Tier 1

When you first start Need for Speed: Carbon, you may buy one of three cars. These are all part of Tier 1.

In Tier 1, there are 8 cars. 3 are Tuners, 3 are Muscles, and 2 are Exotics.

Tuner
There are 4 Tuners in Tier 1. 2 of them are available in the standard version, 1 is only featured in the Collector's Edition, and 1 is an online reward card.

Mazda RX-8
The first tuner, and one of the starter cars. It has a low top speed, good handling and decent acceleration. It costs 25,000.

It can be selected as a starting vehicle in the career mode alongside two other cars. Compared to the other choices, it has the slowest acceleration, but compensates it with superior handling performance that makes quick and steady cornering possible.

In Drift events, it tends to have twitchy steering when driven at a low speed, often forcing players to downshift to regain speed.

A modified RX-8 must be used in the bronze tier canyon race event within the challenge series.

Bonus
A bonus Mazda RX-8, for use in Quick Race events, can be unlocked by visiting and purchasing it from a Mazda Dealership found in the Billings District of Downtown Palmont. The bonus RX-8 appeared in Revved, a short-lived graphic novel by Top Cow, which included a reprint released in 2006 following a 2006 San Diego Comic Con exclusive cover release, and a cancelled television series that was in pre-production at Fox Television Studios.

Mazda Mazdaspeed 3
The second tuner, the Mazda Mazdaspeed 3 is marginally the better of the two standard tuners. It has a decent top speed, good handling and decent acceleration. It costs 30,000. (not 35k)

Nissan 240SX
The Nissan 240SX is the third tuner, but is available only through the Collector's Edition. It is arguably the best Tier 1 tuner. It has decent top speed, good handling and decent acceleration. It costs 20,000, and is the cheapest car in the game.

Lexus IS300
The Lexus IS300 is the last Tier 1 tuner. It is unlocked through online reward cards. When you beat the reward card, it comes in 2 variants, a stock and tuned variant.

However, due to the car being in a slightly unfinished state, the hoods have poor vinyl mapping, and only the 2nd bodykit is available. However, the tuned variant's bodykit is wrongly overlaid on top of the stock body, which can be fixed with Binary.

However, the player can make it usable in Career Mode by changing it's IsCustomizable field in it's frontend node from False to True. If the player were to unfalsify it's IsCustomizable field, it would be purchasable for $27,000.

A model fix for the IS300 was released to add two more hoods, the remaining three bodykits, and fixes the hood vinyl mapping.

Muscle
There are 3 Muscles in Tier 1. 2 of them are available for career, while 1 is unlocked through reward cards.

Chevrolet Camaro SS
The first muscle car, and also one of the starter cars It has a good top speed, drifty handling and good acceleration. It costs 30,000.

Chrysler 300C
The other muscle car available in career. It is around the same as the Camaro, but with a better top speed. It costs 35,000.

Chevrolet Chevelle SS
The last of the Tier 1 muscle cars. It is the best Tier 1 muscle car, on par with low-end Tier 2 cars. It is unlocked via reward cards. It comes in two variants, a red stock one, and a tuned dark blue one.

However, the player can make it usable in Career Mode by changing it's IsCustomizable field in it's frontend node from False to True. If the player were to unfalsify it's IsCustomizable field, it would be purchasable for $65,000.

Exotic
There are 2 Exotics in Tier 1, both of which are available in career mode.

Alfa Romeo Brera
The first exotic car of Tier 1. It has below average handling and acceleration, but it's top speed, which is decent, does not make up for it. It is also one of the starter cars.

Mercedes-Benz CLK500
The last Tier 1 exotic, and the last Tier 1 car. It has decent handling, acceleration and top speed.