View source for Jimmy's Grand Prix (lost cancelled original Commodore 64 version of ZX Spectrum game; 1992-1993)

{{InfoboxLost
|title=<center>Jimmy's Grand Prix</center>
|image=jimmysgrandprix.jpg
|imagecaption=A screenshot of the game, showcasing one of the usual race over animations.
|status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
}}
''Grand Prix Drivers'' is a top-down racing game that was developed by Beyond Belief in 1993 for the ZX Spectrum. While the game never found any sort of official publisher, it was quietly released by Jonathan under the “YS” label, alongside some other unpublished games in the “Bumper Boogie Pack”. While this version has been preserved for years from this pack, '''the Commodore 64 version that was made under the name of Jimmy’s Grand Prix has never been released or preserved in any form so far.'''

==History==

The Commodore 64 version would’ve featured more colors onscreen than the ZX Spectrum version due to the former computer being able to do more colors onscreen than the latter. The racecars would have also been bigger in size alongside some smoother scrolling in comparison. According to an interview with Jim Scott, this version would’ve also featured 8 single-screen tracks with 3 cars racing each other(2 players & 1 AI opponent). It was inspired by Atari Games’s ''Super Sprint'' arcade game<ref>[https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9952 The Arcade Museum page on ''Super Sprint'']</ref>, & like said game you would’ve been able to get money in order to buy upgrades to the car & weapons such as missiles, the latter of which are notably absent in the Spectrum version. According to Commodore Force, they saw a mock-up cover for the game which had Nigel Mansell on the front, with said picture of him likely being used as a reference on how to draw an F1 car.

It is also said that after a supposed 8 months of development, it was reprogrammed to have the racers turn at 32 degrees rather than just 16 degrees & have the collision detection be improved so that the cars weren’t bouncing around all throughout the tracks. Meanwhile, during the game’s development, Jonathan Cauldwell was asked to convert the game to the ZX Spectrum & the conversation on converting the game was given on the phone. He was told it was a top-down racer that was similar to Grand Prix Simulator for the same computer with 8 tracks, 3 cars and a shop in-between races that lets you buy power-ups. Despite this, he never saw the Commodore 64 version, therefore it resulted in a very different game in comparison, such as the previously mentioned weapons not being in the game. Any other differences outside of coloring & overall graphics are still largely unknown to this day. Jonathan himself would later on find a letter from Beyond Belief which showcased a bit of detail on the game for him to follow:

<blockquote>“You do not need to see the C64 version as it is fairly straight forward. It has 8 tracks, 3 cars (possible 2 players and 1 computer). You get a certain amount of money for finishing first or second, and after every 2 tracks you can go to a shop which will allow you to buy a turbo to increase speed, tyres to increase grip and steering traction to allow faster turning, and of course fuel. You start with 2 credits and when you finish third you lose a credit.”</blockquote>

==Availability==

Whereas the ZX Spectrum version has been available thanks to Jonathan unofficially releasing it through the “Bumble Boogie Pack” sometime in the mid 1990s, Beyond Belief never got around to releasing the original Commodore 64 version before they closed their doors around early 1994. Outside of the one interview, Jim “Jimmy” Scott has never been contacted by anyone. A couple of more shots of the interview however have been found, giving out a developer name called “The Ghost” which was reportedly part of Fantasy 2000 Software, said company of which is impossible to find information on. The only connection so far is with Snare, whose Commodore 64 conversion is by The Ghost & was published by Beyond Belief. It’s unknown as to who it is as David Jollif  Craig Wright had said that they weren’t The Ghost.

According to Games That Weren’t, it is said that they would’ve likely sold it to Commodore Format as a way to make some money back, but the game ultimately never got far enough for that to happen.<ref>[https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/jimmys-grandprix/ The Games That Weren't page on the game.]</ref> Despite this, it could’ve been possible that they would’ve likely made it a self-published mail order title considering the time period in which this game was being made. Ever since May 27th of 2015, the search for the game hasn’t been updated & Jimmy has still yet to be contacted in any way, shape or form, making it further unlikely for this version to be found.

[[Category:Lost video games]]
[[Category:Completely lost media]]