Monstrous

Monstrous
Manufacturer	Unknown
Appearance	Ridge Racer 6 Ridge Racer 7 Drift Spirits
Engine	V8 Supercharged; Unknown Displacement (possibly)
Drivetrain	FR
Handling type	Special (Dynamic)
Nitrous type	standard triple nitrous specially extended (Normal Charge B)
Banner

• Ridge Racer 6
• Ridge Racer 7

"A machine shrouded in mystery. The manufacturer and designer are unknown, but whenever it makes an appearance, it jets down straightaways and cuts through corners at what some have called "supernatural speeds". It looks like an old-school limousine on the outside, but according to witnesses, give it some nitrous, and strange things start to happen..."

―In-game description

"A monstrous machine shrouded in mystery - even its manufacturer and designer are unknown. This machine appears suddenly at races and tears through the course with unbelievable speed. At first glance it appears to be an old-style limousine, but when the nitrous kicks in, strange things start happening..."

―In-game description

The Monstrous is a special car in Ridge Racer 6 and Ridge Racer 7. Its manufacturer is unknown which adds an element of mystery to an already strange car. It is based on a heavily modified 80's ZIL 41047 limousine. When its incredible Nitrous system is activated, it takes up the back seats and boot. This machine is very challenging to beat, placing even the most seasoned drivers on the edge.

This machine is the ultimate Ridge Racer car. Even though it isn't the fastest, it can be the most rewarding to drive.

The MONSTROUS made appearance in the Japanese touch based racing game Drift Spirits during a Ridge Racer collaboration event hosted in December 2022, with the car being featured as one of the main top prizes. The base Nitrous stat for the Monstrous sits at 5100, making it one of the very few cars that boast such extreme NOS boosting power. The car's unique exhaust nitrous system was added into the game as a special addition for the Monstrous only. The car's rocket start animation is equivalent to the Level 1 Nitrous in Ridge Racer. When NOS is used in Drift Spirits, it not only plays the animation equivalent to the Level 3 Nitrous in Ridge Racer 6 & 7, but the NOS sound that is used throughout the entirety of Drift Spirits is identical to the Level 3 Nitrous sound heard in said games. The animations were featured in a special video on the game's official Twitter account.

Gallery

Ridge Racer 6

Ridge Racer 7

Tachometer (Normal)

Tachometer (With nitrous)

Monstrous logo.

Monstrous emblem.

Drift Spirits

The MONSTROUS as seen in Drift Spirits

Tricks and Tips

• In RR6, nitrous lasts only 1.5x longer than regular nitrous, however in RR7, nitrous lasts 2x longer, making it the penultimate car with longest nitrous aside from the Terrazi Terrajin; because of this, it is recommended to anticipate the track ahead of time. Points on the track where double nitrous needs to be used by normal cars, the Monstrous can just use only one. Its horsepower boost when using nitrous is somewhat poor, but slightly better than that of the Terrajin.
• Even if the Crinale or Angelus has its triple nitrous deployed at the same time as the Monstrous, it can still outrun them. Its top speed is 210mph/ (RR6), which is slower than the Angelus by 5mph and 7mph for the Crinale. But even so, it can still outrun them. The Monstrous also benefits from strong acceleration, even from a standstill.
• Due to its long length, it can be quite difficult to control the Monstrous, especially when Nitrous is involved.
• The ultimate charge on this machine is poor, but is made up by the actual drifting charge level. Strategic cornering (going into a corner just after the nitrous ends) is not very useful to players since the Ultimate Charge doesn't charge a significant amount of nitrous. This is what makes the car less favored compared to the Soldat Crinale, Age Ultranova or Kamata Angelus which have much better charging rates,
• Being one of the longest machines, rivaling that of the Terrazi Terrajin, the Monstrous can effectively block their rivals with ease.
• When using Triple Nitrous, it's not a good idea to use the chase cam as the thrusters could blind the user to the track ahead, not to mention the occasional stuttering of the game's framerate.

Trivia

• The "Monstrous" name may likely be a reference to the United States presidential state car, which is a special Cadillac limousine known as "The Beast".
• It is the only car in the series whose speedometer in the tachometer is completely analogue.
• Despite the Monstrous featuring a traditional internal combustion engine, the thrusters are considered auxiliary means of using nitrous.
• As the car is reactive with nitrous, the different stages of nitrous deploy different thrusters, such as the following:

The front end slightly lowers in the second stage.

Stage 2 nitrous uses two more that shoot out from the glass. The passenger compartment is completely darkened from the second stage onwards.

Stage 3 nitrous finalizes this with two more that deploy from the faux roof, stretching it out completely. A potential for a booby trap in the passenger seats.

Dito, a blower is also revealed on the hood of the car, implying that it has a supercharged V-layout engine.

• For some odd reason, if driven by the AI in races, the car can open up its faux roof like as it would when firing Triple Nitrous, however, they do not produce any vapor trails, let alone any backfire. This is not possible if it were to be driven by the player, however.
• Once unlocked, four additional paint schemes are available for the Monstrous, including a "Ridge City Taxi" scheme, which could likely be a reference to the Crazy Taxi franchise, and presumably, taxis of New York City during the 80s, with its signature yellow paint job. What is also unique, compared to other variants of the Monstrous, is the roof bar added as well.

  

  The Monstrous Taxi skin. Note that the added roof bar emits light when the headlights are on.

  

  A screenshot showing Monstrous driver model

• This car has become known as the "Fastest Monster on the Planet" in Ridge Racer 6 due to the car's aggressive design, handling and the car's name, but is also likened to a ghost, as it suddenly turns up in races and attempts to catch up with the other racers.
• Defeating this car in Ridge Racer 6 will unlock the ending movie.
• The AI that controls the car is very erratic and can perform turns that the player will find impossible to do. Such an example appears when playing the Opus 5 race in RR7. During the hairpin turn with the mini jump, the AI will pull the car back onto the track if it took the corner too fast, to make it not crash. The AI in RR6 uses its nitrous very aggressively, using double or triple nitrous wherever it can, while the RR7 variant uses only single nitrous until the last lap of the race.
• Like the Danver Bass Cruiser, Age Ultranova's Androgenesis livery and Pac-Man, the Monstrous has a unique driver model: a man in a black suit with sunglasses. This could be a nod to "Men in Black". The same person as its driver model can also be seen in its unlock cutscene (also shared with the Kamata Angelus, Soldat Crinale and Pac-Man's vehicle) walking around the area, staring from below (based on the camera angle on the car's respective cutscene) or having conversations with another that looks exactly the same as them.

  

  Driver model in the taxi version of Monstrous.

  • If the "Ridge City Taxi" design is applied, the driver changes his appearance to a man with sunglasses wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a flower necklace, a stereotypical taxi driver outfit (also another reference to Crazy Taxi).
• The Monstrous, besides Pac-Man, in Ridge Racer 7, cannot have their racing numbers changed, due to a lack thereof. Therefore, when racing in any of the Grands Prix, where all cars' numbers are shown on the results screen, no number will be displayed whenever the player uses the Monstrous.
• Lore-wise, the fact that the default driver model of this car resembles a Men in Black agent, representing an unknown party (as attributed to the fact that this car has no known manufacturer) would potentially mean that the Monstrous' purpose is to likely undermine and bring down the Ridge Universe racing series, or the Ridge State Grand Prix. It might also be possible that this car is owned by the UFRA due to their corrupt business practices and suspicious activity from behind the scenes, and the fact that the drivers resemble Men in Black agents may suggest that they are undercover UFRA employees.
  • The Ridge City Taxi livery could also be a potential disguise for the driver to do its activities without any suspicion, as there aren't any other liveries themed around impersonating public transportation or any other social services.
• On the car selection screens, and even its unlock cutscenes in Ridge Racer 6 and 7, due to the fact that the Monstrous has no known manufacturer, no brand logo is displayed at all, except for the model badging.
  • This could also reflected by how the player is never required to drive the Monstrous at all to unlock any of the Manufacturer Points rewards as it isn't counted towards any of the vehicle manufacturers.
• This machine is one of 3 machines whose manufacturer is unknown, the others being the Devil Trailer and the 00-Agent.
• Although not related, Monstrous' taxi livery, combined with its transformation when using nitrous, is very reminiscent of the taxi cab from the arcade game, Smashing Drive.
• Although nothing is known about the origin or history of the machine, judging by its style and engine, it is possible that the Monstrous is a car of American origin and that it uses a V8 engine with a supercharger.