H2H Speeds in the Eliminator

Let's compare the average max speeds of cars that win H2Hs in the Eliminator.

The Plan

Although it is interesting to compare the top highway speeds of the FH5 Eliminator cars (the table below includes those top speeds, slightly altered from some excellent YouTube videos posted by Fastang444), I wanted to know how the cars fared in actual head-to-head (H2H) races, when they usually do not reach their top speeds.

These were the restrictions that I set on my hunt for data:

• The race must be H2H; no Final Showdowns.
  
• The race winner must go all the way to the finish point; the loser must not quit early.
  
• The race must be primarily cross-country; paved roads must not be an important part of the win.
  
• Races in the mountain arena with its tricky single finish point are excluded.

The plan was to calculate the average maximum speed for at least ten such winning H2H races for each of the 46 Eliminator cars. I gathered data from 526 appropriate H2H races in 135 games posted on YouTube by very experienced players. I found more than ten acceptable races for most of the cars, but the level 2 Golf R was raced so seldomly that for it I could find only six races that satisfied the above criteria. (Why? Did it rarely show up in car drops? Did players pass up chances to take it? But see the surprises in the list below.)

Of course, H2Hs involve a lot more than speed. I did not differentiate between races through heavily treed areas and races across open areas. I did not differentiate between races at night and races in daylight. I did not take account of the length of the race or the initial speeds of the two cars when the challenge was made. I did not know the level of experience of the losing drivers. I did not document what the losing cars were or even their levels. There are many factors that influence races, but I looked only at the fastest H2H speeds of the winners.

Surprises

There are some interesting surprises.

• The level 4 Mini Cooper has a slightly lower highway top speed than the level 2 Ford Escort, yet it manages a higher average max speed in H2Hs than the Escort does.
  
• The average max H2H speed of the level 6 Ariel Nomad is no better than the Mini Cooper, and is surpassed by lower level cars (level 2 Peugot, level 3 Ford Focus, level 3 Porsche Mecan, and others).
  
• Look at the often underrated level 2 VW Golf R in rank 21!
  
• The level 3 Hyundai Veloster does better than most level 5 cars.
  
• The level 9 Jeep Trackhawk is often disparaged, and for good reason: its highway top speed is more like a level 5. Now notice how poorly it fares in H2Hs: it is bested by the level 3 Audi Sport Quattro.
  
• The average max H2H speed of the level 4 Audi S1 is faster than the average for the level 8 Pro Truck.
  
• The Level 7 Ferrari fared better than the level 8 Lamborghini Murcielago and the level 10 Lamborghini Centenario.

Can the information in the table below help us do better in the Eliminator? I have no idea.

Data

The table below shows, for each car, its Eliminator level (1..10), its name, its rank (1..29) in the average max H2H speeds, and finally its ideal top highway speed.

			Avg Max H2H	Hiway Top
Level	Car	Rank	MPH/KPH	MPH/KPH
1	VW Beetle	29	111/179	123/198
2	Ford Racing Escort	28	112/180	127/204
1	Nissan Tsuru	27	114/183	131/211
2	Porsche Carrera 911 RS	27	114/183	153/246
4	Mini Cooper	26	117/188	125/201
6	Ariel Nomad	26	117/188	142/229
2	Peugot 205	25	119/192	138/222
3	Ford Focus RS 03	24	121/195	154/248
3	Porsche Mecan	23	122/196	138/222
6	Exomotive Exocet	23	122/196	136/219
3	Volvo V60 Polestar	22	123/198	165/266
5	Ford #2069 Bronco	22	123/198	153/246
2	VW Golf R	21	125/201	167/269
9	Jeep Trackhawk	21	125/201	175/282
3	Audi Sport Quattro	20	126/203	155/249
4	Mitsubishi Lancer	20	126/203	156/251
4	Subaru WRX	20	126/203	163/262
5	Maserati Levante	20	126/203	184/296
8	RJ Anderson Pro 2 Truck	20	126/203	161/259
4	Audi S1	19	127/204	151/243
5	Porsche 911 Desert Flyer	19	127/204	134/216
5	Ford Focus RS 17	19	127/204	175/282
8	MG Metro	18	128/206	133/214
3	Hyundai Veloster	17	130/209	170/274
6	Penhall the Cholla	17	130/209	154/248
7	Jeep Trailcat	17	130/209	164/266
5	Diberti F-150 Prerunner	16	132/212	153/246
6	Porsche 959 Rally Raid	15	133/214	174/280
7	Porsche Cayenne Turbo	15	133/214	176/283
4	BMW X5	14	135/217	179/288
9	VW Andretti Beetle	13	136/219	185/298
2	Audi RS 6	12	137/220	190/306
6	Audi RS 7 Sportback	12	137/220	203/327
7	Ford Bronco '21	12	137/220	177/285
8	Chevrolet Camaro	12	137/220	197/317
7	Mercedes AMG GT Coupe	11	140/225	210/338
9	Hoonigan Cosworth Group A	10	142/229	209/336
9	Hoonigan Ford Focus RS RX	9	144/232	169/272
8	Lamborghini Murcielago	8	145/233	214/344
10	Lamborghini Centenario	7	147/237	219/352
7	Ferrari #24 SPA 330 P4	6	149/240	192/309
10	Mercedes AMG One	6	149/240	247/398
10	Ford Letterman Racing Fiesta	5	150/241	184/296
8	Nissan GT-R	4	151/243	209/336
10	Funco Motorsports F9	3	152/245	216/348
10	Hoonigan Ford RS200	2	155/249	212/341
10	Ford #24 Brocky	1	159/256	221/356