Bravado Banshee Guide

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Syed Arham

A computer geek at heart, Arham spends his day losing games in Dota 2, switching things up to GTA Online, where he can take out his frustrations with fast cars and guns aplenty, and when he's not gaming, he's usually writing guides for fellow gaming enthusiasts.

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The Banshee. We’ve all heard the name before because I know I have; it’s one of the longest-running sports cars in GTA’s history. Just like me, you’d be surprised to know that this car has made it through both the 3D Universe and the HD Universe in one piece with few changes whatsoever.

I don’t care what other people think, but I firmly believe that the Banshee stole the spotlight in GTA 3 as it came out on top in terms of handling and acceleration. As such, it’s no surprise to see how quickly it became one of the most fan-revered sports cars back, to the point that Rockstar brought it back in both GTA IV and GTA V.

Today, we’ll be looking at the history and how far the Banshee has come to this day. Stay tuned for more.

Design

3D Universe Banshee

Before we take a look at the Banshee we all know today, I want to really start by looking at the old Banshee that I absolutely fell in love with back in the good old days.

#01 Banshee in San Andreas LC, LCS

Similarities To Real-Life Cars

Whenever I take a real close look at the old Banshee, it always seems a bit like one of those sexy 1st generation Dodge Vipers, the RT/10 Models, and boy, is that one hell of a car.

The car featured a double exhaust system and a curved design to give it a more sporty look. The Banshee not only took after the Dodge Viper but, in my opinion, referenced famous cars such as the Pontiac Firebird and the Dodge Stealth in terms of the hood scoops and headlights. Just compare them and you’ll come to agree with me, no doubt!

Although the car drew most of its inspiration from the Dodge Viper when it came to the rear, it also attributed the wrap-around tail lights to the Chevrolet Camaro. The Banshee additionally took it upon itself a unique twist with some fender flares that weren’t featured on any real-life American car then. I guess Rockstar did have some images up its sleeves!

Colour Schemes

The Banshee that was originally featured in GTA 3 featured a single white stripe on the hood, and the car came in a variety of colors to choose from.

Even so, things went up a notch when it came to GTA SA and GTA LCS, where the cars first featured colored stripes instead of a single white stripe. I don’t know about you, but that was a really big deal for me as a kid!

#02 Banshee in Vice City and VCS

The Banshee from Vice City and Vice City Stories looked pretty different compared to its counterparts in GTA 3 and San Andreas, mostly resembling a Corvette C4 from the 1980s that my dad always talked about.

It featured a slick, angular design most notable during the 1980s, along with the usual double exhaust system. The car used only a few single-tone colors and, like most cars in Vice City (sorry not sorry), handled terribly whilst having better overall acceleration and top speed.

2D Era

Now, let’s take a look at the notorious Banshee in the 2D Era. Although it was first featured back in the 3D Era, it didn’t take time to make its way to the portable 2D Era.

#01 GTA II AND GTA Advance

The Banshee also made its way to GTA Advance where it embodied the design language of the Banshee that I had gotten used to in GTA 3 – anything else and I would’ve refused to acknowledge it as a Banshee.

Anyhow, I recently came to know that the 2d GBA Banshee actually looked very similar to the Rumbler that we got to see in GTA 2, albeit a bit sleeker, modest, and featured the same single stripe along with a vinyl top.

#02 GTA Chinatown Wars

Now, there’s a bit of a conundrum here when it comes to the two versions of the GTA Chinatown Wars of the Banshee. See, the Banshee was DIFFERENT for PSP/IOS and the DS Editions of the Game.

The PSP/IOS edition of the Banshee looked similar to the Banshee we normally know, but the DS Banshee was an abomination! It looked like a Pixelated Phoenix!

HD Era

#01 GTA IV

GTA IV came right around the corner later in 2008, and with it, dropped the long-awaited and remembered Bravado Banshee, which had a few modifications and design element changes up its sleeves. Let’s explore it in detail!

Similarities To Real-Life Cars

The car featured a shorter side pipe exhaust and roofline, elements that were said to be inspired by Dodge’s vehicle lineup, particularly the third or fourth generation of the Dodge Viper ZB. If we divert our attention to the rear, I’ve noticed that the taillights also closely resemble the Aston Martin DB9.

Although the car loosely took some design elements from the Marco Mantis, it also bore striking similarities to the Third Generation of the Mazda RX-7 – I can confirm as someone who went out of his way to make the comparison. Lastly, if you looked at the vehicle’s interior, you would’ve seen a replica of the Supra Mark 4’s interior as the dashboard directed itself to the driver seat.

Engine

The only difference we can see between the two vehicles is when we looked under the vehicle’s hood. More specifically, the Banshee featured a V8 engine instead of a V10 model.

Design

The Banshee of GTA IV looked identical to the one featured in GTA 3 but highlighted a wider profile with a lot more realistic details added to it. For instance, the bumper of the vehicle literally encompassed the front end of the car – I didn’t even know that was possible until I saw GTA do it…

Moving onto some more minor details, the car also had a central intake and dark splitter piece with the words Bravado embossed in the center. That makes me wonder why GTA started giving so much attention to the manufacturers in recent games considering they were practically unknown before – perhaps copyright reasons?

Shape, Skirts, and Mirrors

The car bore some curved profiles with slightly flared arches on top of a similarly curvy design for its doors. For cosmetic and styling purposes, you could also observe a few black skirts on the lower edges of the vehicle and a couple of exhaust pipes that were curved close to the rear wheels.

As for the rearview mirrors, you could see that they were attached to the edge of the hood, with a black frame covering the windshield from any debris.

Diffuser and Spoiler

The rear also honed a small ridge that worked like a ducktail spoiler. Furthermore, we also got to grace our eyes with an awesome carbon fiber diffuser attached to the car’s large bumper.

Different GTA IV Banshees

When I picked up GTA IV, I was a little taken aback to see that there were quite a few iterations of the infamous Banshee in the game. For instance, I could come across a Banshee with its old-fashioned hard top. Conversely, if I was lucky, I could also feast your eyes on a Banshee with some chrome roll-bar hoops or an awesomely vented hood.

Here was the catch though: Hardtop Banshees didn’t have any windows, so I could easily get my hands on one, given how much it stood out. Besides that, the GTA IV Banshee was known to spawn in either a single solid color or, just like the GTA 3 Model Banshee, you could find yourself a two-tone Banshee with a secondary stripe.

#03 GTA V

Outlook

Finally, we will look at the final and latest iterations of our beloved Banshee, which is in GTA V and GTA Online. Rockstar listened to fans and decided to stay true to the original design elements of the original Banshee – I honestly had my doubts but I’m glad the developers blew them out of the war.

I’ve seen the car over and over for over six games now, and they’ve practically perfected the car’s design in my opinion. It takes all the design elements from GTA IV and makes the car look all the more realistic.

Enhanced Design

The Banshee’s interior was given a makeover to make it identical to the one featured in the Dodge Viper. The design is so close that they’ve even incorporated the vertical speedometers into the vehicle’s dashboard. Talk about dedication, am I right?

As for the color distribution of the vehicle, the interior stitching is painted in accordance with the secondary color of the vehicle.

Banshee’s Performance Throughout the Years

Now, let’s look at the performance of all the Banshees we’ve seen throughout the generations of the GTA Multiverse. I’ll start off with the 3D Universe and try to go a bit easy on the older Banshees since they hold the most nostalgia.

#01 3D Universe

Engine

The Banshee, featured in GTA 3, had an FR layout, meaning that the engine was placed at the front and provided power to the car’s rear wheels.

In addition, the car hosted an awesome 5-speed transmission and was one of the fastest cars that you could get your hands on at the beginning of the game. As such, don’t sleep on this car in your first playthrough just like I did…

Learning Curve

The car required immaculate driving skills to take full advantage of its innate potential as a sports car. It was no amateur car for sure! If I drove the car too fast or made some shape turns incorrectly, I could easily expect to fishtail or spin out before crashing into a beam or incoming traffic.

Top Speed and Weight

It was a beast of a car that needed a beast of a driver, even way back in GTA 3. After a thorough analysis of the game’s engine, hackers and data miners revealed that the Banshee featured a top speed of 124 miles per hour and had a weight of around 3086 pounds.

If that’s surprising, then you’d be shocked to know that the Banshee was even faster in GTA Advance – I’m not joking!

#02 San Andreas

Change in Engine and Sound

Two important changes that were made to the Banshee in San Andreas were its sound and engine. A sound change didn’t sound too bad, but the acceleration was on a whole other level for the San Andreas Banshee. The car had a ton of horsepower under its hood and was said to be powered by a carbureted V6 Engine, and that, in all my experiences, is no trivial matter.

Driving and Handling

The car had an immaculate steering response for a sports car that should have been in its very own category. Despite that, I clearly recall how the car fell short at those high-velocity numbers, where making very sharp turns became impossible to perfect.

Braking

The vehicle’s Braking capabilities were fine-tuned and balanced compared to the power it outputted, which is why not many complained about it. However, a certain learning curve was required to overcome to master the car’s braking. In fact, a common tip I recall from back in the day was to “brake as smoothly as possible”.

#04 GTA IV Banshee

Engine and DriveTrain

The Banshee in GTA IV provided us with a bit more information about what’s going on under the hood. Turns out that the car was incredibly fast due to the 300ci 4.9-litre engine that was turbocharged with a V8.

Keeping this in mind, I was very hyped to see that the Banshee was an absolute beast when it came to GTA IV, going toe-to-toe with the likes of the Turismo, Comet, and Super GT. It had the same FR System with the same RWD combination that propelled it to a top speed of 99miles per hour.

Handling and Stability

Although the car was well known for having some great handling, it was lacking in the category of stability. That’s because its engine, albeit high-powered, was paired with a not-so-stable rear-wheel drive system that caused the rear tires to lose traction pretty easily. As such, I was always recommended to pump its power in increments to maintain some level of stability.

However, I needed to be more cautious about controlling the car, especially when trying to nail those tight corners. If underperformed, the wheels would slide and eventually spiral out of control; something me and my fellow GTA veterans understood better than anything else.

Braking System

The vehicle’s Braking System was quite respectable and got the job done every time. It made sure to outperform every brake in the game, although ABS was pretty much the norm on all GTA IV’s cars.

Durability and Deformation

It’s pretty sad to say that although the Banshee was a beautiful sports car with some good features under the hood, it didn’t hold up in terms of robustness. Given how easily it can deform and go up in flames, using the Banshee as a getaway vehicle or for pursuit scenarios was out of the question back then.

You can bet I tried to verify that for myself and ended up losing my life, car, and money in the process – I tried so you don’t have to.

#04 GTA V And GTA Online

Engine

Visually, the Banshee looks no different from the GTA IV model. It seems like the base assets for it have been reused just out of pure nostalgia with some improved textures and object placements.

Besides that, the car’s engine sounds beefier and louder, resembling its real-life counterpart, the Dodge Viper SRT. The engine has now been boosted to an 8.4-litre carbureted engine, although the Viper SRT is a V10 and not a V8 car.

Speed and Acceleration

Rockstar skimmed out a bit on this one with us. It’s stated on the legendary motorsports website that the car has a top speed of 140 miles per hour, but my testing has revealed that a stock Banshee can’t even manage around 110 miles using the in-game speedometer.

On the flip side, you can still catch up to the Infernus or the Zentorno, if you can even call that an achievement – I know I don’t…

Braking and Handling

The Braking system hasn’t been changed all that much and is comparable to the one in GTA IV. You can tell that the handling is much better this time around in GTA V, probably due to the improved handling system for the videogame itself.

You can technically go for the Banshee Bravado in GTA V for police chases or getaways, but I would advise against off-roading, making sharp turns or drifting past narrow corners. That’s because the car has poor weight distribution, and the grip is like the underside of a flip flop.

Upgrades to the Bravado Banshee in GTA V and Online

Benny’s Original Motor Works

You can head on over to Benny’s Original Motor Works to tune up your Bravado Banshee and overhaul it. The upgrade provides you with a widebody kit, and there are a few alterations to the front and rear of the vehicle as well as the sides. The modification costs around 565,000 dollars.

After the upgrade, the car bumps from a sports class car to a superclass car, even though the 900R still retains the same engine parts as the Base Banshee.

Hao’s Special Works

You can access the special workshop over at the LS Car Meet, which Hao runs. Hao makes sure to provide you with special body parts and engine mods that are not readily available. The upgrade basically overhauls your top speed and acceleration and provides a whole other level of power under your Banshee. However, all of that is worth a steep 1,840,000 dollars for the upgrade – make of that as you will.

Los Santos Customs

Alternatively, you can get your base upgrades over from Los Santos Customs and pimp your ride as much as possible.

Armour

We would recommend you to go with a few armor upgrades for your Bravado Banshee, considering it’s a soft-body vehicle that can barely take a beating. So make sure to max out your armor upgrades to reduce body-wide deformation and increase your Banshee’s longevity before it goes up in flames!!

Brakes

The Brakes on the Bravado Banshee are already pretty decent, but if those EMS Upgrades, HWS overhauls, and the 900R modifications are taken into consideration, things do start to get a little muddy.

Regardless, it’s best to invest in decent brakes so as not to mess up your already-fragile car. You don’t want to drive around a beat-up Banshee, do you?

Bumpers

Bumpers are these front panels attached to your car’s front or rear. They add a bit of depth and style to the car, as if purely there for cosmetic purposes.

Engine

So, you’re not satisfied with the speed of your Banshee? Want to tune it to go faster and faster? Well, all three Customs Shops can provide you with the best Engine upgrades to beef up your Banshee. Just make sure not to total your car!

Exhausts

It won’t be an awe-inspiring Banshee if it doesn’t have some cool side exhausts. At the Lost Santos Customs, you can choose from a range of exhausts that make your Banshee sound more loud, aggressive, and cool.

Explosives

Are you an arsonist? Do you want to create some chaos and trouble in a peaceful GTA Online Lobby? Are those pesky griefers making life a living hell for you or are you out to make life a living hell for an innocent player? Just get some bombs and start blowing up Los Santos!

Hoods

If you’re tired of looking at your stock Banshee and want to change it up a bit, then you should be on your merry way to your Custom Auto Store. You get to choose from a wide variety of options to make the hood of your Banshee sweet and custom-tailored to your needs.

Lights

At Los Santos Customs, you can choose between two sets of lights or stack up both lights. These hood lights can be manually activated and serve no other purpose than to brighten your view in the darkness – useful in first-person mode!

Liveries

You choose from tons of Liveries for the Banshee. Most of them are simple and minimalistic with single or double stripes, but some of them are kind of whacky and not really to my taste. But it’s your Banshee; shape it up to be what you want it to be!

Spoilers

Spoilers tend to add a bit of personality to your whip in GTA. In addition, these spoilers do have some aerodynamic properties that keep your car flush to the ground so that it doesn’t turn over if the suspension is too fragile.

Suspension

Suspension makes all the difference in how smooth your car drives on different terrains, whether it be smooth asphalt or a bumpy dirt road. The softer the suspension, the easier the car’s on the bumps, but the more rigid the suspension, the stiffer the car’s on the asphalt at really high speeds.

Transmission

For those of you who don’t know, a better transmission means that it takes less time for gears to switch and thus for the car to accelerate and reach its top speed. In other words, the better the transmission, the faster the car!

Turbo

Turbochargers are pretty awesome as they allow more and more compressed air and oxygen to enter your engine, thus providing you with tons of extra horsepower! If you wanna go fast, you better have a turbocharger under your hood, and you bet the Banshee has some awesome Turbo Tuning options!

Windows

Windows are completely optional and offer no performance boosts despite cosmetic changes, especially in first-person mode. It sets the mood when you’re driving down Los Santos with your tinted windows, that’s for sure!

FAQs