI-7 is incapable of performing boost chains in the oncoming lane alone due to its low top speed. If a player wishes to achieve a large boost chain in an SI-7 they will need a constant flow of traffic throughout their chosen route.
- The SI-7 is one of 6 front-wheel drive Paradise vehicles that is capable of performing donuts while driving backwards.
- The SI-7 seems to be a successor to the Sports Coupe from Burnout. This is because of the License Plate of the SI-7 - "AS-B1-SC."
- During production the SI-7 was named the Nakamura "RI-7 Turbo".
- The Paradise Award "Yatta!", received when you shut down the SI-7, along with the Nakamura brand, refer to the Heroes character Hiro Nakamura. Hiro exclaims "Yatta!", meaning "I did it!", whenever he achieves something.
- The police car variant of the SI-7 has a different engine sound than its original variant, instead having the exact same engine sound as the Watson R-Turbo Roadster.