I didnt knew about this project, amazing work.
One suggestion is that, the car is centered too high on the screen. i feel off while playing it, as if having too much road under the car its annoiyng me a little. More than anything with the red car. It even makes the ilussion that the car obstructs the road view a little.
Look this image comparisson with the original:
Would be better if you put the two playable cars centered a little lower, but not as low as in the original
Not because of being a purist, is just that it feels better for me at least.
You can add the FM towns soundtrack of the game, it sounds great