Tampa
| Tampa | |
|---|---|
 A Tampa in GTA San Andreas. | |
| Appearance(s) |
GTA San Andreas The Lost and Damned The Ballad of Gay Tony |
| Vehicle type | Civilian car |
| Body style | 2-door coupe |
| Capacity | 2 (driver and passenger) |
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The Tampa is a two-door compact featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and seen only in one cutscene in The Lost and Damned. It returns as a fully-drivable car in The Ballad of Gay Tony.
GTA San Andreas
Design
The Tampa in GTA San Andreas resembles a 1965-1969 Chevrolet Corvair, except it is not rear-engined and it has a grille. It has plain steel wheels, slightly lopsided bumpers, crocked license plates and mismatched paint on multiple body panels, indicating it was put together with spare parts from a junkyard. It also appears to be over-scaled and in comparison to some under-scaled cars, as it looks much larger than an old compact.
The Tampa is one of the gang cars used by the Da Nang Boys, a gang based in San Fierro.
Performance
The Tampa's performance is, at best, below average, with sluggish acceleration and mediocre top speed, as well as heavy steering and unstable cornering.
Customization
The Tampa in GTA San Andreas can be modified at a TransFender garage, which offers a moderate range of parts to the car.
Italicized pricing denotes prices at the Las Venturas TransFender, which charges 20% more except Colors.
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Even though the car can be upgraded to an excellent state, it will always have crooked license plates. Adding a 5-shot of nitrous, the bottle will magically stick halfway through the back glass window. Also, any paint colors obtained in Transfender will be lost in a Pay 'n' Spray.
The Lost and Damned — The Ballad of Gay Tony
Design
In both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, the Bravado Tampa is redesigned as a far more beefy muscle car that may butt heads with the Sabre GT. The front of the Tampa resembles a 1970-1972 Dodge Dart Demon; the roof and sides of the car are reminiscent of the '68-72 Chevrolet Nova (but with less of a fastback profile); the rear is reminiscent of a 1968 Dodge Charger. The stripe across the back is similar to the bumblebee stripes on Dodge vehicles. Being a muscle car, its engine sound is similar to that of a Sabre GT or Dukes. It can be seen sporting one all-over color, or with a double-stripe scheme.
The Tampa in TLAD only appears in the opening cutscene in front of the Pay n' Spray, and is also featured in the BradyGames Strategy Guide for the episode. There was speculation by fans that the vehicle was available to drive outside of the cutscene, and the claims were backed up by lines in the game code which specify the handling and animations of the car; indeed, the car can be spawned by using cheat device and driven like a normal vehicle - it has every data to being drivable. An email sent by Rockstar indicated that the car was not actually drivable in the game; the car is also not programmed to appear on streets, even if player drives it.
Tampa reappears in TBOGT as fully functional car and is a common sight early in the game. While still lacking a manufacturer's badge, the car is implied through police chatter to be a Bravado car.
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A Tampa featured in the Lost and Damned's opening cutscene.
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A Tampa in The Ballad of Gay Tony (Rear quarter view).
Performance
The Tampa's performance, which is identical in both TLAD and TBOGT, is considerably good in terms of raw power; the car's acceleration is excellent and the car can reach a considerably high top speed of 155 km/h (96 mph). Cornering is less predictable, however, as the car can spin out in sharper turns or burn out, if the player applies gas to the car, as the car generates excess torque. Braking is considerably impressive considering the car's weight, providing the car with shorter stopping distances.
Prominent appearances
- In "Nines and AKs" in GTA San Andreas, the player goes to do some target practice, and has to eventually shoot at a Tampa's gas tank using a pistol, making it explode, and passing the mission. It has a unique license plate reading "FELTCH".
- During "Yay Ka-Boom-Boom" in GTA San Andreas, the player has to destroy the Loco Syndicate's cocaine factory in Doherty with a rigged Tampa. The rigged Tampa has a unique numberplate reading "TIMEBOMB".
- Another modified Tampa is used in "Puncture Wounds" in GTA San Andreas, when it is equipped with stinger traps to burst the tires of the vehicle needed in the mission and bears a license plate which numerously reads "LION CUM"; if the Tampa is saved in a garage, it will lose the ability to drop stingers, as well as its unique plates.
Trivia
- The Tampa in The Ballad of Gay Tony shares the same interior as the Sabre GT.
- The Tampa plays the following radio stations by default when entered :
- K-JAH West in GTA San Andreas.
- Liberty Rock Radio 97.8 in The Lost and Damned.
- San Juan Sounds in The Ballad of Gay Tony.
Locations
- GTA San Andreas
- Can be found parked at the used car lot in Jefferson, Los Santos.
- Can also can be found driving in the Easter Basin and Garver Bridge region in San Fierro along with the Buccaneer and the Manana, both used as the Da Nang Boys' gang cars.
- The Ballad of Gay Tony
- Rarely spawns in Boulevard and Fortside, Bohan.
- Can be seen in traffic in southern Algonquin and Middle Park, Middle Park West.
- Rarely spawns in, Northwood, likely to spawn in, Chinatown, City Hall, Fishmarket South, Castle Gardens, Algonquin.
- If a Buffalo is driven through Lancaster, a Tampa may appear.
- Often seen driving on the Northwood Heights Bridge.
- Often seen at the Francis International Airport.