September 12th
A Motoring Man’s Meanderings
Pre-show 1
A reminder that Gavin won’t be free from the 11th to the 15th of September, meaning that if anyone wants to do coverage, that slot is very much available.
FRANKFURT IAA 2017: Contendiente’s stand.
Welcome to the Frankfurt Motor Show 2017! Here, at the Contendiente stand we have two special cars being shown; the first, a facelift of our flagship model; and the second, a new sports car.
Contendiente Enemigo Concept 2019.
This is the facelift that will hit the market in late 2018. Faster, more efficient and sportier are the keys to this new version of our compact sports sedan; the 2 liter 4-banger has been redesigned and turbocharged - increasing the power output from 250hp to 320hp. It returns a combined fuel economy of 7.44l/100km (31.61 MPG US).
Even with this output increase, the weight has stayed fairly low - only 1250kg! We have also swapped the active suspension for a traditional passive suspension, with a tune that prioritizes sportiness, while keeping drivability and comfort reasonably good. It corners at 1.11Gs (20m) and 1.08Gs (250m).
Gearshifting is done through a traditional 6 speed manual, mated to a geared LSD, and it accelerates from 0 to 100km/h (62 mph) in only 4.9 seconds. The price is still to be determined.
The new Contendiente Victoria.
The MR car that everyone can afford! For only 36000$, you’ll be driving this little street legal racing machine.
With its carbon fiber body, and aluminium panels, the weight falls under 900kg! And it’s not like it’s unsafe, as it complies with every safety regulation cars have to pass. With all-around double wishbones, low weight, and low ride height, it manages to pull 1.2Gs at 20m and 1.33Gs at 250m.
It is powered by a mid, transversely mounted 1.8L V6, NA, making 225hp. Don’t be fooled by these numbers: combined with a manual 6-speed transmission and a geared LSD, this car accelerates from 0 to 100 in only 4.2 seconds, while still returning 30MPG! The car mounts 225mm tyres all around, making finding tyre sets easier.
This car will be launched in late 2018. Stay tuned, because a twin turbocharged edition of the car might be on its way too!
In a class of it’s own. Ridgewell-Jeong Motors Eden Concept.
Performance
RJM is proud to present the Eden Concept. Eden represents the finest to come out of the minds of our engineers, with ultra-high boost, carbon fiber technology, and unique suspension components. The purest expression of our brand packs a small package with a big punch under the large, shell-shaped rear hood. Under lays a small, ferocious beast; a highly boosted 2 Liter inline-4 producing 468 HP, giving it the highest specific output for a gasoline engine ever. To emphasize the power produced by Eden, our engineers fabricated the next-generation Carbon Fibre Monocoque in order to increase safety and rigidity whilst losing weight. The result is an extremely light car, especially for it’s relatively large footprint. 100 km/h passes in 3.2 seconds; 200 km/h in under 10 seconds. An all-new fine tuned pushrod suspension is found here, with new components and up to 45% more rigidity in rough conditions as comparison to the previous version of RJM’s Pushrod suspension. Jam-packed with electronic gadgets, Eden, despite it’s very low weight and relatively high-powered engine, is still very manageable at high speeds; with extensive work on the Super-Control Grip Regulator (S-CGR), Eden is able to grip even rougher pavement or smooth gravel conditions with the suspension raised up as high as possible. The RJM Eden Concept showcases the best of the modern era that RJM can offer, packed into a wild and daring shell.
Design and Ergonomics
The RJM Eden Concept was designed from the ground up to be eccentric and draw attention first. With a bold, brash design, Eden is sure to make a statement wherever it goes. Inspired by shapes both natural and artificial, with a swooping bodyline but sharp, angled details, Eden is a completely unique design. Painted in a shade of indigo called Atlantic Bloom Indigo created specifically for this concept, Eden will make a statement no matter where the location. However, the design is still very functional; rear flaps on the clamshell hood and raise and lower in order to help roadholding and produce even more downforce and high speeds. The interior is equally intriguing; while it is subtle enough for the road, it still has a mix of classic and futuristic elements, such as carbon-fiber airplane-esque switches, a digital display layed inside of a rectangular, metallic case, amongst other elements. Overall, the 2-seater cockpit feels special, and is like nothing ever RJM has ever created. RJM’s main goal with Eden was to make a functioning concept that’s not just wild and enthralling, but a car which could define us as a brand. We hope you enjoy Eden as much as we do.
Specifications
It takes a genius like you to make a four-cylinder supercar really work, and you have done just that. But will the Eden actually enter production? I hope it does!
In the pursuit of speed at any cost, GG started out as a kit company of sorts: whacking together the most extreme parts and making some of the most extreme machines possible. With a lot of collaborative help, it is gradually edging towards a proper production business model, currently outsourcing much of its manufacturing requirements for its higher volume (but still limited run) models, such as Lilith and the Bellua, but aiming to establish the means to support the industry locally. What is already in-house, though, is the research, development and production of their top end model, the halo car, the evolution of the ultimate high performance road vehicle.
In 2014, this initially took form in a singular prototype, Sleipnir, inspired by the organic ridges and curves of the Furai, but the project was delayed after the prototype was wrecked in a ‘testing incident’. The following year, a mockup of a new model emerged, the Mercury, with a similar body powered by a typically nuclear GG style powerplant. But it soon became apparent that a newer, more radical aerodynamic solution would be required to reliably achieve GG’s goals of creating a car that would break 500km/h without grenading the engine, and retain superior cornering on par with that of the sharpest hypercars of today.
2018 Jörmungandr
It would be fair to refer to say that while GG is searching to make the final word in ICE based hypercars, despite meeting most of their performance goals, this is not yet the final form. Chief designer Strop is a staunch believer that their performance cars ought never to exceed far beyond 1400kg, yet in having to extend the wheelbase, and widen the track to accommodate one of their most ambitious engines yet (with the exception of the outsourced billet block that was the monstrous ‘multicharged’ V16 that went into Mephisto), Jörmungandr tips the scales at a hefty 1659kg. But it has the power to match, 2111hp to push it all the way to beyond 500km/h without tossing a conrod.
With only the rear wheels driven, despite the full might of GG’s bespoke control system developed specifically for this line, coupled with its virtual HUD interface, Jörmungandr remains a handful, though far less than its predecessors. We don’t recommend fanging it in the wet or on loose surfaces, even if the car is, unlike less recent GG cars, capable of being a half-decent daily as long as you don’t drive over any oversized speed humps.
On a good appropriate road, however, it’s certainly capable enough even in technical sectors, with handling that belies its size, though it requires specialty tyres and wheels somewhat narrower than we would prefer on our track beasts if it is to be rated anywhere near its top speed.
During testing in Nurburg, just 2 hours away, Jörmungandr was able to clock an impressive time, inching closer to our target.
Perhaps with a fresh approach to the body and further developments, we can create something equalling the straight line performance but dynamically superior and lighter. As it stands, this is the state of our art, and needless to say, there will be very few of them made, they won’t go cheap, and they’ll be sold preferentially to those who can aid our pursuit of ultimate road performance.
RJM released a tweet on the 8th of September, 2017. It states…
Eden will not be produced in our lineup. It is too expensive to fit into our lineup; we will focus on our other high-performance models.
It was later leaked that a single Eden would cost upwards of $300,000 due to it’s use of expensive materials and highly complex engine building process.
No surprise really. Aside from the production costs, it’s tough to take a four-cylinder supercar seriously these days; however, if it is possible to put the Eden’s 1.9L I4 in the 13R, creating what should be called the 19R in the process, the results would be spectacular! The chance of that engine finding its way into any RJM production models is slim, though.
There was always the 2020 Kelpie concept that GG teased a while ago… Now that we’ve improved as we have we could possibly work on it… 
2017 Hodan Okayama FE
In 2013, Hodan revealed the Okayama S1, a sports vehicle made with enjoyment in mind. 2017 sees the Last model of the Okayama Series be released.
The Final Edition.
The final edition sees changes over the previous S2 model, including a 6 speed dual clutch transmission, CF wheels, and other small changes. The FE will be available for reservation at the official opening of the show. Sale price will be $34,000.
2018 Hodan Rizun
At Genva, the Rizun concept was unveiled. Well, now it’s gone through a large revision. This will be the vehicle available to the public in quarter one of 2018.
The 2018 Rizun is powered by a 1.7L inline 3. This vehicle is designed to be a majority track vehicle. A GT4 version should be coming in the next few weeks. Reservations will open at the begining of the show, and the full vehicle will cost $23,000
FRANKFURT IAA 2017: Maine Motors classics stand.
Maine Motors won’t be revealing anything new, but they will be showcasing two company classics from the 50s and 70s.
1970 Maine Motors Scorpio.
Built as a pony car that was mean to compete with the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang, the Scorpio was the company’s attempt at a pony car. Powered by the same pushrod 5.5 liter V8 as the '68 Imperator, the Star Banner, but this time tuned to make 301 hp, mated to a 4 speed manual, the car could outrun both the Chevrolet Camaro SS and the Ford Mustang Mach 1 at the quarter mile, with a time of 14.36 seconds.
1956 Maine Motors Imperator.
Maine Motors’ first luxobarge and the start of the Imperator line, that remains the flagship model nowadays. This car also mounted the first version of the Star Banner V8, this time a 4.2 liter pushrod one. It made 130hp, sent to the rear wheels via a two speed automatic. The car focused on luxury and comfort rather than performance; the suspension was soft, set up to understeer in case of grip loss, with a high ride height and its nicely clothed seats could seat 5 adults. The fuel economy wasn’t too bad for the time; it got 14 MPG combined.
This car is rare nowadays: some of them have been turned into hot rods, some of them have rusted to uselessness and some are restored and kept as collector pieces.
