It's all come down to this... You've helped mold this car into one of the finest driving machines of all time... Now a final race with our AI is all that stands between you and the big prize!
The Ultimate AI Challenge works exactly the same as a Versus race, except the other racer is a blue ghost car named the "Ultimate AI". Ultimate AI Challenges are always found at the end of each Lab, although there may be one or more prior to the end of the Lab.
There are currently 85 total Ultimate AI Challenges (and 13 Moto Blitz Finals) in the game.
Winning[]
Just finish the race before the AI does. The difficulty of this will vary according to the recommended rank. The final Ultimate AI Challenges found in the R&D events for most of the Class A/Class S cars (except the Mosler Super GT) and the Renault Alpine Celebration tend to be very difficult (often requiring a MAX+PRO car with a Nitro Starter, Tuning Kit, and Extra Tank activated), while the others tend to be easier (e.g. Alfa Romeo 4C, Lotus Evora Sport 410). Originally, the Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupe Touring Car 2014 can be won with a Multiplayer configuration rather than a MAX+PRO car by exploiting a shortcut glitch near the London Bridge, but due to the glitch being patched as of the Lunar New Year 2017 Update, the car can only be won at MAX+PRO.
As of the Fast Lane Update, however, the penultimate AI of an R&D event can be more difficult to beat than the last AI, noticeable in the events for Ferrari F60 America and Ford GT (2017).
Losing the Ultimate AI Challenge allows the player to either redo it or skip it with Auto-Test, paying a high amount of tokens in the process (up to 2,800). However, sometimes, the game may actually cause the player's loss to be mistakenly registered as a win, as there is a small window allowing for a slightly slower lap time to be logged but still registered as a win.
For Ultimate AI Challenges that occur on difficult tracks like the Rio de Janeiro, Azure Coast, Patagonia, and Iceland tracks, it is best to practice them regularly and watch videos of the best routes for each track so as to be able to gain an edge when tackling the Ultimate AI Challenge, even if underranked by several points, but not too low that winning is impossible due to the lack of speed; it is generally recommended to upgrade the top speed and nitro (especially the latter in the ED Design Torq's case).
Ultimate AI Challenges generally recommend boosters. The final ones recommend the player be triple-boosted.
The Finals in Moto Blitz work with the same strategy, however players cannot pay tokens to auto-pass.
Quotes[]
When the player reaches an Ultimate AI Challenge, the R&D team helping develop the car will say something, usually encouraging the player to go beat the Ultimate AI.
It's all come down to this... You've helped mold this car into one of the finest driving machines of all time... Now a final race with our AI is all that stands between you and the big prize!
You've done it... hit all our projections, busted through our expectations... this really is a sports car that drives like a supercar. Just beat this AI, and the 4C is all yours!
Are you pumped? We're pumped. Let's test those 320 watt-hours of power against our in-house AI!
”
Lab 001, Test 007
“
It all comes down to this... John Henry versus the steam drill... human versus machine... you in the Torq versus the Torq's AI. May the best driver win!
BOOM! Interior design is DONE! (Seriously, we get SUPER excited about this sort of thing.) Time to test it out yourself by racing against our own in-house AI!
”
Lab 001, Test 007
“
All right, it's time to test your fancy new BMW augumented-reality helmet in action! Take the 3.0 Hommage out for a fancy race against our custom AI - and don't hold back!
”
Lab 002, Test 018
“
All that testing and we've finally got a solid design for the BMW's front end! Put it through its paces with a no-holds-barred race against our custom AI!
”
Lab 002, Test 027
“
The Hommage's spoiler is done! And we've distracted the insurance guy with mini muffins. Which means everything's ready for a SUPER-CHALLENGING AI RACE!
”
Lab 003, Test 033
“
These blueprints are dynamite! We've kitted out the new Hommage with plenty of callbacks to the '75 CSL... and it's time to field test them with a pulse-pounding AI race!
”
Lab 004, Test 044
“
That's it. You're ready. We've programmed our AI with a SUPER-POWERED version of the 1975 CSL... Beat it, and add its descendant to your garage for good!
Here's your chance to wash away all doubt. Beat the Ultimate AI in the Renault Alpine and we can start getting to serious work on this car!
”
Lab 001, Test 007
“
This has been an inspirational week, but it's time to pass the torch to the next team... so long as you can beat the Ultimate AI once again!
”
Lab 002, Test 018
“
Time to see if my gamble paid off. Beat the Ultimate AI in a showdown of Renault Alpines!
”
Lab 003, Test 027
“
I believe you have what it takes to beat the Ultimate AI! I hope to celebrate the Year of the Rooster along with your success today!
”
Lab 003, Test 033
“
Wow... the team says they didn't arrange this Ultimate AI challenge... it ASKED to challenge you! Better give it your all and grab all the upgrades you can.
”
Lab 004, Test 043
“
The Ultimate AI has watched your races even closer than we have! But win here, and the Renault Alpine is yours to keep! Happy Year of the Rooster!
OUR PRECIOUS AI...! IT'S LOOSE!!! O CRUEL HUBRIS, TO BE LAID LOW BY OUR OWN CREATION! Rescue us -- nay, the WORLD -- and we will never trouble you again!
Here it is. You versus the Rogue AI. A couple labs ago, I would've bet everything on the computer... but now I see that I would've been wrong. Get 'em, racer!
And here we are. Beat me here and win a BRAND... NEW... CAR! And make history. Because TRIVIA BOT has never lost *for real* yet. Rev that engine, Racer 8.
60 mph! Are you ready to face the end?! Can you defeat Dr. Infinity? Let us race once and for all and see if the Infiniti Vision GT can best science itself!