I think that finally playing Karts is a reality in AC. I can't say much about real-life correspondence, but all I can say is that this car is an incredible introduction to so many simdriving elements. For instance, it's extremely easy to feel how the car weight balance affect under/oversteering. You can feel how lifting off the pedal makes you oversteer (since there's less weight on the back) and, conversely, you can induce understeering by accelerating (with control). These are principles that sooner or later you will have to master in your simracing journey, but it might not be so obvious and "safe" as here for you to practice.
As for AI, I highly recommend higher levels of aggression (or else it can be a bit too passive, but at around 75-95% they really go for it. I also recommend using the new Content Manager AI limitations to force the AI to pickup the best gear ratio for each track.
I'm having loads of fun in Kartodromo de Valencia, which you can find here on RD.
I wanna thank the creators for this wonderful addition to our range of options in AC. In fact, thanks specially for fixing the FPS drop problem, I was never able to field more than 10 karts before but now even 36 is a breeze.