Costa di Amalfi is a street circuit set in the Italian coast of Amalfi. One can get a glimpse of the Mediterranean Sea while racing.
Costa di Amalfi appears in Gran Turismo 4 (as well as its prologue version) and Gran Turismo PSP.
Characteristics
Costa di Amalfi is a very tricky circuit, with both extremely tight sections with speeds as low as 30 KM/H (such as the double hairpin that leads to the finish line) and fast sections (such as the most higher part of the circuit or the starting line straight). One of the most defining aspects of the track is it's big altitude variation, and unexpected bumps in the track that may cause the one's car to fly and thus make the player lose control. For those and other reasons, unexperienced players may not like this track. Despite that, this track can be learnt very quickly and is very enjoyable afterwards.
Sections
Starting Line Straight
This is one of the fastest sections of the track, with speeds well over 200 KM/H. It has a long, wide sweeper on the middle, and going too fast on it will almost certainly lead to understeer on FWD cars.
Corner 1
This corner can be very treacherous, as it is a almost 180 degree turn after a large straight. It is best to do it around 60-100 KM/H, so start braking early or get hard on the brakes. After it, there is a large bump on the road that may cause the player to lose control, so on the exit, do your best to keep the car straight, or a "crash" will ensue.
Zig-Zag
This section envolves corners 2-6. They are mostly the same aspect, tight corners after long upwards straightaways. This requires the player to learn the braking points accordingly. In the reverse version of the track, it's even more treacherous, as the car will be going downwards with much higher speeds.
Upper Section
This envolves the higher section of the track and is a high speed section with wide, sweeping corners. This section can be done mostly full throttle, paying attention to unexpected turns. One of the things that make this section a little difficult is the shadow of the mountains, which may make some corners difficult to spot and prepare for.
Downwards Section
This section comes right after the Upper one. It involves a very steep downward slope with a 180 degree turn after, so knowing the braking points is essential. The corner should be made around 20-40 KM/H. The next corners are not hard to go through, but be wary of bumps on the road and unexpected walls and barriers. The last corner of this section is a slow speed, narrow hairpin.
Twin-Hairpins
This is the last section of the track and the most low speed one. The hairpins are extremely tight and should be done very close to the walls to do them as fast as possible. Adequate speeds are around 20-35 KM/H. The last of the two may lead to heavy understeer on AWD and FWD cars, as well as oversteer on RWD cars, so keep out of the throttle until the very end of the hairpin.
Car Setup
Gearing
As a very varying circuit, recommended gearing is very short gearing on the first 3 gears and long gearing on the other ones. Lightweight flywheels are not recommended because of the loss of speed on the upwards sections, unless paired with sports clutch plates.
Suspension
The suspension can be tuned mostly to the player's "taste", if he wants the car to be grippy or not. However it is recommended to not make the car height too low so as to make through the bumps on the road with more ease.
Downforce
Keeping the car with high downforce is recommended so as to have more grip on braking and high-speed corners.
Events in Gran Turismo
GT4
- Capri Rally - 6 Races: Forward & Reverse; Easy, Medium & Hard.