Template:Infobox vehicles
The Hotknife is a custom car appearing in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. It is manufactured by Vapid in GTA V.
Design
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the Hotknife is a late 1920s or early 1930s Hot Rod resembling a 1931 Ford Model A coupe, with modifications and a custom paint job.
The car comes in only one paint scheme: purple with white accents and a black roof. Visits to Pay 'n' Spray garages have no effect on the car, nor can the car be modified at any modification garages, but features two variants; one with a covering on the V8 engine and one without a covering. It has capacity for only two people.
Grand Theft Auto V
In Grand Theft Auto V, the Hotknife is updated slightly to a 1930's Ford Model B design, but appears to be heavily based on a 1933 Ford Coupe Model 40B that has been heavily modified, with lowered suspension, wide tires, and a low "chopped" roof, which is a common hot rod modification for this model.
The Hotknife features a sleek radiator grille placed over two small edges that are part of the vehicle' lower structure, equipped with two circular headlamps mounted on either sides of the grille. Two classic circular rear-view mirrors are placed on both doors of the vehicle, almost where the A-pillar starts. The rear is very rounded and only has two small circular red lights.
The vehicle comes with optional fenders that runs from the front wheels to the rear ones, with the middle section acting as stepsides, as well as the engine covering. When the same is absent, one can notice two frames that connects the grille with the driver's cab, as well as red wiring coming from an open space located in the driver's cab and ends in the engine covers. The exhaust tubes are placed in a similar fashion to the GTA San Andreas rendition.
On the lower side, the suspension is composed of small shock absorbers and articulated bars that starts in the vehicle' structure and ends in the axle shafts.
The vehicle now spawns in a variety of two-tone colors, with the primary one on the front, sides and fenders of the vehicle and a secondary one on the hood, roof and curved rear.
Current Design Gallery
Version History Gallery
Performance
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
For what the Hotknife lacks in being easy to find, it makes up for in being a very fun vehicle to drive. It handles well on-road and off-road. There is a great acceleration to be had from the V8 up front, resulting in great air times when going off certain jumps, but its top speed is ultimately lower than the more aerodynamic cars found in the game. Its cornering is not too good, which makes turning at high speed somewhat difficult, but this can be solved by using the handbrake. One bad aspect about this car is its poor endurance in crashes because of the exposed front suspension and radiator, which is made up for by the suspension being so good that it rarely tips over. Important to note are the car's side steps, which can actually collide with curbs when turning due to the car's extremely low stance.
The vehicle is powered by a V8 engine fitted with a bug catcher on top.
GTA San Andreas Overview
| Acceleration (0-60 mph in Seconds) |
Top Speed (mph / kmh) |
Gears | Engine | Drivetrain (FWD / RWD / AWD) |
Mass (kg / lbs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 124 / 200 | 5 | Petrol | RWD | 1400 / 3086 |
| N/A | N/A | 5 | FMR V8 (In-game model) | RWD | Cannot be observed |
Grand Theft Auto V
The Hotknife has acceptable acceleration and top speed which is average for a Muscle car. Its handling, though, is outright terrible. It has immense understeer, and feels very uncomfortable to steer through traffic, to such a point that high speeds make the car feel almost impossible to steer. This understeer-heavy trend even continues into the lower speeds. The Hotknife's braking is also poor, and this leads to a nasty combination where the car will wreck frequently. What makes the Hotknife worse is how it handles crashes. Being relatively light and lacking much downforce, the Hotknife is almost always taken out by traffic to unrealistic results. In a collision, it will regularly end up being sent rolling or airborne briefly while the traffic will often emerge almost unaffected. Deformation is strong though, and the car will be able to take a decent amount of abuse before being out of commission.
Being a muscle-like vehicle, the Hotknife comes with a carburetored single-cam V8 engine. This gives the vehicle a loud engine sound, in a similar manner to some muscle cars like the Dominator and the Gauntlet.
GTA V Overview
| Acceleration (0-60 mph in Seconds) |
Top Speed (mph / kmh) |
Gears | Engine | Drivetrain (FWD / RWD / AWD) |
Mass (kg / lbs) |
Fuel Tank Size (litres) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 87 / 140 | 5 | N/A | RWD | 700 / 1543 | 45 |
| 3.1 Seconds | 170 / 274 | N/A | 4.0L 520hp (Website) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 6.9 Seconds | 95 / 152 | 5 | FMR SOHC V8 w/ 4 Double Barrel Carburetors (In-game model) | RWD | Cannot be observed | Cannot be observed |
Modifications
Grand Theft Auto V
| Category | Modification | Cost (GTA V) | Cost (GTA Online) | Image | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armor | No Armor | $325 | $1,000 | ||
| Armor Upgrade 20% | $1,625 | $7,500 | |||
| Armor Upgrade 40% | $4,062 | $12,000 | |||
| Armor Upgrade 60% | $6,500 | $20,000 | |||
| Armor Upgrade 80% | $11,375 | $35,000 | |||
| Armor Upgrade 100% | $16,250 | $50,000 | |||
| Bodywork | None | $350 | $700 | ||
| Cycle Fenders | $550 | $1,100 | |||
| Brakes | Stock Brakes | $325 | $1,000 | ||
| Street Brakes | $6,500 | $20,000 | |||
| Sport Brakes | $8,775 | $27,000 | |||
| Race Brakes | $11,375 | $35,000 | |||
| Engine | EMS Upgrade, Level 1 | $2,925 | $9,000 | ||
| EMS Upgrade, Level 2 | $4,062 | $12,500 | |||
| EMS Upgrade, Level 3 | $5,850 | $18,000 | |||
| EMS Upgrade, Level 4 | $10,887 | $33,500 | |||
| Explosives | Ignition Bomb | N/A | $5,000 | ||
| Remote Bomb | N/A | $7,500 | |||
| Hoods | Stock Hood | $450 | $1,600 | ||
| Triple Intake Bug Catcher | $850 | $3,000 | |||
| Single Intake Bug Catcher | $1,200 | $5,000 | |||
| Horns | Main article: Los Santos Customs/Horns | - | - | ||
| Lights | Headlights | Stock Lights | $200 | $600 | |
| Xenon Lights | $1,000 | $7,500 | |||
| Neon Kits | Main article: Los Santos Customs/Lights | - | - | ||
| Loss/Theft Prevention | Tracker | N/A | Too Hot | ||
| Full Coverage | N/A | Too Hot | |||
| Plates | Blue on White 1 | $50 | $200 | ||
| Blue on White 2 | $50 | $200 | |||
| Blue on White 3 | $50 | $200 | |||
| Yellow on Blue | $75 | $300 | |||
| Yellow on Black | $150 | $600 | |||
| Respray | Main article: Los Santos Customs/Respray Colors | - | - | ||
| Sell | Sell Vehicle | N/A | Too Hot | ||
| Suspension | Stock Suspension | $100 | $200 | ||
| Lowered Suspension | $500 | $1,000 | |||
| Street Suspension | $1,000 | $2,000 | |||
| Sport Suspension | $1,700 | $3,400 | |||
| Competition Suspension | $2,200 | $4,400 | |||
| Transmission | Stock Transmission | $325 | $1,000 | ||
| Street Transmission | $9,587 | $29,500 | |||
| Sports Transmission | $10,562 | $32,500 | |||
| Race Transmission | $13,000 | $40,000 | |||
| Turbo | None | $1,625 | $5,000 | ||
| Turbo Tuning | $8,125 | $50,000 | |||
| Wheels | Main article: Los Santos Customs/Wheels | - | - | ||
| Windows | None | $100 | $500 | ||
| Light Smoke | $200 | $1,500 | |||
| Dark Smoke | $450 | $3,500 | |||
| Limo | $700 | $5,000 | |||
Image Gallery
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
.jpg "Hotknife-GTASA-Front(Covered).jpg (35 KB)")
Grand Theft Auto V
Locations
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Like the Phoenix, the Hotknife is an extremely rare car to find in GTA San Andreas, but with patience and searching in the right places, it will eventually spawn.
- Spawns in front of the Driving School in Doherty, San Fierro after getting all gold medals in driving school (its license plate reads "GOLD").
- Rarely spawns on The Strip, it will eventually spawn if the player waits for some time.
- Can be obtained through Vigilante missions, which in rare occasions are driven by criminals, but only at levels 1 and 2, otherwise only 4-door cars are used (This can be done even from the beginning of the game).
- Spawns often when the "fast cars" and "crazy town" cheats are activated.
Grand Theft Auto V
- Original version
- The vehicle is immediately given to the player in a garage for every character if the player has the Collector's Edition.
- Enhanced version
- Can be bought for $90,000 (For free to collecters edition holders) from Legendary Motorsport.
Grand Theft Auto Online
- Original version
- Can be bought for free from Legendary Motorsport if the player has the Collector's Edition.
- Enhanced version
- Can be bought for $90,000 (For free to collecters edition holders) from Legendary Motorsport.
Trivia
General
- The default radio stations for Hotknife are:
- GTA San Andreas: Playback FM.
- GTA V: Channel X.
- The name Hotknife is a possible reference to "hotknifing," a common method of smoking hash, while also being a play on "hot rod."
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- The Hotknife is one of the few vehicles that cannot be modded at any mod shops.
- Strangely, the upper frame of the passenger side's door is inconsistent to that of the driver side, appearing recessed and colored purple (as opposed to the driver side's black), This is caused by the door being set in too much to the car's body and is evident when the door swings open, to reveal the door is identical to the driver-side door.
- Found in the game files, the Hotknife in front of the Driving School is actually painted silver, like the Bullet beside it. (This can be seen clearly using modifications)
- It is the oldest car in the 3D Universe, along with the Hustler, Hermes, and the Thunder-Rodd.
Grand Theft Auto V
- Upon closer inspection, the vehicle lacks any driving pedals, this is also found on the Albany Roosevelt/Roosevelt Valor and the Truffade Z-Type.
- If the player looks at the Hotknife's grille from the side, from the back, the grille is invisible. But if the player looks in the front, the grille is visible.
- It is the third oldest car in the HD Universe, along with the Z-Type, Duneloader, Rat-Loader, Roosevelt, Fränken Stange, and the old rusty Tractor.
- When entering the Hotknife, the name of the vehicle at the bottom right of the screen does not display the manufacturer, despite the manufacturer being displayed on the car itself.
- This has been fixed in the enhanced version, displaying as "Vapid Hotknife, Muscle".
- It shares similar available modifications to the Rat-Loader, such as cycle fenders and shares its engine noise with the Z-Type.
- If looking closely, the grille of the vehicle contains somewhat the symbol of a bent sword pointing down.
- If there are two players in the Hotknife, the driver's right shoulder will clip into the passenger's left shoulder.
- As of the 1.16 patch, the Hotknife will be free to replace if it gets destroyed by any means.
- However, those who do not own the Collector's Edition, it will still be rendered unrecoverable.
See Also
Other similar vehicles:
- 29 Special and Hotrod - Grand Theft Auto.
- Hustler - Another hotrod manufactured by Vapid.
- Thunder-Rodd - Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.